Landscaping

We finally removed the dumpster and the excavators started grading the property.  Once we established the finished grade, we had the flo-wells installed.  The city requires us to install 5 flo-wells that are designed to reduce water run-off.  Our four gutters are connected underground to the flo-wells that we placed in the rear of the property.

Next, we covered the entire yard with top soil so we can start laying sod and installing plants.  We laid sod throughout he property, but we are only installing plants in the front of the house. We will finish the backyard landscaping next spring when we expand the deck.  To help us decide the landscape layout and what plants to install, we hired Chau Wall of Chau Wall Associates to formulate a design.  She did a great job at a reasonable rate.

Rough grade 

Flo-we'll install

Side yard final grade

Master bedroom balcony

Topsoil

New sod

Backyard deck off kitchen

Entryway

Cabinets & Lighting

The past week has given us cabinets, countertops, and lighting.  We installed Sienna Manchester cabinets in the kitchen, the great room floating cabinets, as well as the wet bar on the third floor.  The cabinets were topped with Cherokee White Marble.  The vanities used in the remaining bathrooms were purchased from Lowes.

The lighting includes 4" cans with white trim (bronze trim in the basement).  We installed cable track lighting in the entryway, with a chandelier and pendant light from Restoration Hardware in the kitchen.  The bathroom vanity lights are from the Progressing Lighting Newport collection.

                                

Kitchen

Wet bar

Jack/Jill bathroom

 
                                                 

3rd floor bathroom

                                                 

Master bathroom

Craft room

Master bedroom

                                           

Entryway

Great room

Rooftop terrace

Three shades of gray

The interior painting has commenced.  We use Valspar Ultra Premium paint from Lowes.  Every wall throughout the house is painted a flat Coventry Gray by Benjamin Moore.  We plan to add accent colors once we get settled and see how the furnishings look.  The baseboard and trim is paint a semi-gloss Whirlpool by Benjamin Moore.  All interior doors are painted a semi-gloss Amherst gray, as well as the stair railings and risers.  This is the same gray paint that was used on the exterior siding.  Gray is a very good contemporary looking neutral color that allows you to coordinate with other pops of color.

Kitchen

3rd FLR stairwell

2nd FLR stairwell

Master

1st FLR stairwell

Master closet

Siding complete

In an earlier post we highlighted the Nichiha 4" lap siding that was installed and painted Amherst Gray.  Although the lap siding covers 75% of the house, the remaining portion has been sheathed with a Nichiha material called Empire Block.  Empire Block is a 5/8" thick cement board that comes in panels that measure 10' wide x 18" high.  They are a light gray color and are made to resemble limestone block.  We liked the industrial look of the material and thought it complemented the contemporary design.

The key to the material is accurately installing your starter track at the base of the house.  You then stack each corner piece, and next install the 10' panels on top of one another, until you reach the top.   You will have a vertical joint where the panels come together, which is filled with a special limestone colored caulk.  Nichiha has many other materials that look like stone, ledger stone, cedar, and even wood.  Take a look at their website for more information (www.nichiha.com).

Corner pieces go up first

Next are the 10' panels

This material will not be painted

Our helpers didn't show up so this is the freight driver and Chad (architect) about to hand me the 10' 50lb pack of two panels.  The three of us had to unload 32 packs.

It's in the details

We are in the process of installing floor and wall tile throughout the house.  These details will start to show the design look we are aiming for.  The majority of the tile was purchased at Floor & Decor, while the master shower wall tile came from Lowes.  Subway style tile was used in each shower because of it's classic and contemporary look.  We used bright white beveled 3x6 subway tile for the jack/Jill bathroom shower, matte white 4x10 subway tile for the 3rd floor bathroom, and carrara marble 3x6 subway tile for the master shower.  Because of the contrasting colors of the marble tile, we decided to use white grout so as to not make it too busy.  For the other two bathroom wall tiles, we used Pearl Gray grout so each individual tile would pop.  This darker grout also exhibited a more contemporary look.

The floor tile in the 3rd floor bathroom is 12x24 porcelain tile called Eramosa Silver, finished with Pearl Gray grout.  The jack/Jill bathroom displays 12x24 porcelain tile called Tango Nero, finished with Warm Gray grout.  The master bath and laundry room uses 12x20 porcelain tile called Linen Pearl, with Pearl Gray grout.  For the half bath on the main floor, we used porcelain gray penny tile with Pearl Gray grout.

MASTER SHOWER (Carrara white marble)

MASTER SHOWER

JACK/JILL (beveled  3x6 subway tile)

3rd FLR (matte 4x10 subway tile)

3rd FLR (Eramosa Silver)

1/2 Bath (gray penny tile)

JACK/JILL (Tango Nero)

MASTER (Linen Pearl)

LAUNDRY (Linen Pearl)

Drywall

For the delivery of drywall, we had to use a boom to drop the pieces on the second and third floors.  The boom operator was extremely precise and would raise a bundle of drywall through the third floor french door, while a second person unloaded and scattered the pieces throughout each floor.  We ordered 250 pieces of 4' x 12' x 1/2" regular drywall, 80 pieces of 4' x 8' x 1/2" mold resistant board (bathrooms and basement), and 12 pieces of 4' x 10' x 5/8" board for the garage ceiling.  They scattered 72 total pieces of drywall on the third floor, 123 pieces on the second floor, 80 pieces on the first floor, 12 pieces in the garage, and 45 pieces in the basement.  The 45 pieces for the basement had to be carried down by hand.

3rd FLR GREAT ROOM

3rd FLR LANDING

2nd FLR 

KITCHEN

BATHROOM

GREAT ROOM PANORAMIC