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!

Ta-da! We have a winner!

The first room is officially done! It's the spare bedroom, and it is beeaauuuuuutiful. Just look at these photos. The walls are sunny and warm and welcoming; the closet is big and open; the ceiling fan is modern in technology yet classic in style; and the floor is stunning.

The view from the door to the window

Best of all, we really feel that this room matches the 30's ranch style of the rest of the house. The plaster matches the original walls so well and the crown molding and baseboard are just like the ones we have elsewhere. I guess styles for those things just haven't changed over the years.

The view from the window to the door

This morning I swept and cleaned the floor and just stood in the doorway. I felt such a great sense of achievement, even though I really had very little to do with the making of this room (just the choosing of stuff). I also felt a tiny sense of relief, because even though none of the rest of the rooms are done, I can now honestly say that we're coming to the end. And boy does that look good in writing!

Looking into the closet from where the bed will eventually be

Shower the People

Don't you just love this shower? I certainly do. We have officially used our new shower now and it's amazing. The glass doors are the final touch in the building process and they make a huge difference. The doors create a mini room so that the steam stays inside the shower stall and creates an atmosphere that's almost like a steam room because of the size of the space. If only we had a personal masseuse who would come over every night right to help us relax after our stressful day. (OK, our lives really aren't stressful at all, but the massages would still be welcome.)

The World's Most Beautiful Shower (or at least
Our Home's Most Beautiful Shower)

Of course, we're absolutely paranoid about keeping this shower looking perfect. We bought a special shower squeegee so that we can dry the walls, glass and floor as soon as the water is turned off. We made sure to build a little window so that steam can escape and not create too much condensation. We bought a bath mat to put on the side of the shower that doesn't even open just to make sure the floor tiles stay perfect too.

Talking of bath mats, we went to Pottery Barn to buy the perfect towels for our perfect bathroom. The towels are soft and lush and thick. I'm not sure I even want to use them. I might hang them in the bathroom for looks but then use some old towels for actual use. I don't want the new towels to get dirty!

Vanity waiting for finishing touches

The last piece of the bathroom is the vanity. The unit is built and in place. The counter top is being cut to order and will be put on next week. They cut the hole for the sink ahead of time, but then they cut the holes for the faucets once they have installed it. Then the plumbing for the faucets is connected, the doors of the vanity will be put on and the bathroom will be complete (save for a few minor paint touch ups that Darryl will have to do). The stain for the vanity is a lovely color. Tom actually stained several different pieces of wood for us to look at to make sure we could choose just the right one. You can't really see it in the photo because the top of the vanity is just plywood waiting for the granite. You'll get a better idea when the doors are on. We decided to go with a single sink for a couple of reasons. First, Darryl and I never use the bathroom at the same time so it didn't seem like we'd be fighting for space. Second, I like the idea of having lots of cabinet space for things like toilet paper and toothpaste and tissues (I don't want to look at them but I need them handy obviously), as well as the big center cabinet for the cleaning products. Plus, if you know me and my hair, you'll know that I need about half this space just for all my hair-care products and tools. It takes a lot to look this natural!

Fixtures and Fittings

The tub looks like the face of a person saying "Oh!"

Sometimes making choices can be really difficult. When we had to choose our bathroom fixtures we didn't want to go with anything too similar to the ones we have in our other bathroom; yet we chose those because we liked them so much, so it made sense that the ones we liked the best looked the same as those. We had to work really hard to go with something else. Did you know that polished nickel and polished chrome are completely different finishes (especially in price!)? And that polished nickel is very different from brushed nickel, which is actually the same as satin nickel? Like I said, choices are difficult.

The shower handle

We ended up with the polished nickel finish. It's a lovely shiny surface with a little more depth than the chrome. Now that things have been installed, I'm wondering how hard it's going to be to keep them all this shiny. Still, they look nice, don't you think? We especially like the little HOT and COLD ceramic disks that fit on the tub and sink faucets. It's a tiny little feature but somehow it adds a lovely touch of flair to the room. I almost wanted the ones that said CHAUD and FROID, but then I thought that might be just a tad too pretentious, n'est-ce pas?

