Our 886 Sq Ft Life: Plumbing, Electrical, & Design

It’s been several weeks since our last update, and since then, framing has been completed (yay). It’s so cool to walk in and be able to really visualize what our new layout is going to look like!

Since framing has been completed, we got a new HVAC system:

The view of our new HVAC ducts from our basement (Daniel says it looks like a spaceship)

Once that was in, our new plumbing system was installed for the kitchen, laundry room, master bathroom, and guest bathroom:

View of our new plumbing from the basement
New plumbing for the Master Bathroom
Plumbing installed for our new laundry room
Another view of the plumbing for our laundry room, guest bathroom, and master bathroom
Plumbing for the kitchen sink and dishwasher

Once plumbing was roughed in, the electrical guys came and installed many of our can lights and power boxes for outlets. We are super pumped to have dimmable can lights pretty much throughout the entire house!

We are currently waiting for the electrical work to be completed and then it’s inspection time! Once inspection is complete, they can begin installing the insulation (spray foam whoop!) and putting up drywall.

So, let’s talk design. I was trying to decide on whether or not to keep the overall design elements a secret. However, I think it would be cool to take you guys through the process from inspiration to installation (see what I did there?)

What’s unique about our situation is that I genuinely do not care about what the house looks like in the end. I care about the layout, the flow, and the practicality. From the very beginning, the visual design has been Daniel’s department and I am so thankful. The thought of going in a store and looking at a million faucets and tile samples gives me hives. So, he has been the one dreaming up design ideas and shopping with our designer.

The exterior of our home has a very Tuscan/Spanish flavor, with cream stucco all over and wrought iron accents on our porch. With the design, we wanted to keep that warm feel while infusing our more modern style.

As you read in some earlier posts, our main living area is an open concept with the original fireplace remaining as is and a huge 11'x5' island being the focal point of our kitchen.

Original fireplace which will remain as-is (possibly with a new mantle)

We have decided on dark hardwood floors throughout the house, with carera marble countertops and a cobalt blue color for the kitchen cabinets:

Flooring plus cobalt blue/gray color for the kitchen cabinets (left), and marble countertops. Cream color is for the trim throughout the house.

Throughout the house, we will be painting the walls Commercial White, to enlarge the spaces (remember we are doing this in 886 sq feet!). However, the bathrooms have been a source of much discussion with design.

Daniel came across this amazing tile while out shopping with our designer the other day:

Gorgeous, right? We are loving this option for the floors in both bathrooms, however, it comes in at a whopping $15.99 per square foot (they’re *cough* concrete tiles)! Thankfully we have small bathrooms right? Sigh. We want all the nice things.

As of now, the bathrooms will have this decorative tile flooring, with dark wood stained cabinets (same color as our hardwood floors in every other room in the house), the marble countertops (top right), and this amazing textured marble tile in the shower (master) and tub (guest) area (bottom left):

Closer up view of the tile for the shower and tub area

The paint in the bathrooms will be a medium gray color with a slightly blue undertone (almost the same color as the gray in the decorative tile). We are also going with the Delta Dreyden line of faucets and shower implements in Venetian Bronze:

Delta Dryden in Venetian Bronze

In the words of my husband, “It’s going to be PIMP!”

Daniel fell in love with this pendant light to go above our island in the kitchen (the iron lantern in the middle):

… so we’re getting 2 of them.

I can’t wait for everything to be “dried in” so all the “fun stuff” can start being installed. That’s all for now…

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