Day 326 - House Jewelry and other Goodies

Installing cabinet hardware is like putting on the right piece or pieces of jewelry to complete an outfit.  Sorry guys, maybe it's like putting on the right tie or cap.  Anyway, the hardware just makes makes everything start to look finished.  Some of the shots below were not taken in the best light or angle, but they give they give a pretty good idea of how the hardware adds a finishing touch.

Mud room 

Mud Bench Hooks

We had a few days of really cold weather after the hardware was installed, so we put the hooks to good use!

Pretty and functional!!!!

Upstairs Guest Bathroom

Prep sink

Closeup of kitchen hardware

Used same kitchen hardware in Nancy's study

Chest in pantry

Master bathroom

Carried bathroom hardware into master closet

More master closet

Great room fireplace wall

Bruce's study

Closeup shot Bruce's study

After the master closet was installed, it became apparent we did not design the right lighting.  So, we added a hanging fixture and track lighting which has really improved the look and visibility of the room.  The hanging fixture arrived with one broken glass piece - not an unusual occurrence!!

Added lights in master closet

The painters still have a lot of work to finish, but they are making progress.

Stained tray rack in pantry

Stained front door

And, REALLY BIG NEWS, we have a working water system.  It is wonderful to see our collected rainwater flow out of the fixtures!!

Don't take water for granted!!!!

One of the last things installed in a new house is the carpeting.  So, despite all of the work left to be done, I guess we are really close to the finish line because the carpeting has been placed upstairs and on the staircase.

Installing the tack strips

Rolls of padding

Carpet installation in progress

This big piece of carpet must be heavy!!!

Preparing the stairs

Tools of the carpet trade

Carpeted stairs!!!!

Meanwhile, a crew from our builder was creating this very functional work area in the garage.  Bruce is excited to see a place to out his garage goodies.

Workbench in progress

And outside, the forms for the flatwork have been set up and the ground prepped for a concrete pour in a few days.

Entry sidewalk

From pool area to garage entry

From pool to pool house/gym

 And we have samples of concrete stain to consider in making our color selection.  The samples were put on concrete that will be covered by the gas grill.  We will stain the front porch, the back porch, and the pool area.

Selected second from left - Balkan Amber

So, as you can imagine, we are getting really excited to be so close to the end of the building phase of this project.  Thanks for hanging with me even though I have not been a consistent blogger!!!

Day 313 - House Fatigue

Our house project has developed a rhythm -  many days with no one working and then a massive swell of trades descending upon the house all at once!!!  And much of the work has been detail adjustments that would not translate well into the blog.  But, there have also been plenty of really big changes to share.

The arbor is almost complete and I love the play of light through the wood.  The masons worked really hard putting down the stone on the floor - very messy job.

Love the light!!

Placing the stone floor

Very tedious work!!!

Color will be more vivid when washed.

Our appliances arrived on November 4 and it took several days to get them installed after they were staged in the garage.  

A few of the boxes

Unloading even more boxes of appliances

Having the appliances placed in the kitchen made a huge difference in the look and feel of the house.  We are getting a true "home" vibe and are ready to move in tomorrow..........not gonna happen, but it won't be too much longer.  I can't wait to start cooking on this propane fueled cooktop.  It is supposed to have the ability to hold a very, very low simmer - perfect for soups this winter.

 We placed the ovens on opposite sides of the kitchen for a couple of reasons.   I love to bake and one oven is located in a "baking center" where all of the baking tools, ingredients, and equipment will be stored to make baking a convenient activity.  Another reason for the placement is to avoid the congestion of a double stacked oven when making a large family meal with many people helping in the kitchen.  We also designed the  oven and microwave area with lots of counter space to stage food going in and out of the ovens.

A trash compactor is a handy gadget.

A dishwasher is a must!!

A wine fridge is fun to stock (and drink)!!

Lots of room in fridge/freezer for goodies!

A shot of the vent hood over the cooktop.

My brother and sister-in-law came for a short visit from their home between Houston and Galveston a couple of weeks ago.  We had a lot of fun showing them the changes in the house since their visit in May. We also had a great lunch at The Leaning Pear in Wimberley and a little retail therapy at the outlet mall.

Left to right: Nancy Ann, Lanny, Bruce

The last blog had a shot of the staircase before it was stained.  It looks very different now!!  Carpet for the stairs will be one of the last things installed in the house.

Stained staircase, feet taped up for staining process

The painters stained the cedar beams located over the open doorways and the ceilings in Bruce's study and upstairs.

Hall off great room

Foyer

Bruce's Study

Upstairs 

The tile backsplashes are done in the bathrooms and all of the bathroom hardware has been installed.  It is fun to see the real things after so much planning. However, in doing this update, I realized the tile guys used the wrong color grout in two of the bathrooms and the wrong stone rail in one bathroom.  It has been very hard to stay on top of all of the details and this issue didn't appear to me in person, but jumped right in my face on the computer screen.  Go figure?????  Now the challenge - is the appearance in person OK or do we ask the builder to tear it out and redo it the right way.........

Downstairs guestroom bath has leather finished marble and glass tile backsplash

Powder/pool room with honed black granite, sliced stone backsplash and the wrong grout and rail!!!

Upstairs bath with polished black granite and wrong grout on the railing.

So, Bruce and I have decided we need to refocus and go through the house with the spec sheet.  We obviously aren't unhappy with the accent tile, but a little abashed we did not notice the mistakes earlier. I guess housebuilding fatigue has set in at Day 313 of a projected 240 day project...........