During: Floor Sanding and Staining

All of the wood floors in the house are being sanded and stained. This will make a dramatic transformation of the home’s overall look, which previously featured a lot of wall to wall carpet.

Closet Area in Upstairs Bedroom

Upstairs Guest Bedroom

Stairs

Den

The stain is comprised of half Special Walnut and half Jacobean.

Study/Music Room Looking Into Dining Room

Kitchen

I love the color of the stain! 

Two coats of polyurethane will go on next, which is one of the final stages of the home’s renovation.

During: Sunroom Floor

Prior to the renovation, the sunroom floor was a dark red terra cotta (which, for all of my life, was covered with an almost-wall-to-wall area rug).  In conjunction with all of the other changes and upgrades to the space, the room is receiving a heated tumbled travertine floor in an offset pattern. The colors of the travertine really brighten up the room and will look great next to the new wood floors of the kitchen and the refinished wood floors of the adjoining music room/study and den, etc.  And the underlying radiant heat will make the room more comfortable and efficient in cooler seasons.

During: Granite Installation

The granite installation really shows the kitchen nearing its beautiful completion. The granite color is Alaskan Spring White, and the countertops have an Ogee Edge.

The granite looks fantastic -- I love how it compliments the cabinets, and think it will look awesome with the backsplash over the rangetop and with the soon-to-be-installed travertine floors in the sunroom.

During: Kitchen Cabinet Installation

After contractors laid the kitchen’s new wood floors (which will be sanded and stained at a later date), the kitchen cabinet installation commenced. The cabinets are Wood-Mode brand wooden cabinets, in the Brookhaven II Edgemont Raised style. Below are a few photos showing most of the lower cabinets in place and showing measurements being made for the granite counters.

With every phase of construction, there’s a new feel to the place. I think the cabinets look amazing and add to the light, open and inviting beauty of the new kitchen and sunroom.  And, perhaps oddly, the cabinets make the kitchen seem large than it felt just a few days ago without cabinets.

During: Drywall Installed

The project is about at the half-way mark.  Drywall now covers the recently framed, wired and plumbed walls of the kitchen, sunroom and powder room, making the spaces really feel like rooms.  Below are a few photos showing the fresh drywall.

First is a photo looking toward where the L-shaped island will be.  The sink will be in the corner at an angle.  As a point of reference, this is roughly what one used to see from this same vantage prior to the renovation (wow, right?!).   I love how the new sunroom windows and doors look, and how bright, open and airy this new kitchen will be.

The next photo shows the corner where the new range and hood will be.

The final photo is taken from in front of the French doors in the above photo (just inside the sunroom from the study/music room).  The L-shaped island, which will have breakfast barstool seating on both of its sunroom elevations, is in the foreground.  The double oven and warming drawer will be on the kitchen wall seen on the left side of the background.

Selections: Carport and Breezeway Lighting

Enhanced exterior lighting will help make the house more attractive, functional and safe at night.  In addition to motion-sensor flood lights and landscape lights, Jane selected some decorative fixtures.   All outdoor lighting will be either automated to come when it's dark outside or motion sensor-activated.

First, the breezeway connecting the sunroom to the carport will receive two hanging chandeliers, one centered in each arch.

The carport will receive two coordinating  flush mount lights.

Selections: Powder Room Chandelier

The original plan for lighting in the new powder room was to have sconces on either side of the mirror above the sink, along with recessed lighting above.  Apparently the room is not wide enough for sconces, however, so Jane decided to add a small chandelier in the space.  She ultimately picked a chandelier that references the other original lighting throughout the house.  It is a bronze and crystal piece: 

To me, this fixture directly calls to mind the chandelier in the first floor master bedroom.  I think it will be a great accent piece to the powder room.