I know, I know, where are the renovation updates?!  If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know Husband and I have been spending A LOT of time at the house getting her move-in ready.  But we’re not even close to done.

Pretty much every minute outside of our day jobs until very late at night, we’ve been sanding 100 years of paint off window trim, spackling the walls, caulking, and priming.  There is so much prep work that has to be done before we can even pick up a paintbrush!  But I’m happy to say that color will finally be gracing the walls today (yay!)…at least in the kitchen and living room.  We’ll get done what we can get done right now, and just deal with the rest once we’re moved in.

Did I mention we have to be out of our apartment by midnight on Saturday?  And that we haven’t started packing up our apartment?  Or reserved a UHaul?  Or enlisted our friends to help move?  Yeah.  Panic mode.

But what’s making me feel a-ok is the fact that our counters were installed Monday morning and I AM IN LOVE.  Here’s a quick look…

counter tops are IN!

I originally was thinking of going more gray/neutral, but then I remembered the beautiful kitchen from the movie Something’s Gotta Give and I was sold on a dark stone counter to go with our white cabinets:

dark counters, white cabinets, dark hardware...yespleaseandthankyou

Our kitchen is kind of similar, right? – only about 1/8th the size…    But regardless, it was a great jumping off point and it was just the inspiration I needed!

Here’s another view of the kitchen: the peninsula, with the big trough sink…

perfect peninsula for entertaining (and a sink big enough to hide dirty dishes!)

I made a few trips to Jackson to check out various stone companies, everything super expensive and me falling in love with the $80+/sq ft stones.  Mostly I stalked the local stone company (shout out to Vicksburg Stone & Plaster!) for several weeks, doing slow drive-bys of their slab/bone yard and measuring remnants to see if they would fit our little kitchen…

ahhh i love this veining

One day last week I spied this graphite gray/light black/almost dark brown stone in the stone bone yard and asked the owner of the store about it.  Apparently it was a leftover piece of marble (!!!) used in the local Ameristar Casino offices.  After some quick measurements, I realized it was the perfect size for our kitchen.

another view of the sink

Because it was a remnant, he sold me the marble for LESS than builder grade granite!!!  Oh my goodnight I am in love with this stone!!!  (When we move can I work “counters do not convey” into the contract!?)

and another obligatory angle of the marble

The marble is called Noir St. Laurent marble, mined once a year from a quarry in France.  This particular piece is honed, meaning that the surface has been sanded down so it’s an antiqued, or matte, finish.  It will get darker over time as oils are absorbed and it ages.  Other than sealing it, it doesn’t require much babying or special care like polished marble, since etching and oils make this look better.  I was really turned off by all the shiny granites I was previously looking at, so this is like heaven for me!  He told me this marble is basically the Rolls Royce of marbles and I got it cheaper than the cheapest granite!  I still can’t believe our luck.

COUNTER TOP SHOPPING LESSON LEARNED: be patient, get to know/stalk local stone companies, and if you have a small kitchen like ours, make sure to ask about remnants because they will make you a great deal to get the stone off their lots!

Many more pictures to come, including my faucet decision, paint on the walls, the final floors, etc etc etc.  Sorry again for being slow on the posts, so busy…….!

I am SO excited to show you our kitchen cabinets!  We had them sprayed for durability and smoothness…and they’re lookin’ mighty fine if I do say so myself!

doors all prepped for painting

They did the spraying two days in a row…

the backs painted and hanging out

this makes me want to buy a painting gun!

Ready to see the cabinets all painted?!  Ta da!!!

Here is the peninsula island…the sink will be in the middle and the dishwasher in the open spot:

the peninsula island where the dishwasher and sink will be

Opposite the peninsula island is the oven wall.  Check out the range hood and all that crazy stacked moulding!

the range hood

Here’s the fridge/microwave/pantry wall.  The fridge opening might look small, but that’s just because of the scale of things…to the top of the stacked moulding is like 8′!  I’m going to get some cute woven baskets to put in the open shelving (I saw some at Tar-jay on Sunday that might work), cookbooks on the left, and then the microwave on the right.  They installed some of the same 1-1/2″ cypress wood as the master bathroom vanity here on the counter, which we’ll oil like a butcherblock.  I think this little counter will be our small appliance center/coffee nook.  The left hand massivo cabinet is a pantry – I will have a bit of a challenge figuring out how to organize the inside, but better to have too much storage than too little!

so much storage!

