Beautiful Coincidences

 

Some beautiful finishing touches were added to the house this week. And in one of those "it's a small world" coincidences, I found out this weekend that our cabinet maker's daughter (Emerson) and Caroline are in the same kindergarten class and were in Pre-k together last year. It's strange to get to know someone through a totally unrelated means (choosing and installing cabinets) and then find out how much you have in common with them. It made me like the cabinets even more knowing we had a personal connection to the family who built them.

 

Below is a picture of our new fireplace mantle. Of course, it still needs some kind of tile or brick background and hearth and a wide piece of wood across the top. But, it really makes a big impact in our living room.

Here we have our master bathroom tub surround with beautiful Carrara marble. Once I figure out what color I want to paint this room, it will be beautiful.  I told Maribeth that this bathroom would end up selling this house. I think she had a little heart attack! Of course, I told her, barring some unforeseen event, we wouldn't be selling for a very long time.

This is Brian's sink and vanity.

And my sink and vanity.

Here are our Brazilian granite counter tops in our kitchen. They are also installed in the butler's pantry and the upstairs bathrooms.

Balusters, Handrails and Newel Posts

Up until this week, the home has seemed somewhat like a death trap. With two wild, hyper children roaming the halls and eager to see their bedrooms and playroom upstairs, we were constantly on edge from the possibility of a two story fall. It was all we could do to keep two children holding our hands anytime we ventured up the stairs. We were very happy that the final construction on the stairs has finally arrived and thankful to have the safety of the handrails and balusters in place.

I've loved seeing wrought iron balusters in homes for many years now. I think they are beautiful. But I wanted to make sure whatever we chose for our stairs would be something that was timeless. Plus, I think every house built on this side of town in the last 10 years has wrought iron on the stairs and I just wanted something different.

We went with a classic, vintage square baluster and a custom designed newel post. Both have very simple, clean lines and are different than anything I have seen in my home search.  Below is one of the staircase installers putting in some trim.

The stair treads and handrails will be stained to match the wood floors.

 

The stairs off the back deck have been installed. 

 

 

All of our interior doors lined up for their coats of paint.

 

I'm not taking this experience for "Granite"

Brian and I had the big decision this week about picking granite for our kitchen and bathrooms. We had narrowed down our decision based on samples that a granite salesman had provided. The samples are about a four inch square block. It was hard to envision what a huge island would look like from that little four inch block. Luckily, it was pretty easy to go from 12 choices down to two or three favorites. Since it is such a big decision, we decided we better take advantage of Brian's vacation day and make the two hour drive to west Atlanta to the granite warehouse. The whole way up there I kept thinking that we might be wasting our time. But once we got there and got to see everything in person, I was glad we went. 

Even though there is a name for a certain color or source of granite, there can be huge color variations in that one group. When you buy granite, you have to pick out something you like and then ensure that, if needed, they have enough slabs taken from that exact "block" of granite.  It's like picking out a wallpaper and making sure that the lot numbers match.

We were able to pick out a slab that was our favorite. After going to the check out counter, they informed us that there was only one slab available in the color we wanted. We had to start over. Luckily there was a very similar "block" that we were able to pull from. Hopefully it will all work out and I'm sure we won't know the difference once it is installed.

Just FYI, all the granite at this particular warehouse comes from Brazil. Sounds very exotic that our little Auburn, Alabama home will have countertops from South America!

Here is one of the warehouse workers using this machine and clamp to move the slabs around so we can check out the exact slabs we are purchasing. As you can see, he was reluctant for his photo to be added to this blog.

Although these slabs weigh hundreds of pounds, it made me nervous walking by them. I felt like they were going to fall over at any moment. But our sales rep assured me they wouldn't fall like dominoes.

 

Master Bath

Below are pictures of our master bath. I can't wait to start using it. Not only because it will have a large, walk-in shower, and a large bubble-y tub with a television, a private water closet, and his and her sinks and vanities, but also because I'm hoping it will be somewhat off limits to my children. Once we move in here, they will have their own bathrooms and I hope they enjoy using them. Right now, the bathroom is about the only place in this apartment where you can have a little alone time. And in a five room apartment, you don't get much time alone even in the bathroom.

Here is a picture of our shower. We picked out the tile at Lowe's. It was on clearance, but being the bargain shopper that I am, I asked for even more of a discount and they gave it to me! It is a porcelain tile, but is supposed to look like Carrara marble.  The name of it was Karrara- as in Carrara with a "K". Maybe it is supposed to make you feel like a Kardashian when you pick it out.

