Notes from the job site and the slab yard.
What I’m learning about color, materials, and getting a home right — written the way I’d tell you in person.
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Istarted writing these because the same questions kept coming up — in showrooms, at slab yards, standing in half-built rooms. They’re good questions, and they deserve better than the rushed answer you get while somebody is waiting on a decision.
So this is where I answer them properly. Mostly color and materials, a fair amount of process, and a good deal about what the light out here does to a room. I’d rather tell you why I chose something than just show you that I did.
I’d rather tell you why I chose something than just show you that I did.
Getting the tile and the countertop to agree
Why two materials you both love can still refuse to sit together — and the one thing I check before anything else.
Read the postWhy I take clients to the slab yard
A slab is a piece of the earth, and no two are alike. There are things a photograph simply cannot tell you.
Read the postWhat actually happens at a first selections meeting
What to bring, what we decide, and why you’ll leave with fewer decisions on your plate than you walked in with.
Read the postDesigning a home that lives around the water
Screened porches, outdoor kitchens, and a palette that has to carry from the great room all the way out to the dock.
Read the postWhere to spend, and where to simplify
Not every surface deserves the same budget. Here’s how I work out which ones earn it and which ones quietly don’t.
Read the postWhat my art background taught me about color
Printmaking taught me to build a color in layers, one pigment over another. I still choose paint the same way.
Read the postWho’s writing
I’m Heather. I choose the colors, materials, and finishes for the custom homes Ceci Bates builds around Lake Texoma — inside and out. I write here about how those decisions actually get made.
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Working through selections, or just stuck on one decision? Send me a note — I read these myself.
Rather just ask me directly?
If you’re in the middle of a decision and none of this quite covers it, write to me. I’d rather answer your actual question than have you piece it together from six posts. No pressure, just a conversation.
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