House On The Hilltop - Part Thirteen

Monday, June 10, 2013

Continued from House On The Hilltop - Part Twelve

{I have a little disclaimer on this post.  I'm trying so hard to follow the advice of my daughter and stick to manual mode on my camera and never use the flash...  so some of these pictures are questionable.  But I figure the only way to learn is to just stick it out!  So please bear with me as I learn.}

 
I thought I'd start out this post with  my grand-daughters!  They spent one morning with us last week and Eldon needed my help quite a bit with installing our custom range hood so I rolled out some paper on the table, gave them crayons and they were happy for ages.  (And yes, they fought over the red stool!)
 
 
One of the things we did this month was install all the exterior lights.  It hadn't been done because I kept dragging my feet on making a decision.  One day Eldon said, "You need to figure out your lights and get them ordered.  I want to install them this week".  Yikes. 
 
 
Part of the problem was that we wired the front and side porches for ceiling fans.  Then one of our neighbors on another hilltop nearby told us, "Whatever you do don't put ceiling fans on your porches.  We lost ours to the wind the first winter we moved in."  We sort of didn't take it to heart until we heard the same thing from another neighbor!  (The Tennessee hills can get some high wind gusts in the winter.)  Therefore, my original selection of fan/lights went the way of the wind.  Above is what I chose - it was a very hasty decision from HomeDepot.com and we LOVE them. 
 
 
I had also been waffling on the chandelier in the dining room.  I saw this one and fell in love with it, the burlap shades match the cathedral walls in the living room exactly.  We bought it, installed it and Jillian (my five year old grand-daughter) said, "You have a light just like my Mommy's".  Wow.  I guess thats why I loved it, because I love everything in her house!  So my daughter and I have the same lights in our dining rooms! 
 
 
The very last lights to be installed were my gooseneck barn lights from Barn Light Electric.  Honestly, I was a nervous wreck about spending the big bucks after the cord fiasco with the kitchen pendant lights that we purchased from them.  But I took the plunge and they are amazing.  They just completely fit the style and look of the house and somehow they tie everything together. 
 
 
Here's a close up.  Don't you love those bulbs?  They are called G40's.  Barn Light Electric recommended them to me when I asked what kind of bulbs to use (they are so visible that regular bulbs just didn't look right).  I ordered mine from Amazon.  I think they are gorgeous.
 
 
Do you remember what this panel looked like not too many months ago?  Well, now everything is where it is supposed to be and we passed our electrical inspection and were moved from temorary electrical service to permanent!   No more extension cords!  This had been a niggling stress in the back of my mind...  you run cable all over the house in the walls and into outlet boxes, you sheet rock over those walls, you finish and paint the walls, wire all your fixtures up and THEN see if it works?  I kept asking Eldon, "what if it doesn't work"?  The good news is that with only a little troubleshooting it all worked!  (NOW, I understand why he was so tedious and spent so many hours on the electrical!)
 
 
I installed the ceramic tile in the bathrooms.  All. by. myself.  So please don't look too closely as you might  definitely will see crooked lines in the spaces between the tiles.  I pretty much plan to never install tile again. 
 
 
When we had our bathroom vanities built I requested that they be sanded but not painted.  I wanted to paint them myself.   Six months ago when I ordered them, I was wanting a very distressed Annie Sloan chalk paint look.  Who would think that in the last six months I would get kind of tired of the distressed look?  So, what I chose instead was a soft yellow color (Weston Flax from Benjamin Moore) and I am so happy with it.  It is very cheerful.  Hardware will be installed after the sink and counter top.
 
 
Stair wall complete, stair stringer up as well as risers installed and painted.  I was surprised at the amount of engineering that the stairs require.  I happened to look at Eldon's sketch of the stairs and was pretty shocked at the math figures and drawings!  He is actually working on the newell, treads, rail and balusters now!  Hopefully that will all be up soon and we won't be living in paranoia everytime our grand-daughters are here (see that space above and to the right where there is no wall and no rails - yikes).

 
Well.... here is the first glimpse of my kitchen cabinets.  I'm not going into details as we are a ways from full completion!  We have some open shelving to install as well as our counter tops and then the cabinet shop guys come back to install doors and hardware.  But this gives you a little glimpse!
 

 
This is the center island (Eldon calls it my command center - but by the looks of it now it appears to have become his work bench!).  The farmhouse sink goes in the middle and dishwasher on the right.  It is basically sitting out in the living room right now.  For some reason the center sink section was not built to fit my farmhouse sink - not sure why, as the cabinet shop had my sink on site.  So...  they are having to rebuild the middle face and we are patiently waiting, as we can't do anything else with the island til that's done.  This is all on my kitchen for now; I plan to do a full post just on my cabinets... hopefully not too far in the future!
 
