The Home Stretch

Things are coming together! The contractors only have about another week left so everything "should" be done by next weekend. I realized I haven't shown the area around the house since early spring when things were still dead. It's pretty now so have a look-

I discovered there are three apple tress in the front yard! I'm really excited to find out what kind they are.

Ok, back to the inside of the house. The idea of using my own bathroom and not having to shower in flip flops is pretty damned exciting. Sharing the only working bathroom with a bunch of men could definitely have been worse, I'll say that but it'll still be nice to not carry a shower caddy. The great thing about the bathroom we share is the view of sunrises I get when I wake up before the guys get here- 

That plant was a good buy. It really brightens up the drab bathroom and hopefully reminds the guys that a girl lives there and to put the seat down. Thanks plant. 

I had a cookout for everyone at lunch on Friday because they've all been working so hard. Our foreman on the job is C.Q.- I wish I was half as talented. I showed him this picture of a pantry I love-

And he altered the layout of my shelves to mimic them, I found cheap beadboard slabs at Home Depot (shocking) so we threw that up behind the shelves. 

Now I just need to paint the shelves and I can always add a decorative trim later. I have the BEST plan for a pantry light....I saw this at potterybarn.com-

But of course it's overpriced and I don't really need that many lights SO I'm making my own cluster of three lights from old canning jars I used last year! I feel pretty confident about it and have all the electrical parts I need so that's my project for this weekend. 

A lot has happened over the last week. Doorknobs were installed and they look awesome-

The mosaic for the front entry is in and grouted with travertine tiles around it-

The tub was moved into place for when the plumbers come to hook up everything on Monday-

That window looks odd because it's not installed yet. That's just a clear piece of glass. It didn't fit right so they're coming back to fix it next week.

I've never had a bathtub so I'm really excited for it. I spent a few minutes testing it out when it arrived-

I  can stretch out in it so I'm excited for winter! Baths in winter are the best.

View of the shower.

View of the vanity area. I'm pretty happy about those french-style basin sinks. The well pump style faucets are going to look great. 

I added beadboard to the little half bath and will select a nice wallpaper to go above it. I'm on the lookout for a classic farm/country pattern.

The kitchen cabinets are all installed.

Here's a picture after the glass was added-

I left a lot of room around the island so more than one person can be cooking and milling about. I'm really liking my last minute decision to add decorative legs to the sides of the cooktop and sink, they'll match the legs on the island where the granite overhangs.

That open spot is where the dishwasher will be installed. I got a cabinet cover panel for it so it'll be camouflaged. 

The next big decisions were, 1. What countertops?  and 2. What color floor stain? 

I had a few options for countertops and I was seriously considering marble because I love, love the look but finally decided to go with granite because it's perfect for a kitchen. The first two from the top down are marble and the sample on the bottom is the granite I chose. 

To select a granite I went to a few granite warehouses where you walk through aisles and aisles of towering slabs to see what they have in stock. I saw some of the most amazing colors I've ever seen in my life. It's seems awful that anyone would cut some of those slabs! They look like aurora borealis. 

The swirls of cream, brown and white work perfectly with the kitchen and any floor stain I go with. It's called White Spring and unlike most of the slabs above, we can afford it! 

The marbles were beautiful but you can't cut on marble because it scratches easily and it stains if dark colored juices or acids like tomatoes touch the surface for too long...granite is pretty indestructible. Granite wins.  

Selecting a floor stain...this was hard. As you can see, I bought a lot of tiny cans of sample stains to try out before making a selection. We thought we'd go super dark brown when we first bought the place but it seems too contemporary for the style now. Out of those colors, I chose the one touching the bottom right of the granite sample. It's called "Provincial" and it's a chocolate color. As I type this, the floor team is upstairs sanding and prepping to stain. 

Here's the color up close. I've been told it may look darker when it's done which is fine with us. 

I ended up buying the cheapest chandelier available in the style I was considering because why pay a lot when I might hate it. Here it is-

Now that the house is kinda-sorta taken care of I'm finally turning my full attention to the garden and landscaping. My corn is doing well, I'm going to plant a few rows every two weeks so we should have corn from mid-summer through fall. These little stalks are 6 inches high and they were planted a week and a half ago!

The brussel sprouts, squash and melons are growing up and vining out. I bought a bunch of tomato plants this morning since I completely missed the boat on growing from seed this year. It was just too much. I've got a lot of seeds for next year and can be better prepared for all the attention they need. 

Until then I'm hoping my dahlia tubers pop up and we have enough tomatoes for me to can!