Riverside Cabins

Putting this information here so I don't lose or forget it.

We've been looking at two cabins options from Riverside Cabins based out of Vaughn (Great Falls), Montana.

The first is called the Bighorn, and the second is the Yellowstone.

The Yellowstone

22x28' 2 bedrooms, 1 bath $89K
22x40 $105K
It is a double-wide so it would require two trucks to haul it to Red Lodge so $6/mile for delivery would be roughly $3300. It would also require a crawl space, not just a pad (estimated at $14k)

The Bighorn

 $130-140k for the Bighorn. Nate at Riverside Cabins directed me to the Little Bighorn. 16x48' 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 4' loft space $100k. Would only require one truck for delivery ($1600), and would only need a pad to set it on (much cheaper than a crawl space).

Oh, and if we want a chimney for a wood-burning stove, add $1200.

Booyah.

Tile

Well, we don't know for sure what our kitchen will look like, but I ordered tile for it today, anyway.

I first noticed the tile in this kitchen, loved it, but, as the tile is Fireclay, it was pretty expensive.

Then, something similar began cropping up in a few kitchen remodels online. I tracked it down and voila, it's totally reasonably priced tile. The most affordable price I found was at Lowe's. Boom. Done. In love.

Here are a couple of photos of it in situ:

I hope it looks as good in person as it does online.

Now to decide white grout or black (hint: probably white).

Color Schemes

Oh. Forgot. New Kitchen Planner Lady gave me new kitchen colors to consider.

Cabinet Color 1 is too blue in the light in our home and Cabinet Color 2 too blah. I don't like the backsplash tile at all (something much better coming soon), but I'm starting to like the countertop a lot. Which is unexpected. I've always loved white with grey/blue veining, was not expecting to like something with a bit of taupe veining as well.

For Eric

Not to be sappy, but Eric is like... the best person ever. Bonus, he's a total hunk. BUT, fatal flaw, he's terrible at telling me gift ideas. And Father's Day is upcoming. I'm pretty sure he'd like some kind of gun, but I know nothing about guns. I also know he needs new skis and boots, but there is NO WAY I could figure that out, either. 

So, what do I know about him? He's tall and Norwegian. Likes to bike. Likes outer-space. Total nerd. Grill master extraordinaire. 

1 The Chart of Cosmic Exploration - He loves space. And I think he actually said he liked this poster once? 

2 Cycling Jersey - I messed up and bought him a black helmet (not hi-vis) when I got him one for his birthday last year; I'd like to redeem myself and get him at least *one* item of biking equipment that is hi-vis.

3 Grill Mat - He likes to grill; fairly certain he was looking at a mat at some point. 

4 We could really use a new weed eater and edger, but seems like a boring gift.   

5 The Office - We no longer have Netflix and we miss watching The Office. Either the box set or another Netflix membership? I heard Stranger Things 3 is coming out soon, too...

6 Norse Sweatshirt - He's Norwegian, therefore he obviously loves anything and everything related. Right? 

7 Lego Saturn V - Did I mention he's a nerd. A big, sexy nerd. 

8 Black Bear Art Print - He once owned bees? And I want this print. I fear this list may reveal how self-centered I am... 

9 Kuhl Shorts - He's so skinny, his old shorts don't fit. 

10 Cycling Shorts - See above. 

Wall Decor

There's a huge blank space on the wall above Lukas's bed that has been driving me nuts. What should I put there?

Observe these very poorly photoshopped images for ideas:

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Open to anything (reasonably priced) right now.

Another Plan?!?!

I went to another local kitchen store the other day. Just to see what cabinets they carried, and if they could compete with prices at Kitchens Plus. And the kitchen designer decided to GIVE ME ANOTHER PLAN TO CONSIDER. NOOOOOOOO. Here I thought I had decided everything, and now she's telling me I need to change it all around?? WE WILL NEVER GET A KITCHENNNN!!!!!

Anyway, here's the plan she suggested:

Good things about this plan:

1) In every other plan, our stove has remained in the same place (which has my back to the kitchen/dining). Putting the stove in the island would let me see the children while cooking.

2) Kitchen triangle is smaller than when the fridge is on the far wall.

3) That island is huge.

4) Feels very open - the walkway to the hallway isn't obstructed at all by fridge/pantry as in other plans.

Ok, yes, it looks nice and open, BUT there are several issues. Big ones.

1) The space between fridge & stove is only 53ish inches. A bit tight if one person is cooking and someone else (say, a small child who wants water) has to get into the fridge.

2) We would have to get a very specialized (read: expensive) oven and/or a very expensive hood.

3) This is probably the most important: the giant size of the island would shrink the width of the dining room to only 8.5 feet. That is not good. Recommended minimum for dining area is at least 9 feet. We have a narrow table and the room already feels cramped; add some people sitting at the counter and no one would be able to get through the space at all!

I'm going to sleep on it a bit, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be our final kitchen layout.

Probably still something like this.... with or without the island overhangs...

Kitchen Inspiration

I have been looking at kitchens for a loooong time. I've saved most of my favorites on Pinterest and Instagram, and I thought I'd share a few here. I'm hoping to gather my thoughts and figure out what I like about each of them.

I know I want shaker-style cabinet fronts with either full overlay or full inset. Other than that, I think I'm torn between two (maybe three) counter/cabinet color combinations....

1) White kitchens - for the longest time, I definitely thought I'd want white cabinets. White cabinets and white/grey marble-look counters. They're so classic and timeless.

2) Colored cabinets - after bringing home tons of color samples and seeing what they looked like in the light in our home, I started to really love blues, greens, and grey cabinet colors as well. Not a surprise since most of the rest of our house is blue, green, or grey. Muted color palettes are the bomb. 