 

 

The photo below shows our floor tile. This was one area in which I spent a little extra. It is a vintage reproduction tile in little octagon shapes. We decided to put it in all the bathrooms which made us go a little over budget. But I have always loved this vintage look and I think it will look great once everything is done.

 

 

Later in the week the cabinets were added to the bathroom.  Here is my side of the room.

Here is Brian's side.

Cabinets and Tile

 

This was a long, slow week at the house. Everyday that went by felt like it was in slow motion. Until Friday, and then when we went to the house that evening, it was almost like I had blinked and in that second the kitchen appeared. I've been studying the house plans since June and we ordered cabinets July- which seems like forever-ago. And now we almost have a real kitchen!

 

Below is a view from where the kitchen table will be. On the far back wall will be our cook top. The stained upper cabinets will have seeded glass doors and there will be a decorative hood for the vent.  On the right wall, there will be the double oven and refrigerator. The island will house the sink, dishwasher and microwave.

 

This is a picture of the butler's pantry. My dishes and crystal are so excited to have their very own home!

We also got tile this week in the bathrooms. Here is the master bath.

Below is the upstairs guest bathroom.

Here are the tile workers on their first attempt at installing our shower. Fortunately I went to the house one afternoon this week and saw that they were not installing it in the correct pattern. I called Maribeth and she was able to go over and get them to take it down before it got too stuck. I think it looks a lot better in the correct pattern. No one other than Brian, Maribeth and me would have known the difference, but I'm so glad that we were able to get it fixed. It would have driven me crazy every time I got in the shower know that it wasn't installed the way I had wanted.

 

We got to trick or treat in the new neighborhood this week. We set up a little "tailgate" in front of the house. We met a lot of the families who live on the four streets around us.

By Friday afternoon, a lot of grading work had been done on the front yard. It won't be long now before we have a driveway and a front yard!

Don't Blink or You'll Miss It

It's been a slow news week on the home build. As in, "Don't blink or you'll miss it" changes. Hopefully that means that this upcoming week will be full of multiple new additions to the house. It's kind of worrying that at least two days last week nothing happened, especially considering that we are less than 30 days from Thanksgiving (our move in goal and a goal that Maribeth assures us we are still on track for barring some disaster).

 

In one of the "don't blink" moments, you might can tell from the photo below that the front porch concrete has been poured.  

 

 

 

The biggest addition this week has been the backer board that has been installed in all the areas of the house where tile will be put. Below is the master bathroom shower.  Brian is especially excited about the shower because he keeps injuring his shin when he is getting out of the shower at the apartment. I agree- I hate shower doors with their ever dangerous metal tracks. While my accidents with shower doors have never drawn blood, I have had my share of incidents involving the metal track trying to hold on to a pinkie toe while I was attempting to exit the shower. It will be so nice to be able to step right out onto the floor.

Below is the decking for the tub in the master bath. Because it is curved, it had to be installed on site instead of being painted at the cabinet shop. I'm so ready for a big bath tub. You don't realize how much you miss taking a bath until you only have the option of a small, yucky apartment one.  I've only been that desperate a couple of times in the last nine months.

This is a view of our front yard. For the first time in a while there isn't a huge garbage dumpster or a cement mixer on the site. We are planning to do a trick or treating table on Halloween this week at the house, so we were thrilled the dumpster was moved. Now, if we could only get the port-a-potty off the lot, it would almost look like a real front yard.

Here is the back yard. Since there wasn't much going on in the house this week, Craig decided to take some time to get the back yard cleaned up. He had to haul off a pile of bricks that had been put there by some builder who had left them on the lot. And there were a lot of weeds and trash that had accumulated on the lot.

The back of the house looks like it has had its final coat of paint. Now we're just waiting for handrails and steps from the back porch.

Trim work

The house has seen a lot of new additions this week. Crown molding, base boards and window trim have all be added in most of the house. It is so pretty and make such a difference in the house. It's really made it seem like the final stages of the home build are here,  or at least will be here soon. Also added this week were the interior doors. It wasn't so long ago that we could look through walls from one room to another. Now, we can actually go into a room and shut a door and just take in that one space.

