Family room furniture FINALLY done!

Today we finally received the last piece of furniture from Arhaus for our family room.  I have been waiting for this for 6 months, maybe more I lost track.  I'm so happy with it, I love the velvet and the color is perfect!  It matches the velvet pillows I got from Restoration Hardware, both fabrics are called "Mink" so everything is nicely tied together.

I still need drapes, a mirror and all the knick knacks and what not and pictures on the wall, but I'm very pleased with how everything turned out.  I only wish I could have a nicer rug, but with Mr. Tickles peeing issues I wouldn't chance it and waste the money.

I plan to head to our local St. Vincent DePaul for some cabinet fillers since I know I can find some little vases or old books for next to nothing there.  Now that the living room is all done, I would love to finally finish the front room, since it's the only empty room now downstairs.  It's taken us 2 years and we've only done the kitchen, morning room and family room!  I don't mind as much because I'm getting everything I want without compromise, it just takes longer to save up to do each room!

Someday I will have furniture in our master... right now I have a broke dresser, a bed on a frame, and a table lamp on the floor!  It looks more like a Hostile than a master suite!

Butler Ottoman from Arhaus Furniture in Vernon Mink 

Dante Chairs from Arhaus Furniture in Wilson Graphite 

A view of it all!  Lamps from Restoration Hardware (Library Swing Arm), side tables from Arhaus (got them for FREE with our rewards... I guess not REALLY free because we spend enough there to buy a new car... lol

Mr, Tickles!!!! My baby kitty :)

Bad kitty and other whoas... :(

So, we've had our sectional now for over a month and love it, it's so freaking comfortable!  I was worried about Mr. Tickles our furry little baby and her reaction to it but for the first few weeks she seemed fine and loved snuggling up on it with us.  Then, one day, I came inside to find my Husband staring at the sectional and he said "Tickles peed on the couch..."

I literally broke down in tears.  Backstory... this cat has peed on everything we've ever owned, she pees on clothes, beds, bath mats, sofas, chairs, carpet... I thought I had to all figured out with diffuses and infections and keeping her litter box clean... but I guess I must have failed somewhere.  I swear if I wasn't so obsessively in love with this kitty I would have gotten rid of her a long time ago, but she has my heart and I couldn't imagine life without her sweet snuggles, but boy I could forego all that damn cat pee!!!

So, long story short, I took everything apart, dumped 100000 gallons (no literally) of enzyme cleaner (NOTE: DO NOT USE NATURE'S MIRACLE!  The name was sold years ago but not the formula, this will leave sticky residue and the scent almost smells like cat pee, I swear my cat would want to pee on things more when I used it!  I use the original formula by Petastic it's also FAB for getting out ANY organic stain, works great on cat barf too!)

The smell is gone, and luckily, my sectional comes with a 5 year warranty that INCLUDES pet urine stains!  So I have a professional company coming to clean it this month and the one leather cover will most likely need replaced, as she had a SECOND accident on the corner seat just last week and the leather is all warped :(

My other whoa is that our dry wall is still not repaired.  Rusmur came to repair it but they didn't realize how big of a job this would be, so Rusmur is paying Ryan Homes to come in and do it since it's out of the 1 year warranty, but I have yet to hear from RH about a schedule... and Rusmur has already had to remind them several times, so they said they will refuse service for RH until this is done (Kudos to Bernie at Rusmur for taking care of this and getting on RH's ass!)

I hope to report only positive things going forward!  In the mean time, I bought plastic paint drop cloths and I'm covering our sofa and new chairs that will be arriving next week.  I will continue to do this every night and when we are at work until I think the issue is resolved, but I do have a decorative storage basket in the living room to house the plastic sheets, so at least they will be out of site!

Pee stain :( though the smell is gone, this stain remains, it soaked into the leather and raised the texture of it and took away the sheen... it needs replaced sadly

I change my mind a million times!

