House by Mills Pond

That's half an hour of my life at Lowe's that I will never get back. But at least we're happy with our choice! https://www.lowes.com/pd/Brainerd-3-in-and-96mm-Center-to-Center-Satin-Nickel-Bar-Cabinet-Pull/3031718 We also picked out knobs, but decided to do all handles. It will be easier on the eyes, and my clothes won't snag on them. We learned this lesson the hard way at the old house: buy handles with rounded edges. Last time, we picked gorgeous rectangular, sharp handles. They tend to draw blood as I'm puttering around the kitchen - not quite the look I was going for.

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.