housewarming gift

Merry Christmas Eve!

I opened a gift today that was a belated housewarming gift from my sister-in-law and it is crazy how much I love it!  What a cool idea!!

You all know how obsessed I am with my front door :)

She hooked me up with this awesome door knocker from Pottery Barn, engraved with our last name initial!

I never would have thought of something like this, so I was so excited and though it was just perfect!!

I'm going to have my husband mount it so my wreaths will go around it.  Here's a few ideas I saw:

And seriously...how fabulous is that WREATH?  I think I need to make a super big one like that too :)

Have a wonderful Christmas!

RH appointment

To update:

Regional RH guy came.  They fixed a couple floor pops/squeaks which I appreciated.  He looked at the dishwasher situation and told me that the parts are on order and I already have an appointment for the cabinet people to fix it up on January 2.

The stairs.

Oh the stairs.

I made the house completely silent before I asked him to go up them.  And sure enough, as he goes up them, every single stair sounded as if it was bending/cracking under his feet.  It's not super loud, but then again it's not silent.  It sounds as if they are under stress.

He said they are totally level as they are made in a factory so he doesn't think they have fallen forward, just that the padding and carpet are matted down.

As he assessed them I was fully prepared for him to tell me it was normal and to wait it out...

But he thought they were somewhat strange too and decided to call and schedule a crew to come out and pull up the carpet.  They are going to nail down and GLUE every single stair topper thing...what ever it's called.  That ought to keep them quiet :)

I'm happy with this resolution.  I don't want 80 year old stairs in a 4 month old house.

He looked at my list of issues I've been writing down and everything else is stuff for the 10 month fix, and the drywall fix at 1 year.  They also fixed my driveway where it had crumbled.

Happy camper!

Living room/office...more good stuff

So I loved my office as it was but to take up some more space, we decided to add a L to it and have a laptop workspace for the hubs.

We have a bit more trim work to do but I am loving it!

My hubs built a simple frame and then used a hand scraped pergo flooring as the top.  He also did a backsplash to take up the space to the chair rail.  He broke apart my existing Walmart particle board desk to use as support.  We took my son's bookcase cube thing out of his room and put it under the desk with Wicker baskets for storage and bought him a taller one for his room. We purchased two extra dining chairs when we put the leaf in our table so we use them as office chairs.

And the latest addition are these fabulous blinds.   They are just 3" faux wood blinds from target, $18 each!  I chose espresso because I wanted a richness and I think it will look great with a gray paint we have chosen for in here.   We love them so much I think we are also going to put them in our family room since we have a lot of trouble with glare on the TV.

This whole project was less than $160, not including accessories/decor.   That is just the desk.   Not too shabby!  

Trying to decide if I should put a little conversation chair by my guitar and leave the other chair at the desk or move it away when not in use?  Suggestions?

appointments made

Cabinet people can't come until the 2nd to install my new wood filler pieces on either side of the dishwasher.  I'm not too concerned since we'll be gone a week for Christmas anyway but I'm definitely bummed it's taking so long.  I can't even open the dishwasher without both drawers sliding out, it's tilted pretty bad.

I knew I would get the "the stairs are level, the carpet can make them look un-level" from the regional buy but I am telling you when you step on them, they feel like they tilt down a bit.  Who knows but I did manage to get an appointment with him for him to see and hear them for himself.  He says no matter what, it's been documented and they will continue to fix it even after my warranty is up.  So that makes me happy.

Our winter to-do list is loooong and I can't wait to get started.  One of the first things I want to do is paint all my interior doors black...ooooooh I can't wait to see how that's going to look!!!  I'm dying to paint in other rooms too but I am seeing nail pops everywhere and now that they are starting the house next door, I was told they may get worse due to the ground being messed with...oh joy.  It's killing me to wait but then again, we've already been in 4.5 months so it's not too much longer.

Stairs. Again.

They sent the RH regional guy today.   Except it wasn't him.   It was someone else because he was sick.  

He first tried to act like they could just re-screw in the dishwasher and it was all good.   No.   The cabinet piece needs to be replaced on the right side where its split and it needs to be secured on the left side where its loose.  Had to push and then they agreed to call the cabinet people.   Now I'm waiting for a call back.   I'm glad though because there are a few areas where the seams are coming apart and I want them to see if that's an issue they can address.

Then.   The stairs.

I go up and down then multiple times a day.  When my husband comes down them it is even worse.

This guy went down them once and said they would get better over time.   That it needs one whole year to go through the seasons.

When my warranty is up?  No.

After he left I got out my level and sure enough just about every other stair is tilted forward.   The carpet and padding could be accounting for some of that but I doubt this much.  My stairs have settled and they are not handling it well.

I emailed my PM even though I am way out of my window but he is the only one I can trust. He can pass me on to someone else or give me advice.   But so far I'm not impressed with the RH number.   13 days and I'm still dealing with a broken cabinet and loose dishwasher.   PM would have had it fixed a day or two after it happened.

