Check, check, and check!

I feel like I say this over and over again...but we are getting so close and decisions are firing at us constantly! It is so exciting to see it all coming together finally. We still have a lot more finishing touches to go, but let's take a look at our TO DO list and see how it's going, shall we? (Is it bad that I added some bullets...just so I can cross them off??)

Tile the bathrooms and basement

Cabinets get delivered tomorrow!

Cabinets installed

Paint

Pick out appliances

Pick out wood floors

Install Granite

Lay the hardwood floors

Pick out ALL remaining lighting, fans and plumbing fixtures (YIKES!)

Install appliances

Install lighting and plumbing fixtures

Final inspections and punch out!

We bought our appliances this weekend, which basically took all day on Saturday. We left the house at 8:45 a.m. and didn't get home until 4:45 p.m. (and I was hosting my college friends at 5:00 who were in town. Oops!). But the great news is that it was PRODUCTIVE and we actually came home with that weight lifted off of our shoulders. And, I must say, the appliances we picked are GORGEOUS. Oh, and they get good reviews and function properly and all that. But most of all...they are just so pretty and sleek!

 Ooooooooooooooo! (Controllers hidden up top, yo!)

 

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (5-burners and a warming tray - what up??)

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! (Mini ice cubes and a water dispenser, oh yeah!)

 

We still need to get the wine cooler, but we're super happy with what we got! The floors on the other hand have been somewhat of a disaster. I mentioned before that we've never really been able to find exactly what we're looking for. We weren't even being lazy about it and putting it off until the last minute - we probably went to Home Depot and Lowes three times each, Wood Floors Plus three times, and a random wood floor warehouse in Baltimore County. We had in mind exactly what we wanted, but couldn't seem to find it (within our budget). And then...we found them! And then...they were on sale! Double whammy of perfection and achievement!! And then...our contractor told us that he "doesn't prefer" the kind that we got. So we were derailed again. But, after much back and forth, we are proceeding with those floors (although a bit more deflated than when we originally found them). It's hard to tell from the picture, but they are 5" plank Robina Distressed Sable Birch. And these things are beautifully distressed!! Super-duper excited to have them in our home.

 

They look a little more reddish in the picture than they are in real life. They are beautiful, distressed, and came in way below budget...hmmmm...what can we do with our "savings"? (Oh wait...maybe pay for some of the upgrades we've made!)

 

Here are a couple of pictures I found on Google images of the same floor:

 Obviously this isn't our style house, so picture this beautiful floor with more modern surroundings. Do you see it? Do you love it?

 

See how pretty and distressed it is?? Damn, it's gonna look good. It better! (Haha)

 



There has been some nice progress on the house. I don't have too many pictures, but here are a couple.

If you crop the bottom and ignore the missing outlets...it almost looks like a REAL house!! This is the master - we're happy with the paint color (good thing, since it's all over the house!).

 

OK, back downstairs and into reality! Definitely still a construction zone. Here are the cabinets installed - but still kinda hard to see with the plastic over them.

 

 

So that's it! We have a BUSY weekend ahead of us with picking out every.single.plumbing.and.lighting.fixture. It seems DAUNTING to me to make that many decisions in one weekend. But we'll get it done! Right? Yikes! Wish us luck.