So, we ordered our kitchen cabinets online (saved quite a bit of $$), and so far, it's been a great experience. We got detailed renderings, a designer who was able to do a webex with us to show us her 3-D renderings, and samples ahead of time.
Yesterday, we got the email that they're on their way! They ship from Minnesota, and should be here in about a week. Yes, it's breath-holding time! We have every reason to believe they'll be GREAT, but it'll be exciting to see them. And once they're installed (M's doing that), then we can take delivery of our wood floor (it's waiting for us at the store) and then start installing it. Wow!
In the meantime, we've painted a few more rooms (mud room, living/kitchen, guest room in "house neutral"--what we're calling the light gray), the guest bath (green), and master bath (pale blue). We're having a hard time deciding on the master bedroom (another gray? A gray/blue? Light green? Pale purple?)
Meanwhile, M's been trimming out windows. They look great. We did discover yesterday that we'll (and by we I mean not me) have to move the powder room door by an inch or two so that our 5-1/2" door trim fits (we have a funny angled wall to the right of the door. Since it's right off the living room, it's one of the more noticeable spots, so it's probably worth the time. It's these little things that kill ya!
We've been working on some other non-DG related projects so our progress has been slow again. But we're chipping away at it, and M even told our 6 year old neighbor who asked us yesterday when we'll be moving in "November!" so (for now) my demand of being in by Thanksgiving stands. We shall see . . .
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Drywall
Ok, so it may be a record. Two posts in one day. Heck, two posts in one hour! I realized the last major photos I shared were from when we were still just in studs. Knowing that drywall photos aren't the most inspiring, I'll share just a couple here for comparison.
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| Living room, with slider to back deck covered for spray painting walls |
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| Laundry room looking toward back yard (sink will go under window) |
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| Looking into living room from mudroom. |
Door love
Yesterday, our interior doors were installed. A friend of M's came to help (he owed her some hours for some work she did for him) and after they were in he said, some thing to the effect of, 'you know, this won't be good for Karen to see. Once the doors go up, everyone thinks moving in imminent.' He's partially right. It feels like we're so close, yet still so far.
Ok, not the best photo, but you get the idea. 5 paneled doors all around.
I've been "moonlighting" as a painter at the house after work. When 5 o'clock comes around, I drive over, change my clothes and get to work. It's been fun and the audio book on my iPod helps! Last night I painted around the windows and doors in the main living areas (so M can trim them and we won't have to tape off the trim). I didn't do the big expanses b/c she's still planning to spray paint the trim and the living area is the biggest place to do so. We think there'll be a bunch of overspray, so I just stuck to around the openings that will get trim.
Here's a status for this week:
Guest bath: painted, tile in. Needs grout, flooring, fixtures, wainscotting, and all accessories (lighting, towel bars, etc).
Master bath: painted. Tile plan in place. Needs everything else.
Powder room: painted. Needs flooring, wainscotting, fixtures, all accessories.
Office: partially painted. Needs window trim, flooring, accent wall color
Mudroom: partially painted. Needs flooring, cabinetry, window trim, flooring
Laundry room: painted. Needs flooring, cabinets, appliances, window trim, everything.
Kitchen: needs cabinets (due week of August 6), flooring, countertops (back to debating this one), window trim, appliances, backsplash to be laid (tile is in).
Livingroom: needs window trim, paint, flooring, furniture.
Wow, it feels like a lot more work when you look at it this way. That's ok. We're making progress every day, even if just little bits. M has some other-people's tile jobs to do soon, and we've got some other irons in the fire, so we just keep chipping away as best we can.
I still hope to be in by Thanksgiving. How many days is that?
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| Powder room door, installed w/o knobs |
Ok, not the best photo, but you get the idea. 5 paneled doors all around.
I've been "moonlighting" as a painter at the house after work. When 5 o'clock comes around, I drive over, change my clothes and get to work. It's been fun and the audio book on my iPod helps! Last night I painted around the windows and doors in the main living areas (so M can trim them and we won't have to tape off the trim). I didn't do the big expanses b/c she's still planning to spray paint the trim and the living area is the biggest place to do so. We think there'll be a bunch of overspray, so I just stuck to around the openings that will get trim.
Here's a status for this week:
Guest bath: painted, tile in. Needs grout, flooring, fixtures, wainscotting, and all accessories (lighting, towel bars, etc).
Master bath: painted. Tile plan in place. Needs everything else.
Powder room: painted. Needs flooring, wainscotting, fixtures, all accessories.
Office: partially painted. Needs window trim, flooring, accent wall color
Mudroom: partially painted. Needs flooring, cabinetry, window trim, flooring
Laundry room: painted. Needs flooring, cabinets, appliances, window trim, everything.
Kitchen: needs cabinets (due week of August 6), flooring, countertops (back to debating this one), window trim, appliances, backsplash to be laid (tile is in).
Livingroom: needs window trim, paint, flooring, furniture.
Wow, it feels like a lot more work when you look at it this way. That's ok. We're making progress every day, even if just little bits. M has some other-people's tile jobs to do soon, and we've got some other irons in the fire, so we just keep chipping away as best we can.
I still hope to be in by Thanksgiving. How many days is that?
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Color!
We spent part of Saturday in the new house with our hundreds of paint samples, trying to figure out what colors we might want to paint the rooms that weren't going to be "house neutral" (the color we're calling the grayish taupe we're planning for many of the main living areas.
We decided on the color for the powder room (above the wainscotting), the master bath (a major accomplishment!) and the guest bath (again, above the wainscotting, and it's a small room, so not a ton of color.)
