Saums Interiors and Paint Shop and Carriage House Interior

So it has come to the point where I have been deciding on paint colors for the carriage house.  I tried numerous samples of greys to compliment my marble slabs.  I tried sample after sample without getting it right.  Luckily I had the help of my most favorite Color Consultant from Saums Paint Shop and Interiors, Sharon Saums!  She is enthusiastic  and knowledgable about colors and their effect on our living spaces.  I was picking greys that were too cool for my environment and she helped to steer me towards warmer greys.

The warmer greys compliment the polished nickle fixtures nicely as it is warmer than chrome with the vanities.  Balboa Mist Benjamin Moore is in the downstairs bathroom and Cumulus Cloud Benjamin Moore is in the upstairs bathroom.  Linen White Benjamin Moore is throughout the house which was decided before I arrived. It is a restful  neutral that works easily for most spaces.   I also decided with Sharon's help to change the front door color from a basic black to Wrought Iron Benjamin Moore Black.  It is a bit of a softer black with a grey base and artsy and a bit urban. Christine Lemieux founder of Dwell used it in a bedroom makeover.  Check it out. I am also loving the vintage beveled mirror I got as a gift which works in this bathroom!

Perennial Gardens with Wildflowers of New Jersey

I am working on a perennial garden for a client this week and wanted to share with you all that at the Historic Hopewell Train Station there will be a talk on Wildflowers!  Rachel Mackow will be bringing a slideshow.  These are some of the nicest flowers to bring in your garden.  They are native, easy and suppose to be here!  No sprays to put on them and nothing to baby!  Wild geranium and Jack in the Pulpit to start!  Join me.  We can talk plants and homes. It starts at 7:00pm.

Hopewell Carriage House and Veined Marble

This is a sweet way to update a half bath. You remember this bathroom with the rest stop sink.  I felt I needed a bit of storage,  hence the vanity but I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture so that is does not feel too heavy for the space. Still love those English faucets and Marble!

Baldwin Door Knobs and Details

I can't tell you how many times I go into preview a home for a client and notice the little things.   Hardware should be first quality when a seller is bringing a home to market.  It is a bit strange to me to present a home well over the million dollar mark with knobs that are light and ten dollars at best.  A quality knob might run you about fifty or sixty dollars but it is when worth the investment for you as the home owner to enjoy and on the other end when selling, it adds a lasting touch.  If your knobs are scratched up yellow brass keep in mind that many of todays buyers are attracted to satin nickel,  chrome, oil rubbed bronze or polished nickel.
It is an easy thing to change out and can really update your doors and cabinets.
I just changed out all the knobs at the Hopewell Carriage House and put in Baldwin Oil Rubbed Bronze Eggs knobs. Oil Rubbed bronze is a living finish.  Simply put,  it means that over time the finish can change to have some coppery overtones.  It will age the fixture naturally by the oils in your hands touching it over time. This is not a surface for a client that wants everything to look the same.  The bronze will fit my old home and the egg shape will feel not so predictable as a regular knob.  This house is traditional yet I have some contemporary pieces inside.  I wanted a classic feel with a nod to design.

Hopewell Carriage House Progress

Just sharing a bit of custom vanity installation today! It will be nice to have hot and cold water coming from the same faucet finally. I chose an Edwardian Perrins and Rowe English faucet again in  polished nickel.  All of the exposed pipes have been boxed in, so the look is cleaner now.  Simple things like that make all the difference in an older house.  Notice that the cabinets are flush not overlayed.  Much nicer in the end product. Nothing like the feel of a custom cabinet,  smooth bins and doors with some weight to open.  Knobs are here and are also polished nickel.  They are egg knob pulls, very comfortable on the hand. Price point is similiar to Restoration Hardware but custom quality is worlds apart.  Thanks to PDG on this. I definitely do not have a strong contemporary aesthetic but after interviewing  firms I knew that I was most happy with PDG who makes every cabinet in house!

Custom Cabinetry for Hopewell Carriage House

Check out how the jigsaw pieces of a vanity start out at your custom cabinet makers shop.  This was sprayed three times and Princeton Design Guild used a Benjamin Moore paint that is a low VOC paint. They will allow it to cure and then ready for install.
This will put a very nice finish on the end product and feel worthy of real pieces of furniture for both bathrooms.

Edible Jersey Magazine and the 3 R's Reduse, Reuse, Recycle

 I was so pleased to be browsing Edible Jersey's Winter Issue and to find the article "Green Heart" by Heather Jones.  I discovered that I  was in the midst of a new trend in the kitchen.  I feel as if I could have written this article because it is exactly how I approached renovating my carriage house kitchen. View her article on page 46. Some of the commalitities I found were as follows....

 I  reused existing cabinetry, replaced some trim, and added quality custom cabinetry with PDG who is local.

          I upgraded the hardware to higher quality hardware.

        We both replaced old inefficient appliances with new energy-effecient models. I chose a  Miele dishwasher to conserve water. I downsized to a smaller refridgerator to conserve energy.  Heather and I  choose the  same oven, GE Cafe which has two ovens in it and it is  better priced than a Wolf oven.

