Interior Update - Is the Ugly Duckling a Cygnet Yet???

Well, we haven't hit swan status on the Ugly Duckling, but we're making nice progress.  Seems like it's at least in the swan family at this point! A cygnet, indeed!   So now it's time to share a few update photos.

First floor - starting point

The open floor plan is really coming together.  What started as a series of small rooms, is now a big space, where the rooms flow into one another.

Removed old chimney, built new stairs to meet building codes, added new load bearing beams to strengthen 2nd floor

Of course, the large layout is helped with the dining room addition, across the back of the house.

The new floors are in and they are incredible!  We went with a pre-finished oak hardwood, in something called a wire-brush finish.  I wanted something that wouldn't look too new or modern.  This finish is fantastic - a little bit rustic, with a beautiful dark stain.  It will look great against our light walls.

Kitchen - looking towards Dining Room and backyard

I took these pictures right after the floors were installed - but then quickly put down floor protection, to keep them looking brand new until the house is finished.  So you won't see them again for awhile!

Creating laser generated countertop template

Next up:  The Kitchen.  This is a big kitchen and it's really coming together.  Around the perimeter, we've installed white cabinets with shaker style doors.











 The island is custom with a large counter-height work area and a taller seating area.  Kyle and I created a cardboard template to define the curved section.  It was a bit tricky, but as usual, he did a great job from the framing, to the beadboard and the trim work.  Now that it's complete, it will be painted a soft blue, called Tidewater, by Sherwin Williams

Curved seating area on the kitchen island

Work area of the kitchen island

And I'm in love with the living room.  Remember the antique mantle, that was the inspiration for our design? (click here to see 'before' and the plans)  It's been reworked a bit and is now the perfect frame for our new gas fireplace.  After installing the mantle, Justin built bookcases on either side.  We'll paint it all a nice, crisp white and I'll be adding a custom glass tile border around the firebox.  It's going to be a real focal point of the room!  Of course the big debate is whether the TV should go above the fireplace.  My vote is NO.....the guys are pretty unanimous that it's the obvious spot :-) 

Upstairs, the rooms are coming together, the trim is going in and it seems like we're getting close to the finish line.  The high ceilings make such a statement!

And what do you think of the custom closet in the master bedroom?

I spent lots of time getting the bathroom tile in - I love this carrara marble inset in the master shower!  And the tiled ceiling in the hall bath was a challenge, with all its funky angles.  But I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Broken marble vanity top

But despite all the progress, we have had a couple of setbacks.  The vanity for the master bath arrived with a broken top.  It will take 3-4 weeks in transit for the replacement.  The kitchen countertops got templated, but the quartz arrived at their factory and didn't meet their quality standards.  So that will add another two weeks.  The pallet of siding for the back of the house showed up with so many manufacturing defects, that we need to get material shipped from another state.  The fancy toilet I bought for the hall bath arrived damaged (seriously, I'm not making all this stuff up, how could so many things go wrong at once?!).  So you guessed it, more delays.

When will we be done?  I'm not sure!  Painting will finish this week, but there's still a lot to do!

Pin It