More progress

Finally, the huge island has been cut down to size!  Now, the granite countertop is yet to be installed, but it really does look better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, with that problem under control, we turned to other projects. Interior Designer Melinda Dickey (a woman of admirable patience as well as practical creativity) helped me visualize furniture placement again. The placement of the island dictated a bit of tweaking in the den.

 

 

Can you envision the new sofa (back against the sliding glass door) and the new chair (back to the camera)? The tape measures really help.

 

 

Here's one of those things that you run across in home renovation. The screening on the porch was fine. Just fine. Then, suddenly there was a hole in one of the screens near the door. Boo.  I was hoping that the hole could just be patched, but it would cost almost as much money to patch it as to re-screen the whole thing. So, now, instead of a screened porch, I have an open-air porch!  (Temporarily.)

 

 

 

I'll have some more photos in a few days.  Thanks for following along with me!  Love, Carolyn

New driveway at last

Here we go!  After several weather delays, I have a new driveway!

 

To recap, here is the original, cracked, and deteriorated driveway:

 

 

 

 

This view looks from the back yard out into the street.

 

Finally, the construction time line was right and the weather cooperated. So, the prep work was completed (below):

 

 

You've seen the mud bog before, but it's worth reviewing here!

 

 

 



 

The old driveway was removed.

 



 

 

 

 

Forms were put in place, and a base of sand was put in place.

 

 

Above photo is the area at the new back entrance and at the base of the stairs to the back porch.

 

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The big concrete truck arrived (from Randy Buchanan's concrete plant -- ha! I didn't know that until the truck showed up.) and the workers began.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I envisioned the truck backing down the driveway and just dumping the concrete out onto the ground, but that was not the procedure here!  Once again, my favorite pieces of construction equipment, the little Bobcat thing, dropped one big scoop at a time, in the exact place for the guys to work it in and smooth it out.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They did a great job -- and this is NOT easy work!  I am amazed at how these fellows made this sloppy, lumpy, loose stuff into a smooth, even surface!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay -- now, once again, for comparison --

 

OLD driveway:

 

 

 

 

NEW driveway:

 

 

 

 

I wanted to scratch "2014" in a corner, but the concrete was too hard by the time I got back again to take these photos. Oh, well.

 

 

It looks like I might be moving in within a month or so. 

 

Thanks for tagging along with me, everyone.

 

Love, Carolyn



Kitchen photos by request

 

Hey, everyone. Here are some photos of the kitchen, showing the new backsplash with the "bling-y" accent stripe. The tile was installed today. It doesn't show well in these photos; I'll try to get better shots tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, in the photo above, you can see the refrigerator and the HUGE island. Here's another shot of the island, below. Or, as Sandy Hutton Owens says, "It's not an island. It's a continent!"  I agree.

 

 

 

 

The measurements were correct, but when it was brought into the kitchen it proved to be just way too big. It will be cut down by about 20 inches, and moved to the left at bit and also out (towards the camera) an inch or two.  See those boxes leaning against the island? That's about the line where the island will be cut. Then it will have granite put on the top with a taller bar area. Three bar stools are on order!

 

Okay. More later. One day construction will be finished and I'll actually LIVE here. Yeah. And one day Spring will come. Hold your breath.

 

Thanks for following along!  Love, Carolyn



 

Stops and Starts - Miscellaneous

Hey, everyone. Here are a few photos to update you further on the house renovations.

One of my FAVORITE things is the new front entry. Here is a photo of the original front door. This is what it looked like when I bought the house:

The door on the right is actually fake. It was odd to enter - once you were in the house it was okay, but it was just weird.

 

 

 

For a bit of perspective, here is what the whole entry looked like before the new went in.

 

 

Now -- voila!  Here is the new front entry!  A new door has been installed in the center of the space, and the formerly weird entry now looks a lot better, I think.

