It's Official...

Everyone is now moved in.. and by everybody, I mean Piper and I, the cat and my men. When I moved into my first apartment, my mom gave me these two dollhouse men. They have long since been known as the man who lives in the kitchen, and the man that lives in the drawer. They have settled into their new abode while we are slowly unpacking and getting nestled too.

More pictures to come as things get unpacked!

Oh Joy! Rapture!

What a joyous rapture! Spent the morning the at the farmers market, hunted for treasures at yard sales and an enjoyed an afternoon photo shoot. Found this great light fixture, originally $300, for 15 bucks at a sale, and installed it in the bedroom. If every rapture is this beautiful- bring on the apocalypse!

Sink, Sank, Sunk

Even though we've been designing it for years, I'm awestruck when I see our drawings on paper materialize into real rooms. The kitchen is looking amazing. After a week or more of full days of grinding, the cultured concrete counter tops are installed, only needing to be grouted and sealed.

The beautiful (and heavy) soapstone sink was nestled into its final resting place, a sight I've been looking forward to for weeks.

A few Boston ferns now grace the porch, one of the only green plants surrounding the house, as weeks of rain have left our yard a muddy mess. The few final touches have been made to the second floor including a reclaimed oak railing and the last of the trim. We'll be cleaning and prepping the concrete floors to be sealed and look forward to starting to move in to the upstairs.

Happy May Day!

Today saw some exciting updates and one exciting blunder. Barbara Jean, our washing machine, was nestled sweetly into her new home. We moved a mattress into the house and look forward to our first sleepover. The exterior trim is all installed and touched up, and next week, the gutters will be installed weather permitting.

The end of day saw a a mega mess when an entire gallon of paint accidentally overturned underneath the industrial cart on the porch. I was proud of the two of us, for reacting quickly and calmly. It was too funny really to get upset over, and at least it happened on the muddy porch and not the redwood floors! We were able to scrape up the paint and after spraying it down with the house, there is not a trace of blue.

I've started moving in a few things here and there. Starting first and foremost with my shoes, because, well, I have priorities. We're going to really get going on the moving in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, a plant, a chair, some rugs and curtains, really do a lot for starting to make this feel like a home.

Concrete Countertops!

Today is the day we've looking forward to for quite a while. Piper and friend Danny spent the morning pouring the cultured concrete counter tops in the kitchen. We'll wait a week form the forms to cure and grind them smooth for a perfect finish.

Holy Kitchen Cabinets!!

I love coming home to amazing surprises. Today's came in the form of cabinet doors, drawers and hardware!!!

Treads, Trim, Faucets and Fridge

Trying to catch up on some recent progress. Piper and I installed trim on the exterior windows after painting a lime wash on the walls. It gives the facade a nice finished look and rounds out the exterior color pallet.

A accidental blunder was made beautiful with the stair treads this week. The black stain on the treads was applied too thick and allowed to without removing the excess. In an attempt to fix the problem with the orbital sander, I found myself loving the look of a distressed finish oak board. The result is a great worn patina, with the oak coming through and I can't wait to see them installed with contrasting white kicks.

Soon the sink will be installed in the kitchen and with the excitement has come the stress of trying to figure out a faucet for a 4.5 foot wide sink. Our solution is to use two faucets, side by side. I had found a pair of matching faucets several years ago at a yard sale in North Carolina. One of the earliest items we collected, the two retail at over $200 and I got them for a steal at $10 a pop.

Behind Door #1

Some fantastic projects and progress are in the works this week. Piper completed the difficult task of building a frame for an antique front door we pulled out of a barn. At 3'x8' its a wonderfully worn and beautiful entrance. After a winter of walking around the back of the house, its so nice to finally be able to walk out to the front porch.

I'm currently working on a light fixture project for above our kitchen table using a hanging shade I found in an old shed. More Cinderella-esque floor scrubbing continued as we prep for sealing the floors upstairs and the kitchen cabinets are nearly all painted. We've ordered the cabinet hardware and are trying to decide on a faucet that will work with a 4.5' wide sink. (Not easy)

Grand Indeed..

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and the help of a friend to drive out to Currents this afternoon. We loaded the incredibly heavy soap stone sink and our vintage gas range into the truck as well as the snorkel stove and metal rings that once circled the silo. These treasures have been stowed away for the last year and we have been eagerly awaiting to bring them to the house.

A Productive One Year Anniversary...

I spent another day on my knees scraping, sanding, scrubbing, vacuuming and mopping floors. Once the water gets turned on, it will make cleaning a little easier, but the upstairs bathroom is looking amazing. It is definitely my favorite room in the house.

Piper and I assembled the pantry shelving for the kitchen yesterday and today he finished painting it and we set into place. Bob will be coming early this week to start building the cabinets and the kitchen is really going to start to transform.

Piper did a little work on the vintage fridge this afternoon, a treasure that once belonged to his grandmother Dorothy. He updated some crumbling wires and gave it a new power cord. We plan to give it a sandblast and a fresh coat of paint as well as update the compressor.

I realized this morning that this month marks one year since we broke ground on the house. It's hard to believe its been that long and we're really coming close to being able to move in. Here's to the home stretch!

Before....

Though it will still be a little while until the "after" is revealed, here's a sneak peek at the "before". This vintage 3-bay soapstone beauty is one of our earliest and most amazing finds. Piper actually gave this sink to me as a Christmas present a few years ago, and though it was kind of like getting a vacuum cleaner from your partner, I appreciate it now more than ever and can't wait to see it in our kitchen.

