I think one reason why I like my short and sweet Designed in a Click Q&A service, or my one-time in person design consultations so much, is that they are done the minute I hit “Send” or walk out the door.

However, I know the bigger rewards, the finished end result, photographed projects are really the plums of the design world and where the real fruit of my work can flourish and live for a long time.

The pace of long term projects can really be slow, just by their own nature. With some of these, below, we are seeing things finishing up and coming together and I’m so happy to see results!

I walked through this jobsite this past week. It was first designed almost two years ago! We’ve had to make a few reselections for products that were discontinued, but most of it is intact and going in nicely. :-)

Full House Remodel With Addition

I love that the homeowners were all in with using some patterned tile in this job. We’ve got it spread out throughout the project in various ways, and I love how it is making an impact and lightens the mood of the house. It already feels so fresh and stylish.

Mudroom Progress

This tile floor in the mud room and small adjacent bathroom will hide all kinds of dirt trekked in and has such a nice graphic punch.

Patterned porcelain tile in mudroom area going in to a full house remodel.

The carpentry on this job is really impressive. It’s the first time I’ve worked with this contractor and I like what I’m seeing so far.

What a perfect place to stow those backpacks and sports gear, heading into the house.

Mudroom built-in bench with patterned tile floor from Daltile. The seat will be stained and the rest painted.

The bathroom off the mudroom has this cool little custom vanity that will be painted a bold blue/green. The rustic wood-look vinyl wallcovering will keep water splashes easy to wipe up. A Caesarstone “Fresh Concrete” counter and splash will have a stone sink resting on top.

Here was the design board for this little space. It’s now going in all as I presented. :-)

Moodboard / Storyboard for Powder Bath off the Mudroom

Nice Tile Work!

The guest bath has a simple stacked tile with a large niche. Great tile job!

Stacked white linear subway tile with a large niche going in to the guest bedroom’s bath.

The laundry room is so fun with a blue-gray and greige tile patterned floor. Farmhouse sink, built-in ironing board, I’m jealous! Laundry rooms should be fun, right?

Laundry room in a fun patterned porcelain floor tile in blue and gray.

In the main powder room, I put the pattern on the wall behind the pedestal sink. This marble is making me swoon! Hardwood flooring in here in a medium warm tone with a bold wall color I can’t wait to see painted.

Marble mosaic tile on the wall behind the sink in the main powder bath.

Here was the design board for this special powder room.

Storyboard / Moodboard for main powder bathroom.

Great Room Progress

I approved the plaster sample this week (it’s the larger sample in the photo) that will go on the tall fireplace wall in the great room. It’s a fine lime plaster that will have a subtle texture with a hand-applied look. So excited to see this done!!

I was concerned about having to do a non-combustible material surround at the fireplace, but this material is actually powdery ground limestone and when applied, dried and hardened, basically becomes a non-combustible stone. There’s no need to face around the firebox with tile or slab material then. It’s also a completely natural product. :-)

This hand applied lime plaster finish will be subtle but gorgeous on our tall fireplace wall.

The plaster is going on the tall fireplace wall just below the beautiful beams that just went up in the great room.

Beautiful beams are up in the great room above the fireplace wall.

Built-in bookshelves fill out the wall opposite the tall fireplace.

Exterior Porches

The exterior is getting a new look too. The beige stucco and dark stone that was here will all be going white. Here’s the back porch, laid with the new gray slate tile in a Versailles or “Roman” pattern. :-)

The stucco is not the right color yet, it’s going to be SW Alabaster, much whiter. I love the steel gray slate in a Versailles or “Roman” pattern that we did from Thorntree Slate in Houston.

I have another big remodel that is wrapping up, that I first designed back in 2016. It’s about ready for some pro photos, I hope coming soon!

Flip House Remodel

The flip house that one of the contractors I work with is doing, has now been painted its new exterior color. (Exterior color choices make me nervous. All over a house in the direct sun, color can look totally different than inside.)

It looks great though! (This contractor would have this flip done by now, but he’s been busy with other jobs too!)

BTW, this is Sherwin Williams, Agreeable Gray on the body and Sherwin Williams, Grizzle Gray on the accents.

AFTER - Flip house exterior paint, Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray for the body and SW Grizzle Gray for the accents and garage door.

Much better than before, right? :-)

BEFORE - Exterior flip house with baby poop brown as the body color. :-/

The kitchen now has countertops! We went with budget-friendly honed black granite and it looks so up to date! The new windows and granite sills look nice too and I can’t wait to see the tiled walls and floating shelves installed. :-)

The new honed black granite countertops are in at the flip house!

It already looks 100% better than the previous kitchen, right? :-)

New black honed granite kitchen countertops in remodel of flip house.

Check out all the “before” images and see other parts of the house here.

My Own Exterior Design Project

And….….I have a project of my own that was finished last week.

We put in a new walk up to my front porch, as the whole area around the sidewalk had tree roots pushing out that everyone tripped over and was all muddy when it rained. No grass grew here anymore because our trees grew up too big and shaded this whole area.

Driveway with dead grass, muddy area with tree roots exposed.

Sidewalk with dead grass, muddy area with tree roots exposed.

Love my new pavers.

I wanted just the right color of paver, because our brick is a terracotta color. My husband won’t let me paint it white. :-(

I looked at neutrals, gray-griege-beige combinations and they just looked dull and kind of like dirt. I actually like the reddish quality in this paving pattern.

Most of the ones with red have a lot of red or orange, but this one was more neutral with a lot of good gray mixed in. I love it!

It looks great with my brick and will look even better when I paint my brick house white someday too. :-)

New paver walkway to front porch with a wider, larger path and a little mini-patio.

Side walk with new pavers to back gate on side of house. This was always muddy and filled with stones and exposed tree roots.

Love the color combination of this paver with my brick and the 3-size pattern.

I love our new walk to the front door and then to the side gate. This company, Innovations DoD Landscaping did the work and did a great job.

They actually did the job from start to finish in less than a week! We did have to go through the city though for approvals and submit pictures, products, plans, etc., which was kind of a pain. At least we know we are all within any restrictions and it won’t be flagged when we sell.

Patience can bring really good end results!

I know things seem very drawn out sometimes, but there is a reward for sticking it out to the end. Clients get really great end results that last (and I get some beautiful photographs :-) !

Project Updates - Long Term Interior Design Projects Take Soooo Much Patience!