Granite, a Preview

Today, Granite Creations arrived at the house at 9 a.m. By the time I got there at 10:30, everything was in except the backsplash, and the guys were installing the sinks. My jaw dropped.  The stone is much more beautiful than I had thought.  The cuts and polishing are stunning.  Below are some rough pictures.  It was hard to day to get good color because it is a cloudy day and the little phone camera sometimes just doesn't cut it.

Tomorrow, after everyone cleans up, (the floor sanders come on Sunday) I will take pictures with the good camera.  The backsplash will be on then also.

The finished carpentry is 95% complete.  Here are some details

 

Half wall cap detail on third floor

Day bed platform on third floor

Jeremy installing the crown molding

Ted and Dan figuring out how to frame the triangle windows on the third floor

Ted is going on vacation Friday night.  If there are any small details that remain undone, Jeremy will work on Saturday.  While Ted is gone, Jeremy will prepare the cherry ( from a tree on Ted's property in Ashfield that went down in a storm) for my desk top, Dave's desk top, and the eating bar in the dining room.

The eating bar will run along the top of the wainscotting.  The tops of the two columns on either side of the counter will also be cherry.

The door hardware arrived this week.

Seems like a pretty simple look after all my hand wringing.  They are Emtecks: they feel heavy and easy to turn.

Two weeks ago, I ordered plantation shutters for the first floor hall, living, and dining rooms. Each window will have a single shutter with 3 1/2 " louvers. The shutters are custom made of American hardwood, such as Poplar or slow growth Basswood.  The mill custom paints the shutters to match the trim, in this case BM Mascarpone.  I wanted to keep as much light as possible in the room, so the shutters will have no divider rail.  They will have two tilt bars, so I will be able to open the top half of the louvers, while maintaining privacy on the bottom.  The examples below aren't quite the thing, but they provide an idea of the shutter look.

I decided to order custom cellular shades for the master and guest bedrooms.  I looked on line, thinking I could save money.  I ordered samples, and the colors were all wrong and so were the fabric types.  Budget Blinds, a local franchise, has a private label shade with the same quality as Hunter Douglas, but with half the price.  One of the unique attributes of these blinds is that the valence is covered with fabric.  Most shade have metal valences, and boy, are they ugly.  The shades are cordless (hah! hah! Theo and Harvey you destructive little cats) and when the blinds are folded up, they are quite compact.

I haven't decided about the master and guest baths.  I could do cellulars that open from either the top or bottom.  They are expensive, and I am not sure that they are sleek enough for me. A really nice  roller shade might be the item.  I bought some Japanese decorative papers to cover the lower windows this summer.  It will give me time to decide.

I used this paper on my windows in Asheville.

The final countdown begins when Ted returns from Vieques (lucky Ted.)  First job will be to build in the double fireplace.  I am going to write to the gallery from which we purchased the art which will hang over the fireplace. It was one of the last paintings that John Grillo, my favorite artist, completed before his death last winter at age 97. They are going to frame it for us.  I need know its framed dimensions so that everything is to scale, including any mantle we may install.

Now you can see why I have tried to keep the trim and details simple.  We have some mighty vivid art.  I don't want the house to fight with it.

The guys will install the shoe molding all through the house, the baseboard in the kitchen and the crown molding around the range hood.  Ted has finally acknowledged that I have asked him 7 times to build in some bookshelves for Dave on the third floor.  (Jeremy says Ted has historically selective hearing.) Then, there are the doors, appliance installation, tiling the backsplash in the kitchen, finished electrical and plumbing. Finally, they will paint the entire house and install the door and closet hardware. I am out of breath just thinking about it.  Oh, and I forgot that the front door has to be stripped and refinished.  Ted claims he can have the old mortise lock modernized.

April 20, here we come. ( I just picked that date out of thin air, but it's good to have a goal.)