So, not that it's anything new but I think I've changed my mind 100 times with this house, between the patio, the furniture, paint colors, accessories.  I've returned more things that I bought that's for sure!  I made a bunch of changes to the furniture order too, my sales rep at Ahaus probably wants to kill me by now, not to mention my order had to be audited because I changed it so many damn times!  But hey, when you are paying that kind of $$ it better be right.  I changed the fabric for the ottoman due to a hide delay, the cow that we wanted hadn't been murdered yet apparently :(..., and for fear our kitty will want to pee on it..  I also nixed the console table and end table and opted for a more simple end table and I'm going to get a simple iron and glass console for behind the sectional.

I am also happy to report that the patio is completed, well ALMOST!  We are just waiting for the pillar caps to come in, the originals didn't look right according to my husband's uncle who installed the patio, and he said if we're paying that much, they better be right!  We also changed our minds on the patio furniture and lay out, we opted for a round 6 person table to put in the circular bump out, this leave tons of room for a section perhaps (until next year...).  That was also a pain for the sales people at Macy's, because we paid with gift cards (Fuel perks!), they had to have corporate accounting transfer the funds, but it's on it's way, just have to wait another week!

So below is all of our new selections, along with the semi-finished patio and 2 of the pieces from Arhaus that have been delivered.  I will say one thing, I love everything that we are getting from that place but good gosh it takes FOREVER to come in!  We now have to wait another 6 weeks for the ottoman, making it a total of 16 weeks!  And we are waiting until October just for one tiny dinky little side table, I really wish they stocked more items and were quicker to deliver special orders.

Another note, the shower is "fixed" so they say... but dry wall repairs still not scheduled and I have some lovely mold growing on my walls now.. yay!  I'm not happy, because I know it's just going to happen again, the put NO water proofing behind the tile... no hot mop, no membrane, nadda, just cement board and wood, which when wet SWELLS PEOPLE!  UGH!  I am about to just rip out that whole damn bathroom myself and hire a contractor to re-do it, I would change the layout too and take space out of the master bedroom that is stupid big tpp... well maybe someday...

The new fabric for the ottoman, it's a sumptuous velvet but it's easy clean and will hide and dirt so no fear of kicking our feet up on it!

I love these trays, it gives so much versatility to this ottoman

here's the cute little table for in between our accent chairs that we have to wait freaking until October for!  ugh...

I love how simple this table is, and it holds magazines!  My husband now has a place for them rather than on the floor!

This chair fits in perfectly, and I can fit 2 of them because they are only 28" wide but they are DEEP, at 39" you can really relax in them!  And, I didn't even have to special order because the stocked fabric is so nice, it's very menswear inspired which makes the hubby happy

Got the china cabinet delivered and it fits so nice in that space and offers up extra storage!

As you can see, we're going to have to raise the mount on the TV this console is TALL!  Once neat fact is that is sits on hiden wheels!  It makes moving it a breeze since it weighs so much.

Here is the Chateau patio set from Macys', a good deal at 1299 with free delivery!  We are also getting hte 11' umbrella and base, all in it was around $1700

And here it is!  Our patio!  I know it's pretty simple but with a budget of 8k, I think we got a good deal, it's all Unilock pavers and Jimi's uncle is very good at what he does, so I'm confident it will stand the test of time!  And to boot, we got a brand new back yard pretty much with REAL top soil!  

Patio Progress! And bathroom update...

I'm so excited that our patio is started, it's really coming along!  I can't wait to be sitting out on it and enjoying the sunshine (that is if it sticks around here in the 'burgh!)

We are going to Macy's this weekend to get a patio set, I actually decided on a different one after seeing my first choice in person.  We are going with the Nottingham rectangle set with spa blue cushions and umbrella.  I think it will give a nice Caribbean vibe to the back yard, I was to really make it into a tranquil spot to relax in.  We still have to hire landscapers too, and I really want a privacy arborvitae "fence" to make it more secluded.

On another note, our master shower is getting fixed next week, AND they said they will repair any damaged dry wall... thanks God because it looks liek total shit downstairs right now.  Rusmur floors was very helpful and nice, the RH service guy, eh... he tried arguing it was "home owner maintenance" and I about flipped shit on him... and even Rusmur was backing me up on this saying there is just no way this should happen 2 times in 2 years!  So thank you Bernie at Rusmur for being on my side!

