Photo Tour

We’ve been living in the house for one month and are now mostly unpacked (except for Larry’s office) so I thought it was time to give everyone the 5 cent tour.

1st floor open plan, from kitchen viewing dining and living areas

dining area and kitchen

kitchen

stove

living area

messy office and stair

stair

upstairs hall, looking towards guest bedroom

guest bedroom

master bedroom (both bedrooms have walk-in closets, not shown)

bathtub w/cat

toilet

vanity

shower

Still some work to do: Once the basement is cleared of construction tools and supplies, we’re going to start setting up the root cellar, work tables, homebrew kit & dart board (a.k.a. man cave.) We’re also still debating the best way to hang artwork on the walls. Larry’s hesitant to put nail holes in the exterior walls he worked so hard to air seal. And we still have a lot of stuff in storage that we need to unpack, but for now we’re just taking a few weeks to enjoy the place. We love it!

Table delivery, BYOC

We can now invite guests for dinner, but you must bring your own chair.

Interior Painting

Howie finished taping and sanding the drywall on the second floor on Sunday, so while we’re waiting for the first floor to be insulated and sheet rocked, we’ve started priming and painting upstairs.

We’re using Benjamin Moore’s zero-VOC Natura line. I read a few reviews on other brands that complained about needing 3-4 coats to achieve the desired color, and only saw good reviews for Natura’s coverage. We’re using some pretty saturated colors upstairs, so coverage was key and so far the it’s been wonderful to work with. It’s a little pricey at about $50/gallon, but not only does it cover well, it also goes on smoothly, dries in 1-2 hours, and it’s odorless. In fact, it’s so odorless that I could smell our dog over any paint smell when she came into the room. Time to give Bernie a bath!

I’m debating using some sort of geometric allover stencil on an accent wall in the master bedroom to break up the orange a bit. Any thoughts?

In other upstairs news: The tub was installed yesterday and looks great in the marble surround! All of our bathroom tile has now arrived, so as soon as Larry finishes installing the Schluter membrane in the shower we can tackle bath tiling next.

Bathroom color & tile: Walls are B.M. Natura Goldfield, shower walls and tub apron are tiled with Ann Sacks Lucian field tile in Oxygen, Carrara marble tub surround and vanity top, and 12"x24" Anthracite floor tile with matching pebbles on the shower floor.

While there’s nothing particularily “green” about the tile choices, we are using a no-VOC stone and grout sealer.

Bath Time

Last week the plumber roughed in the waste pipes and venting. Soon he’ll begin the hot and cold water supply lines. He asked what faucets we’re using to make sure he has all the right connections, specs, etc. This prompted a mini bath shopping spree, and an opportunity for me to share our bath plans.

Faucets: We really like the old-fashioned cross handles, and starting looking around for an updated, streamline version. We eventually settled on the Grohe Arden line as they are less expensive than similar models from Kohler and Berclay and got great reviews. We ordered the Watersense versions (low-flow 1.5 GPM) in chrome last Friday. Unfortunately it will take 2 weeks for delivery.

Bathtub: We are doing a separate soaking tub and shower. We bought the 6′ Kohler Archer drop-in tub before we closed in the house. Larry started working on the the framing for the tub surround over Memorial Day weekend, and I put a deposit on a Carrara marble slab for the tub surround yesterday.  Once the framing is done, we will make a trip to the stone yard to pick out our slab and the installers will come to the site and create a template. It will take about two weeks to cut, edge and polish the slab after templating. The tub drain was ordered with the faucets, so all the plumbing should be in place before the slab is ready for install.

Shower: We are looking into using the Schluter-Shower System to waterproof the shower area. It’s cool because you install it over regular drywall and it keeps everything water tight. We will be using a frameless glass door instead of a curtain to allow more light and help make the space feel bigger.

Tile: We were originally planning to tile the walls in the bath, but to save money we are now just tiling the shower enclosure and front of the tub surround. We are considering Lucian glass tiles from Ann Sacks and Optix from Waterworks. We have chosen a light gray porcelain tile for the floor and are looking at a flat pebble for the shower floor in either a blue/green mix or white (similar to Carrara.)

Vanity: Next big sale day, we will be ordering the Hutton washstand in dark espresso with Carrara marble top from Restoration Hardware.

Heat: We will be heating the bathroom (and our towels) with a Runtal Radiator Electric Omnipanel.

More 2nd floor

The rain may have slowed our progress, but progress is still being made. Warren and Peter were still able to frame out more of the windows, the interior divider wall and nail up the ceiling joists. We were lucky to have a few sunny days over the weekend, so Bernie could enjoy a nap in the sun while we mopped up rain puddles in the living room. The fall foliage is really starting to peak!

We also purchased our first fixture for the house, a Kohler Archer 6′ soaking tub. Our contractor wisely recommended buying it now so we can lift it in through the second floor rough window openings. Much easier than carrying it up narrow stairs after the house is closed in.