Bunglehouse Gray

*Trimwork not painted yet (will be SW Downing Sand)

I decided to go with Bunglehouse Gray, and I'm really happy with how it looks on the house. The stucco isn't done yet, but they did paint the siding in the back of the house (sorry about the poor lighting in the pictures above - they were taken about 7PM. I'll get better shots next time I'm there during the day.) The cedar really pops against the BG, and I think the color really helps the house stay true to the Craftsman idea of "organic harmony". I can't wait to see how it looks once the stucco is painted and the stonework is done. It's always interesting/scary to see how your decisions based on 2'x2' samples actually translate into reality.

Still undecided

I put up samples of Bunglehouse Gray (left) and Balanced Beige (right) up side by side, and I'm still undecided. On the one hand, I still like Balanced Beige, and it's definitely a safe color to go with - it'll look good with our other colors, and it's so neutral there's nothing objectionable about it (although it could be argued that being too neutral is objectionable). On the other hand, the Bunglehouse Gray would make the house more Greene and Greene-like. The Gamble House is one of the inspirations for this home, and I think the Bunglehouse Gray gives it more of that feel.

I've got a day or two to sleep on it, but I'm leaning towards the Bunglehouse Gray. But I do like that Balanced Beige... Arggh!

Exterior Colors

There's been quite a bit of progress on the house, and the contractors have started prepping for stucco application. Since they'll also be painting the stucco (as opposed to the paint crew doing the rest of the house), we need to finalize the exterior color in the next few days. The house has a lot of orange tones from the the cedar accents and the stonework, and we wanted a neutral beige/taupe color to balance that.

After brunch today, we headed off to select a color. This process involves buying 15 shades of beige paint, painting them on the side of the house, staring at them for an hour, and getting mad at J when he can't tell the difference between Ultimate Beige and Pinnacle Beige. To be fair, I only picked up nine samples, and two of them I just wanted to see as potential interior colors (SW Worldly Gray and SW Amazing Gray).

Of the colors samples I chose, SW Balanced Beige is a clear standout for me. I'd be happy with this color, but of course J, looking at all the shades, didn't like any of the them and made the very astute observation that "they're all...so...beige." We discussed using SW Bunglehouse Gray, and J liked that idea. I'm torn, primarily because I've now used that color twice (in our house on 24th and on the flip project on 25th). I suppose another way to look at it is that it's definitely a color that I know I love. Another benefit of that color is that no other house on the block is that green/grey/taupe shade, while there IS another beige stucco house just three doors down. Our house is so different, though, that I don't think the other house also being beige matters that much. Anyhoo, I'm going to pick up another sample of Bunglehouse Gray tomorrow to do a side-by-side comparison. In the meantime, below are a few images of what we're working with.

SW Balanced Beige (next to cedar trim)

Alpine Ledgestone in Harvest (stonework)

SW Bunglehouse Gray (on garage on flip project)

SW Bunglehouse Gray (on 24th St. home)

Choices, choices

We're at the point now where we (I) have to start making decisions on fixtures and appliances. I have a love/hate relationship with this part of the building process. I love picking out things, but then I get very frustrated and depressed once I tally up the numbers and realize I'm 200% over budget. Seriously, I don't TRY to pick out the most ridiculously overpriced items!

So far, the following are definites for appliances:

• Thermador 48" Stainless Steel Side By Side Refrigerator w/Professional Handles


• Viking 36" wide Professional Premiere rangetop w/six burners


• Viking 30" Professional Premiere Built-in Electric Double Oven


• Undecided: dishwasher, icemaker, rangetop vent hood, coffee bar mini-fridge

For plumbing fixtures:

• Children's bathrooms - Kohler Pinstripe suite


• Master bathroom - Kohler Purist suite


• Guest bathroom - Danze Parma suite


• Undecided: kitchen , powder room

I fell in love with the Pinstripe cross-handled faucet for the children's bathrooms. They were more than I wanted to spend for bathrooms no one will ever see, but the minute I saw them I knew I wouldn't be happy with anything else. I tried looking for alternatives, but at the end of the day the extra money wasn't worth my happiness, LOL. J refers to this as the "Vy Ho" compromise --I get my way.....or I get my way... I can't help it, though! Finish out details such as fixtures and hardware are like shoes to me - they complete a look and the wrong fixture can ruin the whole outfit. It's funny, I can "get over" bigger compromises such as layout, but I'll seriously fixate and lose sleep over the "right" door pull. Speaking of which, I better start looking at those since I only have four more months to decide....

Another day in the life of Vy & Jim building a house

The builders are working on the foundation and should be starting the framing soon. We're still on schedule for moving in by Thanksgiving. Steven thinks we'll be in sooner, but I would be surprised if that happens. We've had our typical luck in building in that we were delayed over a month because of rain (the ground was too wet to drill the piers). I suppose that's better than our house on 24th. On that house, we initially broke ground in September and did not finish the foundation until the following January! It pretty much rained continuously from September until January, and we probably used 20 tons of lime trying to dry out the ground. Then as a final blow from the water gods, as we were halfway done drilling the piers, the City of Houston crew that was redoing the street broke a water main that flooded our lot.

So all in all, a month delay due to rain I can deal with. Oh! We did also lose a day to our building site being a CRIME SCENE. As the builders were clearing the lot for the garage, they unearthed a child's blanket filled with small bones. Steven called HPD, and the homicide unit showed up. They taped off the site and no work was allowed to be done. They couldn't determine what kind of bones had been found, so they called the county medical examiner out. He couldn't identify the bones, either, but a closer inspection of the site revealed…. a dog collar. Steven was cleared to proceed.

So moral of the story is that if you commit a murder in Houston, just throw a dog collar in with the remains ;) Of course if I thought for a second they could actually be human remains I would refuse to build there.

Kitchen Plans

*click image to view larger

I've been working with my kitchen designer, Rachele, and things are starting to come together. Above is the first draft of the plans - we plan to make some changes but it captures the overall feel of the kitchen. I LOVE the island. I wanted a large "eat-in" island, and we went a few rounds with nothing having the right feel. In the last revision, though, Rachele totally hit it out of the park. I can already picture many casual family meals as well as doing arts and crafts projects with Reese. I think Rachele did a great job on designing something that doesn't completely overwhelm the kitchen while still having the substantial size I wanted.

We're looking at Thermador for the refrigerator and Viking for the cooking appliances. Unfortunately the dealer we're working with isn't able to offer as competitive prices on Subzero and Wolf, but I'm definitely not complaining about "having" to go with Thermador and Viking :-)

I've also decided to go with Merit Cabinets. We're going with the Carriage Black finish on Cherry wood, but we're still trying to decide between the Prairie and Whistler styles. Here's an image of the Carriage Black on Cherry in the Whistler style. It reads black in the picture, but in real life it's more of an espresso/brown tone.

We started!

Long time no update, but we sold the first 22nd street project! It closed in December, and we've been waiting for permits and the ground to dry to start construction on Columbia (the house we plan to move into). The lot has been cleared, and Steven should be starting the foundation next week. Our goal is to be moved in the first week of November. We are very, very excited!




We should also be starting the second 22nd street project this month. The interior layout is the same as its sister house next door, but the elevation is different: