Mantel and Built-in

Want to see a horrible photo of the most beautiful built-in ever? ;)

They turned out perfectly.  Now I need to figure out how to fill the shelves!

The Almost Done Pantry

We were going to do the pantry ourselves because the over-budget-ness (is that a word?) of this remodel is out of control.  However, we just don't have the time.  Gary is doing both of our closets, and we aren't even done with those.  So, I told our custom cabinet guy that I wanted the most simple and cheap pantry ever...which they begun installing today.

But apparently, simple and cheap is not in his vocabulary because this is what it looks like so far, and it's not even done!

That does not look simple and cheap to me...it looks awesome and fancy!  Notice the crown moulding in the second photo that matches the crown on our kitchen cabinets.  I mean, whaaaaat?!  The cabinet with drawers (which obviously doesn't have the drawer fronts yet) is going to have a carrera marble counter on it!

My only concern is that when we discussed the plan, I said I wanted the shelves to go all the way to the wall (so there would be shelves over the cabinet), which he didn't do.  He kept saying it would look ugly, and in his opinion it needs to be open, blah, blah.  I really just have to laugh because I do find it endearing that he takes such huge pride in his work and cares so much about aesthetics, even in a pantry. :)  I think I'm just going to put open shelving above to put my cookbooks on...maybe. 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

The kids' bathroom really is the most beautiful bathroom I've ever seen.  I sort of want to sleep in there...

For awhile, I was a little worried about how the entryway was going to turn out since it was my number one top priority, but I had no reason to worry- it is absolutely stunning...

California room ceiling with light and a breeze...

The back of the house lights were installed, and I love them!  The small size...

The large size...

I organized my baking center today...

The inside of the master bathroom shower is all tiled (but not grouted yet), including the ceiling!

Gary's closet is getting done...

The playroom pocket doors are on (but still need hardware)...

And finally, our cabinet guy brought the skeleton of our fireplace built-in and mantle sample for approval today...it's going to look so great!

Chuggin' Along

Things have been happening at the house for the last 6 days, but nothing that really makes good pictures (lots of painting, prep for landscaping, etc.).

Here is half of the tongue and groove ceiling of our California room (it's done now, but I don't have a photo)...

Here is how they started our family room coffered ceiling...

And almost finished...

I can't even believe how perfect it turned out, and it's not even caulked or painted!  It's definitely my favorite feature of the house so far.

Here is the start of our entryway tongue and groove mini-cathedral ceiling...

I've been told that it has been a "b*tch" to install.  Sorry guys!

And the paneled entryway walls...

Ella's room is complete except for installation of her lighting fixture...

I absolutely love the contrast of the navy against the bright white.

It looks pretty ugly right now, but the landscaping is coming along...

And then there's master bathroom.  The bane of my existence.  It just seems like nothing in that room is working out how I planned, and it's starting to get to me! 

First of all, the chevron pattern floor was apparently going to be too difficult of an installation in such a large space so we ended up going with the same floors we have in the kids' bathroom.  I'm ok with this change since I adore the kids' bathroom floor, and I read that chevron is so trendy that it will go out of style soon (not sure if I believe that!). 

Then there's vanity lighting.  I was dead set on sconces on either side of both mirrors (like I'm doing in the kids' bathroom), but I've been informed that there simply isn't room for sconces on either side of the mirrors so I have to do above mirror lighting (which is actually how it's already been wired because they did it before asking me).  I don't want above mirror lighting.  I can't find one fixture that I like.  Although I've been told "no", I'm still not accepting that. ;)

Then there's the shower.  It's smaller than I thought it was going to be.  Fine.  At least I can have the tile design I want.  Oh, but of course I can't because that is not the theme of the master bathroom.  First, I couldn't find the white ceramic pencil tile (I'm sure it exists but we don't have time to special order anymore) so I omitted that detail.  It is also supposed to have a chair rail (like the kids' bathroom).  I wanted to use the same chair rail, but since there's no time for special order, I bought the much less pretty in-stock version.  They started tiling the bottom of the shower walls and had to stop because due to the layout of the shower, there is no way to make the chair rail work with a shower door.  ARGH!!!! 

It was back to the drawing board.  Since there isn't much that I like in terms of bathroom tile, I'm very limited design-wise.  So now it's going to be 3x6 subway tiles (as originally planned), and this design will go around the shower about 3/4 of the way up...

