Well, things have really progressed over the holidays! The hardwood has been put down and coated with the initial finishing. We elected not to stain the oak floor, and I am so glad we left it natural. You can really see the grain and variations of color in the oak - it has areas of almost a red tone, others white and others blonde. Really lovely.
Al, our neighbor and cabinet maker, has done a spectacular job on the kitchen cabinets. The base cabinets are installed, in readiness for the granite countertops to be templated and installed. The cabinets will be a dark, almost chocolate, color. The doors will all simple Shaker style. The granite is a green wave. Most granites I've seen look like crushed stone - little bits and blobs - but the one I've selected looks like you are looking down from space at the waves in a deep green sea.
This was a very interesting part of the process, because it is no longer "empty space" but is taking form as a proper kitchen. The island has been installed - yes, it is as huge as we thought it would be, but it doesn't overwhelm the space, as I had started to fear it might. Lots of room to get around (we allotted extra space between the base cabinets and the island).
The new appliances have been delivered and have been slid into their new places. I am very happy with how it will look - so beautiful. After 10 years of living in a white kitchen, I was nervous of going to a dark color, but because the overall space is so big and the appliances are stainless, it is as bright as I wanted it. I'll never go back to a white kitchen again - it gets dingy fast!
We also had fun at an auction the other day. Colin wanted a pub table and chairs for his man cave, and we have long been tired of the mismatched and cheap bedroom furniture we'd been living with for over 12 years - some he brought into the marriage, other peieces I brought - so even though many designers hate the idea of a matching bedroom suite, we found one we love. A solid headboard we can lean up against while reading a bedtime book or the weekend paper; matching bedside tables - the highboy chest and the "ladies dresser" will both go into the large walk-in closet. We found everything we wanted at the auction - hey - where else can you find a pub table (larger then standard) and 8 chairs for $700.00?? The bedroom suite was a great deal, too.
The other furniture we had ordered also arrived over the holidays. We've stored everything in the new dining room for now - I am anxious to get it unwrapped and in place soon!
The contractor says it is just a matter of weeks now.....some things will need to be held-off until spring, like removing the pile of dirt left behind when the basement was dug out (it's a frozen mountian now) and building the new front porch. But wow - hard to believe moving day is a matter of weeks now and not months!
