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!