House by Mills Pond

These match, right? Chandelier on left and pendant light on right. Here's our current fixture - our tastes have not changed much in seven years!

I love the look of granite, but it doesn't come in white. Enter marble, quartz, or quartzite. Yes, there's a difference! Granite : natural Marble : natural Quartzite : natural Quartz : man-made According to this article , quartz is stronger, comes in more colors, and is maintenance free. We also looked at Dekton Ultracompact (loved the Glacier color), but were concerned about a Consumer Reports article that mentioned cracking.  So here's our pick: LG Viatera - Muse . Made in the USA and comes in jumbo size. http://www.lgviaterausa.com/products/289/223 I learned the following things along the way: Go look at the whole slab. It makes a huge difference. You have to see the veining patterns, in the closest possible way to how your countertops will look.  I learned this from our GC: take a few steps back and spend a minute just regarding your choices . Don't forget to breathe deeply! Take the biggest sample you can find, and pick a matching ba...

My remodeling soulmate Fortunately for us, I didn't hire a contractor. I found a remodeling soulmate. From the moment he stepped into the house, every word that came out of Henry's mouth was pure gold. I had been obsessing for months, but his ideas were better than mine. Don't like the breakfast bar? Opt for a big counter instead. Don't take baths? Take out the tub and build a nice shower. Why is my deck painted green? It's still in good shape. Just refinish it. You're brilliant. Girl, I've been doing this for a long time. It didn't hurt that he received glowing reviews on the neighborhood forum. I never looked elsewhere. I liked him, and I trusted him. But we wouldn't remodel for another eight months. I spent them praying for his continued health and prosperity. Finally, in early February, I emailed him for early April. The timing was perfect - his calendar was beginning to fill for the busy spring season. We were on our wa...

Hello world! It's March 5th and I am nervous as all heck. Here's why: Remodeling starts April 2nd Then, we will move in Then, my in-laws will move into our neighborhood First, let's address the elephant in the room. My in-laws are lovely people, and great babysitters. But… in some ways, it's like another marriage, because we'll see _lots_ of each other. While, at times, I question the absolute wisdom of this decision, I believe the pros will outweigh the cons. Otherwise, we wouldn't be selling them our house. There, phew. Secondly, who am I? I am a "we", staring down the abyss of 40, with the love of my life by my side, and a couple of dependents in tow. So "I" always means "we". We're in this together. Go team! And now, on to the fun part: remodeling - my joy, my pain, my absolute obsession for the next two months.