Planning and deciding

I love the planning and decision process of interior design , there are lots of ideas and too many choices , sometimes it is very overwhelming . Many people get stuck in the decision stage and become paralyzed and don't do anything because of the fear of making a bad or wrong decision. That is not an option for me. It took me 7 years to pull this house together to add all the special touches and to create a home full of character and I don't want anything less for our new house. I will not be giving myself quite so much time on the new house . I figure 2 years tops . Lots of blog post material.
We have finally decided on the wood flooring , drum roll please..... its is going to be rough sawn pine flooring stained dark . The photo above is my inspiration . I have done lots of homework and asked lots of homeowners that have pine floors to let me know what they think of them. Turns out they love them. See wood was a no brainer , we love wood, but having two kids and two dogs we know wood floors get scratched and show wear and that is just a fact of life. So do we want rustic floors that have loads of charm that can have character added to it by everyday life, or perfect floors that will get scratched and marks that will break my heart and make me mean, no we don't want that . I want the bones of the house creamy white and have quiet elegance but the floors obviously rustic.

For the family room we will need built ins flanking the fireplace to house the tv components. When I recently saw this image on House of Turquoise I thought how perfect . Where they have art we have windows. This will be the perfect arrangement for our family room.I think a lantern will be in order for our family room as well.

I recently ordered a box of these Moroccan tiles from Overstock , they made it all the way from Utah . I don't know how any of them made it in one piece however. The bottom of the box was wide open , they where barely supported ,its a miracle there were only 4 tiles broken, luckily I will have to square up the bottoms anyway to add these to our back splash above the range. They are so lovely and only $11.00 a sq foot.

I went over to the new house on Friday to measure for blinds for the bedrooms , did I mention we have 27 windows. For now I am only concerned about bedroom blinds and bathrooms . As you can see they installed the lovely slider closet doors , gosh they are something else. Mason and Sophie both want curtains and not doors at all , so they will be removed at some point.

I will have to absolutely replace the linen closet sliders , because they just look plain awful. I actually found the same doors we have throughout the house in slider form for $169.99 , I think that is pretty good , I will just have to trim out the opening nicely to add some character. Why don't they trim nicely around closets with sliders ? , well they did in the laundry room , which makes it look so much nicer.

eclectic family room design by general contractor Borges Brooks Builders

I have been noticing a lot of rustic wood accents in the houses I am drawn to on Houzz , like this photo above of the eclectic family room. I am planning on the cladding the soffits in the dining room with wood to create this look , so it will look structural .

So for now I am planning our first steps after we take possesion and move in .
Projects  # 1 Kitchen: remove sheet vinyl flooring( laid in the kitchen to close the house , darn by-laws) lay wood flooring in the kitchen first and foremost , and finish the kitchen flooring.
#2 remove kitchen counters
#3 paint the kitchen  cabinets before installing gas range.
#4 build onto kitchen island to add microwave cabinet and wire for electricity
#5 add stone counters and new farm house sink
#6 install appliances ( run gas line and water line for fridge)
# 7 customize kitchen cabinets with valance and crown moulding.
# 8 add wood counters to island.
#9 find and install two beautiful pendants
#10 back splash
#11 install range hood
#12 trimmed chalkboard wall

Other projects : (inside only list)
paint all interior doors black
install all the pretty lights starting with bathroom vanity lights
install entry hall brick floors in herringbone pattern (easy right)
stain and paint staircase
install remaining wood floors on main floor upper hall and office
beam treatment in dining room
add trim to staircase walls
customize entry closet
install open shelving in laundry room
paint kids bedrooms , bathrooms and our bedroom
built ins in the family room
add tile accents to master bath
build upholstered master king sized headboard
replace all interior door hardware
install floors in the powder room
trim out nicely all the bathroom mirrors

well that is a starter list , I'm getting worried , oh heck who are we kidding I love this stuff don't I , I live for this kind of list.