Master Bath Progress

As part of the new addition we're adding a master bedroom, master bathroom and master closet onto the main level. With the new master bedroom and the additional bedroom we added downstairs, we'll have a total of 4 bedrooms, 2 up and 2 down.

Here is a shot of the new vanity in the master bath with a view of the lake.

We selected the same alder wood with a chestnut stain for the vanity as we selected for the kitchen island. The top is a marble white which will be versitile enough to go with the tile we selected for the tub and floor. The lights and the faucets (faucets not installed yet) were special buys from Home Depot, so were the oval mirrors I picked up for installation (mirrors also not installed yet). It feels good finding the deals!

And here is our newly installed garden soaking tub! It's an oversized tub/shower combo and I can't wait to put it to good use soon! As you can see there's still of bit of tiling to do...

And here's Brian with our dog Gabby hanging out in the master bedroom. This room has morphed into the temporary workspace where the tools are set up. It's where we've been cutting all of the floor boards, door and window jambs and baseboard and casing trim!

Below is a photo of a miter saw. You may have already known that, but this was new to me. Brian insisted we couldn't complete the house without buying one of these. And he may have actually been right! We use that thing all the time. Sometimes just for fun. Just kidding. Maybe. Anyway, I've even cut a few floorboards on it!

And here's the table saw which is also set up in the master bedroom. I haven't used this one yet, no immediate plans to change that either.

If you look closely you can see a thick layer of sawdust surrounding the floor. It's about an inch thich, no joke. And it's stuck to the wall! We've had a heck of a time trying to contain the dust to this one space. Looking forward to retiring these tools!

New Kitchen

Brian and I had much to celebrate this New Years by ringing in a new kitchen!

The new silestone countertops were installed on 12/28. We chose a black silestone for the perimeter area to contrast the white cabinets. To contrast that we selected a white silestone for the island, to contrast the darker wood choice for those cabinets. The word of the day here is contrast!

New Kitchen:

And here's the before shot:

Our new kitchen used to be the old entryway, stairway AND kitchen. We've since knocked out the stairs, moved the front entry, replaced the cabinets, countertops, appliances, replaced the window for a new patio door, installed new lighting, flooring and just generally made it a nice space!

Here's a shot of the new view when you're standing at the island.

And the best part about the new sink is that it works! Definate improvement over the bathroom sink we've been using for the past 2 months. You'll find that I get excited over the simple things that I had previously taken for granted - like running water for example!

New Living Room! We still need to install and paint the trim, but the floors are in and we even have our small little Christmas Tree in the corner!

And here's the before shot:

We opened up this space by adding the second patio door and second window, relocating the stairs and entryway, and pushing back a closet (not shown) to gain an extra 3 feet in dimension.

A few weeks prior Brian had ripped up all of the floorboard in the kitchen/dinning/living area. Some of it had gotten wet over the years and though there was no mold (thank goodness!) it smelled AWEFUL. So in the name of not having a stinky house, Brian ripped it all up and installed new floorboards. Here he is with the nail gun.

And after the floorboards had been reinstalled, my parents came over to lend a hand and help us paint before the cabinets were installed. That's me on the right, Mom in the middle and Dad on the left. The room still needs another coat after we install and paint the trim, but thanks for the help guys!

And while I'm sending thanks, I should Amanda for helping us prime the basement! Unfortunately I didn't take any embarrasing photos of her working though - next time...

And yes, below is the picture of the inside of our cabinets with dishes in them. But after you've had your things packed up in boxes for 6 months and have been eating off of paper plates, this moment seems worth memorializing!

We had wedding gifts from back in July that still hadn't been opened. It was like Christmas all over again unboxing our gifts for the kitchen!

We are making progress. We still have a lot left to do but it feels good to have part of our house back!