Pics from the kitchen, no countertop yet, but everything is coming togther. We do have an issue with the cabinets--they are not as "whitewashed" as the sample and we're not impressed. We wanted the whitewashed look to match the rustic style of the rest of the houe. At first it was hard to tell, with only the small sample, and the cabinets mostly in boxes in the garage, so we argued, but not too much. Now that they are up, we have found some trim pieces that ARE the right colour...so we're not crazy, and have started to complain a bit more vociferously. Someone is coming on Monday to look at them. I do LOVE our kitchen island--one of our best finds--and the apron/farmhouse sink, which I got for a steal-of-a-deal on e-bay.

And while I am complaining.... Our windows and doors came from Atlantic Door and Window and were installed last summer. One came already broken and the door has leaked since we got it. The guy came in September to replace and repair...brought the wrong window and nothing for the door. Said he'd be back shortly. He finally came back in February--and brought the exact same WRONG window pane he brought in September, and again couldn't do the door. We have Kent's chasing them, but seriously folks, if you're looking at doors and windows and want any kind of customer service, don't expect it from Atlantic




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Bathrooms...the vanity from our Ensuite, which is still sitting in our bedroom at the moment! The 1/2 bath on main floor (I LOVE how my "vanity"/vessel sink/faucet turned out.) And looking into the kids bathroom from the hallway.

We have...

TOILETS! whoohoo Who knew how exciting poopers could be?! :) We also have cupboards in progress, appliances and furniture coming on Tuesday and satellite tv on Thursday. New pics coming soon...

Gary and I spent several hours Friday night cleaning the floors of footprints and dust, and then 5 1/2 continuous hours on our hands and knees staining them on Saturday night. We used Carlysle's Bradford Umber, and it was not too hard although we were both pretty stiff by the end of it!

A couple of boards went a bit darker than the rest, but in true Carlysle-customer-service style we called the next day (a Sunday!) and the lady who answered explained we could use mineral spirits to lighten it a bit, which worked perfectly. There are also a couple of small spots where the stain didn't take, probably where glue got on the boards, but the nice things about rustic flooring is that it doesn't need to be perfect!

Tonight was the first coat of tung oil...one of four...and it was so simple to put on...you can see the difference between the pictures. It is wet of course, and the last two coats are more of a matte, so it won't end up this shiny, but it looks BEAUTIFUL! :)

Oh, and please excuse the outfit...you don't exactly wear your Sunday best! :)

I think I may have some dusting to do....

The wide plank floors are being installed....we have been waiting anxiously since August when we picked them up in New Hampshire. :)




Bathroom floor is tiled. The smaller stuff is for the tub surround and as a small highlight in the shower.

Our small bathroom off the garage entry has been bothering me. The way the "men" laid it out you would have to stand on the toilet to wash your hands. But with the pedestal sink (all that would fit) there was no way to move things around because of where the plumbing was. Then I asked...why couldn't we get a narrow vanity, turn it sideways so it is on the same wall as the toilet and just cut the side out instead of the back for the pipes? Answer--we can. Problem--limited space. Solution...a vanity that isn't a vanity! We bought a hall cabinet (what they called it) that kind of looks like an old-fashioned washstand. Then searched high and low for a small vessel sink--hard to find--but of course e-bay came through! So here it all is....it fits the feel of the house, and goes in beside the toilet nicely!

The "washstand"

The sink


The faucet

Over the overages...

We're really into the crunch...every week now is costing more money in labour costs than we budgeted for, and more stress. And of course this is that proverbial rock and a hard place...you need to do the work to finish the house, but every day makes it harder to keep costs under control. We really need to finish...we've crept past the 6-7% over, and are moving up there....

There are so many decisions when planning a house. We're lucky, because our tastes are pretty similar, and we know what we like. One of the styles we love is Craftsman, and while our house is not totally Craftsman, we've added details whenever we can. One thing we really liked from many Craftsman details we've looked at have been wide, plain baseboards and trim. So all our trims are simple 4" (basement and upstairs) or 6" (Great Room) and the baseboards are all 8" pine. No baseboards on yet, but the windows are coming along!