The Decision Has Been Made…….Maybe !

So I am 99% sure (or as sure as I can be on any given day) that this is the tile for the interior of the pool – if you remember we are tiling the entire interior of the pool (well at least we are today! )….

And this is our waterfall wall and border….

 

Now onto the size and design.  These are our two final choices but I am taking a vote for everyones favorite (I will reveal what we chose at a later date but it’s always good to get opinions 🙂 )  The one wall on both pool designs is on an angle as the ocean view, when sitting on a lounger on the pool deck or sipping a cocktail on the bench in the pool, is on the angle also.  Design A has a straight back “wall” and design B mirrors the angle….

Option A

Option B

 Now vote away please 🙂

Sparkle, Shimmer And Shine

Is what their website states and sparkle, shimmer and shine they do……

The above photos are photos of fully tiled pools using Pool Jewelz http://www.pooljewelz.com and I am 99% sure we are going to have a fully tiled pool using one of their colors – which one the jury is still out until we see samples but we think it will be a darker tiled pool as we want to use a dark grey or black grout.  Our friends Eric and Patrick who are building a villa on St John and have their own blog for you to follow…http://seasthedaystj.com are sending the tiles – thanks guy’s.

Fully tiled pools have a few advantages – one being that it is nonslip (have to like that) and another is that the interior (obviously) will be a very even finish.  Being a Realtor I have seen many a pool on St John and the typical pool interior is finished using a product called Diamondbrite and while Diamondbrite is a great product, all but a few of the pools I have viewed have an extremely streaky and blotchy finish.  It is recommended that Diamondbrite is applied by a professional trained in applying the product and as they are, as far as I know, not readily available on the island (there are many a great gentlemen who are fabulous plasterers but according to Diamondbrite it is not the same) I am worried my finish might have a huge blotchy streak somewhere in it and being as particular as I am my eye would always go straight to it.  We have not ruled it out totally but we are now leaning towards Pool Jewelz although I am afraid it might be a little too “Vegas” – what do you think

 

Hellloooo – anybody still out there ???

Well if you are, we are back (kind of) but don’t worry our posts are about to come fast and furious – OK maybe not fast but “island time” and furious and we are very close to the start of the pool (more on that later) 🙂

This post, however is about time spent over Christmas replacing all our kitchen cabinet doors – I mean who doesn’t want to spend 3 days replacing doors 🙂

If you remember waaay back when at the beginning of time, we installed white, solid maple, Kraftmaid kitchen cabinets.  I knew/was expecting them to slightly change color with the UV rays but not for them to morph into something unrecognizable!

About 2 years ago I first noticed a slight “streaky” yellowing of one of the cabinet doors and my first reaction, as it was under the coffee pot on the counter, was that the pot had overflowed and my wonderful hubby (aka the best husband ever) just didn’t want to break the news to me that I have overfilled the pot and had therefore cleaned it up with the hopes I wouldn’t notice (fat chance that would have worked)  I decided to not worry about it and chalk it up to just one of those things that happens – you know like your first ding in a new car – but slowly the yellowing spread to almost every door in the kitchen.  It also was really strange as the cabinet box and frames were unaffected and it was only the panel of the door that the paint was turning yellow – we believe there was a paint problem at the Kraftmaid manufacturing plant although this was never confirmed.

On my last visit to Kansas City I stopped in at Home Depot where I was given a card for the Regional Manager for Kraftmaid and after only a few phone calls and emails with photos of the doors, new solid maple replacement doors were ordered free of charge by Kraftmaid due to the fact that Kraftmaid offers a free lifetime warranty – thank you, thank you, thank you Kraftmaid !  We did have to pay to have them shipped down here ($200.00 via Tropical) but the cost was well worth it.

Doors Before….

New Doors

 

The photo above looks weirdly yellow but it is the angle and glare causing this – I promise it is bright white 🙂

We also replaced (again) all kitchen cabinet handles (this makes the 3rd set).  This time we went with the handles we have in the bathroom as – touch wood, kiss wood, hug wood (OK that sounded rude) – these have held up pretty well…

Who said Stainless Steel does not rust !!!!

