Finishes: Our final choices

Now that we’ve decided on most (all?) of the finishes for the house, I confess to a mix of relief and anxiety. Relief because, wow, I don’t have to obsess over choices any more. And anxiety because I don’t yet know how everything will come together. Will the vision in my head really look good?

We are headed over next week and at that point should be able to see flooring, paint and cabinets in.  (Still to be done:  countertops, and window and door trims).  Am hoping seeing it all in person will relieve my mind.  But as we wait to see, I thought it might be fun to show you all the bits and parts we’ve decided.

Kitchen

Here’s a photo of a kitchen cabinet door, backsplash tile, and counter top. This backsplash was actually the easiest choice of the entire house.  It is a marble subway tile, and when I set it next to a sample cabinet door and a scrap of the granite countertop, it just looked utterly perfect to me. I think the tile does a nice job of tying together the counters and cabinets.

Here is a kitchen with the cabinets we chose. They are Ikea Bodbyn cabinets, and I have to tell you, our contractor has really doubted our choice– not the style, but the durability.

The sides and fronts of the cabinets are as sturdy as any you’ll find anywhere, but the backs of the cabinets are a very flimsy board that is barely more than cardboard. He ended up (I think) putting a layer of plywood on the tops of the cabinets to increase the strength. From what I’ve read, that is probably not necessary.  But he tends to overbuild rather than under-build things, and so we did not protest when he said he was adding a bit more wood.

Flooring

Speaking of wood, here’s the flooring for the vast majority of the house.  It’s actually a mid-range laminate, on the advice of our contractor, who thinks it will be more durable than engineered wood in a wet climate.  We will also make sure to have an extra box or two sitting around so that if a board here or there is damaged and needs to be replaced, it won’t be hard to match.

We did for awhile contemplate doing carpet in the bedrooms, but thinking more about all the types of spills that can befall a floor (food, pets, sick kids, wine spills, etc) we decided to go with a hard surface, with nice rugs rolled out under the beds for that cozy feel when you first step out of bed.  If something happens to an area rug, it will be easy peasy to simply toss the old rug and bring in something new.  It will also be an easy way to update the look of a room as we want to.

Paint

Deciding on pain colors was the very hardest thing, but I finally did it.  All the trim inside and out will be in Dover White, which should be a very close match to the creamy white Ikea Bodbyn cabinets.  The majority of the interior walls will be in Agreeable Grey which we are mixing at 75%, so it will be a dab lighter than what’s actually showing on this swatch.  It is a nice warm grey with just a hint of tan.

A couple of the bedrooms and a couple of the bathrooms will be Sea Salt, which I love, love, love.  It is actually slightly more green than it is showing up to be on this swatch.  (Check out these samples on Pinterest for a little better idea of what shade it is)

The exterior body of the house will be Dovetail Gray, with Dover White for the trim.  I think there will also be just a few accents of dark wood, including the front door, and a bit of trim in the peak of the porch above the front door.  I am excited to see the exterior paint on the house– I think it will be really nice.

Bathrooms

Most of the bathroom floors, as well as the laundry room will be a nice quality vinyl.  I love this pattern and the slightly retro look it has.  I think it will look lovely with white cabinets, towels, and baseboards while still adding interest to the room.

The tile for the upstairs master shower was probably my second-hardest choice. It is the main master AND the wheel-in shower, so it needed to look upscale and be durable and handle being installed on a slightly sloped surface.

At one point I thought I had nearly decided on a good accent tile, only to learn that all three of my favorite options would have to be special-ordered. After discovering that, I decided to just limit myself to what what in stock at Home Depot and Lowe’s. 

I ended choosing a very affordable ceramic tile for the majority of the shower walls.  I like that it has veining similar to marble but is much easier care than marble.  

The floor will be simple white hex tile, and then there will be an accent of glass tile behind the showerhead that is nice shades of blue, grey, and green.  Very subtle colors that actually remind me very much of Oregon ocean colors. Furnishings
Then just for fun I will show you some of the soft finishes in the home.  Here’s a photo of one of the lovely Joybird chairs that I splurged on for the upstairs living room.  I have two, along with one ottoman.  They were a little spendy, but I bought them with an unexpected bonus I got from work last summer, and I really, really love them. 

They are basically a chair and a half.  Two medium sized adults can fit in them side by side.  (Or me, and three grandkids for story time.)  They are cozy and wonderful.  I can’t wait to see them at the beach house.  However I am pretty sure I will miss them here in Idaho when I get them over there!

Here are a few more odds and ends of furnishings that we already have.  The lighting and bar stool go in the kitchen/dining area. 

Most of the master bedrooms will be very light–lots of white and cream to feel very serene.  But a couple of the queen bedrooms will have a little more color. The green bedding and matching art is for the room that we’re calling the princess bedroom.  It’s the one that will have a sweet window seat, as well as lots of lovely east-facing windows.

The yellow will go in the northwest downstairs bedroom on a queen size bed.  I think it will be a lovely warm color to have in the house, especially on a rainy day.  Doesn’t it just make you want to cozy in with a book to read? That room also has some nice big windows, complete with ocean peeks from the bed.

It’s exciting to be seeing it all coming together.  I am very much hoping it will be a lovely comfortable retreat.