3) Wooden cabinets - wood cabinets have started cropping up more and more and I really like the warmth they add to a space.  

I think the answer to my dream kitchen is a combo of all of the above. One thing that bothered me about white cabinets is that they never seem to be quite the same white as the countertop. One always turned the other more yellow, something I'd like to avoid. I think cabinets with a subtle color would get rid of that problem. And, I do really love wood as a contrast. I love the look of open wood shelves (so pretty), but I do not want to have to dust and keep them styled all the time. Maybe a butcher-block counter on the island with white counters elsewhere? Something that feels like these....

My main goal is to make something I love, but also, I really want something that won't look dated in 5, 10, or 15 years. I hope I can make some good choices!!

Kitchen Layout

Our main concern in remodeling our kitchen has been to get a layout that would best use the space. Shortly after moving in we did two things: we moved the back door out of the kitchen (to a sliding door in the dining room), and we put a second doorway in the wall between kitchen and dining. The first gave us more storage space (and will allow more counter-space in our new kitchen), and the second helped with traffic flow. Before, people would stand in the middle of the kitchen with no clue how to get out; the new door-hole (sounds weird) gave another escape into the rest of the house. Here's what I'm talking about:

We decided pretty early on in planning that we'd like to get rid of the wall between kitchen & dining. Mostly so I can see what Sam and Lukas are destroying in the house while I try to cook. But also, because it'd be much better for entertaining. Right now, anyone that wants to talk to me while I'm doing food prep has to stand right in the middle of the kitchen, and then I have to work my way around them as I cook. We were hoping for a way to make space so visitors/friends/little kids can chat with me while I'm working, without being in the way.

Obviously there are issues with the basement stairs being in the middle of the kitchen, but we aren't willing to do a *major* remodel - removing the wall is major enough for this house. We also have to take into account that both our kitchen and dining room are high traffic areas, and they're not huge (both are roughly the same size at 10x16' each).

Anyway, following are the plans we've seen so far...

Most designers/cabinet centers gave us this layout:

...which is fine, but didn't feel quite right for some reason.

I finally asked someone to draw us a U-shaped kitchen, just to see if it would work, and we ended up really liking it. This is how we planned to do it for quite some time.

I still like this layout a lot. I could probably be talked into it again if someone tried hard enough. I love the vast expanse of countertop this layout provides and, visually, I really like how much less cluttered it looks (compared to an island). Concerns, however: leaving walking space between the bar and back door as well as space for more than one person inside the U. Eric is a really good cook and likes to help a lot, especially when we have company over; we needed more prep space for each of us to stand. Which led us to the following:

The fridge and pantry will likely be reversed from what's shown in this picture, and I'm still not sure we will have the island countertop hang into the dining room... we might make the cabinet bigger and get rid of the overhang? I think it's a little weird to have seating for two on one side and just one on the end? TBD. So many decisions yet to happen. Here's to hoping it all works out...

For Mom

I never know what to get my mom for Mother's Day (or her birthday or Christmas...). It's really difficult to buy gifts for someone who doesn't really need or even want anything for herself. Poor lady usually gets only a card (eek!).

So here is my generic round-up of gifts for the mom-ish lady in your life. Good luck.

1 Mother's Day Gift Set from House that Lars Built. Includes apron, pilea, & card
2 Pride & Prejudice - a classic
3 Liberty of London pillowcases - pretty & fuctional
4 The Crafter's Box - a curated kit of tools & materials so your mom can learn a new hobby each month
5 & 6 Cut Flower Garden & Flour Water Salt Yeast - bc moms are required to love gardening and/or bread-baking
7 Everything from Farmhouse Pottery is so dreamy
8 Falcon Enamel pitcher - great for lemonade on the patio this summer
9 These Mahabis are an excellent indoor/outdoor slipper for cold tootsies
10 A eucalyptus wreath, or really anything from the Bouqs

For Eric

Just in case you ever need Mother's Day or birthday ideas for me, you dear, sweet man.

1 String Shelves - this would look great in our bedroom or, really, anywhere in our house. The white metal with wood shelves is my favorite.
2 Schoolhouse Electric Solar System Print
3 Stoneware Floor Planter With Wood Stand
4 Woven Market Backpack this can be found a million different places online (probably for less).
5 I can't decide if I like the Madewell Medium Transport tote or the Madewell Zip-top Transport Crossbody better. English Saddle (embossed with B.B. would be cool, but not necessary).
6 Madewell Leather Pouch Wallet in English Saddle (embossed, maybe?).
7 Madewell Chunky Hoops these earrings are only $20. I also like necklaces. And rings. GLDN has some cute stuff... (hint hint)
8 Birkenstocks size 38 narrow. I really like the lighter brown - I think it's called tobacco brown.
9 Yeti Tumbler
10 & 11 Amy Oxford punch needle size 10 (should come with a box & instructions) & the book Punch Needle: Master the Art of Punch Needling Accessories for You and Your Home Paperback by Arounna Khounnoraj
12 J. Crew Windowpane Pajamas size medium. Though really, I'd love any short pajamas so long as they're cotton or linen & not see-through.
13 Woodsy Foxman Blackbear Print adorable & affordable
14 Le Creuset dutch oven. The 5- or 7-quart would be a dream for bread baking. I like the white or the navy blue.
15 HAY Field Bread Board soooo beautiful (I maaaay have already ordered this for myself for a bday/kitchen-warming present; it is a stunning, practical art object that I will cherish forever).
16 Nike Internationalist Sneakers - black, in size 8.
17 Schoolhouse Electric Winter + Summer Coverlet we could really use a new bedspread.