Window Treatment

Apologies for skipping last Sunday's weekly update. We were busy frolicking through fields with elk at Hardware Ranch and visiting the family. But I'm posting 3 pictures to make up for it.

Our front room is wall-to-wall windows with a vaulted ceiling. Envious, I know. And so were the ruffly, evergreen window dusters we inherited from the previous owners.

Country bumpkin. And layered in dust.

They had to go.

Mark, once again, saved the day. We ripped down the hardware and the fabric (which I still have if any of you want it) and bought four lovely alder planks, one for each window. Each plank received a few cuts and we assembled [ shaped wood boxes to attach to the existing window moulding. Mark mounted them Sunday night and they look lovely.

We will stain them eventually, we're just debating if we should stain ALL of the window moulding to match our floor & entry way (red tones) or keep the pine look around the windows to match the exposed beam in the ceiling (you can see it in the window reflection). Decisions, decisions. Any input from you designers out there?

We also revisited the mantel design. We revamped the proportions and got the mantel beveled. Now we need to cut the fancy trim and finish it. And we probably need different decor than DeWalt drills.




Til next time!

Good day for a table saw

Busy day! We put quarter round trim under the bar/island counter top and the window sill. The counter is a flat slab so you could see the drywall under the counter in those spots. Wasn't so pretty.



We started on the mantel today! We have the legs up. First we put up the support then we fit moulding around the 4x4s to finish.






The next step is to find a router to detail the edge on the mantel itself. We also have some fancy trim to finish it all of.

Little details

Toe kick is in and the dishwasher is snug in its hole with filler pieces to make it look more built in.




I love all of the drawers in the kitchen, especially the organization part.




And the front door was officially finished on New Year's Eve. Doesn't it match the floor so nicely? Mark did a great job choosing the stain.



We wish everyone a happy & healthy new year!

Door Makeover

You know how sometimes you get on a roll and you end up starting more projects than necessary? We're guilty of that.

Our front door was incredibly inefficient. It was a gorgeous wood door with fun detail but it had warped over the years and had cracks. Our entry way was a frigid cold draft every winter. So, while the rest of the house was a mess, we decided it was as good a time as any to knock out the front entry.

Old:

New:



It's not quite 100% finished yet. He's coming back Wednesday to (hopefully) finish. This is taking longer than anticipated for the following reasons:
1. The [insert your own description here] people who worked on the door/stairs last did not put ANY structure under the doorway. It was a giant hole full of expanding foam.
2. Because there was no suportive structure beneath the door, the framing couldn't hold the windows and some of them slid through the floor, leaving a lovely half inch gap at the top of the window which was a hole to the outside world.

The door guy has been amazing and he has taken the time to do a top notch job. Our front room is much warmer now!
Highly recommended: Steve Harper of Ace Windows & Doors.

Identity crisis

The sink is installed and boxes are all unpacked.



We got some creative space solutions, like this roll out shelf below the sink.



And believe it or not we went having things stacked on top of the cabinets in our old kitchen to having empty, spare cabinets! Insanity.

And with the real kitchen now in use my bathroom (used as base camp the past 2 months) is having an identity crisis. It's lovingly now referenced as "bathroom-kitchen".

Santa came early

And he brought countertops. We got a gun metal grey quartz and the color is perfect! One major step closer to having a normal house again.









They forgot the windowsill but promised to be back tomorrow.

Also note that Mark & Jim got all the trim assembled on top of the cabinets.

We also purchased and assembled our kitchen table which is extendable to accomdate almost any situation. It's buried right now but here's a link to ... You guessed it: the ikea page.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50116809

Stay tuned. We really do have more coming.

We have an appointment!

Counter tops are scheduled to be installed this Monday (Dec 14) in the afternoon! Wahoo!! Everyone cross your fingers that it actually will happen. Because if it does, there is a 75% that I will still decorate for Christmas this year.

In the meantime, I promise to snap some photos tonight of the minor details we've been working on.

Cheers,
Lisa