And here’s a view into the living room (where I just installed the fan!):

i love all the light!

And finally here’s a shot of the whole kitchen (less counter tops and appliances and hardware…details!)…

so pretty in white!

I can’t wait to get all the other pieces in!!!

***Forgot to add, the cabinetry is painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove.

So last night Husband scolded me for not keeping the blog updated!!!  I didn’t even realize he regularly read it!  Apparently when he was back in DC at his main office and wanted to show people our renovation progress, he kept having to explain how much farther along we were when showing them my blog!  Which is true.  I’ve been holding out.

We’re really truly almost done.  Almost.  Except the painting (oh, the painting…)…the hot water heater…counter top installation (and sink and faucet, obv)…two more fans (it is so hot here!)…and waiting for our appliances to arrive.  Did I mention we have to be out of our apartment the end of the month?  Begin panic mode.

Anyway, in an attempt to catch up, here are some pics of the master bathroom progress – not done or in its current state, but a little taste of where we were as of last week!  But first, the obligatory before pics:

eww

If you remember, the master bathroom used to be a little (and disgusting) 6′x6′ room that was the only full bathroom in the house.  We knocked down the wall separating it from the random hot water heater/pantry, making a spacious 12′x6′ dedicated master bathroom.

We reused the toilet and pedestal in the second bathroom; we wanted to reuse the cast iron tub as well by getting it resurfaced (several chips), but we discovered it was cheaper to just get a new tub (after donating the old one of course).

The same water and termite damage we saw in other parts of the house was also found once they ripped up the tile.  More eww…

yeah so there was a little work to be done

They replaced a few joists and ripped out old icky plumbing, and in no time we had new subflooring…

a nice, level, clean floor

Then the plumbing was roughed in, the drywall, cement board and hardibacker went up, and they started on the shower pan…

i see the start of a shower!

This will be quite a bit more spacious than our old bathroom in DC, a little 4′x5′ blue-tiled thing…

look how big the bathroom is!

We searched long and hard for a 6′ double vanity, but couldn’t find a thing we (I) liked that didn’t cost an arm and a leg.  So we actually had our carpenter build a vanity, which ended up costing about a third of anything we had found.  More on that later.

After we had the vanity made, I had to find a counter.  Again, everything was just insanely expensive, so we had our carpenters use some old 1-1/2″ cypress flooring they had and make it into a counter.  It’s a little unusual, but I think the end product turned out really cool and different.

yay vanity!

We definitely went the budget route with the shower surround and used a classic subway tile with white grout.  I added  little bead detail about 3/4 of the way up the shower, which dresses it up.

classic subway!

Our contractor suggested putting in a little corner bench to break up the 4′x6′ shower and give me a place to shave my legs.  Husband wasn’t wild about a bench (or niches), but he really likes how it turned out!  They put a piece of the floor tile on top of the bench to tie it together.   The floor of the shower is a 2″x2″ matte white mosaic (it looks kind of yellow in the pic but that’s just because it’s covered in sawdust!).

a little corner bench

Here you can see a better shot of the floor of the bathroom.  It’s a 12″x12″ marble tile I found at Lowes as the weekly special for a killer $1.88/sq ft (yay!).  It’s hard to see in the pics, but it’s kind of a gray brown marble with white (and some coral/pink) veining.  It’s probably not the first thing I would choose, but it looks really nice and was definitely the right price.   You can also see the cypress counter…they put a coat of poly on it without staining it first, but I hated it (so yellow! – looked like pine to me), so I had them sand it down and stain it.

a view of the whole bathroom

Whew, this post is getting long…so check back in later this week for more pics!

Last week I gave you a peek at the progress on refinishing the floors of our little cottage.  All of the floors of the house (except the now-bathrooms) are original tongue-in-groove red pine flooring – bea-u-ti-ful!  Today is another peek at them from last week in their sanded-but-not-yet-stained state.

Because we all love a good before and after, the master bedroom, old entry, and now living room were covered in 5 layers of latex paint plus the original finish….

lovely brown painted floors (ew)

…the old living room now kitchen/dining was covered in old linoleum covered by stinky carpet…

gotta love asbestos linoleum...

…and the old kitchen/back of the house now second bedroom and back hallway was covered in felt paper and tile…

nearly impossible to get all that felt paper up!

