Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been a baaaaaaad blogger… but after moving we didn’t have internet service for over a week. I’m back online now and back in action! Although I’ve been distracted with the personal house sale and move, we’ve still managed to keep the momentum up on the Target House. I’ve got the millwork package ordered and it’ll arrive by the end of this month so that prompted me to get right on the interior paint and tile so I’m ready when it shows up. After alot more prep inside we finally got everything primered and then I sprayed 2 coats of semi-gloss on all my new trims, no brush marks baby, first class all the way. For the walls I chose a medium warm grey for the whole house with the exception of the dining room which as you can see is red. The grey probably wouldn’t be too safe for most homes but with all the natural light I have coming in and the abundance of white trim it really doesn’t make it dark or feel small. The red for the dining room ties into the stained glass windows in the living room and we planned to pull that same red down onto the new tile for the fireplace hearth.
The kitchen cabinets will be white shaker style again that will pop good on the grey walls. I’ve chosen black granite counters that will contrast the cabinets as well and then we are going light on the hardwood floor stain. It’s going to look incredible, definitely the best renovation we’ve done to date. Also this week I had my mason come in and re-mortar the fireplace brick and firebox, now there will be no cracks and it’s back to good as new condition. Thankfully I got the A/C on just in time for all this inside final stuff, it’s sure nice to work in the coolness after what seemed like months of humid 100 degree heat. For the first time in my life I hired a pro to do my tile, this guy is really good and its nice to see it getting handled perfectly and without taking 2 weeks of my personal time to do it. I picked up $2500.00 worth of various sizes of white ceramic, mostly 3X5 subway tiles that we are putting in a brick pattern. For the hall bath I am using white ceramic hexagon floor tile with black dots and as you can see they’ve almost got the tub surround completed with the 6×6 and subway pattern combo. I opted not to do a decorative liner in this bath to keep it clean as we’ll have plenty of stuff going on with the floor pattern.
In the gorgeous master bath I’m running subway all the way up inside and outside of the shower and the tub box as well. I’ve picked out a real neat liner for the shower that’s super clean and linear to go with all the sharp lines. No glass accent tiles in this home, we are moving on to newer materials now. Having an account at Dal Tile is key, they do they not sell retail to the public. Their stuff is a little expensive even at my contractor discount but they’ve got the best of the best with new materials to choose from. Picking materials like tile, fixtures, etc. at Home Depot or Lowe’s will make your rehab look like everyone else’s. Nothing worse than walking into someone’s project and recognizing all the fixtures and tile from a big box store!
The San Antonio real estate market is feeling some post tax credit blues as is most of the Nation, home sales were 25% down in July as compared to last year but 6% up for the year. Median and average prices were up in July due to the higher number of home sales above the 500k mark, which have previously been getting hammered. As I’ve been saying, we’ve definately pulled some demand forward so this Fall should be interesting. Stay tuned and thanks for coming back, it’s all hands back on deck now.
I love what you do with houses, I wish you could upload more pictures
Hey thanks Pedro. What do you mean, more pictures on each update or more frequent updates? I have tons of pics and it’s always hard to decide what to show, I dont want to beat a dead horse ya know?
Looks great. I’m looking forward to seeing the final before and after!
Tom, do you think glass tile is over? I’m house-hunting and I have to say that it’s disheartening to see how dated so many 10-year old remodel projects look. Do you have tips on how to avoid such results?
Thats a great point Halbert. There’s no way to really avoid it I guess. What’s in style this year will look outdated in 10 years. I see glass accent tiles being way too played out now. The typical 1 inch square colored ones are now in stock at Lowes and Home Depot. Once stuff makes it there you know it’s almost over. Before that, the cherry cabinet, travertine thing with tumbled backsplashes was huge. And then there is slate. Does anybody still use slate? Doubt it. When we are remodeling we try and stay with what’s new and cool without getting too personalized, it’s a fine line to walk. I like white ceramic in various sizes and patterns, it’s timeless and will never go out of style plus its appropriate for the style homes we specialize in. I never do tile backsplashes in the kitchenfor instance, it’s way too personal. There are rehabbers out there that think they’ve figured out some kind of “formula” and use the same colors, cabinets, tile, vinyl and fixtures in every house they flip. It might work for low end homes or if you are lazy, but a little effort and maybe you could be putting out a better product. Each house has a personality, we try and play off of this when picking materials. For your upcoming purchase it really comes down to personal taste, buy whatever you like and dont worry if its “in” or not. So are glass tiles out? I dont think so but look for all the new versions of glass and use them carefully. Good luck with your house shopping!
Hi Tom – Love following the progress. I used the red in my kitchen nook area. Just looks terrific. We toned it down with a white board and baten detail.
All the best to you and your family as you return to the Golden State.
Tom, on this project, there’s no such thing as too many photos/videos. Seriously.
Err on the side of more, not less (thanks for the photos in the post that follows this one — it’s a good first installment!)
That’s a good tip, Tom: if it’s made it to all the big box stores, it’s probably over.
Someone needs to be thinking of ingenious ways to re-purpose all those huge alcoves for the giant TVs that are no longer necessary now that we’re all buying flat screens. Meanwhile, your Target House somehow manages to look both contemporary and timeless. I wish you were building it in my area.
Tom, what is the color (grey) you used on Target home, great color, want to use on one of my projects as well in my own Master bedroom. Excellent project! If you know the color and manuf. please tell.
Thanks!
@Troy. That grey is Antique Sterling. White trim is Snowbound. Home Depot has both colors in their computer. Manufacturer is ICI. Saweeet grey, hint of blue.
Hi Tom
I was admiring your color choices for your bungalow home. We too have one and just recently painted our living and dining room conservative grey and was wondering if the red color you chose for the dining would look good in a kitchen? Also would you please tell me the name of the red color you chose?
Thank You:)
That red color goes good with grey. Its called ‘Salsa” and its in the computer system at Home Depot.