Guess what's here?!?! We are installing european white oak in the house and the wood arrived this week.
Wood floors need to sit for a few weeks in a house to "acclimate" before they can be installed, so we have piles of wood lying around at the moment. Check back in a few weeks to see what they look like once they are in.
You guys, we need to talk about our fireplace. It is original to the house so it has survived here for 143 years BUT it isn't our favorite color. It is a slate fireplace that has been painted a speckled brown. We find the color to be terribly ugly but it is interesting that it was placed front and center in the house while the home's marble fireplaces were relegated to the upper floors, which indicates it was valued as a statement piece over the marble.
We want to keep the character of the house but update it to feel more modern (read: lots of white) and this speckled brown just doesn't fit with the aesthetic. That said, can we use aesthetic to justify getting rid of it? Considering the issue, we think we have four options and we would love your input.
The options are:
1. Identify a Victorian white marble fireplace from the same period to buy and replace the fireplace.
2. Keep the fireplace in place but paint it a white or faux marble.
3. Exchange the fireplace with the white marble fireplace on the second floor.
4. Refinish it but otherwise keep it as it is - it’s survived this long, why change it now?
Let us know what you think!
- J
Time for an update on the master suite. As a refresher, we landed on a design that re-figured the top floor to make it more of a suite. While it keeps a second small bedroom, the third floor will be built around the master bedroom, including expanding the master bed and building out a closet and bathroom. So where there used to be a bathroom and hallway, there will now be a large walk-through closet, with a study or nursery and master bath in the rear of the house. See below:
The plan calls for walling off the currently open stairwell/hallway so that you come up the stairs and through a doorway into the suite. We are super excited about the design, but in thinking more about it we didn't like the idea of losing the sightline into the stairwell and losing the light that filters from the central skylight.
While preparing our interior elevations, Hill & Hurtt proposed an awesome solution to this dilemma - a glass wall. The bottom half would be an actual wall to keep the third floor visually separate from people coming up the stairs (it will be our closet, we need to have some privacy) but the top half of the wall will be glass.
I really like the idea because, while we are closing the space off, it will stay true to the original design of the house by creating a feeling of openness to the central stairwell without the danger factor (the railings are not to code by about 8 inches and it is a long way down).
What do you guys think? Do you love it or hate it? We are still exploring what the ultimate wall will look like (and if we can afford it - fingers crossed!!!) but I've included some images we have found from Pinterest below. Enjoy!
Inspiration via @kohlerco and @rohlfaucets
We are choosing kitchen faucets and would love your input - should we do a bridge faucet (on the right, above) or should we do a single-handle faucet for our kitchen sink (which will be in the island)?
So far we are leaning toward bridge faucets but . . .
1. Does a single handle look better when the sink is in the kitchen island?
2. Is one handle better than two?
Let us know your vote!
IMAGE CREDIT: @BECKIOWENS
Here is a throw-back design trend from our Instagram feed - brass and gold accents. Kitchens and bathrooms all over Instagram have gorgeous brass pulls and slender gold faucets. I kind of love it - all white kitchens look warmer with some color. At the same time, I can't help but think that if I put it in our kitchen I will come to regret it the way we all regret the gold in our bathrooms from the 90s (you know what I'm talking about - remember this?).
What do you guys think? Embrace the brass (so pretty!) or learn from past mistakes?
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @SMPLIVING (2) @BECKIOWENS / BOTTOM LINE: (3) @LONNYMAG (4) @HOMEPOLISH
Inspiration from top to bottom/left to right: popham design; David Pompa studio; ann sacks; cle tile; @kibak_tile; cle tile
Guys, I hate to break it to you, but it's time to talk tile. A lot of tile orders take 6-8 weeks to ship so we need to make decisions and put orders in ASAP if we want to stay on schedule. I'm not going to lie, the process of choosing tile is stressful (#firstworldproblems, I know). We have three bathrooms, a kitchen backsplash, and an entry-way vestibule we need to pick tile for. Finding a tile we both agree on, that is in our budget (or, you know, near our budget), and that we know we will like for the foreseeable future is daunting.
Our color palette is going to be very white-focused and we don't anticipate painting our walls any bright colors. As a result, we have been thinking of ways we can add patterns or color to the bathrooms.
from top to bottom/left to right: popham design; popham design; cle tile; @masseriaDC and villa lagoon tile; popham design; msi stone
Kyle and I have spent the last month's worth of Saturdays in tile shops and hours upon hours on Pinterest - all the tiles above have been in contention at one point or another, though some have been shot down by our architects (and here we thought our taste was unassailable!).
From our research, patterns can be limited to the floor, limited to the wall, or run from the floor up the wall (some examples are below). What do you guys think? Any tile here that you love or hate? Let us know before we make a mistake that we can't take back!
- J & K
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @CONSORTDESIGN (2) @CB2 / BOTTOM ROW: (3) @CENTERED_BY_DESIGN (4) @HOMEPOLISH
Velvet is back in a big way this year, both in clothing and home furnishings. If Instagram is any indication, this throwback phenomenon began with dark blue velvet sofas. When paired with a room with hard surfaces and minimalist design, a blue velvet sofa can lend the room a rich, comfortable quality, which I love. More recently, it has also popped up in more lush interiors as well.
