First Day Cottage Walpole

 More progress on the kitchen and pantry.  All cabinets are now in and the countertop that I stained weeks ago has been installed along with setting the pantry sink.   Laundry Room Wall Cabinets Another view of the big kitchen island.  Plywood serving as a temporary countertop for right now.  This is going to be my dream island..I know some folks dream of tropical islands but this is my dream!  There is so much storage and the countertop will be so great for entertaining if we can ever get back to those days again. And so exciting!  The appliances were delivered!  The refrigerator is still backordered but we were lucky to get all the others.  Washing machines and refrigerators are backordered nationwide due to the pandemic along with pressure treated lumber which is very difficult to get right now. And other miracles to report.  Comcast finally made it to the house and brought the internet from the pole to house.  Now we have t...

 This has been an exciting week.  The floors were finished in the big room and the kitchen cabinets are going in! There were a couple of glitches.  The glass cabinet came without glass. Apparently you have to supply your own glass?  Luckily Mike was able to get some cut and put some in the cabinet doors.   Also, we ordered the wrong type of sink bases for the kitchen and pantry.  They just came as fronts with no box.  Mike was able to build a better box than the manufacturer would have done so all is well. This is actually the pantry with a tall cupboard to store food.  I am going to love this one. More to come!

 Some new additions to the house.  The floors are all getting sanded and sealed this week and the stairway to the basement is getting constructed.  I had posts cut from Douglas Fir from a local lumber yard and there will be cast iron pipe used for the rails to keep with our industrial look. The Master Bedroom is nearly finished.  One more coat of polyurethane on the floors and we are DONE!

 A few updates on the house.  As we get closer to finishing, it seems to be extraordinarily SLOW.  I am trying to be patient but I see the seasons changing AGAIN and I just want to get in there! Outlets were put into my studio.  It looks like a railroad track right now but I will paint all the conduit and it will blend in better. Most of the kitchen cabinets being stored in the basement.  Hopefully will get installed as soon as the floors are sanded and finished. The front entrance is coming together.  This will be the unique feature of the house.  It will have two glass "rooms" that will be like mini shop windows where I can do my seasonal displays.  I hope they turn out as I have envisioned them! Here is a wide shot of the big open living space kitchen/living area.  The ceilings and walls are finished.  We left the ceilings and gabled end wall natural and I like how it makes the windows pop.  The windows are primed but I still nee...

I chose a butcher block countertop for the pantry as an economical option.  The kitchen countertops are so expensive! I am staining it a dark walnut and then will treat it with a special oil that will harden into a satin wax finish that is food grade.  It is repairable so the counter can be refreshed as opposed to polyurethane which has to be sanded off. Here is the first coat of stain

We got hot water today!  The bathrooms are all hooked up and mostly finished.  Some need doors but we are getting there. Master Bath shower is operational.  We just need a door. French Door on Office...needs painting. Lights in the Hallway Some outside lights on the porch. And this is me pushing the edge of my comfort zone.  I have to get up on this ten foot ladder to paint the high gable end windows in the bedroom and living room.  At least they are only painted once and then I will use a high pole Swiffer to dust them in the future!  The ceilings at their peak are about 15 feet.

There has been a lot happening the last couple of weeks on the house.  I hired painters to do the high ceilings since I do not like to get on tall ladders and there is a limit to what I can do myself.  After realizing the cost, I am doing all the walls from the ceiling height down.  That includes the white washing and doing the polyurethane.  Every day I try and keep up with what they have done so it means long hours out there.  The office is nearly done.  I just need to put one more top coat of semi gloss on the window trim. Hallway coming along The siding on one of the gabled ends is almost finished And the big news is the kitchen cabinets have arrived!!  All but one was delivered so that is pretty good considering the pandemic. I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.