 
I have to add this picture of my tiny little kitchen window.  Our house plans did not call for a kitchen window since the kitchen is open to the dining room and living room that both have huge windows, but I felt like I needed at least a little one on the back wall.  If we made it too big it would've cut into my space for cabinets, so we chose to make it the same size as the bathroom windows.  It actually balances out the look on the back of the house.  Anyway, when Eldon was making the stool and apron trim for the window I asked if he could make the stool part a little deeper so I could use it for a little shelf.  He did and I think I'm gonna love it!  What would you put on it??  I've got all kinds of ideas and all of them are red, yellow, orange, green, blue.  Can't wait to get some COLOR in this kitchen!
 
 
I'm starting to feel like things are finally coming together (in my mind at least!) and I've been working on some things for my porches.  Trying to furnish 900 square feet of porches is a bit of a stretch for me; especially doing it with what I have, can buy cheap, or what I can sew! 
 
Have a good week! 
 
 
 
 

22 comments:

  1. Dori, Dori, Dori, a thousand times Dori....I LOVE everything y'all are doing. From the lights to the floor, from the kitchen cabinets to the bathroom, I love it all!

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    1. Thank you Amy. I can't wait for you (and Beth and Faith) to come visit Andrea and I so you can see it in person! :-) ~ Dori ~

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  2. When Eldon is done with your house, he can start on mine. I LOVE your farm!

    Beck

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    1. I miss you, Becky. We need to find you a farmhouse all ready for you to just move into! xoxo ~ Dori ~

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  3. This is so gorgeous! That porch? THose lights? That kitchen? Oh my!!! Can't wait to see it all done! And I love the color of the bathroom cabinet...swoonable!!!

    So pretty! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Holly, Thank you... I've had my moments of nerves and stress over the wondering of "did I make the right decision..."! Its always nice to have such positive feedback! :-) ~ Dori ~

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  4. I don't know what to say. This is beautiful! I love your choices in lighting and the kitchen cabinets are gorgeous. Can't wait to see the island all finished, I love how it's angled. You don't see that very often. That nice wide sill would look great with an enamel pitcher full of wild flowers or how about an antique iron rooster door stop! Or an antique COW door stop!

    Thank you so much for sharing all this with us!

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    1. Karla, I love your ideas for my window ledge!!! The enamelware pitcher is my favorite... that might just be my answer! But an antique cow door stop sounds perfect too! :-) ~ Dori ~

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  5. It all looks gorgeous - you both are just amazing!

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  6. It's really coming along and I love it!

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    1. Barbara, thanks for reading and encouraging! Somedays I really, really need those wonderful words of encouragement! ~ Dori ~

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  7. You two are a team if I ever saw one. I want Eldon. I am 83 so maybe not. ha I love the lights, the kitchen, the delightful window ledge, just everything. Thank you so much for sharing this whole project. I live vicariously thu you.

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    1. Ha Ha!!! I read this comment to Eldon and he loved it! ~ Dori ~

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  8. Oh Dori. I caught my breath when I saw that shot of your kitchen. Yay!!! If I were you I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. How do you shut your brain down to do normal things? Anyway, you are not alone with your manual setting struggles. I am to the point where I almost dread taking pictures. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I switch to auto just to save my sanity. Thank heavens for PicMonkey and that clarity tool. Ha! Enjoy the rest of your week now that Andrea and the girls are home. p.s. If I were closer I would help you sew cushions for your porch. What fun.

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    1. Ann, now that would be a dream come true to sit and sew with you!!!!! I want to learn your tricks. I've been looking at fabric for curtains... really, really want to do my guest bedroom in yellow and your yellow buffalo check pillows are my inspiration!! :-) (And I don't sleep at night - haven't for at least a year!! Ha Ha!)

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  9. Dori it is just beautiful! I love the lights (sometimes the best decisions are made at the last minute!) and the porch is perfect. You will love your farmhouse sink and that island is a knock-out. I love your exhaust hood - that is just perfect. It's a wonderful house and it's not even finished yet! (that window ledge will probably become the favorite thing in your kitchen - it's adorable)

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    1. Thank you Linda. And yes, it does seem like some of the best decisions are the ones that I haven't stewed over for days (weeks, months)! I think I will love the island... right now it just seems HUGE sitting half in the kitchen and other half in the living room. It makes me real nervous! ~ Dori ~

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  10. Your home looks so wonderful!!!! I would love to be able to see out your windows at the views you will have. Could you share that with us? I got a little glimpse in this post and it is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing!!
    Elizabeth

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    1. Elizabeth, I will do a post in the near future of our farm and our views. It will probably be in the "Monthly Moos"! :-) ~ Dori ~

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  11. Dori, your farmhouse is massive. Omgosh it is going to be stunning. I love all the light fixtures and lights.
    I always wanted to have a ceiling fan on our porch. We never did.
    Love it.
    Lisa
    Leeshideaway

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    1. Hi Lisa, it really isn't massive at all... its a pretty small footprint. However, I think the 22 foot high cathedral ceiling really makes it appear much bigger; which is good since it is a rather small house. Thank goodness... I can't even imagine building anything bigger by ourselves! :-) (Thanks again for all your fun Ikea emails - can't wait to go!) ~ Dori ~

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