After going to a local orchard for a fruit festival (peaches are just coming into the peak of their season here) we trundled off to Home Depot, confirmed our colors, and bought paint. I spent the afternoon painting the master bath (pale blue) and the powder room (a bold, bold color, one I would've not thought I'd pick!). The powder room is ready for wainscoting and crown moulding (we have 9 foot ceilings there, so it makes sense). The master bath still needs to have the ceilings cut in (not my forte) but we like the color. The roof angles are tricky there so I'll leave it to M to do that finishing.
We're in the midst of a major fire here (well, close by--about 10 miles or so?) that is now 2400 acres. it started on Wednesday, and has grown each day. The smoke at night has been choking, even this far away. So far only one home has been burned, but many people are evacuated. We're not in any danger here (it has not jumped the north fork of the American River, and then there are two highways in between us, and it's traveling away from us due to prevailing winds. BUT, the smoke has been bad, there have been hundreds of fire fighters in town, and everyone's feeling badly for the folks affected.
On a brighter note, our trim and doors were delivered last week, and tomorrow the interior doors go in. They're really pretty sitting in the garage, and I can't wait to see them in place!
We decided on the color for the powder room (above the wainscotting), the master bath (a major accomplishment!) and the guest bath (again, above the wainscotting, and it's a small room, so not a ton of color.)
After going to a local orchard for a fruit festival (peaches are just coming into the peak of their season here) we trundled off to Home Depot, confirmed our colors, and bought paint. I spent the afternoon painting the master bath (pale blue) and the powder room (a bold, bold color, one I would've not thought I'd pick!). The powder room is ready for wainscoting and crown moulding (we have 9 foot ceilings there, so it makes sense). The master bath still needs to have the ceilings cut in (not my forte) but we like the color. The roof angles are tricky there so I'll leave it to M to do that finishing.
We're in the midst of a major fire here (well, close by--about 10 miles or so?) that is now 2400 acres. it started on Wednesday, and has grown each day. The smoke at night has been choking, even this far away. So far only one home has been burned, but many people are evacuated. We're not in any danger here (it has not jumped the north fork of the American River, and then there are two highways in between us, and it's traveling away from us due to prevailing winds. BUT, the smoke has been bad, there have been hundreds of fire fighters in town, and everyone's feeling badly for the folks affected.
On a brighter note, our trim and doors were delivered last week, and tomorrow the interior doors go in. They're really pretty sitting in the garage, and I can't wait to see them in place!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
It's hot
It was supposed to be 103 today, and M's working at painting the interior of the house. Did I mention we have a behemoth furnace, but the AC is not in yet? Yikes. I would wilt. At this temp even a dry heat (insert finger quotes there) is pretty intolerable. We look forward to sundown when the temps drop.
The primer we tinted (that's used to seal the brand new drywall and texture) was not a success, color-wise. It looks like bad Cover Girl. So we're toning down the pink and trying a slightly grayer tone. We shall see.
As per the usual irony, the guest bath was the one room we couldn't settle on: color, tile, etc. And not surprisingly, it's the one room M started the tile on. It's beautiful and very economical. Of course, that means that while the largest wall of the tub surround is complete, the other two walls aren't. Not because M hasn't tried, but of course, Home Depot is out of the tile, and won't have it in for about another week. Typical. And so she paints . . .
We picked up our kitchen backsplash tile and master bath accent tile on Saturday. It wasn't cheap, but those two spots were our splurge. That's why the guest bath is getting a pretty, but cheaper treatment.
We ordered our kitchen cabinets on Monday--they should be here week of August 6. So excited. We also settled on what to do for the non-island countertops in the kitchen (the island will be marble). I wanted dark gray counters, and really wanted Quartz, but it's so expensive. So, to get the same color tone (if not the exact look) and to save more $$ I think we're going to try concrete. M's done them before in two houses, so she's experienced.
The garden is blooming (zinnias, M's dahlia garden, sunflowers) but still the tomatoes are not thriving. It's HOT back there!
Here are a couple photos of the guest-bath tub surround in progress. There's no grout yet, so the space between the tiles looks darker than it eventually will. Pretty huh?
The primer we tinted (that's used to seal the brand new drywall and texture) was not a success, color-wise. It looks like bad Cover Girl. So we're toning down the pink and trying a slightly grayer tone. We shall see.
As per the usual irony, the guest bath was the one room we couldn't settle on: color, tile, etc. And not surprisingly, it's the one room M started the tile on. It's beautiful and very economical. Of course, that means that while the largest wall of the tub surround is complete, the other two walls aren't. Not because M hasn't tried, but of course, Home Depot is out of the tile, and won't have it in for about another week. Typical. And so she paints . . .
We picked up our kitchen backsplash tile and master bath accent tile on Saturday. It wasn't cheap, but those two spots were our splurge. That's why the guest bath is getting a pretty, but cheaper treatment.
We ordered our kitchen cabinets on Monday--they should be here week of August 6. So excited. We also settled on what to do for the non-island countertops in the kitchen (the island will be marble). I wanted dark gray counters, and really wanted Quartz, but it's so expensive. So, to get the same color tone (if not the exact look) and to save more $$ I think we're going to try concrete. M's done them before in two houses, so she's experienced.
The garden is blooming (zinnias, M's dahlia garden, sunflowers) but still the tomatoes are not thriving. It's HOT back there!
Here are a couple photos of the guest-bath tub surround in progress. There's no grout yet, so the space between the tiles looks darker than it eventually will. Pretty huh?
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| Hard to tell that's a light green glass liner above the gray |
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| Detail of green glass and metallic liner |
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