Home-A-Rama

ARGH!!!!  I had this post at least half way finished the other day, and now it's gone.  And I hit save about five times before I closed it down.  

So, after crochet Thursday...My Shug took the day off of work and the two of us went to Home-A-Rama in Noblesville, IN. 

But first....aren't these little finger puppet monkeys cute?  Someone in the knit group made them.  Yes, we have a knit and a crochet group at the coffee shop on Thursdays.  And we like each other!

And Cheryl is a new member of our group.  Her daughter went off to college so she decided to join our little group.  Well, when she told her Dad she was going to join a crochet group, he gave her, her Mom's crochet hooks and some yarn she had.  Her Mom passed last year.  So Cheryl made this dishcloth out of her Mom's yarn for her first project.  We told her to keep it forever.

So on to Home-A-Rama.  If you are building a house, there is nothing like going through a bunch of brand newly built homes, way out of your league, to give you the wants!!!  These homes are in the $650,000.00 range.

We went through five homes.

I decided to NOT download all of the pictures, and I'm not going to bother editing (Since I usually don't anyway) but I just want to show you some things I noticed.  For example....a ceiling fan outside.  Not a good idea.  They get VERY dirty and birds build nests on them.  Perfect for screened in porches though.

I LOVE the coffee bar idea.  As a matter of fact, I'm incorporating one in my kitchen with my antique hoosier cabinet. 

This was my inspiration (below left) and I have them designing this cabinet (on their computer) as a Plan B, if I don't like the Hoosier Cabinet.

 Plan A is to use this cabinet.  The drawers are not in it yet because they need cleaned out and something needs fixed on the cabinet.  But use your imagination....and with the trickery of taking pictures with i-phones....

 This is my kitchen design so far.   Of course, the island is not shown here.  I'm still trying to decided if I want the middle sink cabinet white or distressed wood.  The picture above shows the apron sink in it.  It's made a little different than the rest and is supposed to represent an older piece of furniture.
(that is not what my kitchen window looks like at all)  Ideas are welcome here!

This is a wine room.  Not necessary.  From the wine I've drank, it doesn't need a room of it's own!

But this basement looked good, and it had me redesigning our basement in my head!

Inside the wine room

I loved this look.  It looks like the outside of the house, but it's inside. I love bringing the outside in and the inside out.

I LOVE these doors.  They are the new (old) thing.  I begged my Shug to put these in between our laundry and bathroom, but we could not work it out.  You can't have light switches or cabinets in the way and we have both.  Nothing can be on the walls for the doors to slide.

Believe it or not, this is concrete.  It's outside on their outdoor patio.  It looks great.

This too is concrete.  You can do so much with concrete now a days if you have a basement or an outdoor room, I would look into it.  My only concern for the "wood look" above would be with our freezing and thawing winters, would the grooves hold water and crack the concrete. Just something to ask your concrete man.

 This seating area outside looks nice, but if you are going to sit and talk, the seats need to be way closer together.  And it would be nice to be a tad closer to the fire.

This is a better outdoor seating area.  The chairs are arranged closer together so you can talk to each other.

My Shug looks through the maintenance rooms, always.

This bathroom looks nice, but it's a cleaning nightmare.  See underneath these cabinets, a mop does not fit very well.  The floor is laminate. Most of the time laminate cannot get wet. Let's face it, live in this bathroom a couple of years, and you are going to have cobwebs, hair, and dirt under these cabinets.  I know, I have a bathroom vanity that does not go all the way to the floor and I have a very hard time cleaning it.  A solution is to put a piece of wood around the inside underneath and paint it the same color of the cabinet.  Kind of like a home-made toe kick.  Then it's easier to clean. and it looks the same.

 In this kitchen below, I love the way they put little cabinets on top of the regular cabinets.  They frame the stove area, you can display special dishes in the glass door cabinets, and they just provide storage for things you don't use very often.  Plus, they go all the way to the ceiling so you don't have to clean the top of the cabinets!  Either way, you have to get out a ladder, whether you are cleaning the top of the cabinets or getting something out of long term storage, why not use the space.  I also love the stove.  L.O.V.E.  They had it imported from Italy.  Really?  Yep, really.

Pot fillers....my Shug says they are a bad idea.  You don't use them enough and the water will get stagnant.  Who knows.