{They pulled up this wood from the now second bedroom and put in the new kitchen/dining area that used to be a side porch.}

Some of the guys told me after the fact that they’d been doing floors for a looooong time and couldn’t believe how good ours looked underneath all that junk!!!  They ended up having to scrape the latex paint and then sand off the original finish because the latex paint just gummed up the sanding pads and was taking forever.  The tile/felt paper floors were easier to do but they couldn’t get them quite as good looking as the rest!

So here the floors are in their sanded goodness!

…in the master bedroom, previously coated in latex paint…

master bedroom

…in the living room (where you can see where the previous owners patched a spot with yellow pine, not the red pine, darn!)…

living room

…and the back hallway looking toward the kitchen…

back hallway

…and a parting shot of my stubby (yet pedicured!) toes on the sanded floors showing off their pretty grain!…

love the grain and color of the floors!

We’re not staining the floors – just putting a few coats of poly on them.  It would be a sin to stain over this red pine!!  Can’t wait to show you the floors now! 

I feel like I haven’t really shared much of my decision-making process for the renovation, but don’t worry, I plan on going back and sharing more about that.  Right now, however, I’m in the middle of a kitchen faucet conundrum! – and I need your help!  With the kitchen just about done (except for counter tops and appliance installation), I need to make a quick decision!

The faucet will be the only thing on the 3′x7′ expanse of the peninsula island, so it will be very visible and noticeable – especially since the kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  I really want it to stand out, but also blend in seamlessly.  And be affordable.  With a side sprayer.  And only one on/off lever or handle (Husband’s one faucet requirement).  And no soap thingie.

Here are my top four options – help!

1. The cool, stylized Blanco faucet – I love this because it’s realllllly interesting and different, and has the Victorian-ish neck that would fit right in with the Victorian-ish cottage that is my house.  I found a killer deal on it online and it’s definitely the front runner…though at the tippy top of my faucet budget, which I’d love to come well under.
   
2. The modern gooseneck faucet – I love this because it’s more modern than any of my other options, but still classic and refined.  I’m a little worried/concerned that it might be TOO modern and slick for the style of the house.  But then again it would look very clean in the space.
   
3. The Victorian faucet with a separate on/off lever – This is probably the style I was originally going for when thinking of how this kitchen would look.  I love the neck (very similar to option #1), but don’t really love the separate on/off lever (not sure why that bugs me!).  But with a product name “New Orleans”, it’s a sure style fit for this part of the country!
4. The modern – but not – gooseneck faucet - I like this one because it marries the modern and the traditional into one.  But, I wonder whether it’s a little boring and blah when compared to the other options?
   

Help!  They’re all so different…but each cool in their own way!  It’s time to get this baby ordered!

Things are wrapping up at the house!  Pretty much all that is left is PAINTING (oh my goodnight that’s going to take us forever!!!), kitchen counter tops, and installing our appliances!

But I’m not going to reveal everything just yet.    Here are some kitchen progress pics from early last week!  (Sorry they’re grainy – I think I had my camera on some weird setting and didn’t realize it!)

The stacked crown moulding is all done along the tops of the cabinetry…

beadboard is up on the end of the island! and those cute little legs

The beadboard adds the perfect cottage touch…

i love the artistic liberty they took on the island panels!

the end of the peninsula island

A straight-on view of the kitchen…

it's going to be such a functional kitchen!

And a close-up of the range hood progress…

as soon as we pass inspection a panel will cover the hole!

And a close-up of the doors…

raised panel doors

They are now painted Benjamin Moore’s White Dove…can’t wait to show you more pics!

You can find me over at budget savvy wedding blog Kiss My Tulle today, where I’m sharing wedding advice for engaged couples (and reminiscing about my wedding four years ago).

Thanks to Cris for having me (and thanks for being such a super encourager/commenter on my blog!!!)

So many updates, so little time!  Happy belated 4th of July!  I was out of town all last week (hence the light posting), doing a 5-day road biking trip with my dad (like last year), was at the Bay house with my family for the 4th of July, etc etc etc.  Now that I’m back in the saddle back in M’ssippi (and the renovation nearing the end), I have lots of fun updates to share!

Here’s a little sneak peak of how the second bathroom is shaping up…

some black & white hex floors

The wall tile is installed and grouted…

i just love the stained glass window in here!

