Things getting a little DARK! Pic explained at the end.

No this isn't about a power outage, or chocolate, or gloom and doom. It is about the newly stained floors at Russell Street. Wow! The floors are shaping up to be incredible. The half of the house that was replaced with a nice dark cherry solid wood floor, due to the villanous termites, is now matched with the original existing floors and a new, very closely matched, stain. I stand amazed at how something from 1914 can be stripped back to the bare wood and enriched again with new stain. No pictures yet as I am limited to which part I can access until they are sealed.

The rest of the crew are beginning to pull together the final touches. Travis and David and I met to go over some very important details like the look of the new fireplace mantles, the facilitator for the onyx vessal in the powder room, the re-attachment of the porch railings, the color for the stain on the new porch, and a few other details you will be able to see the result of later.

Steve R. will be installing the black granite island counter top this morning. This will make the kitchen really begin to take shape. When the appliances arrive, we will almost be able to make those brownies, Mom!

This week-end, I am manning the Capel Rug Outlet booth at the Moore County Home Builders Home and Garden Show. Last night was the preview night and had a great turn-out. Just what I need are some more great ideas. There are some impressive booths at the show and a couple I have to check out further especially some of the landscaping exteriors. Can't really think about that now until we get inside.

American Sky...

Nothing to do with the house. This was just an interesting picture this morning and it needed to be shared. The only thing missing are the golden arches (McDonalds) just to the left had I zoomed out a little!

Pink, white, black, and gray!

Great to compare from then to now...

Everyone showed up today....well minus one!

Today was a great day at Russell Street. Plumbers, painters, marble fabricators, and floor sanders all worked today at the house. Each and every one making their contribution to the improvements of the project. The long awaited white marble is now in place in the kitchen and the upstairs bath vanity. The vintage styled faucet is now installed at the tub. Plumbers worked to insure we have running water and it works! More painting in the kitchen and bedrooms. Floor sanding is close to being complete. It is amazing how great the old floors look without the layers of dark stain or paint. One sub missing was the kitchen guy. No shock there! Where's Waldo is our new game to search for the missing kitchen sub.

Paint... Sand... Apply!

Hmmm. That could refer to an auto body shop or a cosmetic counter at the mall or it could simply be what is scheduled at 242 N. Russell next week. The paint is quickly covering all of the new walls and areas that only eight months ago, were demolished to resemble a bomb site! Now clean lines and arches define all of the rooms in the house. Lots of architectural details existed in the house and more were added with the arches, heavy baseboard and crown moldings, as well as picture molding. These are emphasized with the contrasting paint and trim colors with the exception of the upstairs master bath where everything is painted all of the same color. The result is exactly what I expected. This is the only real new addition to the existing house but it needed to be brought into the rest of the time period. Since it is a bath room, with certain things that are required, the decision was made to jazz it up a bit with some interesting trim and wall color. Next week, more painting but not before the remaining floors are sanded and prepped for the new application of stain to closely match the recently installed stained hardwoods. Since all of the new floors have been covered from the beginning, the big reveal will be much anticipated. After the floors are done, the appliances will be brought in and final touches will complete the kitchen including white marble counters and white beveled subway back splash. From tear down and demo to paint and apply, we are getting closer and closer to the home that will be 242 N. Russell.

The Date is Set...

As the newly stripped front door awaits its new protective stain, giving it a new and improved update, more and more painting is going on inside. Remember the 10,000 linear feet of baseboard molding and crown molding? It is now being painted a glossy, clean white.

The major color throughout is a soft gray tone called, "Back Porch" which will be found throughout the house. As you can see from the pictures, tub and bath fixtures are in place awaiting the actual hook-up before they will be completely functional. Plumbers and electricians are about to wrap! Tile selections have been made and final jobs are being scheduled. Beveled white subway tile will be the backsplash in the kitchen along with the white marble counters. The frameless glass shower doors have been ordered and will soon be installed. At last, the floors will be sanded and stained to match the newly installed floors. After reviewing the calendar, it looks like the project is set to be done around the first weeks in March. If all goes well, the plans are to make the move the week of March 23rd. Mom and Dad will leave for a trip on Sunday, the 22nd from one address and return home to a new address. It is becoming very real now after the planning, thinking, designing, wishing and hoping are coming together. The date is set....

More kitchen...

Each day the kitchen takes on a better look. The island is placed in anticipation of the plumbing and black granite top. The counters also wait for the white marble. Hardware for all of the cabinets was purchased this week-end. Plumbers and painters were busy today at the house doing their thing. By the week-end, weather permitting, we may actually have working plumbing for the first time since June at Russell Street. Got some additional estimates on shower doors today. The Sub-Zero may show up this week to really bring out the kitchen. Ready for spring here!

It helps to remember where you started...

This is a picture from our new family room which was the dining room. Aside from the obvious lighter picture, the transformation is amazing. Once this was a nice sized, dark paneled and dark linoleum dining room. The only light coming into the room was from the glass porch door, and two bay style windows. Today, it is our family room completely opened to the kitchen behind where the picture was taken, with opened arches; fresh light gray paint and clean white trim. Underneath the paper are the new rich cherry floors waiting to be revealed.