Dream Home Final Design Accents

Dream Home Details and Design Finishes 

Our exterior paint will be a darker gray with creamy white trim and until I get approval from the HOA for my blue door paint our front door will be black.  If you have followed me for some time you know that I have owned my own design business, so interior and exterior design is not only my first career and job, training but passion.  We selected a stacked stone for the Craftsman style pillars on the bottom with the dark gray, light gray and earth tones.  I like the dimensions and tones versus all grays or whites.  We did a dark gray roof which we only had two choices in this style shingle roof with a 3 dimensional look and the other was a brown.

I'm thrilled with the backsplash they found for me, I previously selected a stacked thin stone and glass back splash in marble and gray tones but I felt it was too busy to go with my dark gray stained wood cabinets.  Our cabinets are a fancy shaker style and doing the 5 piece drawer fronts versus the flat fronts.  This tile is so me and has that moroccan quatrefoil design I so love for decades now.  I went with a dark gray grout to really make the white tiles pop.  Our kitchen has under cabinet lighting so this will be a focal point for my kitchen and I know to some of you it may seem some plain, but it is the shape I wanted you will see more as it all comes together the design plan I am shooting for with lots of texture and dimension to my look.  

I also had asked them to find me a high quality vinyl plank wood look flooring, we had selected a few porcelain tile wood look styles but I didn't want tile or grout how ever we have had laminate and wood flooring, it scratches and can't get wet, if you drop something on tile it cracks and laminate dents or also chips.  I know with the laminate and wood flooring if you dragged your chairs or furniture it would leave scratches and scuffs.  Vinyl flooring has come a long way, it is softer to step on and not as hard as wood or laminate, it has a cushion between the vinyl and subfloor that helps with a little bounce to it.  Also I can't rave enough from designing other homes for clients and working with flooring designers, brands and contractors, Vinyl wood planks are the most durable wood like product on the market.  Water proof, scratch, cuff and stain resistant.  You can't beat it and depending on the level you go with even more affordable, and best of all the easiest to clean.  It has the texture and more realistic look to where most people can't tell the difference between this flooring and real wood.  I was in love with wood look tile but having had tile in a few of our homes grout is the worst and hard to keep clean.  Having OCD I have to have easy to clean flooring cause my home has to be clean I want my floors shiny and spotless without a lot of work.

Our master bathroom was one room along with our master bedroom that I told my hubby when we decided to design and build our dream home, I was not scrimping on.  In prior homes we always had big dreams for our master retreat but it always came last after the rest of the home and never was finished or to the level I really wanted.  I went with blue glass listello trim in the shower, my fave feature is my pebble white flooring in shower, shaving corner shelf or seat, large gray and white floor tiles that are the largest floor tiles I have ever seen with matching wall and tub surround tiles.  Our vanities are not one long double vanity but we have separate vanities, both are dark gray stained like kitchen but without the 5 piece front drawers I ordered the same drawers but the ones with the beveled edge instead of 5 pc fronts.  I felt it had a more bathroom look where the 5 pc fronts are a must have for the kitchen.  We upgraded to comfort height toilets, under mounted sinks, quarts counter, wide spread faucets, seamless glass between shower and my huge tub, I am having a chandelier electrical box replace the recessed light over the soaker jet tub to hang a chandelier then I have already been looking into a wall mounted tv and those cool wall fireplaces with blue sea glass pebbles to match my tile listello at the foot of the shower under the window for warmth and ambiance.

We didn't plan to upgrade or add much to the second bath upstairs but I went with the old accent listello tile trim in a stacked glass and stone small tile from our old master bath choices, slightly smaller floor tile in a simple color with matching wall tile, we have same cabinets in the gray dusk stain and silver pulls, I have my lighting already picked out for this bathroom will find a stock photo to share cause I didn't have room on my phone that day and hubby forgot his.  I am excited to finish selecting lighting and fans.

More photos of the selections and finishes, I am doing a dark Gray stain like my cabinets for the hand rail in stairs in a matte finish, dark gray high level carpeting and our gray wood plank vinyl flooring by Floorte in Pola.  Will have more photos soon to share.  

I was so excited to see huge table size blue prints of the home we deigned, primarily myself with hunny helping me some and the contractor/building manager.  Love the extended lanai, triple slider instead of double slider then we added lots of windows cause the builder normally only does front and back windows, being into photography and an indoor plant lover I had to have as much natural lighting as possible, it just makes me happy when the house is simple and bright.

Side elevation to see the side windows we added and front/back porch/lanai.

Some interior stuff to get an idea of the bottom floor, I don't think I am using the area between the kitchen and gathering room as dining room.  We are considering but waiting till the framing walk through to see the sizing and may sell our long table with maybe top to get a round table but it is so hard to know what the rooms will look like a sizing when we just have drawings and never been able to walk a model like most people do, only down fall with deigning your home but the builder is amazing, he loves our design and after having all Spanish, mediterranean and farm style homes in their collections he is excited to do a craftsman style like this one, they do have 4 or maybe 6 similar looks on exterior but none like mine with the dormer windows and porches.  

Stay tuned going to have my top picks for lighting, paint, decor, accents, furniture and more.  If you love home and interior design, decor you will really enjoy some upcoming posts as I share my design in person, photos of the progress and my passion for interior design, landscaping and anything related to our dream home.  Have a great holiday week ahead, Happy Thanksgiving to all so many things to be thankful for with the biggest life changes we have had in over 7-8 years.  Life is good and enjoying purging all our old stuff donating to those who really can use it, to the VA and to a women's shelter.  Happy designing and decorating, cannot wait till next Christmas to go all out in our new home, I already went all out in our smaller home with 2 large trees and 4 mid to small trees.  I am silly lol but I love the holidays as a designer because you can be bold and try things you may never try.  Peace, love and light always xoxo.