Now onto the good stuff………..POOL 🙂  Yes ladies and gentlemen we are moving ahead with the pool – the surveyor has been out to survey our property boundaries and we have met with the architect and engineer to go over my design, sample tile (yes I have changed my mind on the tile) has been ordered so once everything has been approved and permitted then we WILL be full steam ahead so stay tuned (drawings soon come)

Table For Six Sir ….. No Problem !!

Sorry, sorry, sorry I have been absent for a while but there has not been much to report lately but I’m  baaaack  – well at least I’m back for this post 🙂

We finally have our table top.  We did order from Avery Glass in Miami – 46″ Round, Half Inch Thick,  Flat Polished Edge, Starphire and Acid Etched…..whew that was a mouthful !!  It was crated and shipped via Tropical (quickly becoming our new best friend) and Les went to pick it up in trusty Y-Worie – thank goodness for pick-up trucks when living on an island.

It was crated perfectly …….

He then unloaded all 160 lbs by himself –  how he does this I have no idea !!!

He uncrated and then carried the glass upstairs (90 lbs) again by himself but I was on gate and door opening duty and then time to see if it works in the space.  

We think it looks great and is the perfect size…..

It seats four people comfortably and will even seat six with ease…..

 

I do have another chair but was too lazy to go and get it for the photo.  In the photo it looks like six might be a tight squeeze but I think it must be the angle as there is plenty of room  – even for knees 🙂

It is perfect for those rainy days when you don’t want to eat on the deck.  We do need banquet cushions (obviously) but can’t decide on fabric colors (update on that “issue” soon come) so for now we just pull over the cushions from our old loveseat.  This photo gives you an idea what it might look like finished although the cushions will be three total – one under the window, one along the wall on the right in the photo and one in between on the stencil wall and not a series of small pillows/cushions….

Today is Easter Sunday and it is a rainy, blustery day so we are going to spend the day looking over my “accumulated” ideas for a pool, so stay tuned for an update.

I think my next post will be a photo summary of where we started and where we are to date – should be fun looking back 🙂

May I suggest that if you would like to be updated when I post a new entry, that you click on the “notification” link on the home page – might be really useful once we start the pool process.  Until then look out for my “Before” and “After” post which soon come.

 

 

We Have A Base And……..

A light and a stenciled wall !!!!

Sorry we have been absent but we have been enjoying a “stay-cation” with Les’s mum during her visit and spent many a day at the beach (finally)

During my last trip to Kansas City I found a great table base at Pier 1 – solid Rubberwood (a great hardwood so I didn’t have to worry about termites) and the perfect colour and size and bonus, it was only $99.00…….sold !!!  The problem now was how to get it to       St John.  Les’s mum actually went to pick up the base for me from Pier 1 and I had spoken to the store and asked them to box it and after looking (via photographs) at the actual size of the box we decided to chance it and have her bring it with her and check it as her luggage.  The box was approximately 5″ wide by 34″ square  – worst case scenario was that it would cost $190.00 as an oversize piece of luggage and best case scenario the normal $25.00 checked bag fee………well best case scenario won – yea 🙂  so now we have a great table base but no glass.

I have been researching online (what a surprise) where to purchase a glass table top and I think I have found the perfect manufacturer in Miami – they are experienced in crating for export as they ship all over the Caribbean, are experienced in delivering to Tropical Shipping, they will custom make the top – a 46″ round (larger than we thought we could fit)  Flat Polished Edge (a contemporary edge finish) Tempered Glass, Starphire Glass (it has no green tint to it) table top all for $895.00…. GULP !!!!  (and remember we still have to pay to ship it here)  There is one company on St Thomas that cuts glass but we used them for a spare tiny table top for our outside side table and were less than pleased and  add that to the fact they do not temper, do not use Starphire and can’t give a Flat Polished Edge I think Avery Glass in Miami will win out, and all in all I guess it is still is less expensive for the complete table (base plus top)  even with the added cost of shipping, than some of the tables I was considering.

Next up was to hang the light now that we know the size glass we will be using.  We have had the light for a while and I just wanted to reduce the risk of knocking it over or breaking it in some way.   It is a Schnell light (our “nod” to St John), and once that was hung it was onto stenciling the back wall as I wanted to try to define our dining space 🙂  I’m not sure when I came up with this idea (I lovesome  wallpaper but Les refuses to let me use it anywhere due to the humidity) probably from a HGTV show, so I purchased a stencil, had it shipped and decided to use the same colour paint as the walls but in a Semi Gloss for contrast.  So far I love it – you can’t see it except for when the light shines on it – perfect.

