For some reason that will most likely never be explained, Josh and I both had a huge mental block when it came to deciding on how to finish our stairs. Until now. We looked at all sorts of fancier and more "designed" stair rails but couldn't fins anything that felt right for the house. Then, when on my way upstairs at my parents' place, I saw the answer right in front of me... we should just copy the super simple period rails that my folks had. Which is exactly what we did, and I must say I'm very happy with the results.

We also decided to paint the stairs (and the upstairs hallway floor) the same bright hue that we'd had in the first incarnation of this place (the unromantically named Janovic safety orange... see photo below) just to keep a little continuity going. It's also amazing how adding a little color makes a place really begin to feel like it's yours. Plus how fun is this orange?

We have yet to do the second coat, and we'll be painting the rails white to match the walls, but I feel like a giant hurdle has been overcome. we're getting so close now-- I can feel it!

ps: more bathroom details in the next post... I realized that I needed to take better pictures of the fixtures before I could talk about them properly!

Let me tell you a little story of a room. It's not completed as of yet, but we can go a long way towards the finish line in photos. I find that it is very very therapeutic to do this, especially as things right now seem to be going frustratingly slowly.

Here's a photo looking into our downstairs bathroom last September:

I forgot how much I liked that green color. I must make a note to try and get a bit more color happening in the new version of the house, if not in this particular room. There was a small three legged claw foot tub behind the door and the entrance was in the living room area, so if we had people over for dinner, going to the bathroom was a somewhat public event. Plus the floor was built directly over the ground, so there were areas where you could see through to the dirt.

Cute, but in need of help.

Here's a photo during the demo:

The fixtures are all gone and you get a better idea of the window placement. The plan was to make the bathroom accessible from the guest room and the kitchen, which required some pocket door action as well as the elimination of a tub. We also moved this old window upstairs and put in a new one here.

Then comes the long long period where nothing is done and we worry abstractly about tile. I finally get smart and ask around the Domino offices and am advised to head over to the Ann Sacks showroom to see what they've got to offer. The answer is, quite a bit, despite the fact that the first time I meet Josh there he hasn't eaten lunch and is therefore predisposed to hate everything he sees. We make numerous trips back, measure and re measure our floor, shower stall and wall and finally, much thanks due to the lovely Anna Daly, decide on a beautiful tile by Heath Ceramics in a color called "sand rutile" whatever that means.

Of course we order them right away, but they take around 6 weeks to get to us (special order from California!) But they finally arrive and are ready to be installed, little square tiles for the shower floor (to allow for proper drainage) and 2 x 6 rectangles for the rest of the room. Here they are on the floor, ready to go:

Josh has carefully drawn out exactly how the tiles should be laid out, and we chose a grout color that is slightly lighter than the tiles, to keep the room feeling a bit more open. Here, at long last, are a couple of pictures of the bathroom as it is now, somewhat primed (not painted yet) but with the tiles and the fixtures in place. For a larger view, click on the images:

So there you have it. No need to go into how thrilled we are at the results. Suffice to say that the next time I see Anna Daly from the Ann Sacks showroom, I'm going to give her a big hug and kiss.

We don't need to get into the fixtures this time... I'll save it for the next post, as I can't imagine you're all not a bit tired of reading at this point. We're now just waiting for the glass shower door to be made (2 weeks, supposedly) and then we'll be in business! Who knows, we may even have painted by that time. But don't hold your breath.

Here's a photo (from back in June) of our just-delivered woodstove, sitting (askew) in the lovely alcove we'd designed for it. If you haven't been following since the beginning, there was a stove in the house when we bought it, smack in the middle of the main first floor area. We went to great lengths to save it, only to discover that it was a cheap 1990's imitation from Taiwan, which explains why it didn't really warm up the house when we lit it up. We then went to the lovely folks at the Good Time Stove Company and got ourselves an authentic, refurbished Portland Franklin stove from the period that the house was originally built. Much better.

