That's right folks. Our floors have just been finished, and they look good. The whole downstairs (kitchen, main room, guest room, pantry-- everything but the bathroom, which is getting tiles) is covered with this beautiful, salvaged wide plank pine. Check it out for yourselves. Here's the main room:

And here's the guest room:

It's been a long time in coming (I think we ordered them back in the fall) but well worth the wait. Mostly our fault, actually. They were sitting in a warehouse awaiting delivery for months while we got the rest of the place ready to accept them. Of course we are now obsessed with keeping them pristine and take our shoes off before we enter, but that will pass, hopefully. Especially after we spill the first glass of red wine or drag the too-heavy-to-carry couch across them for the first time.

My hats off to the fabulous Disbrows of The Antique Lumber Co. in Water Mill. These folks really know their wood, and care so much more about what they are selling then your typical vendor. A real pleasure to work with, if you are anywhere near the east end of Long Island. Can't say enough good things about them. I am, in fact, going to be pestering them with questions about proper care, etc, long into the future. They also supplied us with the wood for our kitchen counter tops, as well as our front door (more on these later) which we are really excited about as well. Plus they sent us to the wise (and very Irish) Larry of Wexford  Total Flooring who did the most stunning job of installing and finishing these babies. He's at 516.250.0988. No website, but trust me, this man is a genius.

There is something about having finished floors that suddenly gives one hope that yes, we might some day actually live in this house.

Some day....

I've been in London for the past few days working on a story for the magazine and just admiring the beautiful fixtures that they have over here. The English really have it all over us when it comes to light switches and shower heads. Here are a few photos from my hotel room...

In the shower. One beautiful lever, controlling the volume and the temperature of the water. Works like new, but has the patina of an antique. Sigh.

At the sink, more lovely old fashioned faucets.

And then, at the entrance to the room, to gracefully turn on the lights:

...a classic brass dimmer switch-- a far cry from the plastic numbers you see all over the US. I am sad that I have to leave for home this morning, without the time to scour the hardware stores of London for treasures to bring home. I can only imagine the wealth of drawer pulls that there must be laying about. Oh well. I know there are great finds to be had stateside as well.

Now lets hope that I get an aisle seat on the flight back...

Ooops! It turns out that the meticulous diagram of the  HVAC grille was actually done not by  Architectural Grille, but by my husband Josh. He sent it to them in order to ensure that they were making exactly what we wanted. Far be it from me to give credit to the incorrect party, especially when it results in me missing an opportunity to sing Josh's praises.

There you have it. I stand corrected.

So here's the pdf of the grille that we're going to get. I must say that I like working with a company that sends over detailed drawings of things before they just go ahead and make them:

That's right people. This is the type of thing that gets me excited these days. Damn.

Next up, we search for stair rails. I am, for some reason, hugely intimidated by this prospect. If anyone has any ideas for us, please pass them my way. Please. Not kidding. I have no idea where to even begin.

God forbid it be simple and just work out perfectly the first time out. We needed a larger vent in the living room to complete the HVAC system, and I guess the standard ones only come in one size... Needless to say, when we got back to the house and saw the odd hack job of an installation, (cut through the molding! cover part of the slate shelf!) Josh lost it. I stood quietly by, comfortable in the knowledge that only one of us needs to go ballistic at a time to get things done. We met with our architect, who agreed that it was not a good look and suggested we have a grille made at Architectural Grille in Brooklyn. A custom grille sounded complicated, but it turned out to be quite easy.

Or fairly easy. We found the website, called for directions, and set out this morning to the showroom to check out what they've got. It took us almost an hour to find it (because they misled us slightly by telling us it was in swanky Park Slope, when it's actually in the industrial Gowanus area) Once we finally found the spot (see photo below for an idea of it's obscure location) we were thrilled to learn that they even make grilles out of wood, so that it'll fit in perfectly with the rest of the walls.

Here's where we were this morning-- all that's missing is the tumbleweed:

We chose a very simple pattern that should work nicely with the horizontal bead board walls:

...but they have all sorts of beautifully complicated patterns that can be cut. The wood is slightly limited style-wise, as one doesn't want to cut it up so much that it's not structurally sound. Still, there's plenty to choose from. We've yet to get the estimate, etc, so I'll keep you all updated on how the process goes. Unless it's insanely expensive, it'll be worth it to have something that not only fits our space perfectly, but is made of the same material as the wall and blends seamlessly into the rest of the scenery.

Finally, the systems are beginning to work. We've got light switches that are connected to lights that actually go on. We've got one working toilet and one sink (more on that later.) And, most excitingly, we've got a central AC system that works like a dream.

I believe I've written about the Unico system in an earlier post... It's great for older homes because the ducts are actually made of flexible tubing that can fit easily in between old walls, etc. And the vents are almost invisible. To wit:

This is the vent in the floor of our dining room. The hole is probably 2 inches wide and the wooden surround will be finished along with the floors, making it blend in all the more. And oh, when we turned it on.... It's quieter than a single window unit in our city apartment. Even when you are standing right next to the condenser outside. It's super easy to operate, needs minimal maintenance...  I cannot say enough positive things about this little number. Except that it's 30% more efficient than most other HVAC systems and even regulates the humidity in the place.

My husband Josh turned it on and just stood there, smiling, saying that he now feels like he is living in his very own hotel. Which from him is high praise indeed. Perhaps there actually is a light at the end of the tunnel...

Voila, a push button switch happily covered by it's very own switch plate. How great does this look? And they work wonderfully... this one is actually one of the normal switches, but the dimmers look just as good, and the action is really satisfying-- a nice smooth transition from dim to bright.

All a woman could want in a light switch.

