Ever wonder what's under your bathroom tile floor?

It's orange stuff.

Bathtub does not fit

This tub is going to be replaced with one that is slightly longer. It is a 60" tub but we have a 2 or 3 inch gap at the foot end of it but they can't do anything about it because of where it is with respect to the window. I dont pretend to understand, all I know is I'm shopping for a long skinny tub. We found one and (of course) its over twice the price. Argh. (I say, "Honey, it's not fault that we have to upgrade to a gorgeous Duravit tub...")

Mirrored Panelled Closet Doors in Entrance

These doors will be painted black. The panels are mirrored. It will be very glam (so I'm told) !

Kitchen Counters Partially Installed

These are the Cambria engineered stone counters in Snowdon White. One shot is of the island and the other is of the bar cabinet. Its really hard to tell anything about either from these pictures... :-)

Front Porch in Snow

I took these pictures to help me in the process of selecting exterior lights. The front door has plywood on the interior side to prevent it from being damaged during construction. We haven't installed the handles yet, which are stainless and pretty plain/modern. Eventually the wood posts will be clad in stone.

The Fireplace

The fireplace is installed. It will be very simply clad in black slate along with the hearth. There is a wood box built in beside it.

Drywall Returns

We asked our drywaller to do drywall returns around the windows in most of the house. This decision started in the great room where the river facing wall features three sets of french doors and two windows and timberframe structure to boot. In other words, there's a lot happening here - we dont actually need to "enhance" it further with window frames. Here's a sample of the dry wall return window in the great room and one in our bedroom.

Ceilings Look Awesome...

The guys have done a great job on the ceilings and the painter has had a go at them as well, at least one coat in addition to the primer that was applied before the beadboard was installed. These are the ceilings in the front guest bedroom.


And these are from the tv room on the ground floor.

Not the Hall Light

In an issue of Canadian H&H this past year, I saw a timberframe great room with Ikea round paper shade lights. "Wow", I thought, "imagine an entrance pendant for under $30. Alas, not all of my ideas work out. It looks like crap but it does at least give us a sense of the size of the space.

Interior Doors, Frames and Baseboards

In the end, we decided on 5 panel solid core doors. This was a compromise because originally we wanted real wood doors but they were far more expensive. The solid core door has a good solid feel to it, not quite as flimsy as some MDF doors. I LOVE these doors! I was also concerned that 5 panel would be too fussy or busy but they look great. We decided on a very simple door frame style and baseboard, but both are substantial - the baseboards are almost 7 inches high.

Interior Door Knobs Ordered

The egg shaped knob is manuf by Emtek and purchased through www.handlesets.com. We ordered it in oil rubbed bronze to match the hardware on the windows.

Exterior Lights Selected

We finally chose the Sebring family from Seagull Lighting. The stainless finish matches the steel roof and the design is reminiscent of both a farmhouse and marine style. This picture is of the pendant that will hang over front door.

I can't do a thing with my hair

Cat supervising cooking

Toilet Shopping

Here's Seb "trying on" a toilet... :-)

Random Updates

I've had complaints from Seb that I'm not keeping this updated. There is a lot going on but its not always that easy to show. We have bedroom ceilings in guest rooms upstairs, we have lots of dry wall and dry wall returns around windows and even some sills. We have a fresh coat of paint on the beadboard ceilings in many of the rooms. We have a fireplace. We almost have septic. So, things are all coming together - the painting is starting, the tile work starts next week, we're ordering our trim, our doors are imminent and our kitchen counters will be here this month. There is a lot to look forward to!

In meantime, I'll keep you interested with a picture of the architect, Linda Chapman, doing some measurements around the fireplace, and Richard Brady, the main contractor we're working with on this project. (I can't call him the GC since that's Seb's job so maybe I can call him the Vice-GC...) More to come soon! Promise.