ooohhh boy

It sure has been a long time since I have posted anything. LOTS has happened. We moved in, got engaged, added housemates, and have slowly but surely been finishing projects.

Last time any of your saw, our main tiling wasn't even finished. Here is where we left off:

unfinished kitchen

Since this photo the floor was finished, we added trim to the french doors, appliances were installed, backsplash was completed (compliments of my wonderful Matt), and we have made it home. 

finished product. love the backsplash and pendant light.

trim around the doors and glass in the cabinet doors :) nice little touches

finished granite tiled counters

backsplash detail that matt designed

We received a set of table and chairs from Matt's grandma, which we refinished with some fun fabric:

the paisley is on the two end chairs while the small plaid is on the inside four

 We have also taken down quite a few trees, both in the front yard and back. We added some gravel to expand the driveway:

big backyard tree

whoops... 

one section of the fence faced a fatality during the takedown, but we fixed it and here is the after shot

temporary expanded driveway

guest bathroom - before shot

we added a vanity and tiled floor

matt's great tiling job on the counter and floor

we took a little different approach on the guest bathroom... vertical subway tiles!

fun backsplash! i love the rocks

So that is most of our progress since we moved in April. We have also added a peninsula in our kitchen, but that will be saved for the next post. :)

Oh, and here is my beautiful ring :)

love :)

closer and closer

I think I always say this is going to be a little update, and then it turns into a full post! But I am really going to try and keep this short as it is late and I should be sleeping. :)

The floors are almost complete. The contractors just need to seal the tiles and the carpet is all in, so we are just steps away from checking that off the list. Having the carpet and tiles installed has really made this house feel more like a home. And that is exciting! We are working on getting the appliances installed, doors hung on the cabinets, last minute paint touch-ups and adding some recycled trim around the French doors. Once we move we will still be working on the back splash in the kitchen, and the guest bathroom still needs tile work on the floors and shower walls, but that is something we can work on as time allows. I think it will help keep us in project mode! The backyard is a whole separate story however! Matt has decided we are just going to neglect it this summer and mainly work on getting all the garbage and dead shrubs and leaves out. We have a couple potted plants, but other than that we are going to be working on repairing things out there this year.

Here are a couple photos of the floors. They are not complete yet, but pretty close and you can see the idea:

Family room area and kitchen. We used 18" tiles called Toasted Almond. I love the color and depth of them  

Still love those French doors

Master with carpet

Ronda had a good word to describe the carpet... sand. And I love thinking about sand because it usually means sun, summer and fun :)

Hallway from the top of the stairs

And the downstairs bathroom/laundry

I am so pleased with everything!! It is great watching these final stages come together. That's it for now... I'm sure there will be more this weekend with the finishing touches being added.

quick update

Well, we are getting closer!! This week our contractor will start laying tile downstairs. Thursday the toilets get installed and then Friday we are getting the carpet. After that all the "major" projects will be done. Actually I maybe shouldn't say that because everything is a work in progress and we still have to tile the guest bathroom shower and floor, as well as deal with the yard and paint the exterior. However... the house will be livable after this week. :)

Last week and over the weekend some major things happened. We had a few windows installed, the French doors were installed, we had some of the major kitchen appliances delivered and the cabinets are now installed back on the walls. Here you can see for yourself:

Living room window

Lovely French doors

Master window

I just can't believe how much better the kitchen looks now and it's not even finished! Here is a before:

The original

ANNDDD.... the progress so far:

Almost the same angle. Just imagine when the doors are on the cabinets and the tile is down. Thank you to all involved on this project. You somehow made it all come together perfectly :)

A little further away

Once the tile is installed we will add the fridge and the backsplash

And lastly, Matt finished the tile in the master bathroom this weekend. I absolutely LOVE it. Especially the accent tiles in the shower. :) Notice how it matches the backsplash!

The new shower!

And the floor... I love this tile too. This bathroom turned out so much better than I had even imagined! 

