Finishing Touches

First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has followed the blog since last August. Your comments and FB posts have been so welcome and I appreciate all the good wishes. So many people have gone through this whole remodeling process and hearing your stories has been fun for me - I hope that reading the blog has been fun for you too.

The contractor left our house on Tuesday and I'm happy to say that the remodeling process is officially over. The last floor board was hammered into the final closet and nothing more was left for him to do. Of course, that doesn't mean that there's nothing left to do in the house. We still have to find towel rails, hang pictures, choose a rug for the living room, paint one last bedroom and unpack a couple more boxes. But those are things that we can do at our own pace with no one else in the house. After 7 1/2 months of sharing our living space with so many different contractors, it feels great to listen to the quiet and enjoy the peace.

As we sit in front of the fire burning the odds and ends of wood left over from the construction, we can reflect on a job well done. The new rooms are already starting to feel like "ours" and we are beginning to take advantage of the extra space we have. Some time soon we'll have a party and invite you all to see it in person. But for now we're just going to relax, close our eyes and listen to the crackling flames.

Welcome Home

Teenage Dream

Her new room right after she took everything out of drawers
but before she decided to put things back

If you live with a teenager, or if you ever were one, you'll understand this well. My 14 year old is floating around the house on a cloud of happiness because, after sharing a room with her sister for 12 years, she's finally getting her own room. Darryl and his brother shared a bedroom right up until they moved away to college. I shared a room with a sister who is 10 years younger than me (not as terrible as you might think) so both of us understand her feelings. We're trying to make to make the transition easy for her sister - we don't want her to feel left out - so we're encouraging them to help each other make over both bedrooms and share the experience. Little did we know what kind of chaos we were letting ourselves in for.

The spare bedroom has taken the brunt
of the mess

Put it this way: In order for a 14-year-old girl to decorate her new bedroom, it apparently requires using about 500 square feet of space around various other rooms in the house to organize, sort, consider and decide. She has things in my bedroom, her new bedroom and the spare room. I had no idea she owned so much stuff. The posters alone need several days of attention before she can put them in exactly the right place on the wall. Organizing the bookcase isn't as simple as alphabetizing by author, or even book title. No, each one must be perfectly placed so that it matches the ones to the left and right. And trying to decide which magazines from two years ago are necessary and which ones can be recycled seems to require major meditation.

These books don't have a home yet, so they're
still on the floor of my bedroom

In a way we got lucky with this part of the move. She liked the color that Darryl and I had in our room and told us she wanted to keep it just like that. So besides a few touch ups, and painting the closet, the room was ready to move into once the new floor and baseboard were in. We told the girls that they would have to sleep in the spare room for a few days until the smell of paint had gone. That might have been our mistake, because now she feels she has all the time in the world to make her new room perfect while occupying a beautiful new room in the house in the meantime. Still, I can't really blame her. After all, it took Darryl and I seven months to get our new room ready, so maybe I shouldn't begrudge her a few more days to make her new room just right for her.

Well, at least the floors look great!

Sweet Dreams

Our bedroom (almost) complete

Last night was our first night in the new bedroom. It took us all day to put the room together (mostly because I had forgotten how heavy all that furniture is) and by the time we fell into bed, well past midnight, we were just happy that the pillows were soft and the sheets were clean. It was a looooong day!

So now that I have had a few hours to stand back and just look at it, I can honestly say how happy I am with the way this room turned out. The wood furniture looks beautiful next to the blue walls. I was a little worried that it would be too dark, but it worked out well. You can see that we haven't put any pictures up yet - that's what's under the bed. We have to live in it for a few days to see what will go where (and which ones will be relegated to the attic). The other thing you probably have noticed is that the bed isn't centered on the wall. I just didn't want to roll out of bed in the morning and immediately fall into the bathroom. Plus, the dresser would have been a little too close to the bed and that would guarantee me several skinned ankles and stubbed toes. I know for some people this lack of symmetry would put their teeth on edge; I'm hoping Darryl and I aren't those people.

With the "official" part of the remodel over, now we have to finish fixing up the rest of the house. The bathroom got pretty smashed up while the plasterer was working on the outside of the house. There are cracks on the walls and around the light and the mirror inside the medicine cabinet shattered. One of the windows now faces a brand new wall, so the window has to come out and shelves will go in its place. Then it has to be repainted of course. After that the rest of the house will get the new floors to match. After that . . . party!

