Monday, December 12, 2011

a couple of before and afters



Before:
The entry the day we first saw it (luckily the camera does not capture the smell of the dead animals and mice in the woodpile)
After:


Before:

After:

Before:

 After:


You can see where the boards were sanded the other day -- that will fade in the coming days...
 More tomorrow!

xoxo

ps.  That's the wood stove between the two windows -- it gets hooked up tomorrow -- cannot wait to have a fire in it!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

installations

The porch is going in now...


And the stove, dishwasher and fridge were installed on Friday:

Ben and Luther putting the legs on the range
And the light is in the stairwell :)


More tomorrow!

xoxo

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

almost there

I can't capture the wall color, but it's a lovely and light, warm white -- it looks beige in these photos, but isn't.  A big thank you to Julie for suggesting BM Atrium White because it's perfect.

Here's the entryway, looking up into the tv room.  These southern windows look out on to the road, but the place is well-insulated enough that it's not noisy at all.  Plus, it's a dirt road in Vermont, so there's not a ton of traffic anyway :)


Below, the bedroom's on the left, the view from the bedroom to the back door is on the right.  The little nook you can see there on the right will house the washer and dryer.


And finally, this is an old photo from before the painting was done, but I wanted to post it for two reasons.  First, it's another glimpse of the floors, which we've decided to leave completely unfinished.  We may put a clear finish on them in the summer, but we're going to see how they wear;  we'll have (for the first time ever) a strict no-shoes policy, but there will be scratches and dents and all kinds of proof that two dogs (and two not-very-tidy humans) live here and that's just fine by us.  We love the light and warmth that the pine offers now and want to keep it as natural as possible.


The second reason I'm posting it is so you can see one of the barn-y features that will remain, namely the slight sag in the ceiling -- do you see it over there on the left?  Don't worry, we had a structural engineer take a really good look at the barn while we were in escrow and it's as stable as can be, but it is a barn and will sag and sigh like this as long as it stands.  What it does mean is that the builders had a lot of work to do to even up all the walls and ceilings and floors -- there was a lot of shimming going on! -- and they did an amazing job with it.  Every corner of this place has been so beautifully and meticulously done;  we're really, really lucky to have such great guys working here.

So, the electrician's here today finishing up the lighting and switches, the fridge goes in tomorrow and by the weekend I'll be able to start hauling kitchen stuff over and putting it away (!!), though we won't be moving the big stuff in until the 17th.  We think we have all of our handles and knobs sorted out, although Bobo and I are still bargaining:  he wants to keep the walls in the game room/studio upstairs knotty pine and I want to paint them;  I want to put leather pulls on the bedroom closets and he really, really doesn't want to, so we're going to compromise in one way or another.  What will it be?

And finally, yesterday the UPS man delivered a pendant that I ordered in September for the front entry, but it turns out that the website -- one of those subscription super-sale sites -- listed the wrong measurements, so it's too small for that space.  But it *is* perfect for the staircase and I love it.  Especially because it's one of the only decor items we've actually bought for the barn;  the rest will have to come very, very slowly as part of the twenty-year plan!  In the meantime, I will enjoy looking at this beauty every time I go up and down the stairs :)



Friday, December 2, 2011

painting

With all the windows covered in plastic it looks just a little too much like a serial killer's house...

Primer going on
Bobo stressed, but excited :).  Stairs!

You can still see all my paint swatches through the primer, but they won't be an issue once the actual paint goes on -- the primer will seal the wall so all of the pigment is soaked in uniformly.  Thank goodness, because I painted swatches ev-er-y-where!

More soon,
A
xoxo