Office and TV watching

When the upstairs was framed, we decided that we didn't need all the deck that was included in the original design. So we bumped out the two sides of the master to take up 5 foot of what used to be the deck. What a terrific idea! We put a work bench in the alcove on the west side of the room. It's 9 foot so should be enough even for the two of us to work together in the same space. We took cabinets from the old office and installed them in this one to make room for storage.

The area between the alcoves is for the fireplace and TV (along with all it's equipment). We spent a lot of time with a tape measure to be sure the cubby holes were the right size. Now that they are finished with trim and paint, what ever we put in here is going to look great.

Laundry and Master closet

We took cabinets from the old kitchen, sanded them down and sealed them. It was a wonderful surprise to see these refinished drawers in place. The doors are being worked on - takes a lot of elbow grease but is so worth it. These cabinets are Louise's dresser - lots of room for all sorts of clothes.
We got new washer and dryer in brght red. Now we can take clothes out of the dryer and turn around to the dresser or closet - no travel time.
The closet is between the bathroom and the laundry - walk right through - so you can see everything at once.

Finished master bathroom

The Master Bathroom is stunning - glass block shower with 3 shower heads, half wall to separate the toliet from the sinks and a wonder granit counter top. There's a great linnen closet for storage in the corner - complete with crown molding. Between the size, the tile work and all the wood, this turned out to be a great room.
The only thing left to be done is to have bull nose installed for a base - we originally thought we'd do wood but after seeing all the other elements in this room, changed to tile.

Exterior polish

The sconces are installed making the front door look nearly inviting. Of course, its still a bit of a challenge getting to the front door (missing a few steps still) but once you get there, it has weather stripping, lights - nearly everything. A door handle is next.

The floors are beautiful!

The stairs from the main floor to the top floor are made from Canary wood. Not exactly the open, metal, curved style that was in the plan but with all the code requirements from the City, this is what we ended up with. They are going to have a cable railing that will keep them open.

OK, so there is still a lot of crap everywhere - he boys are turly messy - but under all the stuff are beautiful Hickory floors.

Weekend in Denver

Michael went to the Denver museum while I attended a conference.

Debby and Brianne:

Louise and Brody:

Wet bar - nearly ready for business

Michael had the granite guy use the left over granite from the kitchen to make the surface for the wet ar. There will be a small frig (with freezer), a sink with way cool faucet and just enough room for the espresso machine. Soon, Michael can roll out of bed, make a cup of espress and then walk out to the deck for a smoke. Life is good!

Laundry room set up

We took cabinets from the old kitchen, sanded off all the layers of ugly paint and put them in the laundry room. This way, I can put all my clothes in here and not have to have a chest of drawers out in the bedroom - plus, how easy is it going to be to take closthes out of the dryer and toss them into a drawer.

Master Bath gets a shower

The glass block was installed today. It isn't exactly perfect but the little flaw will soon be fixed and Michael will be much happier. Just one more step closer...

There is a half wall at the end of the vanity to separate the toilet from the sinks - it gives some privacy but I'm happy to say, it doesn't block the view of the shower wall.

The other day, the owner of the company who is installing the tiles for us came to visit and was blown away with the master bath. "This is magazine quality stuff here." He said. And now that the glass block is in, it is even better.

More Kitchen

Sink is going to be in the corner - you can see the bay - then the dish washer. There's a nice little area for baking (I think) and then a new French door frig. On the other side of the frig is a nice big panty. We haven't picked out the door/draw pulls yet but they'll be brushed metal of some kind - dah!

Counters and Cabinets - sweet!

The stove will go where the step stool is with a microwave above it. Eventually, there will be a breakfast bar at the end of the counter (last picture) but we haven't figured out what to make it of yet.

Stunning Kitchen Counter

There just doesn't seem to be setting on the camera that takes a pictures of the granite we picke out for the kitchen. It initially looks green but there are so many colors in addition to the green, it turns out very different depending on the lighting. Now, instead of looking at it in the glare of a show room, it is in our house - can you believe it?

You just have to come over and see it for yourself to get the full impact. Trust me, it's stunning!!!

Upstairs progress

This is the East bay upstairs. There are cabinets on either side with an open space in the middle for storing foot stools. Eventually, there will be an cushion on top to make a window seat. If you sit with your back against the side wall, you get to see the water.

This is the wet bar. We didn't expect to do this until later but got caught up with all the decisions about the floor and decided to just go ahead and make it happen. We used cabinets from the old kitchen.

The first piece of baseboard is in place - has to happen before the flooring goes down and the flooring arrived yesterday so we are closer than ever to having floors instead of yucky plywood.

Back steps

There's this odd little deck at the back of the house that was part of the original house and we had to keep it because the back of the house was across the line. Now we call it it The City Patio. It's covered, painted and leak free but what we are going to do with it is still a mystery.

For months, we've been jumping off the east deck down to the back yard. Finally, there are real steps and they're curved. Great stuff.

Window Trims

The window wraps and trim got a coat of something that smelled really bad but brought out all the grain and then they got sprayed with this way groovy stuff that makes them look stunning. Now that they have been installed, they have added so much to the feel of the rooms - too cool!

Molding and Door

The garage door got installed today. Once again, Michael picked the perect color to go with the rest of the house - he's really good at this stuff.

The crown molding went up in the kitchen. It sure makes everything look fiished; well maybe not quite ready to fix dinner but we're close.