During our latest visit to NW Montana, we had beautiful sunny days with highs in the 40-50s. We took some time out from the house stuff to have some fun, including visiting Glacier National Park and cross-country skiing. The conditions were a bit icy making my first attempt at xc skiing difficult. I definitely want to try again when conditions are better. We’re already snowshoe savvy, so adding xc skiing will allow us to cover more ground and spend more time outdoors in the winter. I’d love to hear all your xc skiing tips for beginners, so share in the comments section at the end of this post.
Our goal this trip was to review the build progress with J Martin Builders. Our inspector checked all the mechanicals, including plumbing, HVAC, & electrical, so our job was to make sure everything was where we wanted it. All the systems looked great, although we did tweak a few items, including the wiring for the motorized blinds and we requested that two openings to the attic be closed off with more than just insulation. We are thrilled with the quality of the work and progress J Martin Builders and the subcontractors have made so far.
In my last few posts, I’ve shared information about the house mechanicals and our inspection process. I’ve also shared updates on our interior and exterior design plans. In today’ post, I’ll share more interior design details, as well as insulation and drywall updates. Each step along this journey is exciting and we look forward to seeing the transformation from framing to actual rooms.
For more information about our well, plumbing, HVAC, and other mechanical details check out the posts below:
Roller Shades
We also had a productive meeting with Joni Stoll Design and Budget Blinds of Kalispell to discuss window treatments. Our current house has roller shades, and we love the stylish and practical solution to cover windows. Available in an extensive selection of beautiful textures, the roller shades will match the sliding panels we picked for the sliding glass door in the primary suite. These shades offer light-filtering, privacy and blackout options. All the shades provide essential UV protection for your furnishings, helping to prevent fading and damage caused by sunlight. The light-filtering option allow you to enjoy the outside view without obstruction. You can see through the light-filtering option, so if you want more privacy, choose the privacy or blackout option. The blackout option will stop the sun from waking us and our guests up too early during those 5am sunrise in the summer.
For our house, we picked Inspired Roller Shades in a warm, neutral color that looks fantastic with our DeWils Walnut cabinets and the walnut living room wall. The collection offers a modern color palette and is updated frequently with new pattern options, keeping the collection fresh as trends in color and design change. From digital prints featuring bold and bright colors to beautifully woven jacquard patterns in contemporary color tones, this collection offers a range that is truly unique. We are going with the Exact Lift cordless system for most of our windows but will use a wired motorized remote-control option for our great room windows and primary suite windows. We preferred the look of the rounded fabric wrapped valance for the top of the shades. Ask for Molly or Ben when you reach out to Budget Blinds of Kalispell:
https://budgetblinds.com/kalispell/
Pro-Tip: Beware of “smart” options in blinds, alarms, printers, and anything else because these features can require an ongoing monthly fee and could stop working if you decide to stop paying. Ben from Budget Blinds of Kalispell told us about a home that had a “smart” blind system that no longer functioned because the company went out of business. Yikes!!
Countertops – Granite and Quartz
We’ve selected granite for our kitchen and fireplace surround for its durability, beauty and natural qualities. We decided against the quartz because it will change color when exposed to heat. We really wanted to match the kitchen counters and backsplash to the fireplace, so granite was the logical choice. We will be using Lava Vecchia granite for the kitchen counters and backsplash. The beautiful black granite has gorgeous movement with white veining and subtle warm brown accents. It’s actually lighter than the Cambria Delamere brown-black quartz we were considering. As you can see below, the Lava Vecchia granite looks great with our DeWils Walnut cabinets and Johnson engineered oak flooring.
Chris, our builder’s representative at Cost Less in Kalispell also showed us a beautiful quartz that will work great for our bathrooms and laundry room counters. The Rhino Calacatta Royale quartz looks stunning with the terrazzo in the primary bathroom. The warm golden veining in the quartz also looks good with the tile we’ve chosen for the guest bathroom and laundry/mudroom.
The Rooms
We poured our hearts into designing the communal and private spaces in our 2,125 square foot home. It is not a large house, but it provides everything we could ever want in a home. The large open plan living, dining, and kitchen or great room is perfect for our lifestyle. A walk-in pantry, mudroom-laundry, and garage provide function and storage needed for everyday living. The primary suite gives us plenty of room, but still provides a cozy, relaxing space to rest and recharge. The office will give Jim a quiet space to work from home and the two guest bedrooms and guest bathroom are comfortable for visiting family and friends. In the future, I’ll share details about other spaces, but in today’s post I’m going to focus on the primary suite.