The vanity isn't in yet, but I promise photos as soon as we have it. In the meantime, you can look at this lovely toilet.

Yes, it flushes!

Let the Sun Shine In

Who would have thought that ten sections of silicon, wires and metal would have been so beautiful? The fact is that these solar panels are going to change our lives. Oh sure, it sounds like hyperbole, but think about it for a moment.

The direction of the roof at this point is south facing. This part of the roof probably gets about 8 hours of sunshine during the winter and about 14 hours during the summer. While everyone else is complaining about the 100+ degree heat in the summer, we'll be thinking about all that lovely energy we're harnessing. It'll make turning on the A.C. so much more bearable. And even on a day like today, which was cloudy and overcast for much of the time, the sun still poked its rays through the clouds long enough for me to take this photo.

When we decided to go with solar panels, we had two basic choices: lease or own. We decided to purchase them outright because ultimately it made more sense assuming we'll be in this house for a long time to come. Plus we were tempted by the rebates from DWP and the federal government (more on that further down the page). We also had to think about how many panels we wanted. Some people mentioned that it's possible to make money off the panels if you manufacture more energy than you use. We looked into that idea, but it's really not that straightforward. Basically, if you end up sending more power to DWP than you use, they will use it themselves and compensate you in "future energy usage" which really means "thanks for the free electricity, we owe you one." So we looked at a year's worth of electricity bills and calculated how many panels we'd need to make the same amount of energy that we use.

Next, DWP had to install the new electrical meter and our solar company had to connect the power. Sounds simple enough, right? Oh, but when you're dealing with a utility company things just aren't that easy. The meter is there, the power is connected, the panels are soaking in the sun . . . but the energy isn't being generated yet. Apparently DWP needs as much as four weeks to "confirm" the solar use and rework our bill accordingly. Let me tell you, it's so frustrating to look at the sky and think about all the electricity we should be generating that's just getting wasted. Of course, the cynic in me thinks that as soon as DWP starts using our meter, they'll stop getting any money from us so they're definitely not in a hurry. Sigh.

As for the rebate, apparently DWP has changed their policy on that too. In fact, by the time they approved all of our paperwork, their rebate had dropped by about $1000. Hmmmm, I wonder why it took so long to approve? Again, my cynical brain pops up. On the other hand, we're getting a great rebate from the federal government because we put on a new roof along with the panels and we can get a percentage of that back too. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

And when I think about the sun, the sky, the air around us, the future of this house, I know it's all worth it. Now if we could just turn it on . . .

We Now Resume Our Normal Programming

There's nothing like a vacation to reinvigorate and refresh. Apparently my whole house thought the same thing, because for the last two weeks almost every room has decided to take some time off. First - and most troubling to the girls - was the lack of internet (hence the lack of a blog all this time). Service was just resumed yesterday and I haven't seen the lights of Julia's or Grace's eyes since. Next, Tom took some time off to have a vacation of his own (is that legal? are contractors allowed to have a life while in the middle of your job?). In the meantime the humidifier leaked all over the floor; thank goodness it wasn't on the new floor or I think Darryl would have taken a machete to it. Then there's the issue of the girls' bedroom, which basically needs a leaf blower at this point before we can even think about cleaning out the closet.

But as I said, time off can be a great thing. We all feel energized and ready for the final stretch of the remodel. Tom spent two days last week grouting and sealing the bathroom tile and he's ready to install the fixtures. The hardwood floor is resting in the new room, acclimating to the temperature and humidity in there so that it will fit perfectly when it's installed. Best of all, I have lots of fun ideas for the master closet and Tom seems almost excited as I am about building it.

I'm looking forward to blogging about these last few weeks and sharing as many photos as possible. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for the closet, please let me know. After all, it's probably going to be the most important room in the house!