Dear Santa,

We have been very good this year. We will leave a light on for you this Christmas, but maybe you would actually like to leave us a light. Fixture. Or six. I will make your favorite cookies.

If your elves are very busy, the nice people at Rejuvenation can help you. Don't you think that the Imperial would be so welcoming in the entryway? Don't you think our "living" would be so well-lit by the Powell Valley in the living room? And wouldn't you want to enjoy an elegant dining experience beneath the glow of the Garfield?

Please leave something nice and sparkly in Jeannie's stocking because she showed me all these wonderful things.

Most sincerely,
The Hill and Home Family

Pretty things

Seeing the walls (or at least the framing) going up IS exciting, but don't we all long to preview some pretty details?



Here are some beautiful paint colors that we are considering, all colors Benjamin Moore-

Palladian Blue

Quiet Moments

Showtime!



Yes, those first two are right next to each other on the paint chart, so not too much variation. We would like the colors to be light, fresh, and airy, but of course we want our home to be warm and not chilly.



What about "Showtime!"? I thought that might be fun for the little itty-bitty entry way! A bright yellow says "Welcome!" to guests and gets you ready to go out the morning. You pause, take in the bright yellow, open that front door and say "Showtime! Action!"...and have a wonderful day!

Taking shape

We are back with some pictures! Much of the basic framing is now up. Let's see, my wonderful husband took these photos after charging the camera battery.
What do we see?
There is a shot of the fireplace that is going to be removed, yet has metal framing around it. Interesting. Max the key worker says it is staying; John the Builder says it is going. Stay tuned!

Someone has a cute little blue & green tote bag! There we can see the view from the living room looking to the front door and entry hall.

Next we move upstairs: two views from the master bedroom looking down the hallway towards the back of the house. One shows the main hallway out the master suite door; the other shows the master closet & bath entry from the bedroom. Finally we see the view from the back bedroom looking to the front of the house. I am not sure about that big wet spot in the the future hall bathroom, but my husband nodded in a "oh, yes, there is a reason and it is good and fine" way while talking on the phone when I raised an eyebrow...

But it was bigger without the walls!

Sadly, no photos today to document the progress of framing the second floor! The camera battery died as soon as I turned it on. Pictures soon!

We made some decisions today regarding where the HVAC and hot water heater "mechanicals" will be located in the house. We also were surprised by how teeny the middle bedroom seems; however, it is just about standard for most Hill houses. It's the "study" or "nursery". But overall we're so happy with the room sizes and the progress we are seeing!

John the Builder and I talked through the electrical side of things - locations for outlets and lighting, etc. We have some more options to think through and then we finalize those plans with the electrician Saturday morning (ummm, when am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?!).

What else? Ah, the fireplace: gas log insert or wood-burning? I'm neutral; the husband feels strongly--can you guess which direction?

Decisions, decisions: each day we realize more decisions to make! Faucets, light fixtures, paint, wood floor stain, lights with dimmers, lights with motion detectors, alarm system or attack dachshund... I have enlisted a special helper for making some paint choices! I will keep you apprised of the progress!

Baltimore Beckons

Saturday we tried to combine some house search projects with some fun! We were successful.

We started off with a visit to Arlandria Floors (in enticing Del Ray) to pick up some subway tile samples from Florida Tile. Another very nice and helpful vendor, I have to say. I used the "retro" line of subway tiles from Florida Tile in "biscuit" for our current kitchen back-splash and since we're using similar cabinets and granite.... We also plan to use a white subway tile in the upstairs bathrooms so I wanted to compare their "white" to some other vendors. The nice folks at McCullough Tile back in NC had the record of my prior purchase so I knew what brand to look for.

Next, we visited Cherokee Flooring to get some ideas about hardwood floors - types of woods and stain colors. We want something that will look like it belongs in the 1890 row house. Ray helped us (OK, you have to click over to see this charming family!) and explained all about several of their different floors. I, of course, had a preference for the most expensive - reclaimed heart pine. We found some other more affordable options in great colors and quality wood. Ray really knows his stuff and could answer all of our questions and provide good ideas.

We headed off to Baltimore for lunch and some antique shopping. I really like Baltimore. In fact, Mom and I had picked out a fabulous old row house for the husband and myself after seeing it featured in the "Save this old house" column of This Old House Magazine. Alas, the husband's job makes living in DC more convenient.

We started out at Cross Street Market with some lunching at Nick's. I have captured a photo of the husband's soft shell crab sandwich. I enjoyed a shrimp salad sandwich and we shared (from a vendor down the market stalls) an amazing fresh limeade.