Eye Candy

Two of my favorite things to ogle in our new house: the reclaimed floors (that I spent hours cleaning today) and the antique pantry cupboard we bought at auction last fall. (Inspiration for the rest of the kitchen)

Kitchen Prep

What a beautiful day to start working on the kitchen! With help from Bob, longtime friend and mentor, Piper cut and prepped the finish wood for the kitchen cabinets out at Bob's shop. I took advantage of the great weather to take an extended lunch to Toad Hall to say hi and check in on the progress. Piper will be out again tomorrow and they'll bring the pieces down to the site to start assembly.

I can't wait to snap photos of the antique cabinet we have already moved into the space, -- a gem I found at auction last year. We're designing the rest of the cabinets around this piece and it has already given such character to the house.

A Random Smattering of Progress

Holy crap it's starting to look like a real house! Almost all the painting is done, all the trim is cut, painted and nearly installed, we have lights, a ceiling fan and even a railing! It's amazing to look back and think that just a few months ago we still had straw sticking out everywhere.

As the finishing process continues, we're starting the mega task of cleaning up the space. So much sawdust, mud and drywall dust linger everywhere and I'm finding it hard to believe it will ever get clean!

The bedrooms are days away from being completely finished and the bathrooms are also well on there way. Piper and I started grinding down the outside of our claw foot tub with a wire wheel to get ready for painting. The cast iron beauty was given to us by our good friends Ron & Jill and I can't wait to get it installed.

The bottom photo shows a preview of a built-in unit in the 2nd floor bathroom which conceals a laundry shoot and linen closet. We used the leftover redwood flooring for the facade and the door will have a lengthwise mirror on the front.

The twin sets of french doors which separate the living room from the rest of the house were installed after a fresh coat of paint and new hinges, and now sport painted trim. I can barely keep up with all the progress that's been happening - but here's to trying to keep up with photography!

Cutting, Sanding, Painting, Oh My!

Much finishing is underway. Freezing temperature and sunny days, cutting trim, sanding trim, priming trim, painting trim. Drywall is nearly complete after which a massive cleaning session will ensue. We have the illusion of a bathroom sink - it's exact installation method yet to be decided. A tile floor in the upstairs bath, though a little wonky, will keep our tootsies warm with thermostat controlled radiant heat coils. The shower stall is tiled and looks incredible. Both bathrooms are the furthest along of all the spaces and hopefully soon a toilet will be installed. More updates to come soon I hope!

Getting Caught Up

Well the holidays have long since passed us by but I am still trying to get caught up on life and therefore posting to this blog. Work on the house sure hasn't slowed a bit. We're well under way into the finishing phase.

The drywall is all up and nearing completion. We're bring in a crew to get it done and ready for painting. We're discussing trim options and picking colors for the walls.

We recently had a shipment of floor tile arrive for the upstairs bathroom and have finished the platform for the claw foot tub to sit on. Piper and I began tiling the shower stall yesterday and it looks amazing. I know folks are eagerly awaiting more updates, so I promise to work on getting some more photos posted soon!

The Warmth of a Woodstove

The long awaited and highly anticipated installation of the wood stove has finally complete. We got this practically new Vermont Castings wood stove with brand new catalytic converter and $200 blower for a steal at $500 on Craigslist. The stove new costs almost $1400. With plenty of scrap wood lying around to burn the work crew has been much happier since its arrival.

The start of the finish...

It's been a while since I've posted and the house is looking so much different. Piper and the crew have begun working on finish work!! Piper applied several coats of tung oil to the upstairs flooring and it looks beautiful. The color and grain have really come out and it looks tremendous.

The biggest change and one of the most exciting progressions so far has been the putting up of drywall and paneling. Although the stud walls have given us an idea of the layout, it wasn't until the drywall went up that we really saw the house take shape. We installed horizontal tongue and groove pine in the first floor bathroom and to the ceilings of the kitchen.

Despite some frosty walls delaying us a day, we began painting the bathroom so we can install lighting, the sink and medicine cabinet.

We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of the stove pipe roof kit so we can install the wood stove and keep the crew a little toastier during the day.

Flooring: A Love Story

The installation continues as we fall deeper and deeper in love with the new floor. From above and below am obsessed with it!

A little bit of history..

Part of the excitement of the installation of flooring comes from knowing its history. Almost a year ago, Piper, his dad Eddie and I, took the tractor down to the Far Barn at Currents, a structure that once stood strong at the bottom of the valley. It's roof had caved in and the silo hung off its side.

It was a sad day to see it go, as we often visited its aging tower. It is one of my most cherished and photographed locations, and we are excited to preserve its history in our home. The photos above were taken the day the silo fell. I was glad to have documented the process, a conclusion to its long life. The silo which stood nearly 30 feet tall was constructed of 5 inch wide tongue and groove Redwood planks. Most silos in that time were kits, sent by train from the west coast.

It didn't take much to bring it to the ground, where it fell in an ordered mess. The photo of Piper above, shows the beautiful aftermath, the ladder from shaft and the steel rings that kept its shape.

I created this short silent flick that night and hope you enjoy watching it!

Totally Floored!!

Well, not totally done, but what a surprise to come home to! Piper and Cusi installed half of the floor in our bedroom today. These photos don't really do it justice, as crappy weather made for poor lighting but I was so excited to share.

My favorite part is the view from below. The joists are exposed leaving a great view of the flooring. We painted the underside to match the joists and the flooring upstairs will be sanded and waxed to finish.