Never in all my dreams would I have thought that we would have a kitchen like we do now. I've clipped pictures from magazines for years. I have books of pictures, pictures on my computer and iPad too. None of the "dream kitchen" pictures compare to the amazing kitchen that G&S has put together! The way that it came together one piece at a time was fun. You never really got a sense of what it would look like all together. The sapele wood counters have finished the kitchen. They are gorgeous! Deeply red and looks somewhat boat-like. Sapele is an african wood that is often used in place of mahogany. The addition of the counters as well as the marble top on the little chest of drawers really tied the whole kitchen together. We are now saving our pennies to have a small area of copper counter near the stove so we don't have to worry about setting down hot pans. For the moment there are old cutting boards there that look fine and serve a purpose.
 |
| Little dough chest awaiting us to pick some pulls! |
 |
| A perfect place to keep all my table cloths! |
 |
| Thank you Grayson for making such a beautiful sink! |
 |
| The copper back splash wonderfully darkened by Dave's clever touch. |
 |
| I love how the cabinet is wonderfully integrated with big beam |
Doing the dishes is sooo much nicer thanks to the addition of a fancy pants dish washer and the great copper farm sink. I can now look out the bank of windows while doing many few dishes than I used to! I absolutely love living on the yard side of the house. We can watch the birds- both wild and domestic and keep an eye on our adventurous dogs!
The kitchen is now open to the old dining room and new very cool staircase.
 |
| Looking into the nook |
 |
| Nook with some furniture- it's a great place to sit! |
I love the new staircase. I wasn't sure that it would make such a big difference in our lives but it really is easier to get stuff upstairs. It was handy when the new (to us) rug went up with no issues!
 |
| easy to negotiate stairs- even with things in your arms! |
 |
| New rug gave us the push we needed to move the bed over to the new room. |
|
 |
| we need to find a cool light for the staircase now. |
The new front entrance door is really neat. A conversation piece for sure. The port hole was something that Dave had and kind of a signature design for him. The guys built the door and put the nails in a circular pattern around the port hole. Everyone who sees the door loves it!
 |
| Porthole in the front door. |
The area under the new stairs is a perfect phone station. We did move the phone to the other side of the table after Dave smacked his head- oops.
 |
| Now maybe we can find the phone! |
The outside of the house is done now too. I found the guys on the roof one morning removing the old chimney for the old furnace.
 |
| Hanging out on the roof |
The central air and new heating system are in and working! It was an interesting week with men crawling in the ceilings early in the morning. Life is going to be so quiet from here on in- I'll miss the activity of people bustling around each morning.
 |
| Objects of desire that are now OURS! |
Dave put in this French drain around the house. Luckily he had been saving these cobble stones for a few years and knew where to go for more! It's a neat look for around the house.
 |
| Cobbles |
Last week the tool train (the upgraded tool trolley) and the club house (porta potty) were taken away. It's very sad to see the project wind down with G&S. The blog will continue though so not to worry, there is still plenty of work to be done inside!
