The nook installation continues...

Cherry Bench Slats

Shep at work on the frame

Greg stained the bench slats in our living room while Shep painted the shelves and bench frames.

Shep!

Primed and Ready

Shep came over, set up, put the cat in the laundry room, threw some vintage Ray Price on the turntable, and painted our nook.

His attempts to keep Miles at bay were futile, apparently.  When his texts arrived I was watching the snow fall thickly outside the gig in Chicago.

Thanks for the great work, Shepherd, and for keeping Miles out of the paint cup.

Nook Installation

The Nook

Small bench support frame

View from the island

Greg has put the foundation of our nook in place.  As you can see in these photos, our neighbor and contractor Steve Smalto moved the power outlet and light fixture to more appropriate locations.  My buddy and band mate Shepherd Lane will paint this under carriage today with a white semi-gloss paint.  Our poor kitty Miles will probably have to be locked in the laundry room.

Imagine a Nook

Nook Layout

I know, I know...two posts in one day after a year-shocking.  Greg came over today and measured the dimensions of our new nook.  The tape on the wall indicates the height of the table; and Tracy put plates on the floor in the table outline.

Note that the small rectangle closest to the island stools denotes cabinet space on the back of the two-seater bench; which is represented by the slightly larger rectangle.  The table will be a soft trapezoid with rounded edges.  The farthest rectangle represents a three-person bench.

We've made preliminary wood choices for both the bench slats, table, and cabinet top.

Now we have to move one electrical outlet and, of course, the nefarious head-bashing fixture.

Our kitchen as it existed this morning.

Hi friends.  We're finally able to change the interior of our kitchen.  As you can see here, the vintage six-seater that has resided in the corner is too large for the space (the chairs on two sides of the table are against the wall and flush with the table).  The fixture, while it looks appropriate here, actually hangs between the table and the island (needless to say I've run into the darn thing countless times).

These problems arose when we decided to install a full-size island, as it changed the dimensions of our remaining floor plan.  Our table just doesn't work and, while we like it, we never use it.

So I took the table apart today and put it in the attic.  I will sell it for a very agreeable price, if someone is willing to make an offer.

Grand Avenue Update

Greg completed the construction of our fine kitchen island weeks ago.  The finish work, which included the painting of the exterior and staining of the interior drawers, was stalled when I broke my ankle.   Our living room was a disaster for a while.

Slowly I was able to hobble through the process.  I also used the extra time at home to put another coat of paint on our mantle, as well as multiple coats of polyurethane on the cedar mantle top.

Spring came and went.  As I was finally able to resume yard work, I noticed that we have over seven wonderful azaleas strategically surrounding the lawn.

I also painted the bathroom a cool, ice-cube gray.  Tracy and I never truly fell in love with our original color choice, which was in the mint family.  We've already purchased towel racks and other bathroom fixtures, which will soon be in place.

Homero Cruz and his son, Sam, did a wonderful job of cleaning and waxing the vinyl composite tile flooring in the kitchen and laundry room.  After the process was complete and my ankle finally felt strong enough, Greg and I put the island in the kitchen.  Greg sanded the top of the island again, and I began the process of finishing both sides of the maple top.  I applied three coats of satin poly (sanding between coats) on the under side.  Brad of Home Quest was kind enough to step over and help me flip the top (thanks, Brad!).  This photo was taken with the fifth coat still wet on the top side (Am I obsessive?   I don't want to stop applying coats yet-it's fun.).

Yes

I don't know who's more relieved: the fine folks at Home Quest, our other sweet neighbors, the dudes who walk around the block all day with various canines, passing traffic after events at the RBC/Carter-Finley, or simply the two of us.  We finally have blinds.

The living room after installation: these are Bali double-cell cellular blinds.    All the blinds can be pulled from the top down or the bottom up, except for the 19" windows on either side of our largest window frames.

Denise isn't sure about the decision, but we've assured her that birds/squirrels/dogs/people will still be visible under the new system.  Tracy and I chose these slightly darker, light inhibiting shades for the master bedroom.