Posted on by Emily

Day 475

I always tell clients that it’s that last 10% that just about kills you.

We are there.

The highlight of the week: appliances were installed.

Hello, gorgeous.

The refrigerator and freezer will have panels to match the cabinets.

This wall brings me great joy; however, it may be the most expensive wall in the house. Given that we will be out in the country and that the nearest restaurant is not close, we will be dining in most of the time and this fridge/freezer space will be essential to our survival.

My employees decided to check if the new house was serviceable by grubhub/ubereats/etc. because they frequently take advantage of such services at our current location.

Haha.

I got a real kick out of that. To be fair, they haven’t been to the property yet.

I squealed with delight when I saw the range. I can’t tell you how excited I am to fire up this bad boy.

Switching gears, one of our neighbors generously volunteered to build us a shared mailbox structure. It’s not at all what I would have chosen, but since it’s at the main road, I didn’t have strong feelings about it. The good news is, he ordered extra large mailboxes so packages will fit inside.

Back inside the house, the painters continue to cover things in tape and plastic.

While I know and appreciate that painting is 75% prep, I would like to see something painted the color it is supposed to be.

These closet shelves appear to be the correct color, my beloved limestone.

Fireplace surrounds are primed.

I’m dying to see the dining room painted. It will be a deep burnt orange.

Speaking of the dining room, I had been on the hunt for an antique dining table with many leaves so I could adjust it for up to 12 people. I hit the jackpot this weekend when I stumbled upon this estate sale find.

I snagged this triple pedestal, inlay top, 115″ long, 3 leaf table for $450.

It makes up for the wall of appliances I mentioned earlier.

Miraculously, the 5 piece top and 3 piece base fit in the back of my vehicle. All of these pieces are hanging out in the entry/dining room of our current home for the time being and Bu thinks they are for him.

In other thrilling news, the toilets have been installed!

You have no idea what an ordeal it is to get a decent toilet these days.

I sent Josh an update with pictures at my last site visit on Friday. 3 out 5 pictures were of toilets.

The master vanity is shaping up! Tower has been installed – though still missing crown – and faucets are in.

So glad the trim guys made a masterpiece of the attic stair pulldown that is located in an unfinished storage closet.

Lastly, Josh, Nate and my dad delivered the library built-in tops yesterday. They installed them, with the exception of one that can’t be installed until a gas shutoff is moved.

Have you ever seen such a look of pure joy?

Thank you, Daddy! And thank you, Josh and Nate, for assisting. Can’t wait until these bad boys are painted a deep green.

Hardwoods are being finished this week. We’re in the homestretch!

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Day 468

Well, hello there.

Things are not moving as quickly as I would like given that we’re trying to move in in five(!) weeks.

However, a week ago, we were still missing one appliance prior to our pending installation. But, late this week, I received some excellent news that this piece had come in. For reference, we ordered our appliances in August.

They are supposed to be installed Monday, February 1. Woohoo!

Meanwhile, the painters have been priming and the plumbers have been putting in the trim pieces.

The painters left me some samples. I like the one on the right. Can you guess what this is for???

Barry D. has finished and delivered all base pieces for the library built-ins.

They are in position to be installed.

Today, we delivered 2 of the 4 tops. They are gigantic. Barry is very serious about this and unsure as to how we are going to transport the remaining 2 (largest) tops from his shop to the library.

Meanwhile, I’ve been packing away at our current house. I ordered a lot of boxes and they are filling up quickly.

Shelves and cabinets are not seeming to empty quickly, however. There is still so much to pack.

The cat is very proud of himself for getting up onto the empty shelves…

Also, I think I need a new phone. Photo quality is quite poor.

Posted on by Emily · 2 Comments

Day 454

It’s been a big week!

First and foremost, WE HAVE POWER!!! This is a huge deal because it means we can now do all of the things necessary to finish the house. And by we, I mean all of the tradesman, contractors, installers, etc.

Related to this critical development – we have heat! I was able to be in the house without 47 layers on today.

We had a little family site visit today, and though, as I mentioned, we have heat and the climate was practically tropical inside the house, old habits die hard for Eugene and for Kath, who wore her earmuffs the entire time she was inside.

The other major event was the countertop installation! I am at a loss for words to describe my love for the kitchen countertops. I practically wept tears of joy when I walked in and saw the island.

As I shared a while back, it was a journey to find these slabs, and my love for them grows each day.

I will try to pull it together.

I learned the other day that soapstone is extremely heavy and that this island slab weighs approximately 1,100 pounds. I’m really glad I did not witness the guys putting this in place.

In the laundry room, we have leathered black granite. I love the texture.

I put quartz in the (very dusty) master bath and hall bath so we don’t have to worry about ruining the countertops with beauty products, which are the devil when it comes to natural stone.

I almost always do a taller than standard backsplash in bathrooms because 4″ just doesn’t catch all of life’s splashes. These are 6″. I find straight backsplashes to be terribly blocky and dull, so I threw in a curve.

The walls aren’t grouted yet in the hall bath, but I am loving the niches.

The brick fireplace hearth and surround is coming along in the living room! These bricks are from the same lot used at my grandmother’s house, which are from an old jail.

The mantel surround is in progress in the library.

Also in progress for the library are the built-ins. My dad is building them for us so I sent him this design package I put together of the plan, elevations, perspectives, exploded versions, lumber cuts and layouts, and notes. It’s quite a project, but it will mean so much to have something he built in our home.

Fingers crossed for another week of major progress!