Wall Niche Installation

Finally, our wall niche is in place.  It is not the original one that we chose, and it is not centered because of the bulkhead and a lovely outlet code requirement, but it looks nice.  I really like it!

The base still has to be placed.  So the niche is in place--but so is a very LARGE snakeskin:-(  We found another one in the work area of the basement.  I think we're going to have to call a snake expert to come out and trap the snakes humanely and relocate them.  We don't believe in killing any living thing.  But look how huge this thing is!  It wraps around the work bench!

More Medallion Madness...

I know everyone goes through times when nothing works out the way it is supposed to.  My time is now.  I gotta laugh or else I'd go mad.  It's been one thing after another, after another, after another... well, you get the point.

We ordered the medallion more than a month ago since the contractor needs it.  That company couldn't accept our order because of website problems.  Great.  So I have to spend an additional $140 to get it someplace else.  I do the transaction and then get an email days later stating that I have to pay an additional $80 to ship it freight because it's large and heavy.  Grrrrrrr.  So more than $200 EXTRA later, we might have a medallion, but it will not be in a timely fashion.  I'm so excited to get that chandelier hung, but I can't until the medallion is in place. 

The house is looking fantastic though.  Not much left to do.  We are still waiting on the reorder of door panels for the pantry closet and rope stacked moulding for the living room.  We're going to try to do a chair rail and possibly some wainscotting in there, too.  We have to paint a few rooms and finish the drywall deal.  It's not looking promising to move in October though.  That makes me sad.  The house is looking so good that I am actually starting to get really excited despite all the little problems we're fighting every day.  I was over there the other night and I kept thinking, "I can't believe this is my house!"  It's a really good feeling to see your dreams and ideas realized.  I'm really proud of the kitchen and how it was set up to be both lovely and very functional.

Wall Niche AAuuuUUUggGGGhhH!

Ok.  Months ago I ordered a recessed wall niche from invitinghome.com.  They took forever to ship, and when it arrived it wasn't a recessed niche.  Jeff and I thought it might be our mistake in ordering, so we decided to just keep it to use elsewhere in the house and ordered a recessed one.  And we waited. And waited.

And waited a long time.  This company doens't even send confirmation emails so that you can track your order.  I wouldn't buy anything from them again.  I've said it before, but sometimes the least expensive option isn't necessarily the best one.  And not being able to track the package and know when the item will arrive?  Well, that doesn't work out well when you have contractors waiting for the materials who are on a schedule.  This should have been installed a month ago.  It makes us look irresponsible, but it's really not our fault.  There is no such thing as good customer service anymore.  It happens, but it is rare unfortunately.

So finally after several emails and phone calls Jeff was able to reach someone at invitinghome.com.  The niche arrived.  Damaged.  It had nicks and scrapes in it, but the workers need this--so they patched it.  And Jeff informs me last night that I have to paint it. 

The workers gave him touch up spray for the cabinets so it will match, but he forgot to bring it home.  His dad picked it up this afternoon and dropped it off (his parents are so wonderful), and I got the supplies ready.  I was hesitant because of the windy weather and leaves flying around, but this was needed a month ago so I have no time to waste.  Comet wanted to help:

I tried my best.  The spray paint tip kept clogging and I couldn't get an even coat because of the can and because of the wind.  I kept having to pick out bits of foliage from the finish.  I like DIY stuff, but not like this.  I like to take my time and do things right. 

Furniture & Appliance Deliveries

Our house is slowly morphing into a home:-)  Today we had our new applianced delivered and part of the dining room furniture.  Some of the light fixtures have been added.  We told our electrician that we would take care of hanging the crystals because it is very time consuming.  We haven't done that yet, but we will over the weekend.

We still have to paint the column, and the pendant chandeliers over the peninsula have to be re-hung at a higher point.  Here is the new dishwasher.  I'm really glad to have this because I've never had a decent dishwasher.  This Bosch got wonderful reviews:

 

This will be the pride and joy of my kitchen.  I am so excited to have this wonderful stove!  I can't wait to cook my first meal with it.  I know we will have many wonderful years together making meals.  I love that it has an extra burner, a turbo boil feature that allows me to boil a pot of water in 90 seconds, and a warming drawer at the bottom to keep food warm in case Jeff comes home later than expected.

The LG fridge will definitely be great.  I love the French door style fridges.  It's a real back saver for me.

