Thanks Melissa and Doug

I'm a big fan of Melissa and Doug products.  I like their durability, that their products usually provide mental stimulation for my kids when they play, and lastly, I like the cute little wooden trays a lot of their toys come in.  I "stole" this tray from my kids awhile back and have been holding onto it knowing I wanted to do something with it.  Well, the time had come.  A little spraypaint and one sheet of glossy scrapbook paper later and I have myself a sweet little place to stash my perfume and jewelry.  Thanks again M and D!

So Close

My mom's house is so, so close to being finished.  We all had high hopes that they would get everything squared away and finished in time for the city to give their final approval so she could move back in before Christmas.  Alas, that didn't happen, we're still a week or two away now with the holidays coming up.  But, it looks like a real house again- with flooring, cabinets, lights, and a new exterior paint job!

Starting the paint the exterior

New smaller garage that somehow passes code when the larger one did not

Cararra marble subway tile backsplash

Newly stuccoed garage

Cleaning up where the old electrical panel used to be

Dark wood laminate floor starting to go in and cabinet hardware

Carpet!

New stainless appliances

New furniture delivered

Beautiful new TV cabinet for den

Exterior paint finished!  A soft celery green and bright white trim.

The water and power department needs to come and move the electrical lines coming into the house to the new electrical panel.  Then the city will come back and do a final inspection, then mom can move back in.  All of this during the week of Christmas?  It's going to be a busy but exciting week. 

I'm working on a post that shows side by side comparisons of before and after for each room.  The difference is so drastic.  I'll also explain a few things that were out of our control as far as design choices, along with some oopsies on the contractors part that we were unable to change. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  See you in 2013 :)

Update with lots of pictures

It has been a couple of months since my last house update.  So much has been done in such a short amount of time! 

Prepping for new den foundation

Sand

Den framing

Walls up!

New windows in den

 

Starting demo on the garage

All of this work, just to make it bigger by a few square feet inorder to meet code

Master bedroom, new electrical added and brought up to code

Second bedroom, electrical work finished

Kitchen!

Opposite view of the kitchen, into the eat-in area

Front door, living room (second bedroom is behind the wall on the left)

 

Living room

Master bedroom, walls sealed up and ready for paint

Kitchen walls sealed up, ready for paint

Paint!  View from front door, into the dining room and the den at the back.  Kitchen is to the left.



Kitchen eat-in area with paint

Cabinets being installed

Starting to look good!

Kitchen recessed lights

 

Granite countertop installation

Cabinet doors and drawer fronts added

Garage framing

 

Master bedroom paint and ceiling fan

Second bedroom paint and ceiling fan

Kitchen pendants!

Dining Light

 

View from front door

Two small garage doors now must be one large to meet code

 

View of new den from backyard

 

This brings us up to date- phew!  They are working on final details such as kitchen backsplash, cabinet hardware and flooring.  The garage and the exterior work still continues. 

 

The last time we met with the contractor, he said this is the largest "water loss" insurance claim he has ever worked on.  Most water loss claims involve one room or contained area- not an entire house and detached garage.  But, because of the city's code requirements, this job has turned into a complete remodel for the most part.

 

In addition, the whole house got new copper plumbing.  This was not covered by the insurance, but since all the walls were open already, and the plumbing was a mixture of new and old, it made sense to go ahead and do it now. 

 

Since this is an insurance job, there have been some challenges that we have had to work through.  We haven't gotten our first choice for everything, we have had to make compromises along the way depending on budget.  There have also been design decisions made for my mom by the contractor that she wasn't asked her opinion on.  If she or I were able to be at the house all day, everyday, we may have been able to catch these decisions before they were implemented.  But, since that isn't always possible, we just have to go with it.  On the other hand, I will say that everything that has gone back into her house has been a major upgrade from the existing.  

 

Next week they will be finishing up some painting, and hopefully installing the flooring in the kitchen.     



Mom's House Progress Photos

Things are moving along at a pretty good speed at my mom's house.  In just a couple of weeks they have removed the existing concrete slab, poured the new foundation, framed out the new walls and roof, removed the existing roof, and now we're waiting on the new roof tiles to be delivered and the kitchen plans.  Phew! 

Here's how things look now:

Prepping for the new foundation

Getting ready for concrete

New foundation

Framing

Finished framing

Removing the existing roof

We also just found out that they will be painting the exterior stucco and trim.  This was something we did not think was going to be included, but since there is so much work being done on the back of the house and the entire garage, there isn't really any way around not painting it. 

So we need to pick paint colors soon!  Mom has said that she would like the trim to remain white, so it will get a fresh coat to brighten it up.  The new roof will be dark charcoal gray and because of the steep roofline, it is very visable from the street.  Here are some color options that I have rolling around in my brain.  None of which my mom has seen- so it should be interesting to see what she thinks!

Currently the house is green with a light gray roof

Close up

Option #1:  Classic

Charcoal roof, medium gray paint with bright white trim
(via)

Option #2: Modern Classic

Charcoal roof, greige (gray/beige) and white trim.  Black front door and lantern lights.
(via)

Option #3: Sweet

Charcoal roof, creamy yellow and bright white trim.
(via)

Which one is your favorite?