Next we went to browse at 2nd Chance, a fascinating collection of warehouses with all kinds of old house stuff, from doorknobs and claw foot tub feet to front doors and transoms and

amazing staircases. We thought we found some tile to use on the tile surround for the living room mantel (I'll try to find a photo soon), but there was not quite enough. We also think the chandelier in the photo would be just great hanging above our staircase.

We also visited HouseWerks, where they have more old house and building things and where Sam refuses to breathe in the musty basement air. There we saw a great door, like we hope to get for the front door of the house, and Sam picked out a nice chair, also pictured.

We wrapped up our trip, after gushing downpours on the way back to DC, at the Paint Shop of Frager's where we learned more about their low- and no-VOC paints (available in all the usual Benjamin Moore shades!) and picked up some swatches and a couple of mini-paint jars to sample. We also spotted an incredible front porch light on the building next door.

Pocket doors

I forgot to mention that, even before the kitchen decisions, we went out shopping for a new (old) set of pocket doors. The house has one set that opens the wall between the living room and dining room. They have an opening of 6" wide. Being a fan of symmetry, John the Builder planned to put a 6" wide opening in the other wall of the living room where we will enter from the entry of the house. Rather than just an opening, we wanted to add pocket doors there because we would like to have one room of the house, on the main level, that can be closed off for privacy.

We set out that first Saturday we had the contract on the house to find a set of similar or matching doors. We located a set we love at The Brass Knob Back Door Warehouse here in DC. The staff there were so nice and helpful - knowledgeable and laid-back!

I also threw in some nice photos of the backyard. The fence is what really made us fall in love with the house, in addition to the front screen door. I know, that is a lot of trash piled up back there, but I will let you know that the builders did send some bulk items to Community Forklift, (where we also looked for new (old) pocket doors) so not everything is landfill-bound.

Framing, again

A few more shots of the framing action - these pictures include a pretty master bedroom window view; the attic beams above the master bedroom; the layout of 2x4s to show the 2nd floor layout; and a door marking by Max. Thursday afternoon John the Builder, Max, The Brother and I determined all the 2nd floor door locations, sizes and swing directions. I also added a nice street shot of the gorgeous leaf colors we are seeing this week!

Framing

On Tuesday and Thursday we visited with John the Builder to finalize the layouts for the main floor and then the 2nd floor! The framing went very quickly for the main floor as there is only the living room shape, one support beam for the length of the dining room and then the wall separating the dining room from the kitchen.

Upstairs we knew the plan for the two hall bedrooms and the hall baths, but needed to finalize the size of the master suite and fit in a linen closet. John the Builder laid out some 2x4s to help me see the layout and The Brother put in a guest appearance. Unfortunately I don't think I captured him in any photos.

So I realize these shots don't show much actual framing - just consider these some "before" shots and we will see the "after" shots next week as John the Builder said they finished the 2nd floor framing Friday!

These shot show - 2nd floor back to front; back bedroom; first floor; 2nd floor front to back; 1st floor entry hall/living room framing. And I'm learning that the photos are published in reverse order of how I select them. I'll work on that matter.

I should add that there is a basement. I think it is still a mess so we have not really seen it. The existing basement was only 2/3rds the depth of the house so they were going to excavate the remaining 3rd and also lower the floor grade in the existing portion by about 8". They discovered they needed to add footers (?) to the rear walls. So we are leaving all that to the crew.

Kitchen plans

One of the first major decisions, to keep us on the planned timetable, was to select kitchen cabinets. We selected a design and color that are quite similar to the cherry cabinets we currently have, so it seemed reasonable to also get the same granite as what we currently have.

The granite shop that John the Builder uses is Dynamic Stone Creations. The owner, Myra, is super-nice and helpful. Conveniently, she had bought out much of the inventory from the shop where I previously purchased granite and she had a few slabs of the desired granite!

Less house, every time

A few days later my husband commented that, "Every time I go over there is less house". They ripped out the floors to replace or repair some floor joists. They ended up replacing them all.

These pictures are views of the first floor before the joists were replaced.

Interior

We first saw the house while workers were ripping out the old plaster. We didn't see it again for a week, once we had a contract on the house and went to meet with the builder to discuss plans. We are glad we were able to see the house while some walls were still up so we could gain a sense of the general layout and room size.

These photos are: view to the front - living room (featuring the clawfoot tub); in the once and future kitchen with John the Builder; the once and future master bedroom with John and real estate agent to the stars, Jason; a cameo by a roofing contractor.

The new (under contract) homestead

House on the Hill

This house will, Lord willing, be the new family homestead sometime in December!
We found the screen door irresistable and were shocked to find that it does not match the preferences of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.