A Counter Attack - Day 149

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I dropped by Project 713 at the end of Day 149, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the front steps finished and the front door open. Here's what I saw when I walked inside!

It may be a little hard to tell, but this is what the concrete countertops look after the first phase, which is when they've been poured into the forms and then removed.

Take a look at the detailed 'veining' in the surface, which makes it appear like granite and marble. These counters will have to cure for a couple days and then the artist will come back with some special tint and coloring to fill in the veins and then he'll buff the surfaces down and seal them.

 Apparently the concrete counters are harder than granite and marble and aren't as porous, so they don't absorb bad things that spill on them like wine or harmful cleaning agents.

They also allow you to shape them any way you want, which means there's less cutting and waste, in theory.  The picture below is in the bar/butler pantry area, so you can see the cut-out for the sink in this section.

Oh, and then there was this box just sitting in the upstairs hallway/landing area. It's a vanity sink unit for either Grace's bathroom or the guest room. It will have to just be a surprise!

I'll be sure to take more pictures after the counters have been tinted and sealed.
Cheers!

A Clean Slate - Day 148

It's Tuesday, March 24th and Day 148 of Project 713... and the rain has finally let up a bit, so the masons have been able to get a lot more work done.

Here's a closer look at the rock work on the front porch that they were able to complete over the weekend.

I was also able to get another look at the pain colors for Grace's room and it seems like we've come to a decision. We're going to let Grace choose the one she's wanted all along- Electric Lime!

As you can see, she's ecstatic about the selection. I took this picture from atop a step-ladder to give more perspective as to how high the reading loft is. It's a good 8 feet up!

I must confess that I waited a few days to take some more pictures, so the shots below are actually from the 24th.

The masons are making quick work of the steps up to the front of the porch. Looking good!

The guy who's doing the counter tops was actually creating the forms for them yesterday and I forgot to take pictures, and since he's pouring them today, I wasn't able to go into the house. I should have some shots later in the week.
Cheers!

Like A Rock - Day 142

I apologize in advance for not posting in a while. We're at Day 142 on March 18th and it's been ten days since my last confession... Admittedly it's because not a lot's been going on other than finishing up the trim and then the hand-wringing that goes with finalizing the decisions on paint colors.

Truly, I don't know if we've decided. I thought we had, but then Kristin said we'd changed back. So here's what I DO know...

Yes, the masons have arrived and they started applying the mortar and granite/slate for the surround of our front porch.

It's going to look very nice when it's finished. In the picture below, you can see where they had to actually cut out and remove a bunch of the old cinder block, because apparently in city code you have to be able to get under a porch like ours, and there was no access from inside the house.

 The masons have also dug out the area around the front of the porch where the steps will eventually be. The plan is to have a small path of flagstones from the driveway up to the front apron of the porch.

So, this will certainly keep things busy outside the house, while I hope that our decision-making will prevail and allow us to begin painting the inside of the house and eventually the outside. Also, we have an artisan creating our counter-tops for the kitchen out of concrete and he's also designing our new fireplace mantel for the dining room.

The picture above are the artist's dimension markings for the new mantel. He'll be creating pieces in his studio and then assembling them on site. I promise not to post any new pictures until either the porch masonry is completed or the painting begins.
Cheers!
Flip

Colour By Numbers - Day 132

It's Sunday, March 8th and Day 132. I know, I used the U.K. spelling of Colour for the title- call it an homage to one of my favorite 80's bands. I'll let you guess which one. Anyhow, it's time to get serious about choosing our paint colors for inside the house. We called on a local interior designer who happens to live up the street from us to help out. In the panoramic shot below of our living area, you can see that we're focusing on some version of a light gray for much of this section of the house.

Below is a shot of the second floor landing area and you can see the designer checking out the sample swatches and comparing them to other samples she brought with her. It's amazing how different the same color can look in varying levels of light.

You think the color looks perfect in one room in a certain light and then you look at the same one in another room and all of the sudden you're not so sure. Oh well.  

 The next picture is for Grace's room. She wants green and it will be used on at least one, if not two, accent walls. The rest of her room will be white. Which one do you think SHE chose! :-)

I know I left you hanging on the previous post regarding the exterior color of the house. Remember how I said it was a trick question and that all three samples were variations of white? Well, it turns out we're going with a very pale gray. I haven't even seen a test sample of it yet. Until then...

More Molding and Some Paint- Day 131

Saturday, March the 7th is Day 131 and the trim and molding phase is ongoing. Our carpenter has pretty much finished off all the rooms and hallways.

He was even able to put some trim WAY up in the top of Grace's reading loft, but he had to put a special box in up there to give the molding a place to hang on to!

I took a couple of cool panoramic shots to show the width of the two rooms downstairs, so I hope they show up well on the blog. The first is of the room at the front of the house which will eventually be our formal dining room.

The next shot is of our kitchen/living/entertaining area, so you can see the island all the way to the entertainment center and the built-in bookshelves.

I know that using the panoramic function on the camera can sort of distort or warp some of the dimensions and put curves where they're not supposed to be, but at least it gives you an idea of the space and the openness of those new rooms. The final picture for this post will be our exterior paint test samples.
I'll let you try to guess which one we chose, but I want to warn you- it's a trick question...

Trim and Molding - Day 130

I took a few days off from visiting the house after the doors were put in, since the carpenter was going to be putting in all of our trim, from shoe molding to crown on just about every inch of the house.
Oh, and Tuesday, March 3rd wasn't a good day to stop by anyway, since it rained most of the day and Kristin got into a little fender bender. I like to call this version of our black 4-Runner, "Red-Neckified".

I can joke about it because Kristin and the other driver were okay, and also we have good insurance so our deductible will just about all of the financial pain that we feel. So, onto the trim from Friday, March 6th, Day 130!

The picture above is in the upstairs guest room, so you see the shoe molding around the baseboards and then the door casing. It will look really cool when it's all painted. The shot below is a closer look at the casing around the doorway leading into the laundry room off the second floor landing.

Next we're looking at some of the crown molding that our carpenter was working on in the kitchen.

The next picture is looking at the entertainment center and built-in bookshelves at the other end of that great room, with the central hallway on the left side.

And the final shots that I'll leave you with today are from the second floor landing area, looking at the hall closet doors and the door leading into the master bedroom.

I'll show a few more pictures from Saturday's visit on the next post.

A Doors Jam - Day 126

The natural progression for March 2nd, Day 126 was to have the doors installed and lo and behold... it was a regular Doors Jam at Project 713. By the time I arrived after work, the carpenter had installed all of the doors on the second floor and was putting in the last few doors on the first floor. The picture below is on the second floor landing. The double door on the right is the hall linen closet. The one on the left is to the master bedroom.

The next picture is the pocket door leading into the master bathroom. 

The pictures below are in Grace's bedroom. The first one shows her door from the hallway and immediately behind it is the pocket door that leads into her walk-in closet.

The picture below is the door into Grace's bathroom.

This next picture is in the guest bedroom, so you're seeing the bathroom door on the left and the closet door on the right.

The picture below is to the laundry room on the second floor.

The remaining doors were either installed after I left or will be put in tomorrow. After that, the carpenter will start installing the trim and molding.

Later,

Flip