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.

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.

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.