We’ve been plugging away with construction of our new home and are definitely making progress! Lots of “construction-y” items like sheetrock, plaster, roofing, etc. has been covered, but nothing “fun”. Until now! FINALLY, it’s time to start thinking about a design item…hardwood flooring! Yippee! It’s a major decision and I’m excited to make it.
Truth be told, I love real, authentic hardwood flooring. It makes me so happy….whenever I can use it, I do. It beats laminate, carpet, and luxury vinyl every time. There’s something really warm and cozy about walking on hardwood floors. Growing up in Miami, it certainly wasn’t something I saw a lot of. But moving to northern Florida opened up a whole new world to me. Fireplaces…real hardwood floors…brick..what are these things!? I loved them all and couldn’t get enough.
So, with that being said, hardwood flooring was definitely on tap for my new home. Let’s dive into the selection process, step by step. How exciting!
Our new home…underway!
*If you’re just joining us, this is another installment of a series documenting the building of our personal dream home. So far we’ve tackled:
Just as much as I knew I wanted to use real wood throughout my home, I also knew where I wanted to get it from…Shaw Floors. Hands down, Shaw Floors is the go to in my book. They lead the design field in fresh, new introductions and have a quality that’s unmatched. Clients love them and so do I.
I was lucky enough to score an invitation to Shaw Floors Headquarters in Dalton, Georgia, which I was tickled pink about. I happily drove myself up there to see, firsthand, what they had. Talk about a dream day.
The Mothership!
The team welcomed me with open arms and showed me all around. Good grief, they have some beautiful things! Carpet, tile/stone, luxury vinyl, hardwood…you name it. All beautiful, but I had my heart set on hardwood.
Expressions
I was introduced to their brand new premium line of hardwood from The Gallery collection, which you can see here. The style in this image is Expressions, which is unbelievably gorgeous. It’s a white oak product, which is completely on trend, and comes in 10 great colors. I loved it.
What I really like about this line is that the planks are wide and the finishes are gorgeous! You can see the entire line here. I quickly singled out Harmony as my favorite and it became a contender!
Castlewood
With dreams of Expressions in Harmony racing in my head, I then came across another beautiful style in The Gallery collection. Ohh…now this is what I had in mind. Oak-y, grainy, traditional hardwood floor that would “ground” my white cabinets, walls and trim. A classic that would never go out of style.
This style is called Castlewood Oak and is absolutely stunning! Two colors quickly jumped out as contenders: Drawbridge and Arrow. Both feature traditional dark wood with a grayish glaze.
Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak in DrawbridgeShaw Floors Castlewood Oak in Arrow Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak in Arrow
Well, now I don’t know what to do!? I love all three of these. To remind myself of my direction and vision for the home, I pulled out my trusty inspiration board. What would look best with this? Honestly, all three work and work really well.
Decision Time
I knew I wouldn’t make the decision right there and would want some time to think about it. I gathered samples and took them home to ponder. Three seems like a good, workable number to choose from and is often the amount I would advise for a client.
I also thought I’d dig around a little and see how they look online, in a large space. Shaw Floors website is great for that! You can see how it looks “down” on the floor via their new Floorvana + virtual tool where you can view different flooring options in your home! Again, reminding myself what I tell clients…don’t just look at it head on, look at it “down” on the floor.
I poked around their site and compared the three finalists.
Shaw Floors Expressions in Harmony
Shaw Floors Castlewood Oak in DrawbridgeShaw Floors Castlewood Oak in Arrow
Going back to the site, I compared and contrasted the technical specs of the hardwoods. Shaw has a handy, dandy chart that makes it easy. I dove in to see if there were any glaring differences between the two styles (two of the contenders are the same collection) which might make it easier.
Ok, here we go…
Both were nice, wide planks (7.5″) which I like.
Both were actually White Oak, even though they look so different.
Both have a high color variation, which is something I always like to see also. It keeps things interesting to have a cohesive variation through the room.
Both had a wire brushed finish, which I also gravitate towards.
Both call for the same installation.
Soooo…now what? How do you decide between three things you love?
