Just about finished!

So yesterday, I was off cause we had a full day. In addition to an early morning dentla appointment, I had an interview, and then we were off to the Home Design Center to choose our selections for the HOUSE!!!

Needless to say, we spent a good deal of time there... It was 4 or 5 hours actually....

First up, we met with the project manager and went over everything and clarified some stuff! Then we headed to the design center and made some selections. I am very upset, as I didn't bring a camera with me, so I had to rely on our camera phones, and the pictures look like crap!! Definetly not a true representation of color! Please excuse the crappy pics!

First up, we chose our cabinetry. We knew right off the bat what we wanted. Dark, espresso colored cabinetry. In our case, Lyptus wood in a color called Java! After selecting two door styles, we quickly both agreed on the same one. A little more upscale door, with a lovely bevelled edge on the panel. We both agreed they looked a little more upscale and custom!

Hardware was a little trickier. Cory liked something a little more industrial, and while I liked it as well, I didn't think it would look as great with the "fancier" style door we went with, so a sleek, brushed nickel tapered pull was selected!

Next came the floors. We both knew what we wanted. Unfortunately, it wasn't really the same thing. I wanted more dark, dark wide-planked flooring. Cory prefers a lighter color, with a lot more wood grain visible - in reality, what he wanted was oak flooring. However, we both knew that with animals, hardwood was not the best choice for us, so we went with a laminate, and in keeping with the theme of the cabinets, my choice of dark mid-sized planks, won!! (see wood floor sample below)

We also agreed to continue the same flooring throughout the entire main floor, including the entry, and the powder room, to visual extend the space. Which made a lot of sense.

The stairs and upstairs will be carpetted (despite my better judgement) and we selected a very low-profile Berber in this light cream color (it's a lot warmer than it appears in this picture). I've never had Berber before, so it'll take some getting used to!

For the upstairs washrooms, we will be adding tile to the flooring. Out of the whole bunch, I liked only one tile. It's very cool-toned and slightly blue-grey with lots of white showing. We'll also be using this tile around the fireplace surround for the meantime.

Back into the kitchen - We had dark floors, and dark cabinets, so it was time for some lightening up! Unfortunately, we chose not to upgrade our contertops, so we were stuck with Arborite (for now), but I only liked one... this speckled choice reminds me of a very cookies and cream look- and I think it will be great!! (fingers crossed). We went with a simple glossy white subway tile for the backsplash .

Last but not least, was the wall color... my biggest concern. Since this is going to be everywhere, I felt a lot of pressure, but theoretically, will probably be something we change periodically... and even in different rooms, so I was fine with my selection. A pretty grey color called Zepelin. It's much nicer in person!

One thing that we are looking into, is the kitchen island penisula. Currently, we are having it made into a raised eating bar, to accomodate our bar stools. However, after seeing some pictures and visiting a showhome of the same home, in a different community, we noticed a new upgrade. In place of an eating bar counter, they created a display bar area in the penisula that we love. It would eliminate the need for us to buy a separate sideboard.... and not having the barstools there, would free up tons of space!! We have to wait to get the pricing back.. but are seriously contemplating it. It would provide a place for me to showcase my bar ware, would provide storage for all our alcohol and provide me a little space for serving pieces and table linens!! Plus, with a built-in wine rack, we could store bottles for special occassions! I'm wondering if they can still do it, with a raised bar????

Anyhow, those are the selections for now... we still have to visit the lighting store, the appliance place, the audio store, the heating and air place, and a bunch of others, but I will remember to bring my camera next time.

Thoughts??