What have we here?

We have stairs and a bannister

more pictures

The backsplash is blackboard paint.  should be fun.  we are an artsy people.

window seat, and woodpile!  yay!

lots o' cabinets.  and yes the appliances are black, backsplash is black - you see what we did there.

bathroom, someday a terlet will go there.

I'd mentioned the governmental entities

getting involved.  FFS (yep for fuck's sake)  That would seem to be resolved and the remaining demolition and construction should start soon.  But here's where we are at:

shower is tiled - walls and floor.  Accessory coffee cup optional.

Walk in closet is done.

Appliances are in.  despite being blurry in the photo department.

And more new with newness

The floor is installed in spotsand things are coming together. Ya know,  aside from the goddamm variance business.

The one where government entities get involved

Amongst the intentions of constructing CF we intend to enclose the front porch to create additional living space. The front porch is 27.1\3 feet from the curb and the law requires a 30 foot setback.  So in July we were notified that we needed this variance (ya know after the plans were submitted in April) so D. E. went to town hall to get the low down on how to obtain said variance.  In September we were told we'd be on that months agenda and so we whirled around to satisfy all the legal machinations required.  This involved notifying the neighbors via registered mail and publishing a notice in the local fishwrapper (newspaper for those of you not fluent in the patois of 1940's New York, yes, I'm feeling Runyon today), the day prior to the meeting we were notified that the local fishwrapper effed up the ad and omitted two critical words, non-conforming structure, because porch to living space is non-conforming.  Heaven forfend if we wanted to make the rec room into a garage.  Alas, I digress.  So we're put off for another month, the fishwrappers republish, properly this time and we mosey to the meeting.  After listening to 2 presenters, D.E. is sworn and explains to the board that we're making the porch into a butlers pantry and an all season room and making a half wall with windows as opposed to floor to ceiling windows as delineated in part of the blue print the other part indicates half wall.  But the tales of the architect are a whole 'nother story.   The attorney for the board is asking, why is this even an issue?  The planner indicates the nonconforming use.  To my experienced ear this sounds like bureaucratic bullshit to me.

Bottom line: Variance was positive response, next months meeting will memorialize it.  Then we can publish it in the fishwrap and get building permits.  For Fucks Holy SAke.

... New house needs

Yep, kittens! Eleanor and Spleen. A/k/a Batsnatch and Batshit. 

This kitten above is named Spleen, a/k/a Batshit, a/k/a Spleeny Pie. 

The grey and white wee beastie below is named Eleanor, a/k/a Batsnatch, a/k/a El.  

Color!!

My people, we like color.

We enjoy the blue.

We also enjoy a shower, and that requires tile.  Yay!

The chalkboard wall paint in each kids room is brilliant.  And it will make a delightful back splash in the kitchen. 

Here we are

I do love the ceramic tile that looks like hardwood.   And the cabinets are posh

I do like a cabinet.  Spacious room, no fekakte soffet. 

And...

An assortment of dead trees, gone. 

Perhaps you recall the previous view from around front.  

Big Diff, right?  craziness. 

Clearly I've been remiss

Now we've got walls and bathtubs

When last we left

Castle Fang, we had the hint o' teal trim working.  And now: we have this tasteful milk white with teal trim house as opposed to the slate grey with burgundy.  Really makes the place look completely different.

The color change makes House o' fang look completely different.

Don't cha think?

What do we have here...?

The top picture shows the before exterior.  The bottom the exterior in progress.  The shrubbery is gone.  Yay and hooray, lot less goddamned mosquitos, too!

This was the back in the top picture, the bottom is the room for mud in progress.   

So time flies...

Garden window, have i mentioned D is a serious cook? She likes to grow herbs to cook with, and I like to eat so we needed a garden window.  And here it is.

I find that being able to air out the bathroom is key and to be able to do it with some privacy is awesome so we have this zesty glass block window, privacy and functionality.

The house will be an off white, with this festive shade of teal as the trim color.

Trim with off white, looks nice right?

There was a certain je ne sais rot going on with the upstairs bathroom floor, so the whole mess, lock, stock flooring and pipes - gone.  The ceiling joists have been replaced as well.  The hopper needs to take a beating.

Shut off s for the washer and dryer that will be located in the walk in closet in the master bedroom.
What can I say?  I'm a plumbing enthusiast.

The room for mud

Lookie lookie

And more progress

I believe this will be the walk in closet, it was dark so the pictures suck, so tomorrow when we meet with the GC, there will be more pictures.

And We Have Progress

This was done t'other day, perhaps wednesday but now all the concrete surrounding it is done too, I just didn't get the opportunity to photograph it.  Looking forward to more progress next week.

Did I mention

Houzz.com? I'm pretty visual but have to be in the space to see it in my head.  Houzz.com solves that problem.  We have both been whiling away hours looking at kitchens, porches, master baths etc.

This is brill...

Kitchen Products

This is the sort of hilarity I would go for, if I were making decisions solo.  Fortuitously I am not and D is visually brilliant.

Tropical Kitchen by Indio Tile, Stone & Countertops Sullivan's Stone Factory

This is more along the lines of what the voices of reason have in mind.  Notice the clean lines and lack of ceramic birds, and overall ambience that does not shriek, I can't decide whether to make this look like the Moroccan Restaurant at Epcot, or a peaceful sanctuary of a kitchen.

Traditional Kitchen by Flemington Architects & Designers Pickell Architecture

Also this, though the columns are a little too 'bring me back to ancient Greece for a lesson on columns" for me.

Traditional Kitchen by Woodbridge Architects & Designers Huestis Tucker Architects, LLC