Hubby and disagreed on how long it'd been seen I'd taken real (e.g. non-iPhone) photos of the house. I said a week. He said two. It kills me to admit that he was right.
Where have the past two weeks gone? Oh, I know. A week away for a work conference and then a week for month-end close. Add in some unplanned (but super successful) potty training and time flies. So freaking fast sometimes. Like the fact that my son is now two and a half. When did that happen? I swore I just brought him home from the hospital and learned just the right way to swaddle him so that he kept at least one arm snuggled. Now, he's parading around like a big boy, willing to share his latest bodily movements with just about anyone.
Anyway, I digress.
This past week, in particular, has been a busy one. Flooring work continued, we met with the granite folks to do a rough layout, trim was delivered, lighting was installed and cabinet installation began. Cabinets were supposed to start going in on Monday, but due to delays in flooring and trim delivery, the carpenter re-scheduled for Friday afternoon. Everything is finally starting to come together and the place is looking more and more like a house. And I think, for the first time Sunday night, I finally had the realization that it's our house... and we'll be making it our home. It's not just a project we've spent countless hours working on, waiting to hand off to someone else. Pretty exciting stuff.
I'm mostly going to let the photos speak for themselves. But, I need to say this -- I love my hardwood floors. Love, love, love them. They're the Ponderosa line from Real Hardwood Floors and we chose Alamosa Hickory. The color is just dark enough, without being too dark -- and just warm enough, without being too red. And don't mind the dirt; I'll take better photos once the dust settles and the protective paper is removed.
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| [wall color: Gray Clouds by Sherwin Willams - flooring: Ponderosa Alamosa Hickory by Real Wood Floors] |
The tile in the main bath was the first flooring laid - and the one we were least excited to see. That sounds so anticlimactic, but it's true. It's a very pretty beige tile. It really is. But the tile in my master bath? And the hardwood floors? So much more exciting.
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| [wall color: Nantucket Dune by Sherwin Willaims - tile: Sandolo Acacia Beige by Daltile] |
And while I prefaced the master bath tile with being even more exciting, we're still waiting for the best part to be completed. The floor tile is in - and it's beautiful. But, we're still waiting on the vein-cut tile to go up in the shower. It's the tile I originally fell in love with, but ultimately decided to restrict to just the shower because it only came in the large 12x24-inch size. Our bathroom is somewhat galley style (is it appropriate to describe a bathroom as 'galley'?). With a narrow center walkway, we feared the large tiles would be overwhelming to the space. Bummer.
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| [wall color: Perfect Greige by Sherwin Williams - tile: San Michele Crema Cross-Cut by Daltile] |
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| [the good is coming... this is the bad and the ugly] |
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| [wall color: Perfect Greige by Sherwin Williams - tile: San Michele Crema Cross-Cut by Daltile] |
The electricians worked hard to install fixtures and complete wiring over a few different days. We have been beyond pleased with these guys and I'm super thankful for their laid back manner and willingness to answer my ten thousand questions. Examples: Are you installing a doorbell? (A: Yes) The hallway light seems to be in a really weird place - is that right? (A: That's the smoke detector - the light box was drywalled over) Can you wait to install our dining room fixture? I don't want it to get dirty. (A: Sure) On second thought - can you wait to install the shades on the other drum lights? I don't want them dirty either. (A: No problem) On third thought - can you also wait on the kitchen pendants and vanity lights? (A: Already planning to) Seriously can't thank them enough for their patience with me.
The only bad part about all of these fixtures going up so quickly was our lack of planning in purchasing light bulbs. When we got the call on Monday that they were ready for fixtures the next day, I had a momentary freak-out that we hadn't purchased any light bulbs. Oooops. We'd also forgotten to purchase the motion light for the side of the house. Double oooops.
I immediately started making a list of the fixtures, required numbers of bulbs and ideal wattages and Hubby began scouring Lowe's and Menards for exterior motion lights. I'm happy to report that between my diligent list making, Hubby's diligent shopping, and a properly-timed sale at Lowe's, we did end up getting everything out to the house by the next day. And with only one mistake. We decided to 'go green' and try LED lights for the first time in the bedroom ceiling fans. Well, they were the wrong size...or the wrong shape...or something. Lucky for us, the fans came with bulbs and we just hadn't noticed. I'll mess with the LED bulbs later, and for now, will be thankful to return $60 worth of light bulbs.
They really busted their you-know-whats to get most of the electrical done and I believe the following is just about all that's left:
- Install large drum pendant in the dining area.
- Install shades on smaller drum fixtures in laundry room, flex room and master closet.
- Install single sconces in master bathroom (flanking each pivot mirror).
- Install vanity lights in main bath (above mirrors).
- Install kitchen pendants above peninsula.
- Return LED light bulbs.
- Install exterior motion light.
- Pick up a replacement glass shade from Lowe's (so thankful only one fixture has been damaged - and luckily it's one we picked up in town).
The trim was delivered on Friday morning while we were at the house. The delivery truck ended up blocking us in the driveway, so we spent quite a bit more time at the house than we'd intended. Someone started to get a wee bit bored and started hiding in closets. Adorable, no?
NOTE: This update has been semi-drafted since Friday evening but I'm just now getting the chance to wrap it up. Interested in what's happened since Friday?
Swoon! More details to come.
