St. Patty's Day Weekend Update

This weekend, Chad put down the concrete board in the kitchen, and began laying tile. The concrete board also had to go down inside the closet, with all it's strange angles, which I know was a challenge.


The plumber came to rough in the plumbing, and he put in shut-off valves so we can hook up the sinks and dishwasher ourselves. The island obviously isn't finished, but in order to set the floor tiles, Chad had to have it in place. Mom will paint the interior and varnish the outside surfaces, then Dad will add the faceframe. The top will be a maple chopping block top that will hang over 11 inches on the back of the cabinet in order to make a breakfast bar. This is going to be such an awesome kitchen!

The first coat of red primer in the dining room is on. Mom will have to finish the painting this week. No, it won't look fuschia when it's all finished. I promise. :)

We returned this afternoon, and Chad had completed laying tile in half of the kitchen. It's going to be so great! I love this floor! :)

View from my front porch

This view is the reason I bought the house. Click to see a larger view. :)

Closer and Closer....

Chad set the kitchen cabinets today so that the tile floor can be laid tomorrow. Hooray! I love the cherry face frames. The plumber comes tomorrow to put in the sink and to plumb for the island (not pictured). :) I'm so excited. The drawers and countertops are still to install, but that's easy work compared to building these cabinets. I can't wait to put them to good use.

Yesterday, Mom and I bought the rest of the paint for the downstairs. The green is for the living room and stairway/upstairs hall. The red wine color is for the dining room, and the yellow is the bedroom/office. Hooray! It's so exciting to see the rooms take on personality. :)


Mom and I put on the first coat of primer in the dining room today. I'll take pictures tomorrow to show the colors taking shape. I love it, love it, love it. :)

I love it when a plan comes together!

Dad has been working very hard in his shop to make my kitchen cabinets, and his hard work really shows. They're so amazingly beautiful.

The drawer fronts are ready to be sanded and varnished. I asked for him to make grooves so I don't have to use knobs. I like having a smooth look when you look at the cabinet fronts, and I think this is going to be awesome. :)

I painted the insides of the cabinets and Mom varnished all of the cherry faceframes. These cabinets will be installed tomorrow. On top of the cabinets are the drawers which will also be installed in the cabinets tomorrow. Hooray!!!

Here's the first of the cabinets installed in the kitchen. The oven/microwave combo was purchased as part of a bundle of used stuff which included a dishwasher, two garbage disposals, a brushed steel kitchen sink, and a bathroom sink unit all for $275. Woo hoo! I think they look great, and they work! The woman who sold them to me wanted all stainless steel appliances, and they're only a couple of years old. The black appliances came standard in her tract house, and when she decided to revamp her kitchen, she sold everything to me on the cheap. I'm so happy! Oh, and in case you're wondering about the varnish, Mom only put it where it will show. The unvarnished areas of the cabinet will be covered by upper and lower cabinets which butt up against this one. I still have some touchup work to do to the paint in this room, but will be doing that today as well.

This is the view from my bedroom into the closet and hallway. No doors yet, but they're just waiting to be installed. :) Happy! By the end of the day today, the bedroom and closet will be butter-colored, and the hallway will be tan, like the kitchen.

This is the dining room, which is ready for paint. Mom and I will prime the walls and ceiling today, and then paint it Monday. Hooray!

The living room is in progress of being mudded and taped. I'm so excited to see it coming along! I think he'll be done in a couple more days, and this room will be ready for paint too. I won't have the floors done by the time I move in, but I will mop the floors, and perhaps paint them, then throw down some throw rugs until summer when we install the new hardwood floors. Happy, happy, happy again!!!

Painting the Bedroom/Office

Today, Mom and I painted primer on the walls and ceilings of my downstairs back room. It's finally looking like a real room! Hoorah! Tomorrow we finish up the ceiling, and perhaps complete the walls with a butter yellow color! Next is the tile and then I'll move in. The woodwork will take some time to complete, but I have every confidence that it will all be done by the summer.