How does one marry my love for super old-school style with my husband's obsession with dimmer switches? Look no further than the William A. Kilian Hardware Co. in Philadelphia, PA. God bless the internet. Check these out:

They have all sorts of button switches, including dimmers, so that we can both be happy. Plus their customer service is top rate-- you actually speak to a friendly and knowledgeable person when you call them up with questions. When does that ever happen? They also have a wide variety of garden supplies, housewares and other hardware that is well worth checking out.

I'm heading out to the house now... hopefully the switches have been installed so that I can give them a test run and report back to you all.

Here's the faucet we finally selected Thursday night. The Hansgrohe interactiv with the pull out spray. It's got everything we need, PLUS we can actually get our hands on it fairly quickly. Like tomorrow, God willing. Ckling, you'll be happy to know (or maybe not) that we went with a slightly thicker handle. Turns out that you have a choice of several styles, and I think my husband Josh took your comment to heart.

We also chose a sink from a company that I've never heard of called Julien. I had my heart set on white fireclay, but we had to go with a stainless steel sink because we needed an unusual size. I think Josh is secretly happy as it looks more like the commercial kitchen sink of his dreams. Plus our new buddy Gus (at the same showroom where we got the stove and fridges) raved about how great this company is. They're Canadian, so it doesn't surprise me. They believe in customer service up there. Here's a photo, so you can get the general idea:

We are now in high gear, trying to at least be able to 'live' in the house by the middle of the month. And by live I mean one working toilet, a kitchen sink and the stove, electricity and running water. Many many things have to go right for this to happen, though, so I'm not holding my breath.

About 20 minutes after I posted yesterday (oh... Happy Independence Day, by the way) my husband sent me a whole set of new faucets to check out. He was technically at work, but actually hanging out on the Home Depot site. I figured I'd put them up here and see what you all have to say about them, if anything...

The American Standard:

Another modern one, with a pull down spray attachment that extends 9 inches. Is 9 inches enough?

The Blanco:

This one comes with a matching sprayer, and I like the square shape, but it's the most expensive of the bunch, which gives me pause...

The Hansgrohe Higharc:

This one also has the pull out sprayer, but they don't say anything about how far it reaches, so I am suspicious... Oh and there's also this model from the same company:

This one has multi-spray options and, like it's cousin above, has a spout that swivels 360 degrees, making it a great pot filler, too.

I have NEVER EVER given this much thought to kitchen faucets. And by the end of last night (yep, no exciting parties for us... we spent out 4th online looking at this stuff) I had to admit to secretly wishing we'd never even started the reno. But I have since gotten over my bad attitude and am moving towards a more zen attitude where a six week lead time doesn't send me over the bend.

I have spent the better part of yesterday and today talking myself down from the ledge because it seems that nothing we actually want to use for a kitchen sink and faucet is in stock, and we were too stupid to buckle down and place an order before we actually needed to install the stuff. So there I was yesterday, with my plumber all ready to go but only half of what we need actually on hand.I am slowly realizing that having a working shower and kitchen is just not going to happen for a while. AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Whatever. I just have to get over myself and learn this lesson once and for all. Figure out what you need well in advance and order it, and you won't have be be sitting there just waiting for the stuff to show up before you can install it. Harrumph.

Here are the three faucets we're considering now for the kitchen. Let me know what you think. remember (or maybe you never knew), the counters are going to be reclaimed chestnut and the sink is (hopefully) an undermount white fireclay number.  Painted white cabinets, a white enamel Viking stove and a stainless steel dishwasher.

Number 1:

But in a chrome or stainless finish. This is the first one that Josh found (it's by KWC) and it's a little crazy, but we both like it. The only problem is that it doesn't come with a sprayer, so we'd have to get one of those separately. And who wants to have to make yet another decision?

Number 2:

A little less extreme, plus the sprayer. This one is a Rohl.

Number 3:

Completely out of left field, but this Cucina model is much closer to the faucet of my husband's dreams. It's not as huge as the industrial sized ones, though, rising up about 15 inches from the sink. Plus you've got the spray attachment all in one, which solves that little problem nicely. But it's totally modern, while our house is old. But the stove and the dishwasher are modern, too, so maybe who cares...

Thoughts? Comments?

So we have reached the glorious point, upstairs at least, where we can begin to make the rooms look like finished spaces rather than a construction zone. Plus, as far as the bathroom goes, it's important to get at least one coat of paint up before you install the sink and tub, thus making the final coats easier to apply (and much neater!) Exciting! My job is to do the prep work... filling in all the nail holes and little cracks before we prime the walls and floors. A pain in the neck to do, but totally worth it (though sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to look this closely at the floor behind the toilet again!)

We found the most AMAZING primer made by AFM. It's called the Safecoat New Wallboard Primecoat HPV and it is specially designed to go over new wallboard and other raw surfaces, smoothing them out and making the eventual paint application that much more smooth and easy. It's so thick, it actually fills in small holes and some of the spaces between the floor and the moldings, and it covers whatever it goes on like nobody's business. It is truly a joy to work with. Plus-- and if you ask me this is it's biggest selling point-- it's extremely low in VOCs, which are the toxic chemicals that can cause so much harm to the environment. It hardly gives off any odor, so you don't have to hang out for hours in a smelly room while you're carefully priming your shelves. Nothing makes me happier than finding (and using!) a green product that is both affordable and superior in quality to the run of the mill stuff. Just for kicks, here's a photo of my husband Josh priming the bathroom floor. We're going to paint all of the walls and floors different shades of creamy off-whites, which will make the whole place feel warm and bright-- just what the doctor ordered for a beach house. Oh and if you're in the NYC area, check out Bettencourt Green Building Supplies in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where I got this miracle paint. They are super knowledgeable about all things necessary for green building!

It took him a couple of tries before he perfected the 'don't-mess-with-me-I'm-a-busy-workman' look. How do you think he did?