Stained glass ... again

Nearly 6 months after we started this design, we still can't agree. My other half thinks the corner is too crowded. I like the movement I asked for. I wanted direction, and flow. Purpose.

Sigh.

Here are two versions with slightly different lead lines in the middle. Both of these two options fix the C-shaped leaf in the middle that you see in the color trials below. I didn't like that the C-shaped leaf in the middle seemed to go backwards from the rest of the flow of the design. But then the question is how to connect everything.

Which do you like better?

1, with a clean space in the middle:

 Or 2, with a peak

And should we cut down on the heaviness of leaves in the bottom corner?

I'm also sharing the color trials to give an idea of what we are sort of going for -- a champagne background and two hues of purple and two of green.

Stained glass window

We finally went up to Baltimore to talk with Donna of Terraza Stained Glass regarding our stained glass window design that will go in between the bathroom and the great room. Donna has been super patient with me since first bidding on this project through CustomMade.

We've had the design for a while, but yesterday we got to look at color samples and at the computer program she's going to send me so that I can try playing around with different color combos at home.

It was a surprise to see how big the leaves were in our design when I saw it all blown up, life-sized!

 

The design doesn't look as gigantic now that I see it up on the wall, but I still think we might shrink it and put a border around it. That would make the leaves smaller and also give us a chance to use another color (or two) without making the actual design too busy. I love so many of these glass samples, it's hard to choose!

Here are all the samples I brought home, in different light/direction:

And here are the ones I think we've narrowed it down to:

Background will be the champagne color or maybe the champagne with purple. Leaves might be purple, or green, or some of both. Not sure if they will be all one color or two-toned (one color on either side of the vein).

Here is a previous version with all the numbered spaces that we will have to decide on. 

We'd love feedback and advice!

Kitchen hardware

Our ceramic hardware samples have arrived!

Below is what they look like in our kitchen and compared to the Motawi tile we'd been considering. They are too blue, but I do think I like the concept. She sent others with designs, but I think just the plain crackle knobs/pulls accomplish what I am looking for: warmth, and depth.

Here's what I had written the artist:

"We have a new kitchen with natural maple cabinets, natural red oak floors, Green Mountain color Richlite counter ( http://www.richlite.com/northwest/colors.html ) and stainless steel appliances. The look is contemporary and bordering on so clean it's industrial in a home I want to feel eclectic and Craftsman-inspired. It's a Cape with a back addition onto which the kitchen opens. I am looking for knobs that will add a little lighter color since the green Richlite is somewhat dark (seemed like the right contrast to the pale cabinets and floor) and hardware that offer personality, uniqueness, and beauty."

So here are some images of a round knob and of the front of a pull. 

What do you think, if we get the color less blue and more yellow?

Yard!

We got the yard cleared yesterday! It still needs to be tilled, aerated and covered with compost before anything nice could be grown there, but it's so great to see without so much brush!

The next thing is to decide on a shed. We will get rid of the big 10x16' shed that is in the middle of the lot. Several people responded to a post on Craigslist to take it down and haul away, so I think we will be rid of it for free, which is great. We think we will get a 8x12' tackroom shed like this Lexington model from Backyard Buildings:




But not blue. Now the question is where to put a new shed.

I have been thinking along the fence in the middle of the yard, opposite our neighbor's carport (and in front of her shed). This puts it out of much of our view from the family room/dining room/kitchen because it's sort of obscured by the corner of the house. And we already look out onto her shed, so this would just be in front of that rather than cutting off any additional view of the woods.

We're still considering where we would have a treehouse or fort. We could instead have the shed the corner of the lot, but then I think we would actually see it more from our windows.

Here are both options:

And here's what I see from the dining room table. The shed would be mostly behind it if it's not in the corner of the lot. The current shed makes it a little hard to envision.

And here's another shot from the other side of the yard. One last option is that we could put the shed on the complete other side of the yard, to the left of where this photo is taken.

It would be along the fence between our lot and our old house, and it would not be visible from our dining room. The area is much more graded/less flat but would also be out of the way of the view of the woods and the better level play area.

 

Creating a window

The space between two rooms is one to craft with beauty.

Or so I believe.

I'm excited about the stained glass window we are working on to go in the bathroom and also be visible in the great room.

We've gotten some design options from the company doing the work, which I'll share if they give permission. Here is the way the space looks, semi moved in. The bathroom has white subway tile and white wainscoting, dark green floor tiles, and light green upper walls. The small vanity is cherry-stained with a white sink. Hardware is brushed nickel.

I have dark purple towels that feel lovely and rich, but they don't yet have any shower curtain or bath mat to play with. We also have no mirror or medicine cabinet yet. There are a lot of loose ends around here even though we've officially been in the house for over a month (when my husband moved during my absence, but only since August 4 for the kids and me).

The designers are waiting on me to do some thinking about design and color before they can actually create the piece (with lead-free solder, and non-leaded glass). I was going for an organic design of some green but lots of purple(s) and a background in the brown/amber/peach family (maybe some type of "champagne"-colored glass).

I want to print a bunch of copies of what the designers have drafted and then literally take colored pencils to them. But that would require that I actually plug in the printer, which would require that I clear a bunch of stuff off of it and find the power cords and cables. And that, my friends, would require some time without children, of which there is little until school and daycare start next week.

For more on this process and some possible colors, see this older post.

New newel

Things are looking up!

Well, they were a few weeks ago when the move was imminent.

Now it's happened, but it's been such a whirlwind of travel for the past two weeks, I'd have to get photos of the move from my husband, who oversaw it while the kids and I were out of town. We came back one evening to unpack and repack before heading out again.

Long story. Poor timing.

Trust me: there is a new door. And a lot of boxes.

Suffice it to say that I look forward to being back home next week and really getting to unpack.

That joy might be dampened if Verizon continues to maintain that internet is not available at our address. But I'm not crossing that bridge until I know we can even find a phone.

Seeing the house take on the hues we've envisioned is a thrill! Painting is going slower than I had expected but should be done early next week. Then in goes the floor!

We have purchased several of our lighting fixtures but need to move fast for the rest. In keeping our feet grounded in the reality that we have a Cape and not a Craftsman home, our trim is all white, and our hardware (door hinges and knobs) will be brushed nickel. So that's the finish we've chosen for the three overhead lights we've purchased. The natural maple kitchen will have a medium green ("Green Mountain") Richlite counter. I am looking for some pretty art glass pendants for over the island, and we're unsure about the chandelier over the dining table.

The kitchen hardware (knobs and pulls) are not yet determined. If we go with metal (rather than recycled glass, which I'd love to get from Seattle-based woman-owned business Spectra if it weren't made-for-you expensive), it, too will be brushed nickel.

That means we can't pull off bronze in the sconces, which will be at either end of the back wall and also next to the piano and on the mini wall behind the kitchen. But bronze are the ones we like the best, the Kara from Quoizel. We're having a hard time picking something that is not too traditional, not too contemporary, not too detailed with stuff we don't like, and not too small for a tall room. Here are two of our top contenders for shape, if not for them being bronze and bordeaux finish

Quoizel Kara

Another Quoizel

Kichler

We'd love feedback!

Here are some interior images:

Front room - office

Front living room looking into kitchen and back dining area

Upstairs bathroom

Upstairs shower

Main level bathroom

Main level bathroom -- will have white wainscoting halfway up wall. Stained glass for interior window is still TBD

Front living room

New newel post - will be natural oak, as will stairs.

Kitchen with trial counter colors (ours will be green, not quite as dark as the olive but closer to that than to the others

Daughter's room

Son's room

Kids' rooms

Master bedroom