Getting closer!

So much is happening very quickly each day! Lighting, stone work on the fireplace, carpeting…

Here are some pictures from this morning.

This is day four for the stonemasons. Are those beams gorgeous?!  Mike and Bob did an amazing job on them and we absolutely love them.

The kitchen still needs its final touch-ups which happen tomorrow. It also needs to be cleaned.

Lighting was installed this morning in the bathrooms!

Yes, the laundry room is rather bright, even at night.  Just wait until the curtain and furniture are in!

Nathan’s room is painted and the bedding he picket out looks awesome!

I will be adding some decorative horizontal stripes like in the picture below. That will probably happen over the next few weeks.  I used a program on the Shewin-Williams website and worked with Nathan to create the mock-up below. I uploaded a picture then drew in what I wanted! Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Also this weekend the carpeting was installed! We were super excited about that. The boys all love it.

Here is Jeff’s office.

Well, Wednesday is the big Moving Day! I better get back to packing things up!

Cabinets are in and Granite is underway!

Whoopee! Things are really hopping this week! Yesterday the cabinets were installed. Got the base cabinets and uppers installed. The doors and drawers will be next. Can’t wait to see them. The color is so pretty. Tomorrow the appliances are scheduled to be delivered.

Aren’t they gorgeous? We love the way the color turned out. We have a bit of tweaking to do to finish up the cabinetry, and Claude and Lori Morgan of Morgan’s Cabinets have done a fantastic job! They look awesome with the floors too, don’t they?

You can see the guys starting the granite template process. Casey and Chris worked very hard creating a custom template so the granite will fit perfectly in the space.

After the templates were created, we all headed up to Fox Tops in Mooresville. Fox Tops is the fabricator we have used several times in the past and they always do an excellent job. They also sell remnants, so if you are looking for a smaller piece at a good price, check them out! Elaine is just super to work with and very competitively priced. Call her at 704-799-7007.

It took four pieces of granite and lots of patience to figure out how lay out the pattern and avoid the big green spot on the lower left corner of the first picture.

Casey and Chris were very careful and professional in determining the layout for cutting the seams and making sure that they will flow smoothly. Because the granite we chose shows quite a bit of movement and flow in the pattern, it is especially important to make sure the pattern flows across the seams.

After we completed the templating process, Elaine and Casey gave me a tour of the fabrication plant. It was really amazing. Computers run some of the equipment and they have a water recycling system that is very environmentally friendly!   Plus, it enabled their fabrication plant to continue operating when we had a severe drought and there were water restrictions in place. Many other fabrication facilities were unable to operate. They also save a significant amount of money by recycling the water because they use so much to cool the blades during the process.

Here is the tool that cuts the large pieces of granite and the crane that moves the cut pieces to the next area. The piece with the word YUKON on itis the blade. The horizontal cutting surface has stones in it that actually sharpen the blade as it is used. Elaine is in the picture with the crane. Hi Elaine!

Suction cups are used (near Casey’s hand) to hold the cut stone and move it to the next area.

This area is where the hole for the sinks are cut and edge profiles are created. I understand that it will take 9  hours to do the large ogee edge we selected for our granite edging. Whew!

Elaine will send me some pictures of our granite going through the process and I can’t wait to see them!

Below is a picture of the water recycling system.

Holes will be drilled for the water faucet, filtered water dispenser, and soap dispensers.  Some holes are drilled at the shop and some are drilled at the site. I provided the sinks and faucets for them to review and we discussed placement.

Casey is the shop manager and will actually be doing most of the cutting and also the installation on Friday!

Thanks Elaine, Casey and Chris for all your hard work! We are going to have an amazing kitchen thanks to you and Fox Tops!

Look what I saw in the front yard!

It was a gorgeous lovely Fall type of day today. This is what I saw when I pulled up to meet with the flooring company about the final stain color choice at 11 am.

This photo is just as it was taken, no enhancements! Lovely!

Then I went inside to meet with Randee, owner of Carolina Flooring & Carpet. She has been very responsive to my questions, priced fairly, and was my contractor’s recomendation. She met with us earlier to show us a color of the stain (Special Walnut) and we liked it but felt it might be just  a bit dull. So, Mike, our contractor, put down some English Chestnut and it was great! She wanted to be certain that was the color we liked best, so we met today to do a final consult. The floor team was there working on filling cracks and pushing nails down, and sanding. Talk about a LOUD machine!