Also, we got our sectional in, I didn't take any good pics because we still dont have any of our other furniture so I'm just going to wait until everything is in.  We do love it, it's must lower than our old sofa (the back) so it took some getting use to, I need to bring height to the space with curtains and a set of mirrors of the wall between the 2 windows, I think that and once our furniture is all in the space it will really look awesome!

WTF!! Water leaking from the master bathroom shower...

I'm waiting for RH Service to call me back... because we have a leak!  Our master shower is leaking, but I don't think it's the plumbing... the shower seat as lifted yet again and I think water is getting through the crack in the grout, because our morning room opening is SOAKED.  I am beyond pissed and I'm requesting an engineer to come out because it's not an issue with the tile work, it's the fact our shower seems to be sinking... and I thought they water proofed showers now a days so that if water got behind the tile it wouldn't LEAK!  So now all the dry wall needs replaced and I'm sure the sub floor under the shower is soaked... I want a brand new freaking shower done RIGHT because this is the second time we've had to deal with this and this is the whole reason we built a new house so we didn't have these types of issues!!  UGH!!!  I'm just venting now... I'll update once I have someone come out to tell me WTF is going on....

Yup, that's water behind that paint bubble.....

Sectional is on it's way from Cali... now if only it would stop raining!!

I was excited to find that our sectional shipped on Monday to us from L.A. and the company took a few pics of it before it was packed up, I'm so excited!  I do worry that the sectional will be too dark, but I just love the rich look of dark leather... yum!

Now, if only the rain would just STOP!  Our patio is delayed a few weeks due to the rain, so other projects got pushed back, hence ours being pushed back.  So, no 4th of July party at our house!  We also plan to get our patio set from Macy's this weekend, the sales runs through 7/5 with free delivery!  Normally that's $249 bucks, my brother bought a set there last year and didn't get the delivery deal, and he paid more for the same set so I think we are getting a good deal, it's only $999 for 7 pieces, It's not the most high end but it is cast aluminum, so I don't have to work about rust, or cleaning a glass table constantly!

Wentley Patio set from Macy's $999.00 on sale until July 5th with FREE delivery!

So, here's the pics of our new sectional, it looks so comfy!! I can't wait to dive right into it!  I'm hoping to have it by early next week.  The company again is called www.Leathergroup.com and they have amazing customer service, I am impressed so far, now hopefully it looks and feels good in person!  I'll do a follow up and review once we get it in our home.

New Patio and furniture haul!

I'm so happy to report we are finally getting a nice outdoor space!  I was getting tired of sitting on a plastic chair in the grass to enjoy the outdoors of our home.  We are doing a simple paver patio, nothing too fancy, as our budget didn't allow for all the extras I would have wanted *sigh* but it will accommodate a 6 person table and a seating area so we will have plenty of space to have gatherings and enjoy the nice weather!

We went with my husband's uncle who owns a patio/landscaping business.  For those of your in the Pittsburgh are, it is Richard Bode's Landscaing on Rt 19 in McMurray, just south of Waterdam plaza.  He does really good work, mostly for all the wealthy homes in Peters and USC.  Our budget is 8k and that will get us a 18x16 unilock patio with a 10x5 half circle bump out with knee wall surround and 2 pillars.  Here are the stone choices below and also my own design of our patio.  We aren't doing a circle pater in the brick it's just the only way I could figure out how to do a bump out with the free room planner I use (which is super helpful btw, I go to Thomasville.com and at the very bottom go to the room planner link)

We also made some hefty purchases at Arhaus and are just waiting on their arrival, should be soon.  I did order a special order ottoman in a brindled cow hide so that most likely won't be in for a while.

Below are all the pics of the patio design and the furniture we purchased, I'm excited to see everything when it's all done!  I am itching to start accessorizing but I'm not going to bother until all the furniture is in, and our custom sectional from Leathergroups.com still has another 4 weeks :(

Above is our furniture haul from Arhaus, it's a nice eclectic mix of distressed painted wood and some metal accents.  I couldn't decide on a coffee table with all the other competing woods and metals so the logical choice was an ottoman.  I couldn't pick a fabric though so I went with a cow hide that has some texture but is still neutral enough to go with anything.  We also purchased the matching cabinet to the media console for our morning room to tie the rooms together.

