Rose Cottage Ltd

Hope everyone survived this past cold week without too much pain and hope those in West Virginia who have had their water supply contaminated get relief – soon!

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And my 3 favorites for research on international property:

      + Viviun
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      + Christie’s

In the midst of interior renovations yet again, I had a thought to myself yesterday that I will NEVER again buy a house that isn’t new. For about the tenth time in my life, I’m trying to work around noise, dust, scheduling issues, a 4-month old puppy, and last but not least yesterday – rain.

There is always something interesting to me about older homes though and no matter what I say today, the thrill of discovering what’s under that ugly tile or wallpaper will no doubt continue to intrigue. Dealing with the “in process” of renovations though can be frustrating.

Forgetting cost for the moment (PLEASE?) to begin, you must identify any issues or problems – and rank them as far as priority. Then you must rank them in best or most viable order-of-completion. As example, I’ve been walking around on plywood for flooring for about 4 years – waiting, because so many things ABOVE floor must happen first. My only fear is that I will become emotionally attached to the plywood and will see REAL hardwood floors as expensive and unnecessary!

Once these decisions have been made, you’ll need to find contractors to do the work you can’t, or shouldn’t do. It has taken me awhile living in the sticks as I do, to find people who know what they’re doing and who will actually show up to do the work – when scheduled.

Here’s my list of renovation resource”must-haves”:

++ A plumber
++ An electrician
++ A carpenter
++ A HVAC person
++ A guy with a backhoe who knows how to use it.
++ A painter (for me this is for that overhead painting I just can’t do.)

If you’re really up to some major renovation work you’ll need additional help. I just scored the name of a guy to do some drywall work – from the carpenter who is here today replacing a ceiling. These little referrals are often worth GOLD! Most often, the guy who is doing one job knows who locally is the best to work with – since they have worked together on prior jobs. These referrals have in past probably saved me a lot of time and money – and with only one exception in 30 years – have never been a bad choice.

I’m being summoned to the next room to make a “Command” decision.

And, is there any difference between “remodeling” and “renovating”? More soon…

There has been a lot of time spent studying stucco over the last 6 months. Who knew that making the choice to use stucco to replace exterior siding would prompt so many design decisions.

I knew I wanted a English cottage appearance but since my name isn’t Hansel or Gretel and I’m not likely to do a thatched roof, I didn’t want this:

Quaint as it is, it isn’t really my style.

On the other hand, many stuccoed houses I saw ended up looking like commercial buildings or survival bunkers. What I wanted from stucco was a nice clean line and a little interesting texture – along with the added insulation from weather and noise.

I began studying what is known as “Cotswold” style. Close, but no cigar!

This style – along with its sister style Tudor, does not really go well with my one level house. Tudor looks great on large homes and commercial structures. Here is a photo I took of the Hotel Roanoke in Virginia. It is an impressive building, but all this trim color will make my little 1600 square-foot cottage look a little choppy and I will have trim to consider.

Hotel Roanoke, Virginia

I found the website Ontario Architecture which gave me some really good design ideas and an image fairly close to what I wanted.

Clean lines, some nice opportunities for architectural design elements, and a natural-look color.

Color? Oh no. What about color? How do you get it, or not?

Back to The Mold Store I went since I’d already purchased powdered colorant for my paver stones. They had quite a few colors, but for my stuccoed walls I want a pearly-gray/white color. Early samples made from the very first stucco mix had the outcome a little too much brown tone for my taste.

Much of this color issue has to do with the sand portion of the stucco mix. Sand comes in a huge variety of shades and it all is certainly not white! Cement has less variety but from what I gather, true, Portland cement is the cleanest and brightest to work with.

Many people do not worry about the base stucco since they plan on painting it. I’m trying to avoid this step. This is not an adobe home with the standard southwestern colors and I really don’t want to have to paint this house after all this work.

A little further research found a whiter sand available nearby and the addition of white powder colorant to the finish mix got the stucco within the color range desired. This was still a little damp when the picture was taken.

Now, that it appeared the color was do-able, and I’m beginning to find ways to make a specific texture on the surface, how the heck do you make this stuff stay on the wall? That’s a story for another day…

Not long ago I suggested adding some updates to your kitchen by simply adding a new kitchen faucet. The same can be said for adding new bathroom fixtures. After giving the walls in my bathroom two fresh coats of paint, I decided to see what there is to update the hardware – there are a LOT of choices!

This Rohl Satin Nickel Country Bath Bridge Faucet with Swarovski crystal levers will add some class to any bath or powder room.

ROHL’s Country Bath Collection combines comfortable dimensions with rich detailing elegant designs, quality finishes and expertly engineered turn valves for an ideal selection in the master bath, powder room and shower. Choose from the collection’s wide variety of designs and finishes including Austrian crystal levers and cross handles to achieve the ideal ambience in your home’s master bath, powder rooms and showers.

Newport Brass, with over 20 years experience designing decorative plumbing and bath products, will satisfy your most intimate desire to transform an everyday kitchen or bath into a room of classic beauty and distinction.

The Newport Brass Antique Nickel Lavatory Faucet with Country Base and Lever Handles might be the right option for your bathroom’s upgrade.

Here is a snazzy Vestige Oil Rubbed Bronze faucet from Moen.

The richly detailed Vestige line features nostalgic designs topped with a finial accent that compliment traditional decor. Oil-rubbed bronze finish delivers a rich, dark brown, old world finish with striking light and dark accents High-arc spout provides more clearance 2-Handle lever design for ease of use.

The
Kohler Polished Chrome Neuville Bathroom Faucet offers a more modern approach to faucet upgrades.

Brass construction and a lifetime limited warranty.

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Need I say more?