Catching up

Hmmmm, more infrequent posts. It's alarming how now that I'm unemployed, it seems like I have less time than ever. I'm racing through chores this morning so I can get out to DG and get to work!

I've been trying to spend the weekday mornings looking for work, and then spend the afternoons working on the house. It's been a good mix, but I never feel like I have enough time out there.

It's definitely a good time for me to have some extra time, as we're getting a lot of things wrapped up, and the end is in sight. Still no prospective move-in date, but hopefully soon.

SO, in the interest of getting caught up, here's a list of progress:

Interior painting: all complete except a tiny touchup in the loft, finishing the stairwell (I need M for this--the ladder on the stairs scares me!) and a touchup in the master bath. In the last 2 weeks, I've repainted the laundry room, cut in all the bedrooms, livingroom, kitchen, dining nook, mudroom and guest bath. This from the girl who previously wasn't allowed to cut in. I mastered that beast and am pretty proud of it!

Laundry Room: All painted. 1/2 of cabinets hung. BEHEMOTH refrigerator moved in. I'll save all these photos and a detailed description for another post. They're single-post worthy!

Great room/Dining Room: All painted. All flooring in. Trim ready to paint. M working on casing of beam and pillars.

Kitchen: All painted. All flooring in. All cabinets installed. Countertop and sink installed. Needs plumbing. Island needs to be built. Trim painting still needed. Appliances due to deliver in 2 weeks!

You can see the backsplash and the counter here. It hasn't been grouted yet.

Finally, a photo where the countertop is a bit more visable. In person, it's really sleek and shiny. It comes out pretty flat in most photos.

No, that hood isn't blue--it's just the protective coating that I'll remove once all painting is complete. We're thrilled with how the kitchen is coming along!



Powder room: All painted (though ceiling needs one more coat, and walls need touchup. Ready for trim paint, then toilet and sink can be installed. All wainscotting installed.

Stairwell: Stair nosing finally received. Need to install hard wood on stairs, and stair risers. Needs finish painting (at ceiling). Needs trim painting.

Guest Bedroom: All painted. Ready for trim paint. Needs window seat cushion.

Guest Bathroom: All painted. Ready for trim to be painted, then toilet can be installed. Needs tub pluming fixtures. Need to find/make vanity.

Master Bedroom: All painted. Closet painted M nearly finished with cabinetry. Here is a play by play of the "build" of the unit that will be our dresser/built in/window seat:

Building the cabinets. That's M's mom in the upper right corner--she LOVES building these!

More building. M's mom Mary in her work suit we made for her 2 years ago for her birthday. It's a white coverall one-piece, with "DEAD GUY ESTATE: Work Crew" stenciled on the back. She wears it out sometimes (she volunteers at the SPCA petting cats and it comes in handy protecting her clothes). It cracks me up that she will wear it out in public!

Moving the boxes into place.

A day's work. Note only the small drawers are in place, and there are gaps in between the boxes. This will be fixed. Also note the poor paint job at the ceiling--this was pre-mastering of the cutting in technique. Rest assured, it's all fixed and finished now. It's amazing how it makes EVERYTHING look so much better!

M practicing how small she can make herself. Partially completed drawers. Still mocking-up height on both sides. There was quite a bit of back and forth about how high these puppies should go to maximize our storage as well as look built in when complete. There was also some controversy about how bulky they looked when they went up nearly to the ceiling and didn't step back. In the end we compromised.

With partial trim in place. Isn't it neat how these are starting to look like built-in furniture?

And the nearly finished product. Note that there will be doors on the top box on the left to mirror the right. And that small "step-back" on the top box was the compromise with the height. Now I need to buy a piece of foam and cover it in something fun to go on top of the window seat (yes, we really do have a window seat in both bedrooms--this one is functional with the drawers below. The guest room one is strictly there to add some charm and hide the HUGE HVAC duct that runs through the room!




We still need to pick out carpet for both bedrooms, too.

Master Bath: the tile in the shower floor is partially laid, but we're still assessing it. The vanities will be painted by the painter, and then (also once the trim is painted) we can install those, plumb them and get them working. I still need to do some touchup painting it the master.

Other: the deck railings need to be installed (and purchased!) and the stairs finished.

Overall, though, you can feel the momentum. I can't wait to get in there!