First Christmas

It was the Christmas miracle for sure!  We managed to get just enough finished and just enough furniture home to actually have Christmas dinner in our new space.  

Props to my sweet hubby Chris for working so hard to get the dining room table & chairs home.  They were in the VERY back of the storage unit and he had to move everything to get to them. 

The dishes were from my stash in the guest room closet and of course needed a major washing. 

I am not a Santa person.  I never wanted to lie to my children so we never had Santa at our house when my kids were little.  It wasn't that I told them Santa didn't exist, it just wasn't the focus of our holiday and I was prepared to tell them the truth if they asked, but they never asked. This Santa baby, though I had to buy.  I first saw him in Round Top, TX and laughed till I almost cried.  Thanks to a friend, I found him on EBAY last year and had to have it.  Look at that face, those eyes, the hair!  

The cabinets were done by Wood Works Custom In College Grove TN.  They did an amazing job.  The cabinets were stained perfectly to match Chris's Grandmother's dining room table. 

Chris brought home a discarded tree top from a landscape job.  We strung some lights, threw a sheet under it and it was our tree. 

My son brought his awesome camera and took the rest of the photos.  He keeps telling me he is a videographer, but he does a great job with still photos too.  

It was a wonderful Christmas with our families and dogs.  

These are all my daughter's dogs.  Murfy, Millie, and the newest baby Mason.  They were worn out.     

Tile and Trim Instead of Tinsel

Normally this would be the weekend to decorate the house.  Instead, the trim crew has been here this week.  They installed the beams in the kitchen, all the baseboards, window trim and new doors where needed. The tile guy also came back and installed the backsplash.

Work on the walnut for the island top has begun.  So far the straight run has been matched sanded and glued.  Now they are working on the edge. 

The master bath cabinets are installed.  We are now waiting on the countertop.

The porch ceiling has been installed.  It is the same spruce as the dining room ceiling, but it will be painted in a shiny version of the Palladium Blue that is on the cabinets. 

Painters were here until 9:30 PM on a Friday night and back again at 7:30 AM Sat, but the trim upstairs got painted this weekend.

BUT, the BEST thing that happened all week!  The washer and dryer came inside!!!  They aren't stacked yet, but I no longer have to go out on the deck to wash clothes.  It's amazing what makes you happy during a remodel.

I have my fingers and toes crossed that it will be finished so we can have Christmas dinner in our house.  

Small Steps to Completion

Every week, a little something happens at the house. Not a lot, but each little step is closer to completion so I am happy.  This is such a painfully slow process. This week:

The pantry doors are hung.  The barn door hardware will not be visible when completed.  They will build a valance with the drywall to hide it.

The opening for the doors is a little too tall and that will need to be fixed.  You can see that the doors are too high off the floor.  

The stainless steel fabricator came and installed the substrate. 

To keep from getting the substrate wet, we had to move from our large sink to the smaller sink.  Hubs installed the new faucet on this sink.  I am adjusting to having the handle on the side vs on top of the faucet. 

All of the countertop next to the wall will be stainless steel.  

One small section of the stainless countertops was finished and installed.  

Hard to capture the finish in a photograph, but it is called Jitterbug and it will help avoid noticeable scratches.  I love the sparkle. 

I know it's not everyones taste, but after working in commercial kitchens as a caterer for years, stainless steel is the prefect, no worry choice for me.  

The laundry room with tile.  Monday it gets grout. Hopefully we can move the washer/dryer in here and get it off the deck before we have our first freeze. 

Bathroom with tile. 

Shower with tile. 

The old "popcorn" ceiling in our master bedroom.  

No more popcorn! A crew came and sprayed, scraped and then added a light coat of mud.  More sanding and drywall dust to come, but I am thrilled to have the popcorn gone! 

The contractor is rushing to get our master area finished so we can move back upstairs.  Once we are upstairs, then the crew can take down the ceilings in the guest room, the office and install the rest of the hardwood floors.  

Small Changes

 The roofers finally completed the steel portion of the roof.  With the magnolia tree in the way, I was unable to get a good picture of the entire roof.  I need to get my son to use his drone to take photos for us.  

 A view of the porch from ground level. Gravel needs to be leveled and then the pavers can be installed. The concrete block line is where the old porch ended. 

This is my baking station.  It is a pedestal that pulls all the way out and I can stand on it when I am kneading bread on the island.  It has a bumper underneath that stablizes it.  I was unable to pull it all the way out without moving the paper.  

Shoe molding installed at the base of the TV cabinet. They still need to come back and paint it to match the cabinet.

 Rescued bathroom doors now have a new purpose as the expanded coat closet doors.

 Getting ready to install hardwood in the new family room.

 Lazy susan's finally arrived!  They also installed hardware to bottom shelves for additional pull out drawers.  Metal pull out bins will be installed on the bottom shelf on the right too.

 Master bath has seen lots of progress.  Backer board for tile is installed, sheetrock and first coat of mud.  

 This entire wall will be two vanities with a make up table between.

 The shower and toilet are in a separate room.  

 Behind the shower/toilet room we found room for a bathroom closet.

 This is the laundry room.  The washer dryer will be stacked in the corner with the doggie bathtub next to it.  

Stair from the laundry room up to additional storage.

We wanted an easily accessible room to store seasonal clothing, luggage, etc.  We have pull down stair access at the other end of the house, so hubby put a door so he can walk across the attic to the other storage space. 

Gas and water hook ups for washer/dryer and laundry sink.

 View from the bedroom of master bath on the left and laundry room on the right.  This entire space used to be one ridiculously large bathroom.  Makes so much more sense now.