jillivictorio@gmail.com /

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! Ours was spent hanging out at the lakes and parks, with friends and neighbors, watching and lighting fireworks, and a quick stop to the house to see the latest build progress… sheetrock!  Also, our build page on IG hit 1000 followers over the weekend! Thanks for following along this crazy fun build journey.

Today, I’m sharing all of our selections we’ve chosen for our home since we are nearing the stage where all the fun interior design elements begin to come to life.

Selections… builder speak for choices a client makes to the way the home will look when it’s finished. This includes important decisions such as what kind of appliances, plumbing fixtures and flooring the home will have, the color of the paint, cabinets, countertops, light fixtures, doors, etc. The selections process has been fun as we’ve worked with different vendor partners who have helped through the process. Most of the design decisions are made during this process.

Here’s a timeline and a roundup of our selections process from start to finish:

 

Flooring and Tile Selections

Started: September 12, 2020
Finalized/Ordered: May 4, 2021

When it came to choosing the flooring for our new home, we were so excited to get the chance to use some of our favorite materials.  We worked with Oakline Floors in Fort Worth for our flooring and tile selections.

Left: White Oak Hardwood Floors throughout | Right: Bluestone Slate for the Master Bathroom Floor with Alabaster grout

 

Handscraped white oak hardwoods with water-based poly stain

 

Flooring and tile was a long process for me to finalize. Even after visiting the showroom, I took my time doing most of my own research, sourcing, viewing samples, and creating mood boards until I found the right materials as the showroom didn’t have certain flooring materials I was looking for. Ultimately, we carried our wood throughout the entire main floor and upper floor. The mudroom, laundry room, and master bathroom will have natural stone, and we’ll have tile in the kids, guest, and pool bathroom.

Left: Slate floors for the mudroom and laundry room with black shadow grout for less contrast | Right: White oak to the kitchen and main floor

For the mudroom and laundry room, we chose a herringbone pattern and I can’t wait to see it laid out!  I love the look of herringbone because it adds so much character and creates some varied texture.

 

In our kids’ bedrooms, we chose low-pile carpet from Anderson Tuftex in the style Dynasty and in the color “Marble Dust”. We love that it’s low-pile but still so soft!

Tile

I’ve always loved the look of penny rounds so I made sure to incorporate these in the kids bathroom and pool bath for a fun design element.

Penny rounds in the kids’ and pool bath

 

Mini hex tiles with capestone grout and white subway tile with bright white grout in the Guest Bathroom

 

Lastly for tile, I’m most excited about our zellige tile for the kitchen backsplash behind the gas range. I’ve always loved the natural, hand forged glazed, imperfect edges of zellige tile as no two tiles are the same. Our flooring rep was able to source the exact tile samples for me and I’m so happy they could order it for our build!  We went with the snow color for a brighter look. The natural color is beautiful too, but I definitely wanted to go with the brighter backsplash in the kitchen.

 

Zellige tile inspirations

 

Appliance Selections

Started: October 20, 2020
Finalized/Ordered: October 28, 2020

 

It took me only one week to choose our appliances. I think with appliances, it’s a little easier to make those selections as there aren’t as many options and little details involved. For example, there are only a few refrigerators within a price range that are panel-ready and a few commercial grade gas ranges and stoves within a certain price range, whereas with plumbing fixtures, paint, and hardware there are dozens of styles and finishes to choose from.  I knew before we even started our home building process that we would have panel ready appliances, specifically for the refrigerator and dishwasher. Our cabinet designer will be installing the custom panels when the cabinets go in and the hardware will be brass to match the rest of our kitchen hardware.

Our one splurge appliance for the kitchen that I am most excited about is the Ilve range. The range is a dream. I cannot wait to see it installed and to cook on it!  We love to cook at home, so a commercial grade gas stove has always been a priority in our homes.  I chose the Nostalgie series in the stainless steel finish with brass knobs which will match our brass hardware in the kitchen.

1 | 2| 3| 4| 5| 6 

 

Plumbing Selections

Started: October 23, 2020
Finalized/Ordered: December 31, 2020

The plumbing fixtures were among the earlier selections I needed to make since the rough-in plumbing and drain is installed at the very beginning of the build process, before the foundation is poured.

