In Which We Have Sheetrock and Other Matters of Opinion

It’s been a while since I shared anything house-related, because there really wasn’t much to share, unless you wanted to see open studs with and without wires running in them. Since I didn’t think that was too exciting for you guys, I figured I’d hold off for a bit.

We got our mudroom door reinstalled! We cut through the siding, but used the door we had already: We did discover that there was absolutely no insulation in the wall…Kind of makes me wonder what all that blown in insulation was for when we “weatherized” a few years ago. The cinderblock “chimney” s till needs to come down.We also got the Bilco door installed to the basement. The deck will go to the right of that.

What my living room currently looks like: Yea. Still lots to have happen in here, but we have a pass through! I am so beyond grateful that I have an Ikea couch. I canNOT wait to take that cover off and wash it!And the Kitchen {going left to right from the post that stayed}.The mudroom…There’s a closet-space when you walk in on the left, that will be our pantry area, then to the right of that will be the washer and dryer area with shelves above. The opposite wall will have more shelves, bottom storage for shoes, maybe a bench and hooks for coats etc.Better shot of the pantry area {looking in from the mudroom exterior door}.The upstairs. You can see the doorway into the closet/storage area on the left.

Panoramic of the upstairs: The closet, the bedroom with the sitting area and the bathroom {left to right}.Bathroom {left to right}: Sink, then toilet, washer/dryer behind that wall, then the tub.

Our flooring: 1800 sqf of Southern Yellow Pine. I think the floor is going to look incredible when it’s done, in the meantime everyone is cursing me under their breath because of how many pieces there are to nail down. We’re going to do a very light stain on it, then poly it several times so that we don’t have to worry about kids or dogs.Last weekend was the World’s Largest Yard Sale in our town, at the fair grounds. My MIL and I headed down at 8am to check it out. I was looking for bigger pieces of furniture for the house {which I didn’t find}. We did find a large 2x4 mirror for $20, so I bought it figuring it could go above the bathroom vanity. Then a few vendors down I found this beauty for $10…I came home with 2 mirrors {in my defense the girls are going to need a mirror in their room}.

This mirror {see picture} is awesome! It’s old. It’s solid oak. It’s heavy. We’re going to strip it and refinish it to match the bathroom vanity. I could not have found a more perfect mirror for the space. Well worth the $1 admission fee.

I also bought {not at the yard sale} tile for the kitchen back splash, including my arabesque tile for above the new stove we got {it was what I really wanted and on sale for a really good price}. Now I’m trying to figure out the tile for the upstairs shower. We’re going with a 3x6 subway tile in white, with a gray grout. My problem is I can’t decide on an accent tile.

This is my favorite tile. It reminds me of the ocean…which is kind of the feel we’re going for in the bathroom. The problem is, with the cost of shipping to order a sample, I might as well buy the 4 or 5 sheets that I actually need.

This is my second favorite tile. It has the frosted glass, the rippled glass, and a solid glass tile. In all honesty I would get this one in a heartbeat if it were square tiles.

My problem is that I can’t decide, so I’m hoping you guys can give me a bit of insight: Which would you pick?
I really prefer the look of square tiles as an accent to white rectangular {3x6} subway tiles. I’m not worried about what is going to be easier to clean, it’s only Matt and I using this bathroom.

This isn’t even a pressing decision that needs to be made, since the tile in the bathroom will be one of the last things to happen.

Onto the next opinion poll.

Originally I had really wanted to do “Farmhouse” styled molding around the kitchen windows, a la this:

But now I’m wondering if it would be better to stick with the moldings that are on the rest of the windows, just a plain square edge mitered edge 3” molding.

We’re not planning on putting curtains up in the kitchen. We are going to be using some sort of shade to keep the heat out in the morning, but that’s all. And I kind of like the idea of putting shelves above the windows to display collections {kerosene lanterns, Matt’s beer steins, and my tea cups}, but that might only be along the windows on the back of the house.

My question to you: Do we go with what the rest of the house has or go with a farmhouse style in the kitchen?
There are 9 windows in the kitchen.

Psst….we’ve picked paint colors too! Design-Seeds is an awesome way to decide on a color pallette. The siding is also ordered.

I’m really hoping that things will start coming together very quickly in the next couple of weeks. Matt and I are going to start assembling the kitchen cabinets {we figure it’s best to do that before we can’t return things} in the next week. If you feel inclined, be sure to keep us in your prayers during that experience.