 

 

 

 

The paint around the new front door is sort of a light beige with some green in it -- it goes with the grout in the brick. I may repaint it later, but for now I think it looks nice with the wood grain (stained) front door. I like the beveled glass design, too.

 

 

 

 

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Back inside the house, as you enter the new back entry, I've established a nice little banquette breakfast area. Jeff the Carpenter made this lovely wooden piece that matches the lines of the kitchen cabinets. The seats are hinged and I can hide -- um...store -- yes, store, not hide  -- stuff in those cubbyholes. There will be upholstered cushions on the seats and a tall upholstered back on the wall. There will be a pretty round table there, and a couple of chairs.  I was lucky to capture Jeff's work on the banquette, in various stages of completion.

 

 

Jeff is hard at work!

 





A lot of progress now!

 



 

And, here it's almost finished!

 

 

 

And, voila!  The completed and painted banquette! All I need now is the table, chairs, and cushions!

 

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Here, Interior Designer Melinda ("Mel") Dickey is putting painter's tape on the floor so I can visualize the placement of the new chairs and sofa in the den. We discovered that even though the design is good we will need to do a bit of tweaking to maximize the traffic flow.  Thank you, Mel!

 

 

 

 

That's all for now!  Thanks again to everyone!  Love, Carolyn

 

Starts and Stops - Kitchen

Here are some photos of progress on the kitchen!

 

 

New granite countertops installed on the sink/dishwasher/stove side.

 



 

I can't wait for y'all to see the granite "in person". It's really lovely, even if I do say so myself.

 



.

 

More granite detail, above and below. This is called an "ogee" edge.

 

 

 



 

This shot (above) shows where the backsplash will be installed.

 

 

These two photos show the backsplash materials, ready to be installed. The white blocks are subway tile, with a crackle finish. The other "skinny" pieces will be installed as an accent stripe - Four skinny pieces are the same width as one of the subway tiles.   Instant bling!

 

 

Okay -- one last part of this installment. The cabinets in the master bath.

 

Before:

 

 

 

And After:

 

 

The same granite that is installed in the kitchen will go across this set of cabinets in the master bath. And additional cabinet "towers" will be on each side. Lotsa storage in there!

 

 

Okay -- more later! Thanks for your attention and kind words. Love, Carolyn





 

 

Starts and Stops - Driveway

Well, it has certainly been an interesting February! And, weather-wise, the "interesting" part has extended into March.  This has resulted in some of the projects in and around the house stopping and starting. I apologize for the lack of info here, but now I can report a few things.

 

The current agony is pouring the new driveway. The old, cracked concrete was removed, the area for the parking pad was all nicely graded and the forms were put into place, and then bad weather hit. You can't pour concrete when it is either too cold or too wet. So, recently it has been dry and very cold or warmer and wet.  Here are photos of the preparation process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old driveway --- Before.

 

 



 

 

Driveway with old concrete removed. (Hard to see with the shadows -- sorry).

 

 



 

 

View from the street.The beginning of the grading/prep process. Sticky red clay.

 

 

 

Grading all done; forms and sand all in place now. Same view.

 

 



 

Grading on the parking pad area.

 

 

 

Another angle here. (I love that little Bobcat thing.)

 



 

 

Above -- grading and forms placement completed for the new parking pad for two cars (sort of out of the photo, but it's on the left), and the "landing pad" at the steps to the back porch (center). The concrete will also extend to the bottom of the new back entrance (column and brick thing, above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dump truck dropped all the sand/gravel/whatever on the street right in front of the house! I was a bit concerned about this. Construction has been underway since November, and I'm sure the poor neighbors think that the property will ALWAYS look like a construction site! And now there is this whole pile of stuff right in the street!  But, I must admit that the guys cleaned up 99% of it to put right in the driveway and parking pad. There is only a bit left. Whew.

 

 

That's all for now -- more inside stuff in the next post! Thanks for following along with me.

Love, Carolyn