dressing up the ktichen

We got a few things done in the last few days--namely towards the kitchen.  Countertops went in Friday--the Silver Persa looks REALLY good (minus the sky blue wall, which was behind 4 layers of wallpaper--don't get me started...) but if you imagine that gone, it's sweet.

We also had a table and chair set Mrs. Sarah and Rich had given us back in May--it was a no-sale garage item they wanted rid of. We used it for Amara's bday party in the barn, then it sat there. As we decided what to put in the kitchen, I thought a nice black would be a good complement to the detail.

I have to say, we left "some of" the brown showing and it looks pretty cool. We're still deciding whether or not to leave the brown showing and rough them up a little more...but regardless, they no longer look like they belong in a TJ's restaurant for sure, and it only cost me $12 in spray paint! woot!

Finished floors

Aren't they pretty?!  These are covered by cardboard now, and this will be the laundry room, but they are striking!

kitchen cabinets are in! (well, almost)

So the obvious question, "is the kitchen done?" is a big, fat, NO. 

We do have cabinets, they are custom, maple, built by Yoder cabinets somewhere up in Amish town ohio and they are NICE.

However, the appliances are in the dining room--which is "ok," only because we are running propane for the stove and the line isn't in place yet, NOR is the water line for the RO (Reverse Osmosis) drinking system that we'll put in the kitchen...

The electricians (ironically) helped me set the island properly, since the contractor hadn't 'gotten that far,' by the time the electricians wanted to wire the island, but alas, we're good now.

The sink (in the island) is in place too--love it, but it's not functional--apparently you can't (or he won't) plumb the line for the water till the granite is in place, and we're still a couple weeks on that.

The built-in banquette seating is perfect. I think it was a great add-on and will be awesome (when we can put the table in there). It's coming...

picking the granite

Everyone thinks designing a house--or a kitchen, from the ground up is amazing--and it is, but it's also difficult and time consuming.

Eric and I tackled the granite choice with the fervor and excitement of a kid at Christmas, but bewildered by the forth trip and as many granite lots, we think we finally nailed it.  

We changed from dark, to contrast the light cabinets, to light, to brighten up the kitchen, to neutral, with a stone we liked for just what it was, and settled with...Silver Persa, one we hadn't seen in all our previous trips.  To find a slab that worked, Chester Smith had to actually ship it down from Solon, but we got it laid out and it's being finished now.  Can't wait to see it installed!

First Denton dinner

This pic was from back in May--burried on Eric's phone.

One night, after working feverishly to get ready for Amara's bday party, we decided to order Cattleman's and have a picnic.  We were right by the driveway and Zany--the neighbor's dog, kept coming over to visit.

The kids were thrilled to be having an adventure and we can't wait to have many more of them out here!

the downstairs bath

we originally thought this annoyingly decorated bath just needed some paint and freshening up, but we decided to just go for it and give it a facelift.

Scott Reed, referred to me by Natahsa, fit the bill perfectly, and we got started on it last week.

Before, it was pretty scary, floral and gold with carpet (ICK).  Scott realized how small the tub was in there, so even though it was cast iron and functioned, we decided to scrap it (literally) and go for a newer, bigger tub for the girls, skim-coated walls for fresh paint (courtesy Ken Blaies) some cute new wall fixtures, tile, and cheeriness.

We can't wait for it to be done--but it's close, they did the job in just over a week!