Banner Day

This afternoon we had an awards event at school. Four times a year we honor students who have gone above and beyond in service to the school, and today Julia was one of the students chosen. Darryl had told me he'd try to make it, but he had scheduled the final inspection and it really depended on when that would happen and how long it would take. So I didn't think he'd be there. Keep in mind, of course, that "final" inspection is a loose term. After all we have had about a dozen inspections since this remodel started and we have never passed any of them first time. So in my mind I had already figured we'd have the inspection, get notes, Tom would work on them, we'd have another inspection Monday and then we could move in to the new rooms.

As I was waiting for parents to enter the library, Darryl walked up. I was surprised to see him, but happy that he could be there. "Well?" I asked. "We passed."

That was it. Two little words, but oh how happy they made me. I couldn't help it, I started crying, more from relief (and surprise) than anything else. It was more than a little awkward because I was in the middle if a conversation with another teacher, who must now think I'm a little crazy (OK, maybe he already thought that . . .)

Now my part of the work kicks into high gear. I have to clean the floors, dust the bed, wash the sheets and comforter, polish the night stands, empty the dresser and move it all into the new room before putting it all in just the perfect spot. The spare bedroom gets the bed, along with all the bits and pieces that don't have any other place; the china hutch, the bookcase, the craft box, the extra dining chairs. Not to mention putting all the rest of the floor into the bedroom to get it acclimated to the house and figuring out where to put all the DVDs and CDs that need a new home. (I took photos of stuff on my to do list when I realized that "finished" is a misleading word.) Busy weekend ahead I guess. But oh so worth it.

All Clean

The most luxurious soak

Darryl and I took our first baths in the new tub this morning. Separately, people. Get your head out of the gutter! Now I'm not usually a bath person. In fact, if you remember an earlier post I mentioned how little I cared about this tub, besides the fact that it put the entire project back by several weeks. So this morning, when Darryl emerged from the bathroom and was positively crowing about his bathing experience, I was a little skeptical. I mean,  how much difference could a tub make really.

I'm not embarrassed to say that he was right and I was wrong. It really was a life-altering experience - or at least a Saturday-morning-altering experience. It was soooooo relaxing, almost as if I were on vacation at a spa. I took a magazine in with me, but I didn't even read. I just closed my eyes and sunk under the water. I could have stayed in there for hours, and when I finally got out and dried off, I felt totally invigorated and ready for the day. Which was just as well, because I spent the next six hours cleaning the new windows, dusting and filling the bookcase and transporting clothes from closet to closet.

It's pretty cool how the tub and tile reflect in the mirror

While the rooms are still a little sparse, I can confidently say that things look wonderful. We can't move furniture in until we have cleared final inspection - we are not allowed to show signs of occupancy. But we are ready to make the rooms our own. Watch this space!

Closet Case

My side of the closet

Darryl's side, plus the shelves at the back we share

Tom has spent the last few days holed up in his workshop and today we got to see the fruits of his labor. Suddenly we have the most beautiful closets in our master bedroom. Each shelf, each rail, each piece of molding looks perfect. And the best part is, soon it will be full of clothes! Tom did a great job taking my idea and making it a reality. I had found several photos of closets on the internet and shared a few with him. We talked about finish and height and utility. Darryl just sort of stood by and nodded. He figured he was out of his league at that point! Now that it's done, I think he realizes we actually knew what we were doing.

I like the shelf on top that goes all around the closet

Big shelves for big storage

Not only is this closet finished, but so is the one in the spare bedroom and the linen closet in the new hallway. We plan on using the one in the spare room for a few of our coats, plus we built in a space for storage boxes. You know, those things that you hardly ever need but when you do, you want them close at hand. That's why the shelves are so big. Just enough room for one of those big Rubbermaid tubs. I'm also planning on keeping all my craft supplies in there. It would be nice if I could use that spare room as a room to work in from time to time. The yellow walls just make me smile every time I step in.

Now I'm anxious to get the rooms set up. We can't officially "take occupancy" until after we have passed the final inspection. In the meantime we wait and dream.

Already filled with bed linens

Yes, the duster will be replaced by books . . .
eventually

Stack 'em Up

Room number two is complete. Well, it's not exactly a room, but I'm counting it anyway. The hallway is done and the bookcase is finished. The best part was that I could finally start "unpacking" the piles of stuff that have been cluttering my life for the last five months. I took all the books that had been gathering dust in stacks on the living room floor and the photo albums that had been causing a toe hazard in my bedroom and set them on their brand new shelves.

I love how the bookcase is finished; the shelves are rounded slightly, which makes it feel more casual. The top has a molding similar to the crown molding on the ceiling. I tried to space the shelves so that they aren't all at the same level - I don't want it to look like a library. Darryl is worried that it's going to turn into a photo display, but honestly I think there's enough room for books plus photos plus more. I even managed to find a space for his Joe Montana signed football and the never- used baseball from the canceled World Series. Like I said, it's not a library!