Starting to stencil…..

Tone on tone……

New table base, stenciled wall, Schnell light and the oh so pretty cardboard tabletop used to judge the size (yes the glass top will be bigger than this but we had no more cardboard 🙂 )

Next up, ordering the fabric for the banquette seating along with having them made, and after that it will be pool or driveway – stay tuned.

 

“Bloody Hell It’s HUGE” Is What Every Man Wants To Hear…….

……..but not necessarily when talking about the size of the new banquette that he is building – but they were my words when I saw the banquette framed in – but more on that later.

We decided after playing with the layout in painters tape on the floor, and then me looking at the layout and thinking it looked really strange to have the long section of the banquette stick out past where the table would be so to speak (please see November 8th blog entry for a photo) that it might look better, if we had the space, for the banquette to wrap around the space on 3 sides.  After taping the banquette out on the floor (lovin’ that painters tape) it was decided that we *think* we do so decision made and we went for it.  

After many hours of researching photos of banquettes (what a surprise) it was decided that we did not want the banquette to be straight down from the seat to the floor but when seated you probably would want to *tuck your feet* under the seat (at least a little) so we decided to build the banquette wider at the seat (top) and angle it down to the floor.   The seat top would be built 22.25″ deep – great for having pillows along the back of the seat – and the bottom would be 18.75″ giving us a difference of 3.5″ – a great idea but boy I didn’t make it easy for Les to build.

Here Les has started the first two sections and he is checking the angle….

Bloody Hell it’s huge were my words at this point – back wall framed in and he is marking the straight line for the trim – tight fit honey…. 

Plenty of storage – all 3 seat lids open….

You can see in the above photo there is trim on the top and bottom of the body of the banquette – there will be one more trim section in between but we ran out of wood due to us deciding to build on all 3 sides so a trip to St Thomas is on the books for later this week.

Below how the space might work – plenty of room for 4 and in a pinch I know we could seat 6.  Looks mighty comfy 🙂

We need to have banquette cushions made for the top and will be using the same fabric that covers our new sofa which is being shipped on the 29th November from Florida – 1 month early – we are sooooo excited for the new bigger sofa. 

I decided to paint the banquette the same colour as the walls.  I felt if it was painted black it would weigh that section of the room down and be too heavy but leaving it white I felt it would be too glaring not blend with the furniture in the room  so wall colour it was. Also I have purchased a table base that is a dark Rubberwood so there will be a dark element in that section to tie it all together (third dark element in this area) and it will have a 44″ round 1/2″ glass top.

Here it is with the primer – it gives you an idea of what it might look like white….

After first coat of Moonshine (the wall colour) ….

Our cushions will be a little thinner than those pictured above (which are from our old sofa and are about 5″) probably somewhere between 3″ and 4″ but the colour of the new and old sofa are (hopefully) almost identical.

Stay tuned as we will be hanging the light fixture soon.

Pool Glorious Pool

 Warm water and floaties 
While we’re in the pool – 
Cold beer and some munchies

OK there may be some of you that have no idea what I am talking about, but if you have been following along you know by now that every now and again I have this urge to use an old song title and lyrics as the heading to a post and as this is such an oldie (OK I admit not as old as “When I’m Cleaning Windows” but still an oldie) here are the original lyrics  to “Food Glorious Food” from the movie Oliver……..ahhhh it all makes sense now 🙂

Food, glorious food!
Hot sausage and mustard!
While we’re in the mood — 
Cold jelly and custard!

Anyway back to the pool.  I have decided if I keep saying to Les phrases such as “when we get the pool” and ask questions such as “what is your favorite colour for the interior tile” and “what is the biggest you think we can go” or ” you know the decking around the pool, what material do you think we should use” he will become sooooo used to the word “pool” that it will just be a given we are getting one and not a maybe….ahhh the power of positive thinking (how’s that working honey) 

When I was in Kansas City I went sample tile shopping for pool tile (and actually Les was along on one of the trips and chose some of his favorites as well so I think my plan might be working) and here are some of my (OK our) favorites.