 Apron sinks...love them. 

 But I prefer the sink be above the countertop, not below it.

 

This desk is just cabinets with a counter top and I love it.  It fits the nook perfectly.  I really like the drawer pulls.  I might have to look into this idea for moi'.

In this laundry room, the counter top goes all the way across, but the cabinets do not.  It leave an empty space for a dog bed and food, or a laundry basket or waste basket.  I did the same thing and it's going to be where Dixie Doodle lives when we aren't home.  This way I don't have to put him in a cage.  

 I just want to have a party at this house!

 It flows and there is plenty of seating.

Plenty of seating here too.

This floor is not hardwood!  It's call Luxury Vinyl Tile.  It's somewhat of a newer type vinyl tile.  It holds up when it gets wet.  Which is a plus over laminate.  And it really does look like hardwood.

It was used throughout the entire house.We were told if it is the "floating luxury vinyl tile" you cannot put cabinets on top of it or it will eventually buckle.  They had their kitchen cabinets on it.  We wanted to talk to the floor guy, who happened to be there, but he was busy. 

I would like to do this to our walls in our foyer....later.  It's called MDF (I forget what it stands for) but it holds up really nice, it's easier to clean than wood, and it's easy to paint.  And it looks like wood. 

I would love to show you more pics, but I think at this point, you are probably bored with it all.  I'm into houses right now, kitchens in particular, because I am in the process of putting our rooms together.   So to me, it's interesting to look at the details.

My Last tip to you is ALWAYS buy lemonade at a lemonade stand.

Especially from enterprising young women!

 

Cindy Bee

PS.  A TV on the patio?  Well, you'd know where to find your Shug right?!?!!

Crochet Thursday

I am on my way to crochet group this morning at the local coffee shop, AND I'm going to order a pumpkin spice latte'.  I haven't updated you on our group in awhile.  There were times our little group couldn't meet this summer, but for the most part, we worked it out. 

 I was making a beach bag, which I have not finished yet.  I have to drag out the sewing machine to make a lining for it, then it'll be finished.

Debbie was making a blanket,....she has HAD IT with this blanket pattern.  She kept adding a stitch somewhere and her blanket kept getting bigger.....and wider.....and bigger.....She has started the darn thing over several times.  That big ball of yarn in the first picture.  Yep...that'd be hers! The big ball of yarn in the picture below that K is winding.  That'd be Debbie's ball of yarn as well.  Same blanket. As a matter of fact, we have nicknamed her 

"One who walks with big ball of yarn!"

 K is saying, "Dammit Debbie!"  (we call her Dammit Debbie too!)

 This was the first day K was back from foot surgery.  She has shoes on for the first time all summer!  IF you get the notion, send up a prayer for K and her foot.

OK So, at this point, Debbie is D.O.N.E. with this blanket!

And here's K!  She's our over achiever!  She got her blanket finished, is working on another one, has made some handwarmers "just for fun" and finished them!

 Do you recognize this yarn/pattern.  It is one of Lucy's patterns and yarn from Attic 24.

  This is as far as I've gotten with my pack from Wool Warehouse (Attic 24)

 I just drool over it!  I can't wait to start it but I must finish the blanket I am working on first.

It's one I started on awhile back, then ripped out because I didn't like the colors.  See this post.

 Here are some progress pictures...

 I'm sewing the border on it now.  These are the colors we picked out for the border....simply because these are the colors I had left!

 

 I still have the rest of the red to go and then the last row of the aqua-ish blue color.

 

 I also started another Customizable Crocheted Poncho.  Totally unplanned project.  I was looking at a blanket pattern for Debbie to try, and I realized the blanket pattern was the same as the poncho pattern, so I turned it into a poncho.  Pattern is free on ravelry and easy peasy.  I promise!
The blanket pattern called for two skeins of yarn held together and you use a Q hook, so it'll be a thick poncho, but the yarn is not wool so I don't think it will be that warm to wear.  More like a light sweater.

 Here are the handwarmers K finished and this is the new blanket Debbie has started.  A much easier pattern.  It is also yarn from Wool Warehouse that we got off of Attic 24's blog.  We all ordered some of her yarn to try.  K and Debbie love it.  I haven't tried it yet.

Have a great Thursday!

Cindy Bee