While dark navy couches have been used in design for the past year or so, increasingly over the past few months I have seen more diversity in the blues. Green has started popping up too with sofas that have jeweled emerald tones (how awesome is that green couch in the photo above? 😍).
If a full velvet couch is too much, you can add in a velvet chair or two to achieve the same look. I think the trend is best when set in an otherwise fairly monotone space - it adds color and texture without overwhelming the room. Alas, Kyle is way wayyy out on velvet (his words), so I don’t expect to come home to the sweet embrace of a soft velvet couch in our home after the reno is complete 😭😭😭 .
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @MILESREDD (2) @MYINTERIOR / BOTTOM ROW: (3) @HOMEPOLISH (4) @ARCHDIGEST
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @ANDREABSTANFORD (2) @MYSCANDINAVIANHOME / BOTTOM ROW: (3) @HOMEPOLISH (4) @HOMEPOLISH
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @homepolish (2) @amberinteriors / Bottom row: (3) @mydomaine (4) @methomemag
If you're looking to spice up your house but don't have a huge budget for new furniture, then a big house plant may be a temporary solution to change up the vibe in your home. I have recently noticed a theme of big green house plants in living rooms, dining rooms, and even bathrooms. I get the allure - they brighten up a white space, are visually interesting, and add life to a room. Instagram seems partial to the fiddle leaf fig for interior design, though I have also seen some examples of olive trees and yucca plants too. As long as they are easy to keep alive, I'm in.
IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @elledecorationse (2) @myinterior / Bottom row: (3) @homepolish (4) @sarahwidman
Big news for all the rowhouserevival heads out there - we have design concepts from our architects! We met with Eric from Hill & Hurtt on Saturday and walked through a number of different concepts for each floor of the house as well as the backyard. As you can see from the picture above, lot's of choices left to be made but we could not be more excited to decide on a plan! Right now we are thinking through all the options that H&H have shown us and then will go back to them with our thoughts. They will then put together another version of the design based on our input - the end result will likely be a composite of the designs you see above.
In terms of design, we are facing two big questions. First, we are considering extending the house about 10 feet, which all of our neighbors have done. This would mean a longer permitting process and require a bigger construction budget.
Second, the bigger question we're still facing is whether to remove the stairs to the basement and make the basement a stand alone unit. On the one hand, it would likely allow us to squeeze in a powder room on the first floor and create a wholly separate rental unit downstairs. On the other hand, it would involve some additional work and expense (you have to separate out all utilities, include fire separation, and maybe install sprinklers), expose us even more to the whims of the permitting process, and keep that space out of reach if we wanted to reclaim it in the future. We have been going around and around on what's best - do we think we want a playroom in the future, or do we think it's best put to use to help pay our mortgage? Input welcome!
- J & K
Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @interiorhints; (2) @lonnymag / Bottom row: (3) @meandmybentley (4) @homeyohmy
Another week, another trendy interior design item on Instagram. This week it is black and white geometric carpets (and sometimes pillows!). I feel like I've seen versions of these carpets everywhere. I've included a few beautiful examples in this post, but I'm ultimately not sure I'm sold on the trend - white carpets seem dangerous to me. Also, some of these carpets are shag, which no amount of trendiness will convince me to purchase. What do you think?
- J
Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @archdigest; (2) @westelm / Bottom row: (3) @insideanswers (4) @Elledecorationuk
Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) design by @carisselynelle, photo by @fluxi (2) @lonnymag / Bottom row: (3) @homeyohmy (4) @meandmybentley
Image credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @hannahblumenthal (2) @more.modern / Bottom row: (3) @amberinteriors (4) @cathy.pyle
Until we bought the house, looking at real estate was our obsession. We jumped every time a new listing came up on MRIS or Redfin and would call each other to discuss the pros and cons of each house (the basement looks like a dungeon, but what a location!). Now, we (and by we I mean I) are obsessed with interior architecture and design.
We need ideas for our house so I have been active on Pinterest, Houzz, and Instagram lately. Where we once exchanged house links we're now exchanging bright white minimalist interiors (we are pretty predictable and one note, you guys).
Needless to say, when you research as much as I do you start to notice patterns. This week everywhere I look there are mirrors; round mirrors. Judging by my Instagram feed, round mirrors are a must have for any fashionable contemporary home. Don't you even dare submit your latest kitchen photo to r/roomporn if you don't have a round mirror over the hearth.
if Instagram is to be trusted, then round mirrors are perfect for entry ways, bathrooms, and living rooms (and also a perfect way to rack up those ever-elusive likes).
Round mirrors, so hot right now. What do you think - do you like the trend?
- J
Image credit: @hannahblumenthal
Image credit: @consortdesign
Documenting the trials and tribulations of a home renovation in Washington, DC.
Thanks for visiting our site! We recently purchased an Italianate Victorian rowhouse in Washington, DC that needs some significant work. We intend to document the trials and tribulations of a home renovation (and home ownership) here for your entertainment.
We hope you enjoy the blog and please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions in the comments - we need all the help we can get!
Instagram: @rowhouse_revival
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