two weeks
We have less than two weeks until our house goes on camera—the first time we'll publicly show it in its entirety. Stuccoing walls outside, aging brass faucets, and still finalizing a bunch of decisions at Arrington Woods. Here's some of the progress this week:
Yesterday, we had a long Zoom interview with the production team at the network, who are filming the home tour. Very sweet people, and they got to know us, our house, and our story a bit more. I'm so relieved to be working with them rather than going in cold.
We stuccoed the lower-level cinder-block wall at the back of our house this week.
I had thought about painting it or limewashing it, but I didn't want to see the block lines. Stucco is not a common material here, so the cost is usually crazy high, but I happened to ask our painter working on the toy room.
Turns out he lived in Arizona for a long time, and it's second nature to him! He knocked it out pretty easily in a day and a half.
It's wild the impact this makes; the back of our house feels so much more finished. It's also gone from being painted charcoal block to now textured concrete, so it's much lighter and more inviting. Something about stucco reads very "courtyard" to me, which is exactly what we are going for.
I reached out to Francone Bespoke Taps a while back. They combine Italian heritage with traditional British style and make some of the most beautiful kitchen and bath fixtures. We've always had cheap kitchen faucets that break, and I wanted something that was both a statement and would last.
They gifted me this custom faucet, which is incredible. I love the shape, kind of industrial meets deco.
It came in unlacquered brass, so after cleaning with Isopropyl alcohol, I applied a liver of sulfur solution to age it. I built up a couple layers, and it's currently this kind of coppery color, which I like, but I want the end result to be a few shades darker.
Will keep you posted as it progresses!
We went to Aba in Nashville for dinner on Thursday; my wife has wanted to go for a while. The med/cali-inspired food was exceptional. From a design perspective, there's a lot to like, primarily a large central skylight in the dining room and ample Murano chandeliers.
They do string lights tucked into their trees rather than "stringing" them, which is a sharp look, and there were many huge plants in large planters all over the sprawling restaurant.
If you don't have much outdoor space, this is a wonderful way to keep any space feeling lush and alive.
via Aba Website
At our Arrington Woods home, we're making a lot of progress on the pool and courtyard design, and we finally chose the wood floor. We looked at many different options and settled on an engineered walnut floor from Real Wood Floors. I'm so pumped about this. The term we all kept using while we were deciding was "rich." I don't know that I've seen walnut floors in another project.
It's that perfect balance of medium brown with just a touch of red, and it will glow in photos, especially when paired with cream paint. Loving the contrast with these darker cabinets that have a little green in the stain.
The cabinet sample is the one that's standing up. You can also see some of our tile choices for the bath. Moody restraint is the vibe.
I also discovered Dimwit this week. I don't know anything about their brand except that they make light switches, and instead of the typical metal finish, these come in a variety of colors with seemingly interchangeable backplates and knobs.
via Dimwit IG
I think this is so cool - having intentional switches, outlets, vent covers, and more is becoming the standard in high-design spaces. I predict there will be an explosion in light-switch and hardware companies over the next 5 years as more people begin to realize the impact this has. It's an ideal product to sell because it's relatively high-ticket and still low-cost to ship.