My Trick
Yet again, I reminded myself of what I tell clients. I always ask, “What’s going ON it?” What I’m basically asking is, what type of things will you be putting ON the surface? Contrast always looks good and keeps things interesting. Dark or dark on dark is depressing. Light on light on light is boring, in my humble opinion. So, let’s stop and think…what will go on top of this? I think this really helps you make a decision.
For my personal home I envisioned white…light…clean…fresh…beautiful things ON this floor. Looking back at the inspiration board, I really liked the idea of all of this fresh looking decor in a rich, dark, grounded space. Would it look good on the lighter Expressions in Harmony? Of course! But what I really had in mind for the space was a classic Hamptons traditional look and I just feel like the darker floor gives it just that.
They’re Here!
I excitedly ordered my hardwood flooring and counted the day until it came. Let me tell you, it’s even more striking in person. I LOVE it and can’t wait to see it all down. I convinced my General Contractor (husband) to get started on it, even before we typically would during a project, so I could see it down. A-ma-zing!
Quarantine haircut
Final Thoughts
My take away here is that I LOVE my new Shaw Floors hardwood, like I’m in love with it. I’m happy I went with my gut and selected classic dark hardwood. It looks amazing and the project is really starting to come together! We will follow the installation and have more updates, along with a final reveal, soon! Stick with us and follow the whole blog series here.
Keep this info for yourself and Pin it with this cute little Pin. You never know when you’re going to need it!
Note: This post is sponsored by Shaw Floors. All of the opinions are mine, I promise.
Next up in our Dream Home series, we are covering paint. Let’s be really real…paint is hard…especially when it’s for yourself! So many choices, so little time. After hemming and hawing for weeks and having a long, hard talk with myself…it was time to make a decision. I rolled my sleeves up and put up some samples. Then a few more. Then a few more. Let’s walk through it together and see what we ultimately decided on!
*If you’re just joining us, this is the eighth installment of a year long series documenting the building of our personal dream home. So far we’ve tackled:
I headed over to my favorite Sherwin Williams store and purchased little sample quarts of the colors. Rather than put them up on the wall only, I like to make poster boards that can easily be moved around. Different rooms obviously show the colors differently, but so do the walls in the same room.
Let’s put the samples up on the walls
More information is always better! I painted the same samples on the wall to see what that looks like.
starting from top left to right, then bottom left to right
Natural Choice SW7011 by Sherwin Williams
Shoji White SW7042 by Sherwin Williams
Classic Gray OC-23 by Benjamin Moore
Oyster White SW7637 by Sherwin Williams
Heron’s Plume SW6070 by Sherwin Williams
Ivory Lace SW7013 by Sherwin Williams
Bigger Samples
So, now I’m starting to see a few favorites. Let’s dive in a little deeper to those. I really like Classic Gray (which in my humble opinion isn’t gray, like at all) so I painted an entire corner out in it and added the flooring selection (which is GORGEOUS) and the cabinet and tile colors. It’s looking good!
My Epiphany – Finish Considerations
I must mention that, at this point, I had an epiphany. Really. I’ve been using this little system of sample boards, wall samples, then bigger wall samples for 20 years and noticed something. Something bad. The little cans only come in a satin finish. Your actual paint for the room can come in several finishes and you likely won’t be using satin for your walls. I almost always use Matte or Flat. The two finishes of the same color look DRASTICALLY different. This photo shows samples of the same color, made on the same day at the same store, but because of their finishes, they look very different. I actually created an entire blog post about it here.
Final Selection
What did we ultimately decide on? Classic Gray, which I don’t believe to be gray at all. It’s the perfect warm neutral. It’s very light, which will be new to us in our personal home, but is just what I want. The white cabinet door contrasts with it nicely, which is perfect! A little tip is that I typically color match the white cabinet for the trim throughout. This is going to be perfect!
Product
We decided to go with Sherwin Williams Duration paint in the Flat finish. It is perfect!
Thanks for following along in the process of building our dream home. Catch up on the series here or visit any of the previous posts directly below.
We had the pleasure of working with a fun Gainesville family to renovate their entire Kitchen, Dining & Family Room a few years ago and now we’ve been called back in to redo their Kids’ Bath. This bathroom is a workhorse of the home, serving two (beyond adorable) kids and visiting guests, all in one. The home is on a beautiful little lake in Gainesville, surrounded by lemon and orange trees, and is totally picturesque. A wonderful family like this deserves a great Guest/Kids Bath, right? Evans Construction & Design can help!
