The final push

The last month has been a test of patience as we have seen delay after delay in getting contractors to wrap of their previous jobs and start work at our house. It was a tough couple of weeks watching the house sit untouched during the day. Flash forward to early February. The painter Javier and his crew spent two and a half weeks painting and staining, and they did wonderful work.

The mudroom has light gray walls, seen through the first floor, and bright white for the trim, wainscoting, and storage bench.
The kitchen appliances arrived this weekend, and the electrician is working on hooking them up. The custom vent that Sean and Mickey built over the range was stained as is the back of the peninsula. The vent and other pieces you'll see below all use cherry and oak that we had milled from our property.
Below is the stained beam that Sean and Mickey built. It's hard to tell its impact on the room in this picture, but it looks pretty huge and awesome in person.

The fireplace mantel was stained, too. The Motawi tile we ordered was finished (early!), so we hope to install that soon.
Peter has been a trooper coming to the house on the weekends with us. He is super happy to walk around and get into whatever we let him. Who needs an expensive Wheely Bug when you can be just as happy pushing around a work dolly?
Alas, Peter was often confined to his Pack N Play where he was understandably frustrated at not being able to help out and put his wooden hammer to good use.
Aimee spent an entire weekend scraping paint off the windows, and Linda helped all day Sunday with the job. Peter was happy to roam around the rooms we worked in and keep us company.
This is the library, the same room pictured above, after John Douglas and his floor crew sanded, stained, and put the first coat of polyurethane on. The second coat of polyurethane will be applied early next week.
The stairs are painted and stained, and they're awaiting the carpet runner that will be installed Thursday and Friday along with carpet for the entire second floor and office on the first floor.
Meanwhile, it's a busy week. We're off for mid-winter break, so we're working at the house cleaning, installing closets, hanging bathroom hardware and mirrors, and prepping for the electrician, plumber, low voltage wiring, and heating and cooling contractors that are all due to make appearances this week.

The end of this week should have most of the final items taken care of, and we hope to have our final permits approved soon!