 

Behind the doors below is my closet!  I haven't had a real closet to hold all my stuff in a year and a half. I can't wait! In addition to actually having a closet, I'm excited about something that probably no one else but me would be thrilled about. I love that the closet has double doors- not just a single door. You wouldn't think that would be so exciting, but I really think that it will make the closet seem bigger.  There won't be a big area of the closet that is blocked by a door being opened.  It will just have a little space behind each door where I can build shelves to store shoes and purses.

Today, the brick layers finished the house. The picture below shows the columns that hold up the porches have had the bricks applied. It seems so strange that a decision I fretted so much about has turned into one of my favorite aspects of the house.

Here is the breakfast area of the kitchen showing all the new trim that was added this week.

When I got to the house this afternoon, these guys were there cleaning everything up.  That really makes it feel like it will not be long until we are able to move into the house.

To the right of the garage is a little "wing wall" that was added to hide our garbage can. I think this was the last of the brick laying projects.

Let there be color!

Last Friday late in the afternoon, I got a call from Maribeth wanting to know why I hadn't called her. I knew that there must have been a big change at the house. She was eagerly waiting for my phone call and I had been too busy to go by the house so I didn't know to call her.  When I finally got there, after working late and going to a six year old's birthday party, I got to see what she was talking about.  We have color!  At least a first coating of color on the whole house.

 

Then on Sunday, after Brian got back in town from his big golf trip, we discovered that the wood floors had been installed. It's really amazing how much the house can change in two days.

 

Below is our dining room, a familiar red to anyone who has ever dined in our home.  I'm so ready to see our furniture and curtains and pictures in here. Brian is perhaps happier than anyone that this room has been painted. For the most part, he doesn't mind painting, but the red dining room in our last house about made him decide that it was worth every penny to have a professional paint a red room.

 

Below is Caroline posing in her room. She loves pink. This summer she had asked for her new room to be painted "rainbow." Thankfully, she forgot that was what she had asked for.

 

Brian and the children posing by the outdoor fireplace. Brian can't wait for this winter so he can chop wood and build a big fire. This is the second fireplace we've had in this spot. The first one just wouldn't hold a big enough fire, so we had to change it out for a bigger model.  

 

 

Below is the upstairs landing. Wood flooring was installed on Sunday. On Saturday, Grandmother Jo bought us a really pretty rug at a yard sale to be used in this area.

And here is our living room with the wood floor installed. Now, we just need some sanding, staining and poly and we'll be ready for a dance party.

Color...Here We Come!

 

The sheet rock crew has been moving fast. So fast, in fact, that we went into emergency "pick wall color" mode today. Hopefully, tomorrow the sheet rock crew will be finished and the painters will start painting the walls on Friday. I had a general idea about what I wanted for most of the walls. But picking the exact color and saying "buy the paint" is a different story.

 

This afternoon, the kids and I went over to Maribeth's house with all the paint chips I had collected this weekend from Lowe's. She is really good about helping to narrow things down into manageable two or three choices. The main color we selected is a National Trust for Historic Preservation color called Churchill Hotel Ecru. This will be in all the rooms for now except our dining room and Caroline's room.  The dining room is called Heirloom Red (thankfully not Heirloom Crimson). This will be my third red dining room. Caroline's bedroom color is Pink Taffy. It will be her third bedroom that will be painted this exact color.  I guess we find a color we like and stick with it.  Definitely makes it easier when picking colors.  I'm sure as I buy bedroom fabrics I may want to change some colors at some point, but we think our main color will be a good neutral choice for all the main areas.

 

I kind of like to choose colors the same way I pick race horses--- by their name.  I definitely am happy with our wall color choices and their names. I love anything to do with England, so I would of course love the name Churchill, and Heirloom Red sounds like a traditional color in an antique dining room. And Pink Taffy is very much like Caroline- sweet, but somewhat demanding.  I've already written about the color of our roofing shingles- Oxford Grey (an English reference again) and the name of our brick is called Old Fort Augusta. As much as Brian loves golf, having golf's premier city in the name of our brick was perfect.

 

Here is the living room with some of the sheet rock mud applied. I can't wait to see the built-ins on either side of the fireplace.

 

Below is a view of the kitchen from the living room..

The front porch has all of its bricks. Now it just needs, a floor, lighting, posts and of course, a swing or rocking chairs!

The back view of the house with the trim work added to the screened porch.

Brian, John Thomas and the gymnast, Caroline enjoying the first of many afternoons on the back porch.