The Before
The Plan
Classic, fresh and clean was the scheme for this bath. We also planned to rearrange it a bit, moving the shower down to the end where the door once was. This creates a more private bathroom with just one entrance and allows for a larger shower.
Demo
The After
We are so happy with how it turned out. Let’s take a look!
Paint can be one of the trickiest things around. Color, type, finish, brand…there are a ton of things to consider.
I’ve always preached a little system I created, years ago, for a fool proof way of selecting your paint. But…I have realized there’s a flaw! Ahh!
Step #6 called for you to go buy a few little sample cans of your favorite two or three colors and put them up. Well, there’s a serious problem with that, I realized when selecting paint for my new personal home. (If you’re interested in which paint colors these are, I have them listed at the bottom)
Let’s run through it.
The Original System
So, let’s look at the original system:
Find your inspiration
Research that inspiration online
Narrow it down to a handful of colors
Grab a few paint squares from the paint store
Narrow it down to your favorites
Buy sample cans of your favorites and put them up on the wall
Narrow it down to 2 or 3 and paint a larger area
Make your choice and never look back
So, there I was, following my own system to select my interior paint color. Let’s take a look…
I already had my inspiration, so these were a few of the colors I was considering.
Instead of small paint chips from the paint store, in my practice I use large foam boards. I put them in the room to look at, then switched up their order.
Then, I narrowed down my choices, bought some little sample paint cans from my local store and put them up on the wall.
Then, I put them on an adjacent wall to see the light changed them.
Then, I realized I got it in my hair…
Ok, so now I step back and evaluate where I’m at. I like a few and want to dive into those further. I run back to the paint store and buy actual quart samples of the 2 colors, so I can paint a really large sample and get a good feel of how it will look. I come back and put them up on a wall.
The Problem
Now, I notice the problem. This look a little darker than I expected. Not a bad thing, but it’s definitely darker. I confirm it’s the same color, but what I realize is…it’s not the same finish! It looks totally different.
I take my new quart sample FLAT finish paint that I’ve just painted an entire wall of, and swipe it next to the original samples.
But wait, THIS IS THE SAME COLOR…made by the same paint store on the same day.
The difference is the FINISH. Typically, the cute little paint sample cans you buy for $6.95 are in a satin finish. But, you aren’t necessarily going to USE a Satin finish. I like flat paint, so my larger, quart sample was, in fact, flat.
The smaller, darker, sample to the left is the same exact color in a Flat finish. They both look great, but very different. Imagine you go through this whole process of sampling your paint colors, narrowing down and finally decide on the perfect color. Then you order your paint in a flat finish. You would be very surprised to see this go up. It’s totally different!
Ahhhhhh!
The NEW System
So, how do you avoid this problem? I think you have to be very aware that that the little sample cans are likely NOT what you are going to be painting in. It’s totally worth it to go ahead and buy a quart or even gallon of the EXACT paint you plan to choose, before you decide on the final color. Most people do not use Satin for walls, so you will likely need to do this.
My NEW paint selecting system looks like this:
Find your inspiration
Research that inspiration online
Narrow it down to a handful of colors
Grab a few paint squares
Narrow it down to your favorites
Buy sample cans of your favorites and put them up on the wall(s)
Narrow it down to 2 or 3 and paint a large area IN THE FINISH YOU PLAN TO USE
Make your choice and never look back
Finshes
Now that we’re talking about finish…what exactly are the finishes available? I stick with FLAT personally, but there are several to choose from.
Flat (Matte): No shine at all. Perfect for for low traffic areas like living rooms and bedrooms, as well as ceilings. It’s my go to every time.
Eggshell: Has a tiny bit of shine and is a good choice for moderate traffic areas such as living rooms.
Satin: Has a bit more shine and works well in high traffic areas. It is also super wipeable which is why it is perfect for kids, kitchens and bathrooms.
Semi-Gloss: Shiny but not glass-like. This is what you should use on cabinets and trim.
Hi-Gloss: Shiny! This gives an almost glass-like finish and is perfect for high use surfaces or furniture.