The English Chestnut was gorgeous! They even put a coat of the satin poly on top so I could see the slight ambering of the color when it is on. I had taken my cabinet sample with me to test it with the floor to make sure it wasn’t matchy-matchy and that it also didn’t clash. It was a winner!

This picture just doesn’t do it justice! It will be gorgeous without being too red or too gold. Actually, the kitchen cabinet color is the darkest shade of the grain in the floor.

The electricians were there working outside again and they were able to get many of the exterior lights in place. They continued to work on the electricity for the gate and landscaping too.

See the new lights? The criss cross pattern was based on the original light that was hanging in the front. I will get a picture of it next week.

I spent some time prepping the Pool Bathroom cabinets for painting and then painted the first coat of Dover White. Sherwin Williams has the best paint! The coverage is superb. I painted the hall bathroom cabinets the final coat today. Probably didn’t need it, but since I have been painting in the dark, I felt it was better safe than sorry. I am also planning on adding another coat if it needs it when we have light again.  I just love that Brevity Brown! Looks just like chocolate.

I stopped by to pick up the paint for the Pool Bathroom cabinets. I have been working with the Selwyn Ave. location of Sherwin Williams.  I wanted to tell the folks who have been working with me there how much I love using it! The coverage was amazing! I thought I might need a couple of quarts for the hall bathroom cabinets because I was going from white to dark brown. Nope, two would have done it. Plus, I used only half a quart. Mind boggling. This paint was so thick and creamy.

Pictures soon, it is just hard without lights. Speaking of lights, I asked when we’d get some turned back on. They are all in place in the ceilings but no bulbs. Dave, the electrician, said that it would be after they paint the ceilings. Argh….

Drywall is up in the Great Room & Theater!

What an amazing feeling to walk in and see the drywall up on the ceiling and in the new tray ceiling of the kitchen! I had to walk outside and cry! You know how it is to have a dream of what something could be like, but not sure if it really will live up to your expectations? What a relief to see it actually happen.

Here is the theater! The support beams are still to go in and the brownish red metal poles will be removed then. We also are having the heating ductwork relocated behind the wall.

A video really helps you get the feel for the space. Hope you don’t get dizzy!

Home Theater is begun!

Wow, it was exciting to see it all start to come together in our home theater. Last night, Jeff and Nathan went over to inspect the progress, and returned home very excited about the home theater. This morning I stopped by to see why, and totally agree! It is going to look amazing!

We had a home theater in a previous home and are using as many of the components as possible: drapery, light fixtures, screen & speakers, and some other things I am probably forgetting at the moment. Very green!

The  new part of this plan is that it is also an exercise room. We are planning on using exercise flooring material similar to what you see at the gym on the main floor in there. I found this great rubber flooring company online that will send you samples for free, then extras cost a bit for postage.  It will look black but have tiny flecks of color like this:

We have a treadmill we want to include and a set of weights. The boys also will have a pull up bar installed in the ceiling somewhere. Last I heard, there were plans for 3 pull up bars – so they can all do pull ups at the same time!

Here are a few “before” pictures when it was still the original workshop space. This area is part of the addition that was built in 1981.

Now, in the framing phase:

You can see the elevated seating platform on the right. The two  metal posts will be removed and the heating duct work will be re-routed.

Our plan is to leave the ceiling unfinished for now, but painted black as you see in many restaurants. We will be converting the space above this area into a master bedroom & bathroom suite and want to have easy access to the plumbing and electrical at that time. So, we don’t want to drywall and then have to remove it in a few years.

The screen will be on the left side of the picture where Jeff, my patient husband, is measuring.

Our hot water heater challenge has been resolved. Mike moved it closer to the stairs, and we can now contain it in its own room!

Just to the left of the hot water heater closet is the seating platform. We will have elevated seating and the first step is also the platform for a short bar area. Mike plans on putting some small low voltage lights on the steps. Won’t that be super? I applaud Mike’s angled step idea!!! It really takes this this space into a “high end” feeling.

Here is a view of the screen area. The screen is going to be recessed in the middle.

I think we’ll have a million light switches down here! You can see we are still using our post-it note method of switch placement. I have also started drawing on the walls! Top view and front view of the platform design! Someone asked me what our process is, and here is what we generally do:

• I draw what we want.
• Jeff helps figure out the measurements and we discuss the reality of it actually working and if the design/space will function and look the way we want.
• We give the drawing to Mike and he builds it. He does make suggestions (really good ones!) and we incorporate those too!

Check back to see the progress!