We decided, after much haggling, to cover the alcove walls with brick. The old stove had a white painted brick chimney, which we liked, plus it's a super fireproof material, which is all important. The bricklayers came in, put this metal tracking stuff up and then laid the bricks, after carefully consulting with Josh (the ever particular husband) and Mark (the ever conscientious contractor) as to the exact pattern. They even practiced it on the floor first. Here's the brick mostly in place:

Then the mortar goes in and voila! A lovely bricked in area that is cozy and safe for the woodstove to reside within. Now it's time to unwrap it all and put in the chimney... but oh no wait... they forgot to send along the unit that allows a modern 8 inch stove pipe to attach to the irregular oval shaped opening at the top of our stove. Ooops. So now we're waiting for this lovely guy in Massachusetts to fabricate it for us and send it on down. At that point, we get to finish the chimney and build and brick the ceiling area. Till then, here's the unwrapped stove sitting in it's almost finished home...

Nothing is ever straightforward, is it?

OK, this is an old photo, but it gives you all an idea of what my current issue is. What the hell are we going to do with these walls? We have two options and I'd love it if some of you out there would weigh in. I have always assumed that we would paint the bead board some neutral color (probably the same white that we've been using upstairs) To me, painted wood looks and feels older, and more authentic, plus the walls in this house have always been painted and I'm a sucker for continuity. Josh, on the other hand, loves the wood raw. Seems like men are into woody stuff. I've vetoed raw, as it I think it feels like a cabin in the woods, rather than a summery beach house. Plus I think it's kind of over doing it, what with the wood ceilings, floors and countertops.

Enter whitewashing. It makes the walls a bit more neutral, but you can still see the grain of the wood through the color. Here's a photo of what that looks like, from a past issue of Domino:

I've liked all of the images of whitewashing I've seen, but in most of them, the walls are pretty bare-- letting the wood do the talking. We have a fair amount of art that we'd like to hang. Will the knots showing through prove too busy for walls like that? Will the place feel as old as it actually is, or will we been creating a modern feeling house? Also, is it true that pine (our walls) doesn't take as well to whitewashing as, say, a cedar might?

Can anybody help us? I'm still leaning towards painting, but I'm very open to any arguments in favor of the other process...

After consulting several experts, we've finally decided on a finish for the kitchen counters. Chase Booth, who does all sorts of set building for Domino (as well as builds houses on the side) told us that Danish Oil was the way to go, so I'm taking his word for it. It's essentially linseed oil, which is what the people who supplied the counter material recommended, so I feel like we're making a good decision. First step is to find the greenest version possible, which we did... it's from a company called Tried and True, is solvent free and contains no heavy metal driers. Now it's time to get to work.   

We need to make sure that the surface is completely dust free. A bit of a challenge in what is essentially a construction site. I borrowed my folks' vacuum and got to work:

This took forever!! So many cracks full of sawdust, etc. But finally I'm done and can move on the the application of the oil. It's really thin, and they instruct you to put on a super thin coat, wait 5 minutes for it to soak in, and then wipe off the excess with a lint free cloth. Which I do, in stages. Here's what it looks like about half way through the process:

I thought this whole thing would take me around an hour, but it ended up taking three times that long. Whatever. It looks great and we've only done the first coat! Each weekend that we come out, we'll do another until the wood stops soaking up the oil. After that, an annual touch up is all you need to keep them looking beautiful and totally chemical free. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment every time I look at this picture:

Imagine how great it will look once we've painted the cabinets white to match the range...

Check it out.... Our light (click here if you want more info) has been hung over the kitchen counter (technically known as a peninsula, but I can't quite deal with that term) Doesn't it look great? The salesman at Moss was right, the scale works really well in the room and makes a dramatic statement. Plus the ball is so reflective that you can see what's going on all over the first floor-- great for the future when I'm trying to keep my eyes on a toddler....

Just wanted to show you guys a slightly better (aka neater, with less junk on the counters) photo of the in-progress kitchen... this time with the backsplash in place behind the stove. How great does it look? And they matched the color perfectly. At least we'll have one super easy-to-clean surface in our kitchen.

Also check out the great little corner shelving unit we found at the fabulous Sage Street Antiques, one of the best local antiques shops in town. We were really excited to put it up and discover that our hunch was right-- it fits perfectly in that space, as if it were custom made!

Little steps, sure, but every one of them counts.