Hopefully we will get resolution soon.   In the meantime we are enjoying the Christmas season!!

formal living room office

So a month or two ago, my husband found this picture online and we both just loved it.  I thought it would be great as my desk in my formal living.  

Cue this past weekend when I went out of town, and got stuck in a snow storm on the way home with my 3 year old and we had to sleep in the airport and wait it out...well my husband said he had a big surprise for me when I got home...

After 24 hours of travel, my son and I made it home and I got to see my beautiful new office!!!

He built the desk using wood and pergo flooring on the top, and he broke apart my old desk to use as the support.  He took off the top of my old desk and mounted it as a shelf...he even did all the decorating you guys!  Down to the cute little lamp!  He rocks!  He knew I wanted some pink in my office :)

Guess I should go out of town more often, stuff gets done (without any effort from me!)!!

I think we are going to add another extension off to the left under my picture wall.  And eventually paint this room.  Probably a charcoal gray two tone or something fun!  Then we are going to get a couple little chairs for the right side, and a little table.  I love all the workspace I now have!

appointment made

The regional guy never called so I called in again, and he called like 20 min later.  Why can't they do that the first time?

He will be out on Wednesday to look at the dishwasher.  I'm sure he's then going to have to line up a cabinet guy to take a look.  More annoying appointments.

I have to say I am really displeased with my staircase.  I have complained a ton on here, has anyone else experienced cracking, creaking stairs?  I want them to pull up the carpet and replace the top boards.  Going to have to fight for this I'm thinking.  Also when my husband walks around upstairs in our bathroom, and I am downstairs in the living room, there is a lot of noise, like creaking and cracking.  Not sure what they can do about that since it's all tiled in the bathroom but they are for sure going to hear my complaint about it.  I don't want to feel like I live in an 80 year old house that is only 4 months old.

Not impressed

I called on Thanksgiving about my dishwasher, left a message with the RH number.   Tried to submit a request online, says my address in invalid.   They called back the next day and took my information and said the regional manager would call within 1-2 days.   Here I am at day 10 with no call.

Dishwasher is not even connected to anything.   Cabinet is cracked.   Emailed PM to mention how long its been.   We will see how much longer they will make me wait.

Getting all Christmas-y

Before I get to the fun stuff...

Our dishwasher seemed to be tilting and lo and behold...it has come undone and cracked my cabinet.  Called the 800 number and while they are out I want my driveway fixed, as well as my cracking stairs (again).

We finished up our fence and it looks great.  They have started the house next door.  It will be nice to get that one done so I won't have anymore noise directly around me.

We pulled out the christmas stuff!  Everything looks fab with my blue door (still obsessing).  I do need to sand it and roll it though.  It looks terrible when the sun hits it just right with all those brush strokes.

we got our lights up on the house too!!

my snazzy little mailbox flag holder and flag, both from Amazon

and my pretty mantel!  I haven't had a mantel to decorate in years so I am loving this!!  

We got our tree but we didn't have enough lights for it, so that is on our list to finish up today!  

So excited to have our new home this season!!

the man loft...and the hammock

So you can see for yourself...  :)

This should be fun...not

When our internet was installed, they ran a cable line from the box, straight back and around our property line all the way around to the other side of the house.   So basically this cable line has been hanging from our fence for 3 months.

I finally decided to call and they are sending someone out to bury it.

Looks like they came and marked where is going to go.   Hmm.  From the box through my front yard, under the driveway and around the side.   Not happy with what this will do to my yard!!!  I guess it's better in the winter while is dormant??

Driveway crumbling and paint colors

My son noticed this spot yesterday.  I sent an email to my PM to see if it's covered under warranty and he said yes, and it was up to me if I wanted it fixed now or at my 10 month, and he did advise that it may be good to wait it out through winter just in case it got worse or there were more spots.  So, on the 10 month list it goes.

Curious as to what my 10 month list has on it?

-fireplace mortar cracking from settlement

-nail pops throughout

-drywall tape showing on a kitchen wall

-floor creak near master bath

-powder room lower corner moulding separating

-caulking needed near laundry room moulding

-a few doors creak/squeak, need adjustment

-master bath tub faucet loose

-floor creak outside my son's room

-driveway crack/crumble

-kitchen cabinet separating at seam

As you can see, so far it is all settlement/drywall issues.  But I am leaving nothing off this list.  The 10 month is the last chance to get everything "perfect" before Ryan homes leaves me in the dust at 1 year.  After that it's all my problem.  So yes, I will definitely be having them fix EVERYTHING I see in the meantime.

I got a question but I can't find what post it was on so I'll answer it here.  Yes my upstairs spare bathroom has a vent on the ceiling by the door, which brings in heat and A/C.  That's strange that yours doesn't have one, and I'm guessing that is a mistake.

We bought the rest of the wood to finish the fence and only have the back left to do.  Once I have that done, then we are slowly going to begin some other cheap DIY projects that will be perfect in the winter with lots of down time. 

One I can't wait to do is paint all my interior doors black.  Sounds kind of strange but really, it adds such a richness to the interior and I can't wait to do it!