It took me two months and one week to decide on all the plumbing fixtures, and on New Years Eve, December 31, 2020 I emailed our pluming rep that we were ready to approve the quotes. I think plumbing selections may have been the most challenging for me as our plumbing allowance from our builder was limited, and I knew right away that many items I loved would exceed the plumbing allowance. We were prepared to pay cash for some out of pocket items that we knew we wanted to have in our home, so going back and forth with other options, pricing, and crunching numbers took some time.

Plumbing fixtures include important items such as sinks, faucets, bathtubs, toilets, basically anything that uses water is part of your plumbing.

Building Tip: research your own model numbers, finishes, sizes, and pricing, then submit that list to your plumbing rep for their builder pricing. This can save a lot of time and eliminate a lot of back and forth with the rep when making selections.

On our kitchen plumbing must have list were 1. a Shaws farmhouse sink for the kitchen and 2. a cast iron claw foot tub for the master bathroom. Those two items were non-negotiables, so I had to find other areas and items to save money on.

I debated long and hard on whether to add my dream faucet for the kitchen sink, and when I learned that prices would be increasing for all Waterstone fixtures as of January 1, 2021, I bit the bullet and had our plumbing rep order the faucet.

Here are our final kitchen plumbing selections and actual kitchen plumbing fixtures and finishes I chose, all unlacquered brass, with the exception of the pot filler in a polished nickel. I loved mixing this one up, and since polished nickel has warm tones, it works well with brass. Actual items are linked below!

1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6, 7

 

 

The secondary bathrooms’ main finish is matte black (Kids’ bath, guest bath, power room, laundry room).

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

 

For the Master Bathroom Plumbing Selections, I went with all polished nickel for the faucets and clawfoot tub feet.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

 

 

Hardware Selections

Started: December 16, 2020
Finalized: July 7, 2021

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

I wanted a mix of hardware throughout the kitchen, and I was excited to learn that our builder’s hardware partner is Rick’s Hardware in Granbury. I’ve worked with Rick’s hardware on our previous home and they have always provided great customer service and carry the best hard-to-find hardware styles in a variety of finishes. They carry Emtek which is a brand I love most for door hardware. They also carry Alno which has this beautiful unlacquered brass knob that is such a heavyweight, I just love it. So for our kitchen we did knobs, cup-holds, latches, and long appliance pulls on our integrated refrigerator and dishwasher.

 

Secondary Bathrooms (guest, kids, powder), Laundry and Mudroom

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 

For the laundry room, the kids bathroom, the guest bath, and the pool bath, we went with matte black hardware in a mix of cup-holds, knobs and pulls.

 

 

For the master bathroom, we went with polished nickel hardware in cabinet knobs, towel hooks and a shower handle to match the faucets.

I truly love cabinet and door hardware and consider it as jewelry and accessories for the home!

In the next blog post, I’ll be sharing our lighting selections.

 

What have been your favorite selections for your home? What selections did you struggle with? Tell me in the comments below!

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

We just finished our pre-electrical walkthrough with our builder.  I can honestly say that every day of this home build journey I am learning something new, especially the bigger picture of understanding the building process.

The decisions we make now will have an impact on how we live in and enjoy our home so I’m taking them pretty seriously… That’s why it took me hours of careful deliberation before finalizing our electrical and lighting plan! Thankfully our superintendent and lighting rep have been incredibly patient and helpful!

Here are my top electrical and lighting items to consider when building and I hope they help you with your build.

 

We took our time thinking about electrical and lighting things to consider when building our house

 

 

 

 

1. Planning your interiors

As we went room by room through our house, I would ask myself ‘What will we do in this room?’ and ‘Where will our furniture go?’ before committing to any lighting options.  Start with function and adapt your lighting depending on the needs in the space — and put a dimmer on every interior light if your budget allows!

2. MAP OUT LIGHT FIXTURES

Now is the time, if you haven’t already, to think about where your chandeliers, pendants, wall sconces and can lights are going to go. It’s also a good idea to know the sizes and drop measurement of these. Your electrician will need to mark out the number of hanging pendants over your island. One big dining room light or multiple over your table? Wall sconces are important to mark here as well.

3. Outlet Placement Matters

You need to be able to turn on all those light fixtures you just mapped out right? It would be nice to not have to walk across the room to turn on and off. Think about where you turn the lights off and on from. For example we are placing a library sconce above our banquette with an individual switch so we don’t have to walk across the kitchen to turn them off. Not a new concept, but this is where you’ll want to plan your dimmer switches as well.

My advice is to place the outlets where it’s most practical and to make them discrete.

