Exposed Beam

Since we will be removing the wall that divides the dining room and living room areas and the ceiling heights don't quite match up for these two areas, we also discussed adding an exposed wooden beam along the new ceiling line. I love the below look and want to try to replicate it in the house! We would probably only do two exposed beams - one on the ceiling line of the kitchen and one on the newly created ceiling line of dining room to living room.

Tile Flooring

We also met with our contractor while we were out there and discussed some renovations that we want to get started on. Our contractor suggested that we opt for tile flooring in the main areas of the house as opposed to wood flooring because he said he thought it fit better with the house and how we are using it - we want minimal maintenance, a very open look and something that will withstand high heat and humidity because the temp of the house will get pretty hot when we're not there. Below are some ideas we are thinking about.

I really like this above look. However, I could see how this might be a bit much for all of the main areas of the house.

Second Trip to the House!

Here are some photos of our second trip - purchased some more furniture and did a little gardening! We are trying to work with some of the plants that are already there as well as adding some new ones so the planting might look a bit random. We are also constrained by having to use plants that are very hearty and that do not need a lot of water. I think it will fill out nicely though!