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.

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)

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!

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!

Home Stretch (For the plaster at least...)

Playing a little bit of catch up with the posting, as there hasn't been a whole lot of visible differences on the site in a while. The crew has been hard at work finishing up the plastering, which has proved to be one of the more grueling projects on the house so far.

Dixie brought the sprayer in for the last time, finishing the coats on the upper east and north walls and the upper south side which includes the bathroom dormer. The walls really look fantastic. We ran into an issue on the lower section of the west wall, which unfortunately has set us back and will have to be re-done. The sand in the mix for the final coat of the earth plaster was too fine, causing the layers to crack. Too bad, cause man it looked nice and smooth before it dried! The crew will remove the last layer and reapply a rougher mix. We're hoping to have all the walls complete in the next week or two.

Other exciting projects have been completed recently. We now have electricity run in the house and we've installed a few lights in the kitchen. One of my favorite recent advancements has been the installation of the staircase to the second floor (pictures coming soon) It's amazing how it changed the look of the space.

Piper has been working hard planing down the redwood planks from the old silo to get ready to install as the second story flooring, the next project on the list after the plastering is complete.

A sturdy porch for sittin'

One of my favorite projects so far, Piper began framing up the wrap around porch. With reclaimed oak planks he was able to salvage from another job he's working on, we were able to install about a third of the decking for the porch that will wrap on the North and West sides of the house.

We are using rough cut oak from a local sawyer for the framing and hope to salvage the rest of the oak planks for the remainder of the decking. The porch sits upon poured concrete pillars and will have oak posts and a shed roof that will match up with the East and South sides forming a skirt around the whole facade.

We hope to get this project done soon. Now all we need are some rocking chairs and a few tall glasses of lemonade!

Wade in the Water

Heavy rains held off a full day of work, though wading through inches of water, a wall was still raised with the help of good friends in town from out west. Seeking a better vantage point for an picture, I climbed up to sit atop the main support beam and discovered a fantastic surprise- the letters WPA stamped into the grain.

beam me up scotty

We've been waiting for this day for so long. After rain canceled several attempts, we were finally able to raise the beams into place. Salvaged from the Landmark feed store on Stimpson Ave before it was torn down, these beams are one of the most stunning additions to our construction. They are massive! With Piper's careful maneuvering on the forklift (which rear wheel drives makes squeezing through framed doorways a challenge) we were able to set 6 beams into place. It seems as though every weekend has a forecast of rain and this one coming up is no different. We eagerly await a work party with friends to paint and set floors joists and continue framing.

heavo-ho

A most exciting of days. With the help of muscle, chains, apple cider and good tools, 7 oak beams reclaimed from the old Landmark building, ranging in size from 8-16 feet long were hauled, dragged, lifted and transported to the job site. Two will stand as posts in the open spaces between the kitchen and dining rooms, and the rest will span the ceilings. Although the threat of rain is near, we plan to raise the beams into place with the help of many friends, tentatively planning a work party for Sunday afternoon.

a little piece of history

Many a time we would drive past a pile of old oak beams on the side of a country road. We stopped one evening to inquire, and over a generous dinner of fried chicken and green beans, we learned from friendly folk that the beams were from the historic Landmark Building, a grainery torn down a few years ago. Several conversations later, we will be picking up several of these massive beauties for the house.