First off, I know that we're crazy to have put in wood counters. I know. But I just am not into any kind of marble or granite stuff and corian, which has its moments, feels too modern for the place, especially as we're already rocking the stainless steel sink, faucet and dishwasher. So we've got what is called wormy chestnut, supplied to us by the same great folks who supplied us with our wood floors, the Antique Lumber Co. in Water Mill. Josh and I think they look great, but we're going to have to do a bit of work to get them into shape for actual use.

Here's a close up:

The wood has so much character to it, plus any new scratches or dents will only add to it's excellence. And don't worry, we'll be cutting our food, etc, on cutting boards. We will need to fill up some of the larger holes. There are a few dooseys in there-- not quite sure what to use-- wood putty, or maybe some kind of sawdust-in-glue type of thing? Anyway, all suggestions will be noted and appreciated.

Then comes the actual finishing (though we may do a coat of finish first, before sealing up the holes, like we've learned works so well when you're painting and spackling) We've gotten loads of suggestions, but I'm thinking I may listen to Chase Booth, who fixes up houses with his architect boyfriend for a living (or part of one.) He's really into Danish Oil, which is some kind of treated linseed oil. He's used it on his wood counters for years, and swears by it. He actually told me I'm a fool if I use anything else. Hmmmmm.... what to do??

Check it out, folks. Here's our kitchen. Not finished, God forbid, but at least the major players are in position. We still need the backsplash for the stove (we're powder coating a piece of metal so it'll match the  white finish) and the cabinets need some finish work (like pulls and handles and painting and the bottom molding, panels for the fridges, etc etc etc) but we actually borrowed some pans from my parents and cooked breakfast here, which felt amazing. We even put our raw dining room tabletop on saw horses and ate at the table, to experience the closest thing we've had to normal living in quite some time.

Some more photos:

Here you see the two under-the-counter fridges.... well actually, one is a fridge and the other is a combo fridge/freezer. Both from Sub Zero-- a splurge, but I'm hoping they will be worth it. The under the counter thing is very much my husband's obsession, but I must admit that it makes our small kitchen feel more open without a full sized unit. I'll get used to bending down for my food, I suppose, and I must admit that they have a surprising amount of room inside. I think we'll probably hunt around for a fridge to keep in the basement for when we need extra space-- maybe a scratched floor model or something, as we sure don't want to spend more $$ that we have to, at this point. It'll be like the old ice box in my grandparents cellar!

Underneath the sink is another new-to-me item: a sponge drawer. Never had one of those before. When they finally finish it, we'll be able to leave our sponges and brillo-type pads in there which will also help with the general neatness factor. Josh is obsessed with finding a proper place for everything in the kitchen, and as he's the main chef in the family, I take his lead. Happily, I might add.

Here's a close up of the sink, in all of it's glory:

You may all remember our search for these items. (If not, voyage here where I discuss them at length.) It's a bit smaller than my ideal size, but super deep, which makes for satisfying dish washing. And the faucet has proved itself to be a real winner as well-- both in the 360 degree rotation and the pull out head cum shower nozzle. Plus the wide arc of the arm puts the water flow well inside the sink-- something that you may not think about before buying but that is CRUCIAL to a well appointed wash area.

All in all, a satisfying journey towards completion, don't you think? Now we just have to get the cabinet guys in to finish their work, refinish the countertops, and paint the cabinets to be done. (notice that I'm not even addressing the painting of the walls. That's a whole other story to be addressed little by little as the season wears on.)

I'm back from vacation and must admit to being a bit sad about it. After all, I just came from 10 days of the above view (on many days, you can see the mainland from here, but my favorite are the foggy mornings when you really feel alone and at peace.) It was a much needed moment of pure relaxation, before we head back for the final countdown for both the house in Sag AND our lives as non-parents.

As for the fleas, they seem to have subsided, though I hate to even write that here for fear of their resurgence. We had the house bombed while we were away and when we got back, all seemed clear. We now have to wait another week or so for the stuff to really work its magic, and then we can think about moving some of our stuff back into the house. Check back later on today for the beginning of many updates.... there's been lots of progress that I'm excited to share with you all!