Putting knobs on our upstairs bathroom cabinets (both are espresso).  I thought about doing something a little more whimsical rather than just the plain knobs or pulls...

I'm thinking something maybe like these:

And as much as I'm dying to paint, I'm going to continue to wait until after my drywall fix.  I'm already thinking of changing some of the paint I've already done...As much as I originally loved the Revere Pewter in my living room, it really reads more tan than gray because of the lighting in my room, and I still don't love the Morning Room color which is too close to the kitchen color.  I'm thinking about doing a true gray, more like Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray.  Here you can see the difference between the two colors:

It's subtle but the revere pewter definitely is more warm and rarely reads "gray" to me.  The stonington gray would be a great neutral gray that I can use all over.  I am thinking of doing it in the morning room too...with maybe an accent wall at the back.  Oh gosh...this is why I hate painting...I'm so dang indecisive!!! 

BM Timber Wolf as an Accent wall?

I also love this BM Palladian Blue.

Or BM Wedgewood gray.

I think these two would look really pretty as a two toned wall in my office :)

BM Desert Green for the powder room?

Well this gives me something to think about!  Oh and I had a question about where I get Benjamin Moore paints...I actually just have them matched at Lowe's :)

Changing up the house numbers

So they put my house numbers on the house by the garage.   Not too bad but I realized everyone in the neighborhood had them in different places.   Some people have them on the porch post if it's square.   And then there are those with it on the door.  Love!

Since my original door was black it wouldn't work because the numbers are black.   But then it dawned in me last night, now that my door is the most beautiful shade of blue (still obsessing), I just had to move my numbers on it!

Here's a before and after shot.   For anyone wanting to do this take note.   I used a level but basically eyed them until they looked straight.   My door is metal so I couldn't just screw into it.   I hammered a nail in to the door and created a hole which then I used to screw in the screws.  

Sorry about the harsh lighting in the after photos.   I'm too impatient to wait ;)

formal living/office inspiration--help! {updated}

I am not ready to tackle this room quite yet but I am beginning to brainstorm.  I'm hoping by the first of the year we can start working on it.

Neither of us really wanted/needed a formal space in our home but all of Ryan Homes have them (at least in my neighborhood).  So since it automatically came with the house, I decided to snag it as my personal office/space.  My husband took over the loft and let me tell you, it is as manly as a man cave can be, complete with a hammock to swing in while watching TV (I can't hate on it too much, I took a nap in it one day and it was wonderful haha)...but that's a whole other post.

My formal living room is the room that you walk into when you enter the house.  I want this room to be fab because, as I said, it's the first thing you see, and second, because it's where I spend most of my time during the day while my son is at school.  I am about 12 weeks from completing my online degree so I'm doing homework, or I'm doing some contract labor for a company I work for.

The room is a 12' x 12' square and the perfect size for an office.  

Right now it's a disaster...we have a small desk that is working but it's not pretty.

I inherited this couch when the hubby decided he's rather swing in a hammock lol, but this couch is going to get sold because see that nice little chevron throw?  It's covering about 1' by 1' of duct tape which is holding the couch together lol.

Looking toward the front door.

So I have 3 ideas for this room and would love your input.  Forgive my "quick photoshopping" as I am running against the clock and have to go pick up my son in a few minutes :)  Otherwise I would have loved to make it look more realistic :)

Option 1 is a large built-in desk along the side wall with a small chair and little table on the back wall.  Window area is open.  This was my original thought but after looking around on pinterest, I am second guessing it.  I don't think it's the best use of the space, and leaves quite a bit of open, unusable space.

Option 2 is a built in shelving unit against the side wall, with a desk in the middle with a chair.  No additional seating.  Not my favorite idea but maybe more aesthetically pleasing to walk into?

Option 3 is my favorite so far.  built in along the back wall, either a built in or picture wall on the side wall, desk in the middle and two chairs with a little table by the windows.  Not sure how "to scale" this really is, but I think if I did it just right, everything can fit.

Now the one thing I keep thinking of...option 2 and 3 will have my desk in the middle of the room so how does that work with cords to the computer?  And do I really want to look at the back of my computer which is a big 24" Mac?  

So I searched a bit and found this idea:

Drooling over the striped wall...and I looooove the chandelier!

Which makes me think option 4 may be the best one yet?

It would give me a big built in along the back wall, where I can put the desktop, but a small side desk to use the laptop or just have a flat space to pay bills, do homework, or just put cute decor... :)  As well as a few cute little chairs and table for decor.  

And I found this online which I love...I already have a light blue rug in here but I love the coral accents.  It's the only room I can really make mine and use some pink tones :)

So I need your input, what room do you think would look the best in this space?

{updated}

Ikea has this massive beast of a desk for $648...it's kind of perfect though.  It would allow me and my husband both to have workstations, plus it would take up 11.75 feet of the 12 ft side wall making it look built-in.  I think even with this desk I would have plenty of room to add a chair or two.