Fixtures to Furniture - 6/25/08 to 8/17/08

Kitchen cabinets with 6-burner gas cooktop, coffee brown quartz countertops, travertine tile backsplash with inlayed mozaic medallion, under-cabinet lighting and electical outlets, and a wall mounted pot-filler.

Kitchen cabinets with sink and dishwasher.

Kitchen cabinets with refrigerator and wall mounted oven/microwave combo.

Kitchen island to be added later.

Living room with fireplace and built-in cabinets/book shelves.

Entrance foyer and dining room.

Whirlpool bath in Master Bathroom.

Shower in Master Bathroom.

Framing underway on deck in back of house.

Composite floor decking installed on deck.

Landing to deck in back of house.

Segmented block retaining wall construction underway in front of house.

First of 2-tiered terraced landscape walls in front of house.

Completed retaining walls at back of house.

Some of our new furniture arrived on Aug. 17th. Two leather chairs for the Living Room.

Leather trimed sofa.

Breakfast table and chairs.

Breakfast table top detail.

Dining Room table and chairs with china hutch.

Dining Room set on the rug we purchased during our trip to India.

Bed and night stands for our bedroom...no matress yet.

Cabinetry and other finishes - 5/9/08 thru 6/24/08

Kitchen cabinet installation continued.

Cabinets installed, now waiting on countertops to arrive.

Cabinet area where refrigerator and wall oven will be located.

Cabinet area where sink and dishwasher will be located.

View from kitchen into living room.

Living room fireplace and bookshelves.

Fireplace in my office.

Fireplace in Master Bedroom.

Shirley's make-up table in Master Bathroom.

Shirley's sink next to whirlpool tub in Master Bathroom.

My sink area in Master Bathroom.

Double sinks in upstairs guest bathroom.

Built-in shelves and drawers in my closet.

Built-in shelves and clothes rods in Shirley's closet.

Pantry

Blown-in attic insullation installed.

Staining the hardwood floors.

Staining of hardwood floor in Living Room.

Stairs to basement stained and painted.

Stairway to basement.

We lost an old friend on May 11, 2008. (Before photo)

(After photo) A heavy wind storm blew over one of our 100+ year old shaggy bark hickory trees. Fortunately it fell away from the house.

This gives you some perspective as to the large size of the tree. And no that is not a Hobbit next to the tree. The tree had grown on top of a flat ledge rock with virtually no root system extending down into the ground. Having removed surrounding trees for construction of the house, the tree was left exposed to the full force of the wind, which proved too much for it.

The tree had been a focal point at the top of the driveway up to the house.

Nevertheless, with the tree gone, a larger parking area was able to be made. Previously the tree would have been at the left center of this photo.

Driveway/parking area to garage.

Front of house.

Paint, Trim, Floors and More - 4/1/08 thru 5/8/08

Painting begins with a primer coat.

Master bedroom primed. The primer is tinted but lighter than the final paint color.

Living room and breakfast area primed. Hardwood flooring installation underway.

Hardwood flooring in living room and dining room. Hardwood flooring will be sanded and finished with a walnut stain later.

Living room walls and ceiling primed.

Slate flooring in Mud Room and Laundry Room.

Emperador brown marble flooring from China in Powder Room.
Grout not yet installed.

Turkish amber river pebble flooring in Master Bath shower.

Master bath shower done in travertine stone tile.

Whirlpool bath in Master Bathroom.

One of two large stacks of trim to be installed.

Fireplace mantel and trim in office.

Fireplace trim for Master Bedroom installed.

Coffered ceiling installed in Living Room.

Built-in bookshelves beside firplace in Living Room.

Coffered ceiling painted. Final wall paint color cut-in on back wall.

Trim work completed in Entrance Foyer and Dining Room.

Living Room columns.

Shutters installed on garage windows.

Shutters installed on basement windows.

First of the kitchen cabinets installed.

Kitchen cabinet design/layout.