Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Back-tracking

So, since the last post, we have had our open house, and have progressed rapidly towards moving in. Here's a few pics to show you how FAST the last 2 weeks have been.

 Beautiful appliances installed



 The kitchen is looking amazing!

 Chandelier & pendant lighting installed.



 Some deals @ Costco scored & unpacked for display in the living room.



 Driveway added (actually this was more like....a month ago, but I never added any pics, so...)


 Our family project: brick walkway. Very exciting to see this finished!


 Outdoor lights added.


 Carpeting installed: this happened just 4 days before the open house. I'm amazed they got the entire house done in ONE DAY.


 HAHA!! Ben's Valentine's Day present from me. :)



Studio sign up, and bringing business in!


I'll post more pictures later of the final product. We are waiting on the city to install the gas line before we can have occupancy of the home. Also, there are a couple minor details in the house for the finish carpenter to wrap up (such as, you may have noticed, there are no knobs on the kitchen cabinets). Also, the septic as-built inspection did not transact as expected. Grrr......

It's "as good as done," though. And I like to just go over there and hang out in the beautiful rooms, imaging where to put our furniture. :) I expect to be in the house by the end of the week.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Almost Finished!


Wow! The last two weeks have gone by SO FAST. After the painting marathon, we had contractor after contractor come by, and the house was literally BUZZING with work. (picture, saw-mill set up in the living room)

Trim is almost done, plumbing is 90% there, the vinyl floors are in, washer and dryer work, all the toilets flush, and sinks work.....it's pretty amazing!

Ben installed the appliances this week (we purchased our own online)



One thing important to note: The fridge is cabinet-depth. It was a little extra $ to get it, and you end up with about 6" less space to store food in.....but it's WORTH IT. With this kitchen design, a regular fridge would have stuck WAY out into the needed maneuvering space. I was surprised to see that even with the cabinet-depth fridge, you still see a little sticking out into the room on the pantry side.


Cabinets:  Adair gave us a wonderful, wonderful deal of the gorgeous raised-panel beech cabinet for no extra charge---IF they came without stain. I mentioned this before, saying how pleased I was, I wanted to stain/paint them black. Et Cetera. After hundreds of hours of research, changing my mind 8 or 9 times, looking at the developing light in the kitchen, and finally seeing the gorgeous green paint on the walls, I ended up feeling there was not quite enough light in the kitchen area to do a great job with all-black cabinets. So, I went with the look in this photo:








So far, I've painted all the faces and doors with a creamy "polar bear" white. Next step is to add a rich chocolate colored glaze just to the crevices. This will age it and soften the glaring white a bit.The island got a great satin black--2 coats, and Ben added the bead board and posts to the end for some detail. I'm DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY with it!!! The only thing that could make it better would be some sparkling white corian countertops (or granite or marble. )

The cabinet saga was a long, drawn-out process. I gave myself originally 4 days to do 40 cabinet doors plus faces. It ended up taking me more like 40 hours. I worked every day (but one) from Thursday to the following Sunday (tonight), and I still have 2 doors to finish up with top coats. My shoulders are killing me. Oh yeah.......and glaze them all. :)

The upstairs cabinets are pure white, while the downstairs are cream. I'll post more pics as I walk through tomorrow. Off to get my shoulders rubbed down and take some tylenol!! Painting cabinets in a 2100 sf home is NO JOKE!!!!!! (but totally worth it!)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Electric Finish and PAINT!

 Yellow inspires creativity and stimulates the mind. It is an "energy" color. That is why I chose it for the studio. Two pianos will sit side-by-side under those high windows.




 Great room/kitchen








 Ben's office. 




 The purple guest room. :)


 Restful grey master bedroom.

 Pop of "spa" color in the bathroom.




 Purple guest bathroom. :)



Tomorrow we'll be mounting the new studio sign on the front lawn, and installing the mailbox underneath it. It will be OFFICIAL. :)