4. Exterior Outlets

Here you want to consider what activities you do outside like power washing the patio and driveway, vacuuming your car. Maybe outlets inside or just outside the garage door. Place outlets where you need to plug things in. We will definitely need an outlet at the patio and near the bbq grill.

5. Holiday Lighting

I couldn’t let a list go by without special planning for Christmas lights! I am pretty excited for these extra outlets we will be including. Think about adding outlets outside on the soffits of the house for lights, or around your front door for lighted garland . Inside think about where your Christmas tree will go, in the corner, etc. Don’t forget near the staircase as well as the top of the mantle for your lighted garland!

6. Consider mixing lighting solutions

There are so many options for lighting solutions — recessed cans, flush mounts, sconces, low hallway wall lights, floor lamps, pendants, step lights — and so much more.  If you don’t have a lighting expert to help you plan your lighting, I suggest taking the time to research all the lighting options out there before meeting with your electrician so you can develop a plan that works and will add interest to your home.

7. CAT6 CABLE or ETHERNET

I work from home and a fast and reliable internet connection is a must. Installing these lines at the time of build will make life simpler if your home uses a lot of devices that are all trying to connect to the WI-FI at the same time! Directly connecting to these lines when cleanly installed in the walls allows kids to download and play video games while I’m trying to binge shows on Netflix.

8. Plan where TV’s will go

The electrician needs to know this and your builder can beef up the studs here to accommodate heavy wall hanging tv’s and mounts if needed. The outlet should be recessed and can include extra USB ports, direct ethernet lines, cable & phone lines all in one neat box.

9. Decide where to place control panels

Another area of the electrical and lighting to consider when building is where to position control panels — heating and cooling, lighting, home security etc. It’s a good idea to decide early what kind of technology you intend to use in your home so you know exactly what control panels you will have, and can decide on the most practical and least obtrusive place to position them — last thing you want is a panel right next to your beautiful artwork!

 

10. Make provisions if you’re unsure or budget restricts

Building is expensive and unfortunately by the time it comes to lighting and electrical, the budget can be blown and those ideas of an integrated audio system, or a statement pendant light may be on the back burner. My suggestion is to make a plan for these things by running the cabling you need to those areas — so you can add them later on.

 

11. Walk through your decisions if you can

 

It may have taken a few hours but I’m so glad we decided on our electrical and lighting once the house was framed rather than at the planning stage. It meant we could walk through the house room by room and see exactly where light switches, outlets and light fixtures would be placed and spot any potential issues.  Walking through your decisions can help you identify and overcome issues early and see new opportunities that you just can’t visualize from a plan.

12.  TAKE PICTURES

Once all the electrical components are installed, take lots of pictures. It would be nice to know where all those lines are running through behind the drywall!

13. Take NOTES

Bring a notebook, measuring tape and a pencil with you. Take notes, take time to measure, use your pencil to write plans on the framing itself. Take your time, don’t let the electrician or your builder rush you.

14. BUDGET

Last but not least don’t forget that pesky thing called the budget. Every little addition will add up. So be sure to ask the costs, what is included and what isn’t.

 

I’ll be posting pics after our final walkthrough with the electrician and the low-voltage tech to show our outlet placements in a later blog post!

 

Do you have other top electrical and lighting things to consider when building? Share them in the comments below!

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

 

Lumber drop and framing begins 4/15/21

 

We have officially started framing this month (April 2021) and it has been the most exciting stage in our build so far. I feel like from the time we broke ground up until framing, not a lot of progress has been noticeable until now. Since framing has gone up, it has been so rewarding to see the layout and get a feel for the floorplan of our home we designed.

Recapping our timeline of major milestones since we broke ground:

January 6, 2021: Broke Ground

January 10, 2021: First Snow Day

January 13, 2021: Housepad Prep

January 18, 2021: Temporary Power

February 9, 2021: Forms

February 19, 2021: Trenching

February 24, 2021: Retaining Wall Built

March 3, 2021: Rough Plumbing

April 9, 2021: Foundation Poured

April 14, 2021: Lumber Drop

April 15, 2021: Framing Begins

Here are before and after photos taken on the same day when framing started. I had to get one last shot of the bare foundation (and let Baron run all over it) before the framers arrived.  The framers worked so fast in such a short amount of time!

