Countdown

3...2...1... 7...

If you saw the original countdown, you know that tomorrow (July 31) was our target move-in date. Absolutely NOT happening. But, we are getting booted from our rental Aug. 7th so that is our new move-in date... ready, or not.

There has been a lot going on in the house: most of the light fixtures are mounted, sinks and toilets are in, kitchen appliances are hooked up, the moulding and tile work is close to finished.

My favorite lights are these pendants hanging over the kitchen peninsula. We ordered them from AllModernLighting.com

(That is a tag that we left on. That's how classy we are)

We bought a handful of light fixtures from AllModernLighting.com and LightingDirect.com.  Both had a really good selection and free (really quick) shipping. At Lighting Direct, promo code SPRING10 gets you 10% off. 

Here is another pendant light (this one is from Ikea) and a peek at our custom railing. The railing for the stairs will be similar and should be getting installed soon. 

Here are some updated tile pics...

This is the 3rd floor shower. We are still waiting for the wall tile to come from BuyTile.com.  While they have a good selection, I don't recommend using this website...we ordered the tile over 2 weeks ago and it just shipped yesterday. Also, they aren't very good at keeping you updated on the status of your order.  It would probably be fine if you don't wait until the last minute to order what you need (cough, sigh).

This is the 2nd floor shower. I think it turned out well... I like having something here that is completely unexpected.

And, I am sure you all remember the sink cabinet that Sam built back in March (Sam's Sink). Well, he didn't stop there. We purchased another sink from Ikea last week and, in record time, Sam built a second custom cabinet. They both look really great:

This first one went in the 2nd floor, master bath.

This is the one Sam built this past week. It's in the 3rd floor, master bath.

Many of the other changes are difficult to get pictures of. It's either because they get covered up with paper or plastic so quickly or because it's detail/finishing work that you just have to see in person to appreciate. Nevertheless, I will try my best to keep posting photos! Thank you everyone for hanging in there with us, we are getting very close. 

Kitchen Countertops

Wednesday morning, LUKE WORKS came to install the countertops. They took about 3 weeks to fabricate at their studio, here in Baltimore. They look amazing and exceeded my (already very high) expectations! 

This L-shaped section weighed 500 lbs. 

Closer to Home

We came back from the beach and were welcomed home with some new additions...

A Transom

Shower Wall Tiles

Interior Doors

Steps to the (Future) Deck and Door

Moulding

Things keeping us busy since we've been back...

We placed an order for this 4x16 matte grey tile. To make sure that the size would look good in our 3rd floor shower, I cut out paper replicas and taped them up in the shower in a few different patterns. This seemed silly at first but turned out to be very helpful. We were originally planning on 3x6 grey subway tile but this little exercise convinced us that we could get a similar, yet more unique look, with this tile.

Lots, and Lots, of Painting:

(Dad Gibbons) 

We've been putting doors and drawers on/in the Kitchen Cabinets so that they will be fully assembled and ready for the countertop install on Wednesday morning:

A few things on our TO DO list this week...

more painting

order flooring for the laundry room area

pick up transition pieces to match our floor

pick up our washer and dryer

look at, and hopefully decide on, bathroom sinks

start to look at/pick out light fixtures

and

Mad Men, season premiere

Floor Installation

When the UPS man was nearing our home he called and politely asked, "Do you have ANY idea what you are getting today?!" I became a little nervous. What I expected were bamboo floors. What we received were 3 large pallets and 6,000 lbs. of bamboo floors. 

Here's a look at some of the boxes after they were separated and opened.

And, a close up... to refresh your memory.

The guys started in the back bedroom on the second floor...

Here are a few more pictures of various places in the house. Some of the spots were completely covered with protective paper before I could snap a photo.  Nevertheless, it is proof that our floors are in.

We've been spending all week at the beach with our family and taking some nice deep breaths of salty sea air. It's been great to get away but, of course, not all of our house responsibilities have ceased.

(Bethany Beach, DE)

This week, our contractor is planning on finishing all of the moulding throughout the house, getting as much of the tile work in the bathroom showers done as possible and installing the interior doors. 

 Our responsibility this week is to order the last bit of tile that we need. We didn't mean to procrastinate, it's just difficult making the decision for 2 big reasons: 

(1) being worried that what looks good in your head will actually look good in real life... especially, since the bathrooms involve combinations of different tile.

 (2) being this far into a project and constantly looking for a way to save a few pennies (without sacrificing quality). Seeking out that "great deal" sometimes takes longer than you think.

It may be the salt in the air, the ocean breezes and our current state of relaxation, but check out this tile that we ordered yesterday, from modwalls.com:

It's just slightly different from the black/grey/white color scheme (check it out) that we've been pretty consistent with! We will just have to all wait and see...

We also placed an order for our front door window kit. Hint: it isn't the one with the 3 square windows. (door options)

Be prepared for a rally since we need to be out of our rental soon! I am looking forward to seeing all of the progress when we get back in town. Plus, Wednesday should be a big day because our countertops are scheduled to be installed.