Recap
So, to recap, invest in the exact paint you plan to use, in the smallest size they offer. There’s a noticeable difference in color with the different finishes. The only way to know what you’ll be getting is to use the exact paint in the exact finish. I’m so glad I did!
Paint Colors
The paint colors used in this article are the following, starting from top left to right, then bottom left to right
Natural Choice SW7011 by Sherwin Williams
Shoji White SW7042 by Sherwin Williams
Classic Gray OC-23 by Benjamin Moore
Oyster White SW7637 by Sherwin Williams
Heron’s Plume SW6070 by Sherwin Williams
Ivory Lace SW7013 by Sherwin Williams
So…what do you think? Will you give this a try? Have you ever had a paint sample nightmare? We’d love to hear it!
We’ve made it to the big reveal of the One Room Challenge Sunroom to Greenroom. I’m so happy with how the room turned out and excited to see my clients enjoy it!
I love how this room turned out. The green walls pop and really make the room! I purposefully kept the rest of the selections neutral and didn’t use any green in the accessories, so that there would be a nice contrast. Keeping the green on the walls only helps keep it’s impact. The comfy chaise will be the perfect reading spot and the piano has a nice home on the interior wall. We keep the flow from the rest of the house and amped up the color story in this small but open room.
Here’s a handy dandy pin for your Pinterest boards!
Then, splurge on a few key pieces. Now that you’ve saved throughout, you can jazz it up with a few splurges. The island lighting and breakfast nook lighting were a bit pricey for this home, but were such a focus, the splurge was warranted. The Master Bath also got a stand out vanity.
Use a monochromatic color scheme inside. Light and bright neutrals amplify the wide open floor plan, keeping everything fresh and clean. The interior paint color mimics, but doesn’t match, the exterior color for a seamless transition.
Punch it up with a bold front door. Paint is cheap so let’s use it to our advantage! A clean, warm white exterior and a fresh, bold red door make a striking exterior.
So, let’s take a look and see the end results! All the info (with links) to recreate the style is listed at the end.
Thanksgiving tables don’t need to be expensive to look amazing!
This year, while we’re building our “Dream Home”, we are in a rental that won’t hold our 14+ crowd for Thanksgiving. I’ve decided to take it outside and create a casual, but chic table right on the property. I love how it turned out and I spent NO MORE THAN $10 ON ANYTHING! Let’s take a look…every single item is linked below.
First, I gathered up all of my items from my go to places…Target, Hobby Lobby and a few online stores. These charger plates were the original inspiration and on sale for $1 each! Then I stumbled upon this champagne gold silverware ON SALE and knew the direction I had to head in! Add in these water goblets and we have the makings of a great table!
I put together and it turned out amazing. Let’s take a look! All the links are below.
Next up in our Dream Home series, we are covering Sheetrock and Insulation. To me, this is one of the most exciting phases of building a home…it turns a wood framed house into a “real house”. You can really start to see the transformation from a construction project to a home.
*If you’re just joining us, this is the seventh installment of a year long series documenting the building of our personal dream home. So far we’ve tackled:
So, talk about sheetrock (or drywall). Drywall comes in large 8′ x 4′ sheets and is applied directly to the wood framing of the home. It turns the wood studs into real walls! Yay! Tape is then applied to where the sheets meet to create a unified surface. All electrical outlets are cut out, so everything will show through the new walls. Our trusty installers even strapped on their stilts to reach the higher areas. Let’s take a look!
Plaster
In some areas of the US, this is where you stop. The seams are puttied up and that’s it…you have your walls, all ready to paint. But in our area (north Florida) it’s common to add on top of the sheetrock with plaster to create a new surface. The plaster comes in bags, is mixed on site and troweled onto the walls. You can select the finish you’d like. There are too many to list, but you can see a variety here.
We choose 3 different finishes for different areas:
–Completely smooth walls in the Master Bedroom, Foyer, Guest Bedroom and others. Wood trim will be added to these and it will all look custom built.
–Smooth for wallpaper in the Dining Room, Pantry, Playroom, Pool Bath, Powder Bath and a few other feature areas. This smooth wall will be perfect for wallpaper applicaiton
–Light texture for all other walls and ceilings
Let’s take a look at the plaster going in.
