I’m so excited to share some of the process we went through in choosing finishes for our home and I will also show you some of the final selections! Choosing finishes sounds so fun and easy but it isn’t always so. I’m definitely part of the group of people who find the whole process quite hard at times. For this house; I had to go into a design meeting, speak with a designer, look around, get rough quotes on product (and some of those quotes took a few days to be returned), and then make some final selections all in half a day! I even had a plan going in it but it quickly changed because there are so many choices, some products were not available/looked very different in person, and some were simply too expensive for my budged.
I can also be very indecisive which doesn’t help things at all. Usually the older you get the more you know what you want but I think I’m the opposite when it comes to design. The problem for me is I like many different styles and making a (semi)permanent decision is just hard for me. Yes, things can be changed down the road but the goal is to pick finishes I’d love for a long, long time. It took me three visits to make my final design choices. It was very overwhelming even for me as a planner type person who had an idea of what I wanted.
Can you bring samples home? Just ask!
Most stores/design centers have samples available (sometimes you have to pay a refundable fee/buy a small sample/buy the product and return it) but not all of them like to advertise that fact (many do; but this particular design center I used was pretty stingy with samples and I had to argue to get a few to bring home for a few hours). I highly suggest you take the samples home if possible and mull them over, looking at them in different light throughout the day, and with other elements you like. I did this with our flooring but not with our tile and yeah I think I made a mistake.
My Style
Now I’m not a licensed interior designer but I think I frequently do a good job styling my home and putting together beautiful rooms. I lean more on the traditional modern farmhouse style I would say. I like a little rustic, and contemporary touches here and there but since moving I’ve realized I hate clutter on the walls and prefer a more minimal look for my décor. I want my home to feel clean but also warm and inviting.
I like complete opposites in most cases. I love dark accents but also love the light and airiness with white finishes. Trying to mesh those together was harder than I thought. I changed my mind three times for the kitchen island! 🤣Don’t judge me!
Where to start?
You can start making your choices with whatever finishes you like but I decided to start with the flooring. I did this because I figured the flooring would be throughout the entire house and would help choose the other finishes. I knew I wanted a light oak/something similar style flooring because it would help hide dog hair/dirt from the kids/damage/etc but also have that studio McGee feel to it. I love their style. I immediately found one I liked and my husband’s found one he thought he would maybe like better. We got a quote for both of them and it turned out the one I chose was the cheaper option of the pair. I went with Paradigm Conquest in color Chateau. Its an Luxury Vinyl Plant making them super durable. It has a hint of grey to it and I love the wider planks.
Starting from scratch at the design meeting!
I originally wanted a light oak stain for the bathroom vanities and island but that didn’t happen because there was no stain finish I liked that they offered. How is it possible that they could have 20+ stains and none of the lighter ones looked good to me? Too warm, peachy, red, yellow, or too brown. So my game plan had to change immediately, this wasn’t easy for me.
Making The Selections!
I decided to do white cabinets for the most part even though they were an extra charge. I think it’s worth it. My goal is a light and bright home adding in darker accents as I go. I did the kids’ bathroom dark to cut cost but also to keep it more masculine; a bit different than the rest of the house. Not all bathrooms have to be the same.
Picking shower tile wasn’t as easy at all, everything I liked was way out of budget so we picked one of these options and the next day changed it! I love the accent tile I chose for the shower and bath it’s unique and bold but still neutral. I didn’t want what everyone else had.
Hardware
Now I want to do brass and black hardware but to cut cost we didn’t order any hardware for the cabinets because that’s something I can do myself, which is way cheaper plus me and the hardware man didn’t get along. I wasn’t about to give him a penny more of my money that I didn’t have to.
Paint
I kept the walls Pure White by Sherwin Williams in matte/satin finish. I wanted a clean slate and wasn’t sure how bright it would be in the house. When in doubt go light. The ceilings are the same color as it was an extra cost to make it different so we took that money and used it for electrical items that really add up(even though we didn’t do anything fancy). All the trim is Sherwin William extra white in semi gloss
Lighting
Lighting we kept simple because I will to do that last as it’s more like the jewelry for an outfit. We stuck with $5 bulbs because I wasn’t going to spend $50 for flush mount boob lights I’d be taking out anyways. There were a couple of reasonable priced options that I liked/planned to keep for at least a little while; I did go ahead and purchase those. The bathroom I chose brass lights and the entry way I had a beautiful light already (I bought it to go in the last house but it just didn’t work out) that they installed for us.
Kitchen
I designed the kitchen layout but due to covid I only got one draft back from the kitchen cabinet people because they were slammed and their office was closed/work from home problems. This was hard because they didn’t listen or look at any of the designs notes we sent the first time round and I drew it all out. So I had to send my final draft in hoping they’d actually read it and design it the way I wanted. I drew out the cabinets and red lined pretty much everything so they’d see what I wanted. I had one chance basically to get it right so I tried my hardest and I still missed things. When you have never built a home there are many small things you miss and notice later. Live and learn type of things. Backsplash was something I had a hard time figuring out and these were some of the options we looked at.
A little peek at the hood we chose and I could not be happier with the design.
The fireplace
The fireplace I am going bold and black! I wanted a black slab but that was out of our budget so I then looked for black shiplap tile because the fireplace can’t have combustible/wood too close to it due to heat. Finding the right tile was a pain in the rear. Nothing they had I liked so I chose something smaller and love the black tiles. I saw them on Instagram and knew it would work plus it was cheaper than the shiplap tile that I didnt really like. I’m not sure what the top of the fireplace will have yet I’m toying around with a few ideas but you’ll see soon. I will be doing a floating mantel, I’d love to find an old piece of drift wood but they are pricey and heavy so I will probably make a faux beam for less and I’ll show you if I go that route. I made a floating mantel in our last house you can watch that here!
The flooring, cabinets and trim are all installed and looking so good. This week all the final touches are being done and we move inn!!
You will have to wait to see all the final finishes in my home tour video coming soon. If you would like to see the house during earlier construction phases be sure to watch this video:
I hope you enjoyed reading about and seeing my interior design choices. If you are about to build a home I definitely hope you found my experience helpful. Remember to always stick to your gut and don’t be afraid to say what you want, remember its your home not theirs. You can read about our home build journey here. I know it seems our build was fast but it wasn’t. We hit so many delays because of covid not only in the beginning but in the middle of the process and the end. I’m so happy we are basically done and get to move in this week sometime. Hope your excited because next week I’ll show you the house!