Primary Suite
Your primary bedroom is a sacred place. One that should provide a respite from the busy world outside or even to get a break from the kids. I hope you’ll use the following tips to turn your space into a personal sanctuary that reflects your needs, routine, and things you love. Remember, it is important to take care of ourselves to be able to take care of others. For our space, we’ll continue our mid-century modern inspired design with white oak floors, walnut paneling, sconces, and simple, yet luxurious bedding.
Designing a Sanctuary
Love this take away from The American Society of Interior Designers’ (ASID) Trends Outlook Report for 202, “Joyful designs use playful shapes and bold colors to reduce stress and enhance mental health. Fractal-inspired patterns and color drenching are trending for their psychological benefits.” Our joy comes from the mountain views, Mid-Century Modern touches and color. I’m leaning towards deep, moody colors like Sherwin Williams Jasper, as well as warm deep rusty oranges and mustard yellows. As you can see in the pictures above, I’m playing with color in SketchUp, but my goal is to create spaces that reflect the following color palettes and MCM style:
Having the ultimate bedroom retreat means having plush, luxury bedding with high thread count, and decadent layers. Bedding in organic textiles and clean lines that offer simple luxury. We’ve never had a TV or work area in this space, so we’ll have room for a seating area and bench at the end of the bed. We’ll also bring in colors and textures that make our space personal. As mentioned earlier, we’ll have blackout roller shades to help set a healthy rhythm for the mind and body. Texture is a must if you’re going with a neutral color palette. It will add much needed interest for a neutral space.
Hotel Suite Treatment
There’s truly nothing like waking up in your favorite hotel suite, be it at a historic hotel in Italy or a beloved boutique property in Seattle. Many folks want to recreate the best of hospitality design into their private spaces. There is also a noticeable shift away from stark white, minimalism to a more nostalgic, traditional bedroom design. We prefer cleaner lines with a collected, but not stuffy vibe. I think we’ll see a more tailored look in the bedroom, from four-poster beds with a contemporary, airy feel to upholstered beds with simpler silhouettes but more intricate detailing like embroidery.
Lighting
While designers are certainly seeing some major trends sweep the bedroom, several noted that it’s high time to focus on the details that really make this space sing, such as lighting. Using unique, one-of-a-kind lamps is like adding the jewelry to the bedroom. In addition, consider adding small adjustable reading lights above the bed, as well as floor lamps and a ceiling light. Nightstands without a lot of clutter and statement table lamps create a stylish vignette. Look for Murano colored glass or ceramic lamp bases with a grass cloth or other textured shade.
Editing the Bed
Although, I like a bit more color than pictured below, there is a return to a simple coverlet. This minimalist trend requires ditching the piles of pillows and focusing on one luxurious textile acting as a silhouette over the shams. Consider changing out your bedding seasonally, using soft velvets and cashmere for winter and linens and cottons for summer. If you’re going simple, select something really special that features gorgeous embroidery and makes a statement. Plus, making the bed just became that much easier!
Comfort
All the beautiful design in the world is not going to matter if your house is not comfortable. Staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer requires insulation, quality windows and doors, and much more. We’ve got a lot of windows to provide natural light and plenty of ventilation. Buying quality windows like, Anderson 100 Series double pane windows provide a U27 insulation value. The mix of fixed and operable windows bump this up a bit too. They are great windows at a good price. Another area to save is by using fiberglass insulation, which provides R20 or 5.5″ of insulation in our 2 x 6′ framed walls. That is 50% more than walls using 2 x 4′ framing. Fiberglass insulation is the most cost-effective option. Our builder will also be blowing insulation into our attic space which will provide an R60 insulation value. Our conditioned, insulated and sealed crawlspace provides an R20 insulation value. Finally, using IC airtight can lights, as well as taping and sealing all openings will make a huge impact in our comfort and energy costs.
Next Steps
Drywall has been delivered and will be installed once the insulation is complete. We are considering a level 3 drywall finish, which will provide some texture and will be easy to patch in the future. I know a lot of folks like a smooth finish, but it is very expensive and tends to show cracks and imperfections that are bound to occur in a new build due to settling. We’ll see drywall finish samples before we make the final selection, but it will not be smooth.
In addition to drywall, the subcontractor will also continue the utility excavation from the house to the well and septic system. The builder said we should have power in the next week or so, which means they can complete HVAC and install a humidistat in the crawl space. Our conditioned, fully sealed crawlspace will ensure we don’t get moisture, mold or mildew in that or any other space in the house.
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