The little things...

Over the last week, we've been able to see some of the little things come together like the staircase railings and vanities. While it doesn't seem like a whole lot - to us it really feels like we're not that far out from our finish date.

When the home building process dwindles down to the finish carpentry stage, it seems like you're always against the clock and need to have everything ready to go at a moment's notice - case in point...the stair railing and vanities.

Brad and I typically meet at the house right after work and meet with our Trim Carpenter, Kendall. He has been a godsend and is extraordinarily talented. He has singlehandely installed our kitchen, staircase (risers and railing) doors, moldings, the works. So as of right now, we're taking orders from him. Last Thursday night, we met with John (our GC), Kendall and his son to discuss the next steps, timeline, and getting a bid to paint the trim (thank God). Kendall told us that in order to fill his day on Friday, he would need the vanities painted and the Carrara Marble tops to be brought to the house ASAP. Translation, Brad and I would have to somehow get all this done in just a few short hours. So we departed the house around 7pm and headed to Mom and Dad's to change clothes. I picked up Charlotte so she wouldn't have to spend the night alone and headed to Menards because of course I hadn't gotten any of the paint on one of Mom's million trips to Home Depot. Thankfully I had all of the necessary paint swatches so I knew what I was out to get. Brad was in charge of taking the vanity tops to the house and picking up McDonalds (I swear we will never eat fast food again after this is over!).

We met back at the house paint-in-hand, and began our work on the vanities. Of course...we encountered a problem 10 seconds into the project. The rollers we had were for rough surfaces (e.g. brick or stone) - not perfectly sanded cabinetry. Instead of just half-assing it, we decided we'd head back to Mom and Dad's, check for a smooth roller and drop off Charlotte. Of course we weren't able to find anything and by this time it was close to 11pm. What's open at 11pm that has paint rollers...good 'ol Wal-Mart. Use your imagination when you consider the folks at Wal-Mart at 11:30 at night. They're literally straight out of the "People of Wal-Mart" emails you see go around. Brad and I fit right in with our hillbilly outfits - covered in paint and dust. We found what we needed and head back. Once we were finished, at 1:30am nonetheless, Brad told me that he thought that the vanity colors I chose made it look like a daycare - all we needed we're some red balls. Ha! He later told me he really liked it - I wouldn't let him down!

Here's a handfull of pictures of our work in progress. We're looking very forward to wrapping up the project and moving in. Almost a much as we're looking forward to moving in, we're looking forward to the mud drying up. I'm sure John will second that emotion!

Finished railings on the second floor! Turned out better than expected! :) And the best part is that we don't have to worry about falling down the stairs or over the edge of the catwalk!

We had stained the majority of the handrail, but the "S Gooseneck" didn't come in until a bit later and had to be sanded to make a smooth transition.

The vanity cabinets in the second upstairs bathroom. We painted them a darker color than the walls. This bathroom is going to be just as nice as our Master Bath - and is just waiting for it's first visitors! :)

The commode will be to the right of the vanities and the tub across the way.

The master bathroom vanities. The first purchase we made for the house were the Carrara Marble vanity tops from Lowes. They were on clearance for $89 and we bought everything both local stores had in stock. So glad to see them finally in their proper place. They've been hidden under a bed for the past 18 months.

Instead of expensive cabinetry to the right and left of the actual vanities, we decided to have two small closets built. Fully equipped with outlets in the back for the uber popular single-shot coffee makers or electric toothbrushes. Although we don't have either one, but one can dream, right? :)

Brad's closet.

Our master bedroom fully based, cased and crowned.



It finally warmed up enough for the garage to get fire taped. I'll be so happy when the drywall mess is gone - for good. Somehow, joint compound seems to get EVERYWHERE, even without going near it! Ugh!



Another shot of the garage. Our very first garage that a car can fit in. I'm not sure our cars will know what to think! Let me rephrase, I'm not sure I'll know what to think when I can actually just back the car out of the garage in the winter and not have to scrape the snow! Woohoo!



The crown molding is complete in the entire house. It's patiently awaiting it's final coat of crisp white paint!



The crown in the foyer and dining room. You can also see a bit of the sawdust mess on the wall. I think it'll take months to get rid of the dust in the house - it's literally everywhere! Thank goodness for "Doris" our Dyson!