As you know Les is into having a Caliente coloured pool (bless him…..but no chance) so we picked up some samples of red/caliente.  If we were ever to go in that direction the interior would need to be dark so here are a few options (please forgive the lack of grass – we are in a drought)…..

And then we have my favourites……

And then a few “mixed up”
And then my absolute favorites in various light – the dark for the waterline and the light for the interior (or vice versa) ….

Now these tiles are my Christmas Wish List (for what year, maybe even decade, I’m not sure) but given the price of the tile my theory of “it’s such a tiny dipping pool so we might as well have it be the best we can afford” might just be thrown out the window or the pool might just have shrunk to 3′ x 3′ x 6″ deep – perfect for Coqui, Tiki and Cosmo 🙂

 

I Am, If Nothing Else, Inventive

Working through our banquette options (Les is going to build a banquette with built in storage) I needed to see what space I am working with and what it would look like with the table that unfortunately we have yet to find and purchase.

Originally I had decided upon a 35″ square table from Italy that would extend to 71″ and therefore be able to seat 6 (possibly 8 if we had to) but when we bought the  35″ outside square table inside just to see how it looked, it looked soooooo bulky, so at that moment we decided it would be better to purchase a 42″ round (which will mimic the curve back of the new sofa bringing some softness to all of the hard edges in the room) but of course I needed to see how it will look but how exactly do you do that…….why with a candle holder, a wicker basket and some cardboard 🙂

Square Option…….

Round Option – candle holder, wicker basket and cardboard 🙂

You can see on the floor the blue painters tape marking our options for the banquette – across the back wall only or making it a reverse L shape – the cardboard box marks the height of said banquette.  Unfortunately I have no idea what I like best so the building of said banquette might have to wait until I am home, but in the meantime if anyone can find a “Tulip” dining table with a dark base and glass top it would be much appreciated as all I can find is ……..

• Black Base Black Marble Top
• White Base White Marble Top
• White Base Glass Top
• Red !!!!

If you are unsure what a Tulip Table looks like it is Mid Century Modern style…….

If you can think of any other table that you think would look fantastic please *link* me 🙂

Drum Roll Please……….

BRRRRRRR………

Wait for it, wait for it………….before the unveiling I have more to talk about (what a surprise) If you remember Les had just decided he wanted to paint the entire inside of the house vs just the new header because “old” paint and “new” paint would not blend and it turned out to be a great idea – I was resistant at first as I just wanted to be done – but now it is finished it is soooo clean and fresh 🙂 

We needed to (finally) trim out the windows before we could paint so that was first on the agenda – boy do they stand out…….

Then it was on to painting everything.  I decided to paint the window trim the same color as the walls instead of the more traditional white as I felt white would have made the room feel more closed in and I wanted them to disappear into the view and look seamless.   Once that was accomplished there was nothing left to do except finally set up the room with it’s “permanent” furniture.  There was a media center to unpack that had sat in it’s box for over a year, and truth be told, I couldn’t even remember exactly what it looked like and neither of us could remember the colour – we knew it was dark grey/brown/black (maybe) but what exact tone was a mystery to us.

Here’s hoping we like it as we can’t return it !!!

Now for the unveiling – drum roll please………..

(ALMOST) TOTALLY FINISHED ROOM……….

It still needs decorating – the room is definitely in need of warmth, texture and colour – so a rug, pillows, artwork, “chotchkies” (although not many of them – I think by now you know I am not a chotchkie kind of girl) and of course the new larger sofa which is now due in January as the fabric is backordered with ottomans in the same fabric that will serve as a coffee table/foot rest (our old coffee table in the photo is only temporary) will all make a difference but they will have to wait so I can visualize exactly what accent colour/pieces I want to use. 

I am leaving tomorrow for 5 days and Les plans to build our banquette seating while I am gone.  I might post again today (or first thing tomorrow) our options so stay tuned – and especially check back next week to see how that turns out.

 

Thanks Everyone

For the help with my lost post (I’m glad I didn’t dream that I posted it)  Les managed to retrieve it (from wherever it went) and repost so all is good 🙂

Currently he is up the ladder painting the ceiling so new post soon come 🙂