It has been grueling and tiring, but things are coming together so well and I am so happy with the outcome so far. It was very nerve-racking choosing all the colors, products and styles from scratch but I think it is turning out quite nicely. And again, a special thanks to the Withrow family who has offered more time, energy and wisdom than I could have even imagined. We wouldn't have been able to do all this without you guys! :) 

the small things

I have to say, sometimes it's the small things that make a world of a difference. Yesterday Ronda and I got a quick lesson on how to be a do-it-yourself electrician. And WOW! I am so glad we did. I think within the first week of being homeowners all the covers and plates were removed from the outlets. We knew they'd need to be off to paint, and we also knew we wanted to replace them all with newer whiter outlets. That being said, I have gotten completely used to looking at unfinished, dirty, uncovered outlets. After our lesson we went straight to work and as of today about 75% of the outlooks and light switches are not only clean and white, but they also have covers! It makes the walls look finished and I am so impressed with how much that small change made.

Now... on to the bigger things. Matt and I had talked about a couple different options for the kitchen counters. Originally we talked about a quartz slab, but as time has gone by we revisited that topic and decided that it would be more cost effective for us to tile. Since Matt has become such a pro from the bathrooms and shower, we knew we could get the job done! We purchased 12"x12" tiles in Desert Storm from Tile For Less in Kirkland and got a screaming deal! Matt and Tom set to work, laying the plywood and cutting a hole for the gigantic sink I picked up. Since we chose the darker color for the kitchen cabinets, this granite will give the room a very modern look. The stainless steel appliances will also make this room look chic and I can't wait!

Sadly I don't have a good shot that shows the counter before... But you can see the color of the "backsplash" here and it is an older creamy yellow color. You can also get a feel for the old cabinets. 

And the hole for the sink is made! For a second we were nervous the sink I got was going to be too big for this cabinet space, but it fits... barely! 

A sink and tile test!

And there you have it! The beginnings of a new granite counter!

This is a section that goes between the range and the fridge, but it is "finished" and you can really see how nice the cabinet color goes with the granite.  

Once last shot of the sink. It isn't caulked in yet, but we wanted to see what it would look like. :)

 The bathrooms are almost finished as well. This weekend we picked up light shades and medicine cabinets:

Downstairs bathroom. Still love this backsplash! 

Upstairs bathroom, which so far we have only painted and replaced the medicine cabinet.  

And last but not least, the master bath... New light shades and medicine cabinet. All these new items were purchased from Lowe's in case anyone was wondering!

 Our French doors are waiting to be installed, the tile is ready to go in both upstairs bathrooms, the backsplash for the kitchen has been purchased, most of the appliances are on the way, and we are definitely getting into the phase of finishing the projects. Tearing down was fun, but putting things back together is so much more fulfilling! We have a couple mirrors to hang, some new drywall to paint, but we are getting close to the finish line!!! Granted... the work won't be "over" for a long time as there are so many other little projects, but the main ones are getting closer to being finished!

Thanks for sticking with us this far! :)

decks and bathrooms and cabinets, oh my!

I have been a complete slacker, I will admit it right now. We have been working away and when I finally get home all I want to do is go straight to bed. But here are a few updates to the house project: Our French doors and few windows have been ordered. Half of the appliances have been ordered. Our granite tiles for the kitchen counters have been purchased The tiling in the bathrooms is almost complete. We have a new roof (yay!!). The gas has been run to the range, dryer and fireplace. The deck is basically completely removed and slowly but surely things are coming together, especially thanks to the great team we have helping out (aka the Withrow clan). Things are really moving along quite nicely. And since words can only do so much justice, here are a few photos to prove it:

Old Deck and TONS of bamboo

Hot tub/leaf collector

Tree cut-out in deck

Back of the house, you can see the old roof covered in moss and the deck and railings

That little stump is the tree that used to grow up through the deck

This is how we got rid of some of the old branches/deck debris until an unknown neighbor complained..

The deck is gone! And see how nice the roof looks? 

Stand alone hot tub... it will be leaving soon too. 

And then we also have made some great progress on the bathrooms:

Cabinets painted white and the counter tops tiled

Subway tiling is coming along great! Thank you Matt!

New light and backsplash, check. We also painted the walls a light grey.  

(a before picture, in case you were like me and forgot what it used to look like before these transformations)

And a sneak peak on the kitchen cabinets. They are almost done and look fantastic, especially with the granite tiles we chose. 

This was the Cabinet Transformations in Kona.

A few doors will have glass added for a special look. :)

The counter tiles in the downstairs bathroom are also done... 

I can't wait to see the final product! This has been a learning process for both Matt and I, but it has been spectacular as well. I don't think a single thing will be left untouched in this house, and it will truly be ours once it's completed. We also just planted a handful of herbs in some pots and we hope to have a small garden next year with more herbs and veggies!