• Here is what the patio will look like as far as size goes, it's just the right amount of space to fit everything that we need and still leave us with a decent amount of green space.

Brussels Bock for the knee wall in Sierra

Beacon Hill Flag Stone pavers in Sierra, I like these because they are bigger and will settle more evenly and provide a smoother surface for the furniture.

Rug solution on the CHEAP!

Hey all, just wanted to share a way to get a nice area rug on the cheap!  I stopped into our local remnant store, Remnant City in Wexford, PA.  They are actually a client of my husband's credit card processing company so he suggested we visit them since I've been so desperate to find a rug of the family room that Mr. Tickles won't pee on so I though I'd give it a shot!

I couldn't believe how inexpensive binding a custom rug is!  I can get a huge 9x12 rug for about $220.00 bucks!  I was thrilled because I have been searching for a non-patterned solid beige rug, basically that looks like regular carpet.  I didn't want to spend a ton of a wool rug due to the fear of cat pee and having a 2k rug ruined, so this is a great solution!  I really wanted something basic and plain so it would go with any color scheme i decided to accessorize with.  Granted, it will just be nylon and not fancy wool but I wanted something soft underfoot and low maintenance.  They have tons of carpets from big name brands like Masland and Karistan too, so you know they will hold up!  And, if I hate it after 2 years, I won't feel so bad replacing it.  I'm headed up there today to decide between a few carpets since I couldn't make up my mind there this weekend.  I highly recommend them if you live in the Pittsburgh area.

FINALLY ordering new living room sofas and Patio help!

After years of complaining about our uncomfortable sofa that is no longer my taste, the hubs finally gave in and we're ordering our new leather sofa and love seat!  It will be a long wait though, about 8-10 weeks but it will be so worth it.  No more neck cramps and sore butts!

As I mentioned before in previous blog posts, we are ordering through a U.S.A. made company called Leather Groups.  They are a smaller operation but make everything to order, they do sell other brands as well but they make their own lines too.  They have 2 models that looks identical (well actually nicer) than the Maxwell and Lancaster sofas at Restoration Hardware, and they are cheaper, no tax, and FREE DELIVERY!  Can't ask for much more.  Check them out below, we decided on the clean lines of their Braxton and I cannot wait to be watching movies and snuggling up with Mr. Tickles (my kitty) and I suppose I can let my husband join me as well :)  We are ordering a 180" sofa and 72" love seat.  I may try to see about customizing the love seat since I think 64" would fit nicer.

Braxton Sofa from Leather Groups


Second part to my post...

We are dying to spend the summer outside, coming home from work and relaxing on a nice patio with a glass of wine or entertaining a cookout and most important, relaxing in a hot tub!!  Any advice from the people in the Pittsburgh area on who to hire?  Also, trying to figure our how much it's going to cost!  I know it all depends, we don't need anything too fancy, but I want a nice stone patio that's big enough for a seating area, table and chairs and a hot tub.  I'm praying I can get it done for 8k or less, but knowing my parents spent 15k on theirs and my aunt 30k (her's is CRAZY amazing though and bi-level with tons of retaining walls).  I'm wondering if I'm dreaming here on the budget....

Asphalt sealing, is this included?? Also, law service advice...

So, I realized our driveway was never sealed, and it's been 2 years, I thought this was something that Ryan Homes was responsible for the first time around?

Also, I'm getting estimates for lawn service, because our lawn is looking sad, and dead, and just horrible.  I called Trugreen, it's $49.95 each treatment for 8 treatments and they recommended aeration (which is a good idea and I think we REALLY need it, but it's 149.00! seems pricey)

I have also requested a quote from Kapp's but haven't heard anything back yet.  Any advise or recommendations in the Pittsburgh are?

Wine room ideas

So we are getting ready to finish another room, the front room AKA the "Wine Room".  The husband wants to get this done sooner rather than later because he wants a space to hold meetings that is more professional.  So I've been coming up with ideas and color schemes.  I want to stick with neutrals on the furniture pieces but I am dying to have some bold navy in the house.  I love that navy/grey/taupe look, So i'm thinking navy velvet curtains, plush mink colored chairs, a navy rug and some rich rustic wood accents.  We will also put in a small wine fridge but hide it in a credenza.  As for the feature wall, I'm still stuck on doing it up in reclaimed wood but don't want it to be permanent.  I found a product called Stikwood that is stick on and very thin so I can do it myself and it's removable if we should ever move or change our minds but it's EXPENSIVE!  It would be at least $1,200.00 up to $1,700.00 just for that little wall!  We'll see where I'm at with the budget after all of the pieces for the room are purchased, maybe I will do a wallpaper on that wall to save costs.