April 15, 2021

Taken at 7:33AM:

Taken at 2:35PM

 

 

Writing Scriptures On The Framing

With framing underway, I felt that it was a perfect opportunity to mark our home in a meaningful and personal way. Dubbed ‘Our Farmhouse at the Ranch’, (follow our build journey on IG @our.farmhouse.at.the.ranch), this home is already so significant to us being our first custom build, and writing a few bible verses on the framing is something we will always remember and preserve in our home. I wanted to find relevant scriptures that would tie into each room of the home, and serve as a reminder to us that God’s word never fails and is the foundation of our family and life.

Below I’ve listed some of our favorite scriptures I’ve incorporated into each room of the home:

On The Foundation

For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christs. Corinthians 3:11

 

 

At the Entryway

You will be blessed when you go in and blessed when you go out. Deut 28:6

 

At The Staircase

Genesis 28:12 is probably one of my favorite verses as it resonates with the upstairs being the kids’ space and Jonah and Baron being our angels.

As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the Earth up to Heaven, and he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. Genesis 28:12

In the Dining Room

They broke bread together and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. Acts 2:46

Give us this day our daily bread  Matthew 6:11

 

Pantry

My cup overflows with your blessings. Psalm 23.5

 

Kitchen

Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Jeremiah 29:5

 

 

Living Room

 

Through wisdom, a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4

 

Study/Office

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your path – Proverbs 3:6

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

 

Master Bedroom

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2-3

His mercies are new every morning. Lamenations 3:23

 

We also wanted to involve the kids in writing on the studs. They had fun writing their names along the kitchen window frame.

We will be adding more scriptures around other framed areas of the home, and around the kids’ rooms upstairs after the second floor has been framed and is safe to access. The kids are so excited to mark up their rooms.

I’d love to hear your favorite verses in the comments below!

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Finally made it back down to Austin after 13 years, this time with my husband and kids. The last time I was in Austin was in 2006 and 2007 for SXSW – before John and I were married, and before we had kids. A lot has changed but the rolling hills and trees I remember seeing were just as beautiful. Since both kids were on spring break the same week, we headed out for a fun weekend of outdoor adventures, kid-friendly attractions, and lots of yummy eats in between.

Our weekend itinerary:

Travel Day

Picked Up Provisions at H-E-B

We always pick up snacks, beer and wine at H-E-B when we travel through Texas. I love it. Every H-E-B in each city has its own unique vibe and offerings and I just feel at home buying food for where we’re traveling to and staying at.

Checked in to our Airbnb– a beautiful 36 acre waterfront property in Volente on Lake Travis. The place was beautiful, secluded, comfortable, and had everything we needed. The water views from the home were amazing and the backyard was a dream. We loved being able to walk down to the dock to go fishing.

Day 1

Morning and Midday

Fueled up for the day with coffee and breakfast we made and went for a morning hike around the property’s trails and spent the rest of the day fishing with the kids on the dock.

 

Outfit Details: Shirt Jacket, Bike Shorts,  Chunky Sneakers

 

 

 

Evening

Ended the evening quesadillas for dinner and s’mores by the fire.

Day 2

Morning

Headed out for brunch at Hillside Farmacy. A historical landmark, with beautiful architecture and interiors, the food is just as beautiful as it is delicious. The building reminded me of a lot of the Victorian-era architecture homes in Capitol Hill and the Central District in Seattle. Reminiscent of the pharmacy it once was, but in a warm, friend’s-house sort of way. Small copper-topped and marble bistro tables surrounded by vintage pharmacy cabinetry – so much great design inspo!

Midday


Took a family stroll down South Congress Avenue, for unique shops, bustling eateries, and the lively vibe. Obligatory photos at the ‘Greetings From Austin’ mural, let the kids pick out penny candies at the circus-themed Big Top Candy Shop, and got our sweet fix at Amy’s Ice Creams . The Vietnamese Coffee flavor was my favorite.

Kendra Scott Flagship Store

Since it’s opening in 2018, I’ve been dying to check out the Kendra Scott Flagship Store on South Congress, and finally made it out here since we were here for the weekend. Even more design inspiration here! More than a retail shop, the Kendra Scott Flagship store is a total experience. I love when brands integrate consumer experiences in their retail strategy. You can find home design and decor inspiration here, shop her latest jewelry collections with custom creations, and even enjoy a frosé and baked goods at the Sips and Sweets cafe featuring pastries from Austin-based bakeries. The building used to be the old Hill Country Weavers, and the new architectural design preserves some of the historic, quaint charm.

