new house, new ideas

The original "house ideas" post is no longer valid because I didn't end up closing on that home.
Hence "new house, new ideas".

I still love black & white and want to make my house a canvas to build on, but it is pretty much move-in ready, so all the renos I do will be purely aesthetic.

• Benjamin Moore Moonlight White (matte): all white walls/ceilings
• 
Benjamin Moore Simply White (satin): white trim/woodwork
• Benjamin Moore Soot (matte): black walls for accents
• Benjamin Moore Toucan Black (satin): black stairs what is under the new carpet?
• 
Olympic Knight’s Armor (eggshell): black for bathroom?
• Benjamin Moore Black Beauty (satin): exterior black trim

Bathroom

Fairly large and nicely done. White and robin's egg, with subway tiles in the bath surround.

• I don't have to replace the toilet right now, but eventually I would get a dual flush toilet like this one TOTO Aquia® Dual Flush Toilet, 1.6GPF & 0.9GPF
• A black & white bathroom really appeals to me and pennyround are amazing Nemo tile pennyrounds
• Plain old white subway porcelain tiles (3 x 6) for the bath surround and walls - DONE!

Kitchen 
Will be perfectly serviceable as-is, although I don't love the "exposed brick" (brick tiles) or the wood cabinets.

• I'll most likely paint the brick white and the cabinets black and/or white.
• There is no back splash right now, so this will be my first project! I'm excited to do some tiling.
• 3 x 6 white porcelain tiles (American Olean)
• black/grey/charcoal grout

• It doesn't need replacing yet, but one day I'll put in an apron front sink or farm sink (Rohl Shaws Lancaster Apron Front Fireclay Sink) 
• Good prices on faucets and sinks (fixtureuniverse.com)
• Open shelving + raw & reclaimed material: Blake Avenue Shenadoah Wall Shelf, seen in situ in Door Sixteen's kitchen.

Living room

• Wall-mounted track shelving:
• Inspiration (Almost Makes Perfect)
• Instructions (This Old House)

Exterior

•  Modern house number (I just realized that I can get anything I want laser cut at work!!) inspired by these photos.

I can do anything I want with our laser cutter!!

•  The brown cedar siding is in good shape, minus a few missing shingles, but I'll probably stain it in 2014 or 2015? I'll have to look into this, but I'm guessing that I'll need an opaque stain that I can colour to my navy blue/grey of choice.
  Something like this Benjamin Moore premium exterior stain or this Olympic stain and sealant in one.
•  The window frames could use some TLC. The white is peeling in some sections. I might get to that this fall? First step is buying a ladder... Then getting some white paint like Aura exterior in Satin.
•  There is one MAJOR project that needs to happen... a new roof... The shingles are at least 20 years old and have lived they're life to the fullest.
  One thing I learned from my house inspection is that this type of construction (1 3/4 storey) has poor soffit air circulation. Because a large portion of the roof is actually on the living section (3/4 living, 1/4 attic) it gets very hot and causes the shingles to curl sooner than on an all-attic roof.
  One thing that will help is putting a "whirly- bird" vent instead of the passive vent that I have now.
  Another solution is going with a different type of roofing material that is more durable and less susceptible to heat wear than asphalt shingles.
  Guess what the best material is? Metal! Galvanized steel! (that isn't fake enthousiam, it is by far my favourite roofing material) It costs more - a lot more - but it last 50-70 years, which is twice the time of shingles. And it looks the same on day 1 as on day 18,250.
  The best part is that I much prefer the look of a metal roof over asphalt shingles.
  I know it costs more, but I don't know what that number looks like. I'll book some quotes for when I first get possession and see when I could realistically undertake this project.