"What? It's Ugly?"

Lots of good things happening over the past few weeks.  We traveled to breathtaking Newport News for Joe's All Star baseball State tourney, Nick got a mohawk for the occasion and Mark finished up his bball camps with the kids.  Naturally, I continued to spin my wheels on decisions for the house.  Who knew there were so many cabinet hardware choices?!?!  I mean, really... between the finish, style, drawer or door, and knob vs pull decisions, I'm fairly certain I'll lose my mind over the next week picking this stuff out.  We started today, but when I took them up to the house, some were too small for the cabinet, others were too big, and a couple just looked plain stupid.  I don't even know how many I need other than "a lot" and it's definitely taking me on a tour of the various hardware vendors out there!  So, let's table that headache and go onto the fun stuff that's happened over the past few weeks...

Driveway has been paved.....they did additional grading/fill today around the edges.  It looks good so I'll get a couple updated shots soon.

The little log cabin is almost done...or should I say almost re-done.  They did a great job initially except that it wasn't really thick enough, so I'm having them fill in more of whatever it is that they are putting between the chestnut logs so it's more flush with the wood.

Still haven't quite decided what's going in the middle of the circle drive....and now that it's paved, we need to figure that out pretty soon!

Here's the screened porch fireplace.  Stone is finished, pine ceiling is done, and the flooring (cumaru decking) should start pretty soon.

Most exciting part for me has been the countertops going in.  Although, I have to say, it was a little nerve racking as it all happened while we were at the baseball tourney. Fortunately, Vince looked out for me (as always) and sent me pics of things happening to make sure I was happy with everything. He's such a great guy! 

Here's a shot of the guys installing the kitchen island granite.  It looks amazing and I am over my non-soapstone island as a result!

As Marjie (interior decorator) likes to say "It's so 'shut up'!"  And, I have to agree...here's a close up of the stone.  I could just lick it!

And, my beloved soapstone for the cream cabinets on the perimeter of the kitchen. I decided to go with this in the butler's pantry as well.  There was extra left over from the kitchen and well, I just love soapstone, so why not?

I'm not going to oil it either.  I love the matte charcoal finish just like it is naturally.

Once the countertops went in, they covered up everything with this sticky blue plastic so they wouldn't get messed up and then additional clear plastic over the cabinets so the painters could get their first coat on.  So, here's the current kitchen mess.....

I had them temporarily take the red cabinet down so they could paint behind it...plus it was up a little too high, even for me! So, they need to put it back up just a tad lower once the paint and backsplash is done.

  

And, the pantry doors should go on soon.  I just love how that's turning out.  You can see to the right of this pic part of the shelves they've put in already.  It turned out great, but it's hard to get a good shot of the pantry on the inside.

Here's the built in for the kitchen sitting area.  Just need to finish up the brick and then the gas stove will be installed.

 

 

And, the banquette turned out great as well.  I can't wait to get a huge farmhouse table for this spot!

Let's go into the master....paint and trim have been finished.  I've been on the fence if I like the paint colors we picked out for here, but I think they are growing on me, so I'll keep them! This first shot isn't really a good shot of the color, but I just love the big window in the master so thought I'd share!

I think this is a better representation of what the master colors look like.  We did a sage green with a lighter version on the ceiling.  It's the ceiling version that's been bugging me, but I think it will work once I get furniture and bedding in there.  Plus, the bright sunshine will be tamed when I get window treatments in.

 

Again, terrible shot of the color, but it's the opposite view in the master looking down the hall to closet and master bath.

Partial shot of master closet.  No idea what's going in here.  It's not like Mark or I are little fashionistas!  I supposed Mark could be one with all his Raider gear, but I don't think "fashionista" is the term he'd prefer.

The master bathroom has turned out so beautiful, I really love it.  Here's Mark's side of bathroom

And, here's my side...again with the blue sticky stuff cover the counters!

The coloring in this photo is terrible. The walls are a light tan and the countertop is crema marfil marble, but it doesn't really look like that here.  Trust me, though..it looks great!

So, the past few times, I've had a hard time getting shots of the master tub trim that the guys built.  This time, I tried to take shots at an angle so the light from the window wouldn't ruin the pic.  Here's the top arch above the tub...

And you can kind of see the detail on the sides here.  They are waiting for the tub faucet to go in before they can finish the bottom trim.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but the son of Kim Jong-il is actually my carpenter!  Small world!  Actually, he's really not, but he certainly started out with us all thinking that!  The carpenter's name is Joe.  His English is a little rough and he seemed very serious.  So, thought I'd break the ice a bit and tell him my son's name was also Joe.  Well, I don't know that he really cared (at least at that time).  So, when I shared my trim idea for the family room and dining room openings, his initial response was "No".

"No?" I said,"but, did you see my picture?"

"I see picture. No." he said as he shook his head firmly.  "No. Look Ugly"

"What? Look Ugly? But, I love this" as I look at Jonathan, I started laughing a bit thinking "wth, did he actually just say my picture was ugly?"

"Look Ugly!" he said...not backing off at all.

So, actually, after we "chatted' a bit more, what he was trying to tell me was that it really wouldn't work well with the other trim/crown we had in the house.  And, actually he was right.  I have to say, initially he had terrible people skills, but he really is a fantastic carpenter.  He's done an amazing job with the built ins, cabinets and every other thing I've added on for him to do.  And, he's actually grown on me a bit and can joke around now.  He tells me everyday "Most new house, 2 day for trim...maybe 3. This house, 3 almost 4 week"  As he shakes his head at me...then, he cracks a smile! We are buddies now!

So, short story long (as my friend Cindy likes to say when I tell a story), the family room and dining trim from the foyer/hallways is the same as the rest of the other trim.  But, the dining room has my fancy schmancy idea (with Joe's approval) along with the built-ins that should look like a paneled wall when it's all finished.  The crown molding still needs to be installed, but here is the dining room fireplace wall...both sides are hidden shelves above and below the chair rail.

Dining room doors...coffered ceiling will get the crown as well...

Window wall in the dining room with the chair rail up.

And, my swing door leading to the butler's pantry is in...

Moving onto the basement, we've had the fenceboard and countertops installed along with the stone wall finished.  I still need to get the chicago rail ordered, so hopefully I'll remember to do that tomorrow!  This is a shot as you are coming down the stairs.

As you are coming up to the bar to order a drink...Orange Crush anyone?

 Closer shot of the stone wall....

 

Closer shot of the built-in Joe put together for me.  This was also done from pics, but I guess he liked those pics!  I just need to get the hardware and then they need to finish the wood.

 

Lastly, the mudroom bench was painted to match the cabinets. The color turned out near perfect.  But, there were a few issues with some of the beadboard that we didn't really notice until it was painted, so they have to take it down and fix this week.

Well, I think that's about it for now!  Joe and his crew will be back for a few more days to finish up the remaining spots.  I'll be sure to tell him you all said "hi"  :)