New Pella Window + Wooden Plantation Shutter

One of the daunting upgrades we've taken on in our house is replacing all of our existing windows with Pella Architect Series windows - aluminum clad, double-hung wooden windows that match the style of our home very well. They are a tremendous upgrade in terms of looks, both inside and outside, and also offer a huge thermal comfort/efficiency upgrade.

They are beautiful (and therefore not cheap) so we're taking a long view on this project, with the goal of replacing two per year. With a total of 27 windows on our two main stories (not including the basement or attic) that comes up to a 13.5 year project - so we're hoping to speed it up at some point in the future.

We replaced two of the windows during or big remodel - one over the kitchen sink (see the exterior here, and the interior here) and another in the upstairs bathroom (see that one here). Those two were installed by our contractor, so we had yet to take on installation ourselves. Until . . . . that time last fall when our baby was two weeks past due and we were about to tear out our hair!

What better time to install a new window?

As I was benched for that particular season, Chris took the project on himself, using this tutorial from our hero Tom Silva of This Old House. After hours of measuring, insulating, shimming, more insulating, more shimming, checking for level, more shimming . . . . we had a new window!

Exterior shot of the newly installed window. All three replaced windows happen to be on this side of the house.

So we're three windows down, 24 to go!

It took about one evening of living with this beautiful upgrade to confirm what we already suspected - that we needed to add some privacy to it. Somehow the new window, while no larger than the old one - made that side of the house feel especially like a fishbowl to our neighbors to the north.

So, I ordered a custom plantation shutter from The Shutter Store, the same company that crafted the plantation shutter in our upstairs bathroom. We were confident in the quality of the product based on our past experience with them, and they were among the best prices we could find in browsing for a ready-to-install custom wooden plantation shutter. (Some sites offered a puzzle-like option, where we would have to assemble frame pieces and doors, and then stain it ourselves. We also checked out this tutorial to build our own - but in the end we found these products offered minimal savings for a LOT of work).

So, we decided it was worth a few extra bucks to go ahead and order the ready-to-install shutter. The major con for us in purchasing this way is the lead time. It's hard to be patient when we feel like we're on display for neighbors, as well as itching to install this beauty, and the wait became even harder when the company missed their 4-6 week anticipated lead time, delivering the shutter almost eight weeks after we had ordered it.

But, it was exactly the color, dimensions and quality we hoped for, so in the end, we are very happy.

Chris installed it in about one evening (a few hours). He had to remove the window stop he installed when replacing the window, and used The Shutter Store's instructions and supplies to fairly quickly have the shutter in place.

Hardware and touch-up stain for hanging the shutter, provided by the vendor.

Window stop removed.

Shutter frame going up. 

And privacy! (You're welcome, neighbors).

In addition to the added privacy, we love the nice, finished look this product offers, which is perfect for this particular window. It still lets in quite a bit of light when the slats are open, and is a perfect privacy screen for the tight side yard we have to the north.

We're Back!

Did you miss us? We've been shamefully absent for, oh, about two months now. But I figure we all could use a breath after the big remodel job. We spent the holidays enjoying our newly comfortable home and getting the rest of our house back in order following all the excitement of renovation. I think it's safe to say we're officially settled though, and loving every minute of it.

Over this past weekend, we finally got around to a few overdue final touches in our bathroom. I ordered a custom plantation shutter while we were under construction and it arrived, so we got it installed much to our (and our neighbor's, I'm sure) pleasure.

So, remember this view? Here's what we've been living with (and ducking around - houses in our neighborhood are built in true old style aka close together):

And here's what it looks like now:

And a close-up of the shutter:

It's great to have the room closed off from the outdoors, and we love the dark wood to balance out the dark door and accent the bright white bathroom. And the best part is we still get some nice light in the room. We chose a divided shutter so that we can keep the main part mostly closed and leave the top few slats open, which lets a surprising amount of light in.

And see the shower curtain?

I finally got around to replacing the "don't-let-it-touch-my-skin" polyester shower curtain we hung when the shower was installed. We realized after everything was finished that our tall shower would not work for a standard 72" shower curtain (it didn't even hit the top of the tub) and selection in 84" shower curtains was pathetic - they were all polyester and/or covered with palm trees. No thank you. So we got by with a cheapo polyester one while I figured out a plan.

So here's a photo of the gross shower curtain that catches all your hangnails:

And now, our new and improved, soft and pretty shower curtain:

The new curtain is made from a linen tablecloth that I got on sale ($12!) at Pottery Barn. I added button holes to the top and hemmed the bottom so that it would fit just right. It makes for  a great, clean look and feels great to the touch. What more could you need?