 

Outfit details: Mock Neck Sweater.  Wide leg pants  Teva sandals

 

Evening

As the sun went down, we returned to our default outdoor venue/market/kids playground for live music at one of Austin’s kid-friendly outdoor concert venues at Central Market North Lamar . We frequent Central Market often because our kids love choosing what they want to eat from the market, while John and I get to grab our bottle of wine, beer, and charcuterie plate stuff, and enjoy the outdoor patio with live music while the kids play the playground.  Why aren’t there more establishments like this?

 

Day 3

Meal Highlight – La Tunitas 512

John and I will travel for food, real good food, especially good tacos. We’ve had our fair share of authentic Mexican food and street style tacos, and most recently babacoa. One thing I have not tried is birria and after eating this, I believe I’ve reached taco nirvana. Traditionally the meat is cooked in an earthen oven and served with a Chile broth. In Austin, the birria is done with brisket!

Photo by Sara Marie D’Eugenio

The only thing to order at La Tunita 512 is the birria de res tacos and most definitely that consommé. Also worth considering are the gringa tacos with melted cheese – omg!

So we ordered two platters full for take out and headed out to the Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake for a picnic with the kids and our birria tacos.

Tip: La Tunita sells out fast. Following their IG feed, they’ll let you know what’s available. They only make a certain amount each day and once they’re out, they are out!  The wait varies depending on the day, but we went on a Saturday and the wait time was about 20 minutes.

 

Other family-friendly food places:

  • The Picnic, just one block from Zilker Park with 8-9 Austin food trailers including The Mighty Cone, Hey Cupcake!, Trudy’s, Acai Hut, Kebabalicious, Coat & Thai, Cannone Cucina Italiana, and Steel City Pops!
  • Salt Lick for bomb bbq and the large playscape for kids
  • Stubb’s (my favorite bbq sauce since 2006), love the venue too. Traveling with kids do the Gospel Brunch featuring family-style bbq, without kids plan to see a concert, and stay of beer, and bbq.

Other attractions with kids:

 

That’s it for my shortlist for an Austin weekend with kids. John and I are already planning a quick weekend trip back here without the kids. There are so many other spots I’d love to check out that are more date friendly for just us. What are your favorite Austin recommendations for food, culture and nature?  Tell me in the comments!

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Always ‘eggcited’ for Easter, our family has our favorite traditions during the spring holiday that usually involves Easter Sunday Mass, an Easter brunch, followed by an Easter egg hunt. Last year, a lot of businesses were shut down and Easter events were cancelled due to covid. We had easter brunch at home and had an easter egg hunt in the backyard. Last year Jonah’s amazing 4th grade teacher surprised her students with easter goodies dropped off outside their homes. This year is also a little different for our family as we are staying in a vacation rental while our new home is being built, so much of how we are living feels temporary. Although we are not in our own home, I think we can still make the holiday just as special with easter baskets I put together for the kids every year, cooking a hearty brunch at home, ordering some of our favorite pastries from Baked!, and still having an Easter egg hunt!

Easter Baskets

I love putting these together for the boys every year and will probably continue to do until they are in college! Can’t go wrong with a simple basket or this cute wire basket that can be used again and utilized in the home throughout the year to store things. I like to fill their baskets with the usual goodies: a chocolate bunny – Kinder makes an awesome version of a chocolate bunny, cotton candy, chocolate eggs, little spring gifts such as garden seeds and garden tools, and a small toy like legos, puzzles, and books. This year, I curated a monocromatic easter basket with all things blue. I especially love the peeps hand sanitizer this year.

Easter Outfits

Easter style for kids and mom for Easter and spring photos!

My go-to for the kids’ festive and everyday attire, Cat & Jack always comes through! Baron wore this to his preschool picture day and he looked so adorable. Baron’s shirt has a bowtie appropriate for a 5-year-old boss, while Jonah’s shirt is big-kid appropriate without the cutsie bowtie, but still looking cool. Both have a really fun spring floral print in light blue.

For spring dresses for us moms, I’m loving the Halia Dress from Heartloom, (shown above in Yellow) worn with sandals or sneakers for a more casual look.

Another spring dress favorite is this lightweight Resa midi dress with side slit and smocked top, worn with pumps or sandals.

Also comes in blush! Would look cute styled with a cream or white bootie:

 

Brunch Menu

Ham and Cheese Quiche and Quiche Florentine, Morning Buns from Baked!, and Mimosas

Adorable Easter Spring Minis from Krispe Kreme for the kids!

 

What are some of your favorite Easter holiday traditions?