Love this "window" mirror from Ballard Designs for above the credenza
 http://www.amazon.com/Koldfront-Bottle-Free-Standing-Cooler/dp/B00AE6Q9SC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424801256&sr=8-3&keywords=dual+zone+wine+cooler

So I have a budget of $5,000.00 for this room, which sounds like a lot, but furniture is freaking EXPENSIVE!  And good stuff is more, this isn't the college dorms people!  I have issues with scale too with the affordable furniture, I feel like sometimes its made for people who are 4ft tall.  It just can look dwarfed in the space.  Any who...  Here are my ideas below along with links!

These velvet drapes are from West Elm and are moderately priced at $69 each panel and since I will only need 3 it won't be too expensive http://www.westelm.com/products/velvet-pole-pocket-curtain-regal-blue-t865/?pkey=ccurtains-drapes%7Csolid-curtains%7C4294963733&group=1&sku=2107415&cm_src=curtains-drapes||FN-Color-_-FN-Blue-_--_-

I love this chandelier!!! I found this on joss and main https://www.jossandmain.com/On-the-Bright-Side-Odette-Chandelier~SOY7426~E17219.html?keyword=chandelier

another joss and main find, I wanted to replace the light when you walk in the house, slowly all of the ceiling fixtures will become a rich bronze

Joss and Main again!  Not set on this specific one but something like it https://www.jossandmain.com/Handsomely-Appointed-Tia-Sideboard~CTCI3785~E17508.html?keyword=sideboard

This is a chair 2 can surl up and relax in, http://www.homedecorators.com/p/fulham-chair/00/990/ the price isn't too bad but they charge $60 each for shipping... :(  Maybe I'll wait until they do a free shipping deal again.

This rug is from PB and comes in an 8' square size which would be perfect for the 4 chair set up I have in mind!  The price is reasonable too http://www.potterybarn.com/products/desa-bordered-wool-rug-indigo/?pkey=call-rugs&

This is a nice dual zone (red/white) cooler and it's just under $200 and is small enough to fit into a cabinet and be tucked away

http://www.amazon.com/Koldfront-Bottle-Free-Standing-Cooler/dp/B00AE6Q9SC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424801256&sr=8-3&keywords=dual+zone+wine+cooler

New Rugs and cat pee :(

I was so happy to get our rugs in yesterday and also the hall tree is put up (I forgot to take pics, it took 3 hours and I did it by myself but it really is a 2 person job)

I LOVE the rug in the morning room.  The shag rug we got is nice, I expected it to be softer though... but what I'm most upset about is that my husband came and woke me up this morning to tell me Mr. Tickles PEED ON THE NEW SHAG RUG!  Ugh!  This is what I feared... I'm hoping this is a single incident, and that when the rug "airs out" and that chemically smell is gone she won't want to pee on it, cat pee is the WORST!  I saturated the area with Nature's Miracle EXTREME (I buy it by the gallon people... )  and it's upstairs in one of the empty bedrooms for the next week or so...

I didn't even get a chance to take a pic of that rug before we were hauling it up the stairs, but here is what the morning room rug looks like!  And, if anyone has any advice for getting your cat to NOT pee on every rug let me know!  I have the Feliway diffuser going already and I even sprayed the rug with "No Mark!" from Petsmart...  I think she is just too stressed out with all the changes

decor galore!

I overcame my fear of decor decisions and color!  I went on a shopping spree this past week and now our kitchen and morning room feel so homey!  Just waiting on the rugs and the hall tree those are coming on Tuesday so I'll be sure to post again when those arrive.  Here are some pics of my decor finds mostly from tjmaxx wholefoods and ikea.  I also hung curtains and I did it right by measuring and using a level instead of just eyeballing it like I use to in our rentals lol...