A New Kitchen

A Finished Bathroom

Beginning of the End

Chris and I spent the weekend making our home feel like a home again, which is quite a task after two months of living out of boxes and take-out containers. It was wonderful to begin getting things in their places, though, and by Sunday evening we were even able to have friends over for dinner - yay!

Our first breakfast in the kitchen was a momentous occasion - we have really missed our big breakfasts. So on Sunday morning I went and got some morning staples and we enjoyed yummy egg sandwiches. Isn't he a handsome chef? 

When it's just the two of us eating, we find ourselves dining on the island right in the kitchen, which is wonderful. We're still kind of in awe of the fact that we're not hurrying out of the kitchen as fast as possible like we used to, now that it's actually an enjoyable place to hang out. 

See the nice white ceiling? The painter came yesterday and made some mean progress for the first day, mostly around painting and staining trim work. 

We decided pretty early on that we wanted to play with white and brown around windows and doors, so for our new windows, the window itself is stained dark brown next to painted white trim. It makes a nice dramatic pop and adds a lot of dimension. The muntins are still drying on this one, so once everything's finished it will be a six over one. 

Here's the view from the back door - again notice the painted ceiling and the stained door trim on the left. But before we zoom in over there check out the end of the island. 

Chris and I are both big detail people, and I couldn't resist buying a bottle opener for him to hide somewhere. Isn't it cute? The first time he used it he sprayed beer all over his face, so I think he needs to work on his technique, but it's still fun tucked in under the end of the butcher block. 

Now, back to trim. The baseboards and door trim in the kitchen look great stained dark. I love how the walls are totally boxed in with nice, pretty, heavy woodwork. I'm hoping to see color on the walls very soon.

The trim around these two doors totally impresses me. The open door way leads to our living room, and the closed one is a basement door. The way they turn the corner will all these little detail pieces of oak is beautiful, and of course it all looks great with a fresh coat of stain. 

And the view of the back door. Again, we're playing with light and dark here so we have the dark cabinets and dark door trim, and white door in the middle. They're going to put on a fresh coat so that it holds its own next to all the new stuff, and the recessed light overhead will keep everything out of shadows, so it will be nice and bright. 

 
Now let's move upstairs. The window up there is so charming, I just keep staring at it. I love the dark little box in the white room, and the muntins definitely turn up the charm. I'm going to order some plantation shutters to give us some privacy, and add to the brown accent. 

And here's a bigger view of the room. We hung the shower curtain this weekend so we're really using the bathroom now, which is wonderful. I also picked up the standing toilet paper holder this weekend, which is a fun, quirky, vintage look in there. And very functional given the placement of the toilet without any close walls. 

More painting/staining is on the agenda for today, and I really have my fingers crossed for some color. I'll update soon.

Icing on the . . . . Cabinets?

Our counters are in! Our counters are in!

Need I say more? We've both been totally antsy all weekend waiting for Monday, when we knew our carrera marble countertops would finally be installed. Then we woke up this morning to another surprise - tons of beautiful oak trim lumber being delivered.

We were thrilled for all the progress to begin in a single day. Don't the boards have beautiful grain? We are splurging a little on the main floor on large oak trim to match the style and grain of the original oak trim that goes throughout downstairs.

 I couldn't help coming home for lunch to check on the progress, and while the trim guys were sanding up a storm in the driveway, the countertop guys were inside working hard. The kitchen stone was all in, and they were working on the seams which are tucked very discreetly behind the sink, so they shouldn't be noticeable at all when we're working in the kitchen. They had yet to drill the faucet holes downstairs, and were preparing to begin installation of the bathroom counter when I left to go back to work.

Here are a few quick photos I snapped. I was working hard to stay out of their way and not be TOO pesky, so please excuse the poor quality!

I am so thrilled with how they look - I love the dark rich lower cabinets, with the cool, matte stone on top leading to the white uppers. It's amazing to see the look coming together. Naturally, I couldn't wait to get home to see everything completed.

So, I was a tad disappointed to come home to this:

There's a protective layer of cardboard taped around the entire surface! Very opaque cardboard. I think they're teasing me. Of course, I very much respect their work in protecting the beautiful new stone as construction continues. I'm just glad I got a little midday peak. And I can still get the gist of the faucet, which is nice.

Fortunately for my sanity, the view upstairs was a much easier one to see - no cardboard on the bathroom vanity counter at all, and cute little undermount sinks to boot!

I love the simple, straight edge profile - it makes such a nice clean edge on everything.

And wait, there's more! Stone isn't the only thing that happened today - those trim guys got going big time. Our upstairs window is all trimmed in, and trim is installed in our downstairs half bath.

As you can tell, it was a big day for us and our old house. We're calling this week and next the "home stretch," with high hopes that everything will be finished by late next week or early the following. At this pace I think that feels pretty reasonable.