Almost Done!

It always feels like a race to the finish line on these houses.  This one is no different, we had punch lists everywhere with a 'check-in' every morning and evening, to see how close we are to finishing.  And now we've put a stake in the ground, it will officially go on the market this week.

I'm still frantically trying to finish up all the staging, but here are a few teaser photos to show you our current status. 

Living Room

Don't you love the fireplace?

Foyer and Study

Kitchen looking into Sunroom

I promise to get true 'before & after' photos done soon.  But that takes a lot of time to go back and find them and take new ones from the same angle.  So please be patient until I can get it done!

Primary Bath

Primary Suite

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Primary Suite Update

Is it crazy to take 3 rooms and turn them into a primary suite?  Seem logical to me - I love this space! With 4 windows, it's so light and bright and the multiple spaces give it lots of architectural interest.

Here's the color scheme we're using.  All the walls are White Flour, by Sherwin Williams, with trim painted a soft taupe throughout the house.  The window valances are a soft blue and green, that we've used in multiple places throughout the suite.

Let's start with the bedroom portion of the suite.  This is a large space that's big enough for a king or queen sized bed.  We painted a blue feature wall, to give it a little more interest.  It's Sherwin Williams Stardew.

I'm really excited about the primary bath.  I tiled the shower and the alcove behind the vanity - that's the first time I've ever done a bathroom wall and I LOVE it!!!  The white vanity pops in front of the tiled wall and I love the visual interest it creates.  

But I still thought the bathroom was a bit boring.  So I decided to stencil the back wall - behind the toilet.  It incorporates the blue and green color palette that is featured throughout the suite.  If the new owners don't like it, they can just paint over it - much easier than stripping wallpaper! 

The folks from Hour Glass got our shower glass installed last week.  So much nicer than a shower curtain!  

The walk in closet has lots of hanging space, drawers and shelving for the homeowner's wardrobe.  It also has a window, which provides natural light for choosing your outfit for the day.  And I just love the pulls that Rich is installing on the built in drawers. 

But my favorite space?  The reading nook in the front of the house.  It's not a large space, but the sunlight streaming in every afternoon makes it so warm and inviting.  And there is also a wall of storage, because in an old house you can never have too much storage!

Built-ins provide lots of additional storage - and a full length mirror!

This space is just about done!  Now to get the rest of the house done.  

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The Powder Room

We were able to add a powder room on the first floor, which is a major upgrade to the house.  And as the smallest room in the house, I want to make it really special!  A tiny room doesn't need to be a white, boring box.  It can have lots of character.

First steps was creating a traditional, Victorian style floor with a black and white mosaic.  It's an easy to maintain ceramic floor that has lots of visual interest.

Next, Kyle added wainscoting around the room.  (We left space for the pedestal sink to get mounted)

Our painters have gotten to work and painted the trim and wainscoting.  

Next step, I added a simple stencil to the walls.  I adore wallpaper, but after stripping wallpaper for weeks on end, this will give a similar effect without the need to strip it if the owners don't like it.  It's a very simple mini print with metallic paint to give this room a bit of shimmer.

Today Nick got the faucet and toilet in.  

Next we install lighting and mirror!  Can't wait!

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When Things Go Wrong.......

Drama time!   Everything goes wrong at the end of a project - no matter how much you plan and schedule!  So when I got a text from one of the guys at 6:05 am with this picture, it didn't totally freak me out (okay, maybe it did a little!).  There was water across the front side of the unfinished basement. 

We've had a lot of snow and a few days of warm weather, plus a full day of rain, melted big mounds of snow.   The water runs everywhere and hydrostatic pressure builds around the foundation.  

There is a homemade looking pit under the stairs that we've never really paid much attention to.  Now it got attention!!  Water was coming up from the pit, while we were frantically trying to shopvac the water out.  

Turns out, when the basement was dug back in 1960, they put a perimeter drain around the basement (this is actually a very good thing).  The pipes from that lead to the pit.  But somehow (and construction debris could have played a role in this), the drain had gotten clogged.

Thankfully Keith from Flo Pro was working in the area and was able to stop by.  He was able to quickly clear the clog and instantly, all that water disappeared.  It was amazing to see how much water was coming from the perimeter drain!  It really does the job - when the line is clear!

We checked to make sure the flooding was just on the unfinished side of the basement (which is also the lowest side).  That meant we had to pull up the newly laid basement floor and thankfully only one small spot had seen any water.  And because we installed 'dimple board' to keep the flooring off the concrete, the subfloor and flooring was nice and dry.  Good news!  I was terrified we'd have to rip open the whole finished side of the basement. 

How do we keep this from happening again?  Well, we're now installing a brand new sump pump.  That will give the new owners peace of mind that the basement will stay dry.  There will also be a box to check on the perimeter drain, to make sure it's working as intended.

And as weird as it might sound, I'm glad this happened now.  Sure, it's an expense we hadn't planned on, but I would hate for the new owners to move in and have this happen.  We didn't have anything of value in that side of the basement, so it was an easy cleanup.  

This hiccup will have a bit of a schedule impact, but hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here! 

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