The fridge was supposed to be flush with the cabinetry.  I am not sure what happened or how we can fix it.  I am also regretting not getting cabinetry panels over top of the appliances, but that's just a preference.  I love my new kitchen anyway.

 

We also bought a new front loading washer and dryer. 

The hallway light by the half bath has been partially installed:

The half bath is well on it's way to looking so much better.  The mirror, vanity, and fixtures have been added.  I love the copper faucet.  That's my favorite part.

Work in the upstairs hallway is underway too.  Over the weekend Jeff and Sheila pulled out the dingy old carpet to reveal the gorgeous hardwood.  It needs a little work, but it's going to be stunning when we finish restoring it.  Here you can see the medallions and part of the chandeliers that have been done (we have one on each end of the hallway, and both will be visible outside through the end windows, which I think will be nice to add some curb appeal to the outside. 

I still need to find some curtain rods for the windows up there.  I already have some beautiful damask curtains, but I can't wait to remove those ugly flimsy plastic blinds.  I really dislike those.  And every window in this house has one.  We'll keep them for privacy until we can outfit each window with an appropriate treatment, but they will be donated.  You can see in the next picture how beautiful the floors are.  They are covered in drywall dust right now, though. 

This is the frame for a 24" flush mount crystal light for the living room.  That one is going to take forever to put together, but it's a beautiful fixture--and one of my best Ebay bargains.  I love bargains.

Another Ebay find was this mint condition 1920s fixture.  We decided to put this in the front entrance foyer.  It really seems to go with the house.  They were made in the same time frame, so it is period appropriate.  My little sister Sheila picked out the medallion for this one, and I think she picked one that really complements the fixture.

 And here is our new dining table.  This is where my family will gather for holidays and family celebrations.  I am very much looking forward to filling every seat with a loved one and enjoying time together.  That's one reason we made sure to get a table with a leaf and some extra chairs.  We'll have seating for 10 if you include the two bar stools at the peninsula.

You can see the wall niche laying on the counter in the next photo.  That should be installed tomorrow.  Unfortunately because of code there is a light switch centered on the space where I wanted this.  It will have to be istalled off center which is going to bother me.  I still think it is a nice touch, though, and a great place to display some of my favorite pieces.

The canned lights have been finished as you can see in this shot.  You can also see that  the dark area behind the window valance has been lit with new lighting.  The undercabinet lights are also lit.  No more problems seeing:-)

And finally, the kitchen pull-down sprayer faucet is in. 

 The only thing the house needs now is us.  A little more drywall work and some paint and we should be moving!

Flooring Done Today

We went over to the house this evening to check things out.  The flooring has been installed in the kitchen, dining, room, hallway, and half bath.

 The new vanity and mirror are now in the half bath.  The rest of the room is still needing renovation though.

Now that the floor is in the spacers have been added.  Now all we need is the shoe moulding.  The seeded glass in the corner display cabinet in the kitchen as well as the undercabinet TV are in too. 

Decorative elements have been added too.  Some of the ceiling medallions are in and just awaiting light fixtures. 


Brackets to soften the edges of the dining room are also in.

Renovation Walk-Through Tonight

Feeling a bit deflated right now.  Even with amazing progress there is still so much to be done. 

Last night we went to the house to check things out.  We have shoe moulding!

We also have switchplates and outlet covers!


My sister Sheila came with us to help out with some of her tools of the trade--a pumice stone and razor blade so she could determine if our toilet was salvageable, and to start removing the paint on the old windows from someone's very sloppy paint job.  She's been a big help to us, and she's worked in this field so her expertise is welcomed.

She noticed that a name was etched into one of the original windows.  You can just barely see it in the picture.  It reads, "HB" and "Louise."

We didn't do much else after that, except for relocate a green cricket that had taken residence on a cabinet by the range.  They are good luck!

Tonight we had a walk-through with our contractor.  His team has been top-notch through the entire process, and tonight was about making sure that we are happy. 

When we were done with that Jeff and I took some measurements so that we can purchase the tile and border for the backsplash.

