The outside of the house is coming together! We had stone put on, beams put in and shutters installed. We still need to do some painting, but I like how it’s working out.
We also had our garage doors installed. They are a carriage style and I really like the windows at the top.
The master bath is a mix of rustic, modern and antique French. When I saw this lighting on Joss and Main I loved it and the design of the bathroom followed…
We put the chandelier over the tub and used two sconces – one in the toilet room and one between the mirrors (I will add more pics later). The doors and trim are all painted SW Snowbound. The walls are SW Mindful Gray (a tad darker than the Respose Gray in most of the house). The countertop is marble. The master vanity and corner cabinet are painted SW Urbane Bronze. We found tile that we loved and that seemed to go well with the overall color scheme.
Tile: Anatolia Monticelio 24×24 (floor, 3 shower walls and 2×2 on shower floor) Florida Aventia 12×24 (tub backsplash and back shower wall), Island stone 12×12 beige and cream (tub deck, shower design). Tile purchased and installed by J Lane Flooring and Design, Warsaw, IN.
I absolutely love the look of the pebbles!
One word of caution from experience: make sure you see what they will look like sealed. We used an epoxy grout and it completely changed the color of the stone. The finished look is beautiful, but the color is a lot darker and has more brown than the original look.
Searching for countertops was beyond exciting. And surprising! When we started, I had done all of the research and just knew that we wanted quartz for our kitchen. It was durable, modern and beautiful. I had picked out a few that I liked at our local supplier. I loved the options and the functionality of it. We got the name of a stone supplier from one of our neighbors, so Jonathan and I decided to have a date night and do some shopping around. We went to Z Stone in South Bend and were pleased that they had a large warehouse with samples of the stone. They also had full and partial slabs and remnants available to purchase. And then it happened…
I saw the marble.
It was over. I fell in love. I have never really considered myself a marble lover. In fact, sometimes I think it looks old ladyish. When we were looking for bathroom tile, I tended to steer away from it. I’m not sure why…maybe because it has been used in some really BAD ways. However, when I saw these marble slabs in person, I knew they would be so beautiful in our house. Both of the employees there warned us of the etching and staining. We decided to take a sample home and test it out. We did everything you’re not supposed to do. We cut on it, we squeezed a lemon on it, etc. We saw the scratches and the etching and still…we knew it was right for us. We decided to use it for our island which is the largest countertop in our house. We went with a honed finish instead of polished because it tends to wear a little better and I liked the more matte look.
I’ve decided you have to either be o.k. with the imperfections or not. It does wear easily, but it’s kinda like a pair of jeans. The more you wear them, the better they get. If you want a shiny countertop that always looks perfect, marble is not for you. It was definitely the right choice for us and we are so happy with it! We just have to choose not to be bothered by the imperfections.
We used marble on our kitchen island, our master bathroom counter, the basement bathroom and Lainey’s bathroom. We only used quartz in one place – the pantry! I still love it, but it was more expensive than the granite and marble. We were able to find a remnant for the pantry and only had to pay for fabrication and installation. We went with granite for the kitchen perimeter, boys bathroom and laundry room.
Our kitchen choices: steel gray granite in a leather finish and carrara marble.
kitchen…
Basement bathroom…
Master Bathroom…
Kids Bathrooms…
And one more of the island. 🙂
Blackberry Trail 