So, now we have REAL WALLS and are ready to move onto the fun parts of the house! Up next…Trim. Yippee
Thanks for following along in the process of building our dream home. Catch up on the series here or visit any of the previous posts directly below.
Next up in our Dream Home series, we are tackling Insulation. Not the most exciting topic, I know, I know…
With all the “fun” decisions to make in a new home, insulation might rank last. But, it’s crucial for the home and look at it this way: the more money you save by having an energy efficient home, the more money you can spend on fun stuff. Get this right and remind you husband of the low utility bill each month when you buy expensive shoes. 🙂 Win-win!
So, where do you start? There are a ton of insulation options and it really depends on the area you live in.
As the map above shows, different “R values” are require for different areas. What exactly IS an R value? Good question. R-values vary based on the type, thickness and density of the material being used. Insulation with a higher R-value will perform better than insulation with a lower rating.
Now that you know the R rating, what type of material should you choose? The most common insulation materials are fiberglass, cellulose and foam and come in the forms of loose fill, batts, rolls and spray.
Let’s talk about the major players, or most commonly used ones.
Blown In Insulation
See these holes in the plastic barrier? Thats where they blow the insulation in. The plastic barrier keeps it together before sheetrock goes up.
Benefits of blown in
Usually made of fiberglass or cellulose (recycled paper fiber).
Blown or sprayed into place with pneumatic equipment.
Ideal for hard-to-reach areas such as attics.
Can fill wall cavities and installed over existing insulation
Batts and Rolls
This is what you probably think of when you think of insulation. It works well and the pink is so pretty!
Benefits of batts and rolls
Pre-cut sections of fiberglass or rock wool insulation.
Designed for easy handling and use between framing, such as studs and joists.
Batts are available either with or without paper or aluminum foil facing.
Batts can be used in floors, walls, attics and ceilings.
Rolls come in continuous lengths ranging from 20 to 40 linear feet, so ideal where longer runs are needed.
Icynene
Think about an Igloo cooler to understand how Icynene works. The foam is sprayed in place and expands right there. Action shots coming below. So fun to watch!
Benefits of Icynene
Latex or polyurethane spray foam insulation is sprayed into place with a spray can or specially designed equipment.
Can be used to fill small gaps and cracks.
Ideal for sealing around doors, windows and vents.
Sets quickly and can be trimmed, painted or stained.
Decision Time
So, what did we decide on? We chose to do a mixture of 3 types of insulation, traditional fiberglass insulation both blow into the walls, fiberglass batting used for sound considerations in the bathroom and bedroom wall and Icynene on the ceilings. It keeps the cost down, while providing us with a completely energy efficient home.
A great resource for determining the best type of insulation is this post by the Department of Energy. Unbiased, with nothing to sell you, they really tackle the differences between the types of insulation and can really guide you much better than I can. 🙂
Standard Batt Insulation for the walls…it’s pink and sooooooo pretty! Shame to cover it up.
Installation
Once we had everything selected, the day arrived to have all the installation done from our truly installers. Let’s take a look!
Blown in Icynene for the ceilings. So fun to watch them in action installing it.
Mix of traditional batts and blown in fiberglass went everywhere else
We are so happy with the outcome. Again, insulation is certainly not the most exciting part of building a new home, but it needs to be done and done well. When you get your first few electric bills in the mail after moving in and they’re lower than you expected so buy yourself something! 🙂
Next up will be Sheetrock and Plastering. Yippee! Thanks for following along in the process of building our dream home. Catch up on the series here or visit any of the previous posts directly below.
Windows. What do you think of? Luxurious silk drapes, shades in bold patterns, fresh plantation shutters? Sure, that’s the fun part, but what about the ACTUAL windows, the panes themselves? They are often overlooked and not given much thought. They’re more than just what holds your beautiful window treatments and are certainly not created equally. With our dream home under construction, we needed to decide on windows. Let’s walk through the process together.
*If you’re just joining us, this is the sixth installment of a year long series documenting the building of our personal dream home. So far we’ve tackled Inspiration, Floorplans, Location,Breaking Ground and Roofing.
Where Do You Even Start
Selecting windows can be daunting. Such a prominent feature of your home, they really set the style for the exterior…and interior. For this project (our personal home) we wanted to start with best. Andersen Windows was the logical choice, but which ones? I had a vision of what I wanted the house to look like and started there. We visited our window showroom and dove into the selection process, head first. I like to see, touch and feel the products before selecting, if at all possible. So, what are the considerations? Let’s take a look.
