Chapter 7: Who remembers the game 'I spy'?
I'm so excited to share out the progress we've had since my post 2 weeks ago. We've dug ourselves out of the initial disaster of the move, and I'm finally able to type this piece from a nice quiet area of the house. I even opened both sets of French doors on the first floor so I could just soak in the sounds of the birds and breezes of our backyard.
I titled this post 'I Spy' because while things are definitely looking closer to complete, when you zoom in, you quickly see how much is left. It's insane how quickly spaces can transform when you're in the home stretch of finish and fixture installation, but we still have a 2-page punch list remaining. The list includes things like installing remaining lighting, revising our kitchen fridge cut-out so the fridge is flush with our cabinets, completing the intumescent paint required by code in our old existing mechanical space, grouting our upstairs shower, installing stone, installing our deck, and......you get the idea :)
What you'll see in the following images and video tour is how much things really have come along.
Looking ahead, I'm thinking of sharing a breakdown of project costs, as well as a 'source tour' of the house - where I provide the real details on all of the furniture and finishes, including how much I paid and where things came from, along with tips on what to do if you're looking to maximize value in your own home improvements. As a home improvement addict, I find it so helpful to benchmark pricing, lead times and sources so I can go into challenges armed with real info. Let me know if this is something you'd also like to see.
In the meantime, enjoy!
Looking From Our Old Living Room.
I spy a built-in oven and microwave sitting on the floor, ready to be installed in the kitchen island.
Looking To The Expanded Kitchen And Dining Spaces.
I spy a missing range hood, side panels and trim for the cabinets, lighting adjustments, under cabinet lighting, and stone counters yet to be installed.
A View to Our New Family Room.
I spy a giant pile of stuff in the foreground, yet to be organized, 2 recessed lights that need to be reinstalled, and missing family room sofas and lounge chairs that arrive later this month.
Down Our New Basement Stairs.
I spy a missing glass wall straight ahead and a handrail on the stairs, needed for code.
You can't see it in the photos, but I spy a lamp sitting on a ream of paper on a folding table - since I haven't figured out what I want to do for the side table lol.
From our Old Master Bathroom.
I spy nothing. This view is absolutely perfect.
Our New Guest Bedroom.
I spy Maggie ready to play fetch, some missing artwork, drapery, a beautiful area rug arriving in August, and side tables, lounge chairs at the foot of the bed and finished bedding needed to complete the look.
The Upstairs Sun Room.
I spy nothing. This room is ready for me and a good book. Sigh........
And Finally... To My Fabulous First Floor Laundry.
I spy a new bound runner needed to replace the temporary one, missing stone counters, sink, and remaining cabinet base trim, hardware and the luxurious 11' chrome rod for hanging wet laundry! Oh, and I suppose the room is missing the normal 5 loads of laundry we accumulate in a week lol.
Last but not least, below is the tour of our new basement! If you want to see an even more remarkable transformation, take a look at the photos of the basement when we first bought the house 8 years ago - here and here. Believe it or not, there was a hair salon down there in the 1970's, and when we closed on the house, we had 2 weeks of asbestos remediation before we could even start subterranean demolition.