I’m not sure if you can tell, but I went a little off the beaten track with the tile in here!  Instead of doing a standard 3×6″ subway tile, I did alternating rows of 3×6″ with 6×8″ (both off the shelf from Lowes).  If you watch Sarah’s House (probably my favorite HGTV show), Sarah Richardson did a similar tile treatment in the “low bath” of her mid-century modern renovation.  I just thought it was fun and different and thought I’d give it a whirl!  Here’s what her version looked like (using squares instead of rectangles):

sarah's house "low bath" tub surround

And here’s a close-up of mine:

kinda different and fun tile work!

More updates to come!!!  (I can’t keep up!)  They’re spraying the kitchen cabinets tomorrow, finishing our master closet, sealing the master bathroom floor, and finishing the floors of the master bedroom and living and room.  So close to done!  Just in time for Husband and me to paint (yes, we’re painting everything, oy!) and move out of our apartment by the end of July. 

The old tongue-in-groove pine floors in our house were covered up in tile in part of the house and layer upon layer of brown latex paint in the rest of the house.  Well, those floors made an appearance today!  Or…at least the edges did. 

In the master bedroom…

around the fireplace

In the living room…

near the front door

under the windows

And in the back hallway…

all along the baseboards

I can’t wait to see them totally sanded down!!!!!!  It’s going to look so awesome seeing the grain and character of almost 100 years of wear!

Sorry for the lack of posts on the renovation lately!  I’ve been traveling a lot and haven’t had a spare moment to do posts.  But, time I will make to share some exciting progress on the kitchen!

We decided to have our contractor custom-build our kitchen cabinetry.  We had been so impressed with their work on our house thus far, and they shared pictures of recent cabinetry work that looked really great. Plus, the turn-around time was much  much faster than using a semi-custom cabinet maker like Kraftmaid or Thomasville through Home Depot.

They started last Tuesday, and by Wednesday afternoon, this is what our kitchen looked like!

cabinets are hung!

It was especially nerve-wracking seeing my kitchen design installed, not knowing how it would work and feel in reality and not on paper, but I really like it so far!

the fridge/pantry wall

I was a little worried at first that the pantry was just too big for the space.  But after looking at it from different angles, and imaging it trimmed out, I think it will be great, and will give us tons of needed storage.

what goes where on the fridge/pantry wall

I had them build a vertical divider since the microwave wouldn’t take up the full space and so I would have a dedicated place for cookbooks (which is limited! – it will help me purge cookbooks ).  I’ll have space above the microwave to put little baskets for storage or whatever.  The pantry will have a few roll-out shelves and some door storage for cans and whatnot.  I’m going to put an inexpensive piece of butcher block countertop from IKEA on the center cabinetry.

The whole fridge/pantry wall was inspired by the below picture from Erika‘s kitchen spread in March’s Coastal Living.  I loved the idea of a mini coffee/appliance counter with the microwave above and out of the way…and not a focal point of the room.  And I also liked how the fridge on one side was balanced by the pantry on the other.

one of erika's kitchens from march's coastal living

This next view is looking from the laundry hallway toward the front door.  The peninsula will have a counter height breakfast bar.  The dishwasher is on the left, the sink centered in the middle and on the oven, and drawer storage on the right.

the peninsula island where the sink will be

The house originally had tons of tongue-in-groove beadboard covering the walls in the old kitchen and bathroom – it was still in good shape, but had so many layers of paint it would have taken forever to sand/strip it.  I wanted to preserve some of the original “cottage” feel of the house, so I’m having the carpenters put new beadboard on the ends of the cabinets and on the front of the peninsula island.

beadboard!

They’re doing a really cool “flattened” corner for all of the cabinets – I can’t wait to show you how it looks with the trim! 

more beadboard

You can see in the above pic where they’ve sanded away the layers upon layers of old paint…and how AWESOME the floors look.  I can’t wait to see them stained!  (The debate there is a dark walnut stain versus just leaving them natural – most old homes in Vicksburg do the natural stain; I just want to see how all the wood looks before I decide.)

So there you have it!  The cabinets should be done with trim today, and I think will be painted tomorrow.  The doors are being made by Vicksburg Woodworks and I think should be done in the next few days too!  They will be a plain raised panel style (much cheaper than the shaker front I had wanted, boo) and will be full overlay (where they touch and you can’t see a “bar” in between).  Ahhh I can’t wait to see it complete!