Floor prep was done today and tomorrow our new floors will be installed in the kitchen, dining room, entry, downstairs hallway, and half bath.  I'm excited for it to be finished, but less excited about the flooring choice.  Carpet Concepts has been absolutely wonderful to deal with and I know it is a quality product.  I just always envisioned marble in those rooms (except the kitchen because I need a very soft floor in there).  I think Jeff and I made a smart decision to postpone marble for this area for a few years.  I really do like the Levelpro floor we ultimately selected though.  I think it looks very nice, but you just can't compare it to marble for looks or longevity.  The Levelpro floor is very neutral though and will suit the decor in all the rooms visible in the newly open floor plan.  I am getting marble for the mantle surround though--there is no talking me outta that one!

The knobs and pulls have been installed on the cabinets.  I love how they look!  The leaded crystal was worth the investment because they look so good with the cabinets, and I shopped for authentic period reproductions to coordinate with the Art Deco age of the house.  They feel nice and cool to the touch when you open the drawers, and the prismatic effect on these is really very pretty.  Pictures can't capture the scintillation though.  Who wouldn't want pretty little rainbows thrown all over their kitchen?

We're still waiting for the wall niche.  We tried contacting invitinghome.com for an update (they apparently do not send confirmation emails like every other reputable company), and they never pick up the line.  And the big dining room ceiling medallion is MIA--and no replies to our emails to that company, who apparently has an unlisted phone number.  It's crunch time now and we need this things yesterday.  If we weren't under time restraints I would have researched these companies out further, so it's really my mistake for basing the purchase decision solely on price.  That is one valuable lesson that I have learned in this process:  the best deal isn't necessarily the least expensive.  You also have to consider the cost of all the headaches, your time, and meeting a schedule. 

We found out tonight that the designer also failed to order the rope moulding to be stacked onto the dining room crown moulding to match the kitchen.  BIG disappointment.  Now we have to reorder that, wait for it, and probably install it ourselves--and it's an added expense that we did not anticipate.  She really ruined a lot of our plans with her failure to execute the order properly.

And the drywall.  Ugh.  We really want to drywall throughout the house and replace some of the mouldings, but it may or may not be in the budget at this point.  We have to crunch some numbers because we don't want to make a bad financial decision.  We want to do just what we can handle.  The bad thing about waiting until later to drywall some of the rooms is that we will have to live in the dust which isn't healthy.  Drywall dust provokes my latent asthma.  I never have trouble with it except with chemicals, smoke, and cat hair.  I'm worried about our critters breathing it too.  We'll see what we can do. 

Jeff will know what is best.  I trust him in all things.  He has impressed me so much throughout this process with his qucik learning, research, and just plain patience.  Although we have been married for 7 years and together forever before that, I always discover something new to love about him.  I love how he tackles any challenge with gusto and calmness.  I am continually impressed by the way he interacts with people who are working with us, and how he looks out for me and what I wanted with this project, and what will be best for our future together. 

Ok, so thinking about Jeff has made me feel a lot less deflated right now.  We've handled every curveball so far, so I have every reason to believe that we'll handle the rest of them.  We will prevail and this house is going to be so great.  We're going to love living there!

DIY Light Fixture & Switch Plate Painting

Since we didn't plan to renovate the half bath so soon, we really have to be budget conscious with our selections.  I knew that we needed a new switchplate and overhead light in that room since the old ones are pretty rickety (the entire room is honestly, so I am glad we are transforming it simulataneously with our kitchen). 

I shopped around a bit and couldn't find affordable options in a copper finish for a light.  I started thinking about how to solve the problem and decided that although the existing lights throughout the house aren't attractive, we might be able to DIY a paint job to make them more attractive just to have something to install and respect our budget.  The only existing light that was appropriately sized for the room was a builder grade "boob light" found at the top of the staircase (jokingly monickered for it's shape and coincidental erectile structures).  I don't like boob lights.  I think they are rather ugly, but if it's going to save us some money for more important details then I am all for it. 

I decided to buy some copper spray paint to transform the big boob.  I found an antique brass filigree switchplate that has long since tarnished, and figured that would look nice with a shiny new copper finish.

Now, DIY is very new to me.  I hope I did things right, and I hope it will look good once everything is installed.  At least all the metals will match.   So I gathered my stuff...

The BOOB light, screws, and switchplate.

I had to scuff up the shiny surfaces with sandpaper so the paint could adhere better.

After sanding, the nipple and areola...eh, finial, looked like this

I was nervous with the sandpaper and hoped I did it right. 

I gave the items two even coats spaced 10 minutes apart.  The metal looks nicer already!

The switchplate looks especially nice I think.

Once everything is dry we can install it.