We both replaced the sink and faucet. I chose a Rohl Sink and Perrins and Rowe British fixtures for enduring love and quality. I replaced my countertop and backsplash with luxurious Calacutta Extra Gold Marble.

I admit I am a bit of a fresh food aficionado.  I love to eat organic food that is in season. This has been a personal trend for me for over twenty five years.  I am thrilled that so many of us are pursuing this trend and are looking towards a  more sustainable direction for our planet.   I am proud to say that most days my daughter is able to visit the lovely pigs at Double Brook Farm (view on page 18 of Edible Jersey). It  is  stunning to see these pigs live a life in the shade of trees with a forest to forage.  I think it is important to remember that when you are choosing a home, you are choosing a lifestyle that hopefully jibes with your values.   Hopewell allows us the joy of country living with farmers that are commited to sustainability, and spirituality for their animals,  and a strong splash of small town living.

Custom Cabinetry for Hopewell Carriage House

As they say, there is always something to do when you own a house.  Since the master bathroom upstairs is from the 1890 part of the house, I decided to have custom vanity made for the bath.  Let's face it, the house slopes and with all the funky measurements I think this will actually be easier and more lovely.   So here is what the maple pieces look like now..Maple is a hardwood and because this piece with be painted in the shop the grain will not complete for attention. I have a professional architectural draft of what it will look like and I have confidence doing it this way.  It needs to be assembled and then Princeton Design Guild will finish it on their site.  This is the best way to have it done and we will see that in the final piece. Quality is always what is most important to me.  I just don't care about "more" so I hope someday someone else will appreciate the same thing!

Autumn Camillia Long Island Pink

I wanted to share the Camillia that is having its first bloom session since I planted it this spring.  It is fun to have something like this blooming now.  This plant is just getting started now with many buds to open and this shrub is begging to be espaliered. Long Island Pink Camillia is lovely for this Nantucket Grey Garden shed.  They love some shade and indirect light and just when you think Jack Frost has nipped everything here is a surprise in the garden.

Marble Slab for Bathroom in the Hopewell Carriage House

I thought I would share with you what the marble slab that will go upstairs looks like.  This piece was a remnant. I had it honed because I prefer that appearance and it will be more forgiving with etching down the road. People are a little scared of marble. I don't know why.  Perhaps a little more care that something else but if you love it, you will want to take care of it! This is another piece of Calacatta Gold Extra.
The cabinet will be deeper and top will be a 27 and half inch width.  Ceilings are too low for anything other than an undermount sink.  It is kind of nice to do these projects piece by piece.  Nothing is a rush job and it allows me to be my precise self!  It is in Princeton Design Guilds hands now to complete custom cabinetry.  This furniture piece will be off the ground but it will have a back splash also of the marble which is three inches.

The British Faucets are coming to the Carriage House

I am woman all about the details,  so of course when it came to pick the next set of faucets for downstairs and up,  I went for the best quality. It will make all the difference in enjoyment and quite frankly, durability.

Here is a dismal picture of the sinks to be replaced....Check out the rust... This sink would be sweet to reglaze but not possible because the enamel is gone.  The truth is I need the storage underneath so I am going to do a custom cabinet with a sweet piece of Calacutta marble. It  is from an old lot of marble which means that the Calacutta is very white instead of grey and very deep veining.  The new sink and  the polished nickel British faucet has arrived. I chose another Perrins and Rowe faucet from the Georgian era.
  Princeton Design Guild has measured for the cabinet and drawn a beautiful design that will fit the house and give some storage in a furniture style piece. I need to hide these pipes also.  They are just foul. In this bathroom there is a bear claw tub which is orginal to the house I am sure, which of course will stay.  So I plod on to keep what is good, respect the house within its time period and return quality to added fixtures.

 This sink reminds me of something you might use at a rest stop. Marble top will be fabricated and another custom cabinet will be here. The marble top for upstairs was a remnant so I got a nice deal on it.
I wish I could scan the drawings from Princeton Design Guild to show you what it will look like.  The custom part will be nice for this house because let's face it, everything slopes.
I am simply waiting for their templates so that marble can be cut and then waiting for cabinets to be installed.  Easy process.  I can't wait to show you! I don't think I will ever end up in a house all done. This has been too fun.

Half Bath Redo with some Marble in Hopewell Carriage House

I am trying to figure out what to do in the half bath in the Carriage House.  The sink that is here now looks like something that you might see in a rest stop with no soap....So do I want to do a console sink, custom vanity or an antique washstand?!? I like pedestals a lot but I really feel I would like a little storage and it is the only thing you will look at while on the pot... So antique or have something built?

The cat did drag this in........It is rather plain but nice and white! I could customize a swank little vanity with Princeton Design Guild.

  

I found a like minded woman out there.  We love English country, white and traditional in the bath!
More I think about it, the ceiling is really low in this section of the house. Perhaps I should do a undermount sink and use this piece of marble so I have as much counterspace as I can muster up.  Of course,  pick out some English faucets.  So some mod swank with some elegant classic fixtures.