Yes, it's pretty simple and plain.  Just how I like things.  If you don't like white, carrera marble and subway tile, you're pretty much going to hate my house. ;)

I'm just hoping I end up loving (or at least really liking?) the master bathroom.  I'm trying to focus on the fact that the kids' bathroom is gorgeous.  I've never seen a bathroom that I love so much.  Too bad it will probably be destroyed by next year!

Kitchen Progress

I'm not sure why the kitchen takes so many days to install, but nevertheless, it's getting done!  They installed the crown (which is different than the crown in the rest of the house, and I love it!)...

We finally have light!

And some of the appliances...

Stucco installation...

And photos of the shelf detail in the playroom (sorry for the repeated shelf detail shots- I'm obsessed with it!!!)...

Kitchen & Bathrooms

The kitchen is coming along...

The corbels for the peninsula are wrong so those have to be redone...which is kind of annoying because I showed them photos of what I wanted, then when we went to approve them at the shop, they were wrong so I again showed the photo of what I wanted, and they didn't change them!  And now it's a much bigger deal because that whole thing is all one piece (the thing the corbels are attached to) so it has to be redone.  The "miscommunications" (which really are just mistakes) are really irritating!!

After I took this photo, they installed some of the cabinet doors/ drawer faces...of course, I didn't like where they placed the hinges on the cabinets (long story) so I had them take the doors off and reinstall the hinges so the doors would be at the right height.  I know they think I'm so nitpicky, but I don't want to let little things go that will bug me forever!

The other possible issue is that because the kitchen is larger than I expected, the stove is quite far from the sink.  So now I think I do need a pot filler, which is also annoying because everything is drywalled so to install one, he needs to cut through the ceiling to run a water line and then cut through the drywall behind the stove (in the pantry), which obviously would have been much easier when everything was wide open.

They've placed the kids' bathroom cabinets- here is the linen closet, which I really really love...

 
And my exciting drywalled bedroom and bathroom...

Window Dressing...

They installed the casing around one of our windows, and it looks soooooo good.  I have always wanted big pretty window casing with the shelf detail at the bottom, and I finally have it!  I never thought I'd be so excited about wood around a window...

They also installed the tub/shower faucet, and I absolutely love it...

The master bedroom/bathroom addition is drywalled (forgot to take a photo), and the house is prepped for stucco!

Don't ask me why my bathtub is on the patio????

We are getting so close!!!  It's almost worse now then when we started because I can taste it, yet there is still so much to do.  They are in the middle of installing the kitchen cabinets, and so far it looks great.  The kitchen is actually much larger than I thought it would be- plenty of room for an island in the middle if I want one, but I might just like it open.  I am going to have so much storage between all my cabinetry, the big pantry and the china closet...I say that now, but I'm sure I'll have no problem filling it up. :)

Getting Closer!

I feel like we are finally approaching the finish line (with everything but the addition, which isn't even drywalled yet).  It's CRAZY though how much finish work there is because we are doing lots of paneling, crown and base moulding, custom casing with a shelf detail, etc.- it takes forever!

To help move things along, I've started painting and Gary started paneling.  This is an awful, grainy photo, but Gary installed horizontal tongue and groove paneling on one of Ella's walls, and I painted the remaining walls navy blue...

Since I took this, they have installed crown and base in her room, but I forgot to take another picture.

Gary is also in the middle of paneling Everett's entire room in a board and batten style...

The guys poured our front walkway concrete a few days ago, and I'm thrilled that it turned out exactly how I wanted!

Today they installed our front door.  Finally, what I have always wanted...a Dutch door!  I don't care how cold it is outside, the top of that door will be open every day! :)

Ok, so it doesn't look so hot now (well, it does to me, but probably not to anyone else), but imagine it in a dark navy, almost black, and the siding around it all white.  With pretty lights on each side, a porch bench and two flower boxes with some type of topiary tree in each one...can you picture it??  Or is that just me?

We also put our kitchen and master bathroom slabs on hold today!  YAY!  Another thing I can mark off my list...

It's a carrera, but apparently it's the top grade or one of the top grade carreras???  I didn't even know there were different grades of carrera...is he just saying that so he can charge me more?!  Regardless, it's the prettiest marble I've ever seen. :) 

And I want this or something like this for the master bathroom floor...

I actually wanted a chevron pattern as opposed to herringbone, but I didn't see that while we were out.  This tile is ridiculously expensive so I'm trying to find an alternative. 

Bye Bye Wall

Ding dong the wall is gone!!!!!

As you can see, they are also already laying the forms for the concrete walkway- yeah!

For reference, here is a photo with the lovely wall still in tact...