Product Style
For a project as important as our dream home, we wanted to really look at our options and consider a variety of styles of windows: see casement, some double and some specialty. Bringing the plan along with you to the showroom, going over each and every window to determine the KIND you’ll need, is critical. There are requirements for windows that you may not even realize, as different rooms call for different styles. The basic kinds of windows are:
Awning
Casement
Double or single hung
Bay
Gliding
Picture
Specialty
Although your plan will determine many of the selections, there are many areas to customize to your liking. I wanted to be able to open the windows in my kitchen, for example, so we selected the crank out style Casement windows. They remind me of the old Jalousie windows we had growing up in Miami, which was an extra bonus. (I love when a design element can spark memories and really make a connection for the homeowner…me!) For the breakfast nook, we decided to keep the windows fixed, since we likely wouldn’t be opening them with a table directly in front. The kids’ rooms upstairs called for easement windows, for example, which make getting out of the room easier in case of a fire. There are many considerations and your dealer or contractor can help you determine which you need.
There’s even an online tool here that explains the differences in detail.
Material
Now that we know the style, let’s think about the materials. There are 5 basic materials to use.
Wood– Strong and beautiful with the best thermal performance. These never need painting
Composite – 2x’s as strong as vinyl, holds up under extreme temperatures and own’t flake or peel.
Vinyl – Used as a protective clad for wood windows
Aluminum – Virtually maintenance free and resists the elements.
Fiberglass – Weather resistant. Used on the exterior with wood on the interiors.
Series
Now that we have a style and material selection, we needed to decide on which series from Andersen to use. Each series offers different things. Let’s take a look:
We chose to go with A Series windows, which are Andersen’s best performing, most energy efficient windows and a mix of materials! Wood interiors with fiberglass and composite exteriors make for a durable, strong, lifetime window. Done and done.
Color
For color, we knew we wanted to go with white, hands down. Andersen’s white is more of a crisp grayish-white, which is really striking. They have even worked with Sherwin Williams to offer an exact match for the trim paint, which you can ask any dealer for, or see the color here! Anyway, the white windows fit with our overall “Hamptons Chic” vibe. They offer great colors, including on-trend black, but white was definitely for us.
Our original color scheme. I mean, it has to be white for the windows, right?
Grids
Grid patterns can definitely change the look of your home…really! Also known as “grille” patterns, this is pattern that’s on top of the glass part of the window. There are a few standard styles, but really you can create whatever you’d like!
Since I wanted to stay true to the vision I originally had, we stuck with a traditional colonial pattern. My decision was reinforced when I came across the Style Guide, showing several popular style homes and what the windows look like that go into them. Let’s look at that next!
Design Style
Style guides for many popular home styles are provided by the window manufacturer and are so helpful! When I dove into these, it really reinforced my selections. In retrospect, I probably should have started there. Each home style is broken down and suggestions for color, style, grids, etc are offered to create the look you’re gravitating towards. Let’s take a look:
I immediately recognized the Cape Cod style as most similar to the “Hamptons Chic” look I was going for. Once I clicked on the home, it showed all the components. Talk about a confidence boost! 🙂 This is exactly what we selected!
There are 14 styles identified and broken down by components. You can find them all here.
Weighing the Pros and Cons
Before we pulled the trigger and placed the order, we sat down and looked back over our choices, reconfirming we had all of our ducks in a row. Did we have the right material, color, grid pattern? Did the series we selected offer everything we needed? Yes it did! The A Series was the clear choice. We resisted the super helpful chart below, which reconfirmed our selection.
We placed the order with our local window company and counted the days until they arrived.
Installation
Our trusty installer…my husband 😉
The windows arrived and we jumped right on the installation!
The Results
We couldn’t be happier with the results…these windows are amazing! Solid, heavy and perfectly proportioned. Let’s take a look at them installed.
Even Lulu the dog likes the windows!
We couldn’t be more excited! These windows look amazing! They are just perfect for the vision we had and are so solid and strong.
Thanks for following along in the process of building our dream home. Catch up on the series here:
