Posts in modern southern bungalow
why can't i pick an exterior paint color? (modern southern bungalow week 18)

You can't rush progress, y'all, and in this case, you can't rush Houston humidity. The drywall is hung and ready for mud, but at this rate, it will be next January before it is dry enough here to do anything with these walls. We are already seeing mosquitos. Ugh.

Meanwhile, we've started looking at paint colors for the exterior of the house. Truth? We've been looking at paint colors for over a year. My kids have begun to revolt when we drive around the neighborhood looking at paint combinations. We were asked to pick a paint color way back in October before we picked the roofing material. Remember this? Yep. September was so long ago.

Read More
insulation (modern southern bungalow week 17)

The thing about remodel projects is that sometimes things move really fast.  Other times, absolutely nothing happens. I can safely say that you, dear reader, would not have seen much progress had I given you a report last week. All the little details that only my husband and I would notice needed updating were updated. This light moved over two framed segments north, that outlet a little to the left, blocking placed for towels in the bathroom… Very exciting stuff to read about. On the other hand, this past week ended with the dining room walls pushed out, every window in the house installed, the electrical (mostly) in place, siding up, and, for the first time in its nearly 100 years, the house is insulated.

Read More
still framing (modern southern bungalow week 15)

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that we were waiting on approval from Historic so that framing of the dining room could be completed. We finally got that approval last week and the permits were issued yesterday. The walls are now up, with windows framed in and ready to be installed. And you thought bloggers planned what they were going to write weeks in advance. You are getting real time information right here.

Read More
stick to your progam (modern southern bungalow week 14)

Sometimes, you have to remember where you came from in order to move forward. This old adage applies to designing a house just as much as it applies to life. There are often too many decisions coming at us far too quickly. We feel the need to keep going and going and deciding all the things and we end up in the weeds and then… Yeah. We need to stop. We need to breathe. We need to get our butts into the yoga studio and chill the heck out.

Just me?

Read More
ask for help (modern southern bungalow week 13)

We have a kitchen! Ok, not really. But the wall has been opened up and the windows are in and the extra door is gone, so it feels 100% better than it was even without appliances. Or power.

The framing of the house is nearly done. We are still waiting for approval from the historic commission on a change to the dining room, but in the meantime electrical is going in as we speak and plumbing should begin today or tomorrow. The electrical and plumbing plans required a lot of decisions that I wasn’t yet ready to make (i.e., picking sconces and mirrors for bathrooms that weren’t yet designed and locating lights in rooms with no furniture plan).

Read More
master bath tile (modern southern bungalow week 12)

I'm pretty sure Gaudí designed Park Güell because he loved all the tile and all the colors and couldn't decide which to use. Ok, perhaps there was a greater cause in that particular instance, but I'm just saying that if it was as simple as loving all the tile, I may be up for a new art project.

Tile decisions are no joke, y'all. For one thing, tile is not cheap. I mean, it can be. White subway tile definitely has price point and longevity going for it. But what if you are ready for something different? There is no shortage of amazing master bathrooms on Pinterest. You can live in those images for years without seeing the same bath twice. But there is a pattern. You'll find yourself falling into a category sooner or later and come up with your own idea of bath perfection. 

And then you will talk to your spouse, who will tell you that he has very particular ideas about what kind of bath he wants, and it isn't what you are proposing. 

Read More