The Floors are Installed! The Floors are Installed!

We got notice from our contractor yesterday that the floors that we agonized over, stressed about, fell in love with, were disappointed in, fell in love with again, and finally bought despite our contractor's distaste for them, were installed. I feel like we went through a sordid love affair with them before we even purchased them! So when the contractor said they were installed, I had a nervous, anxious energy about going to see them. I had to stop at Home Depot (my new best friend these days) on my way home from work, but despite being very out of the way, I just had to go to the house first.

I walked up to the house, and I literally had shallow breath and was shaking a little bit. Perhaps it was a bit dramatic, but I really was nervous - the floors really determine the look the of the house! And it would be an expensive mistake to fix!

So I fumble with the key lock box, twist open the door, walk in, and see this....

Waaah-waaaaaaaaaaah. The floors were fully covered up!!! What a TEASE!!!

Such a disappointment! I was super bummed that I didn't get to see what it looked like. The stairs are stained, and they look great, but they aren't the same wood as our floors, so it's not the same. Ahhh, well, we'll see them soon enough. In the meantime, lots of other exciting things have been happening. Let's have another look at the list!

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!

Oh boy oh boy! Getting so close to the end! So Mike and I had a VERY busy weekend picking out all of our lighting and plumbing fixtures. We also purchased a washer/dryer, which we had somehow overlooked when we bought all of our other appliances. We went back to Sears in Hunt Valley where we got the other appliances and our boy Francis who works there HOOKED US UP! Highly recommend him to anyone. Mike did a great job negotiating, and Francis was very patient with us. The washer/dryer went on sale the following day, and we called up Francis and he gave us the discounted price (and then some). Never pay full price for high-priced items like that!

We are very happy with how the granite turned out. We were pretty sure we'd like the color and style, but we were more worried about how tight the kitchen would feel once the island with the overhang were installed. But we were pleasantly surprised by how roomy it felt! I think we'll be very comfortable moving around our kitchen. Not always the case in Baltimore rowhomes!

 The overhang on the island lines up perfectly with the door, so there is plenty of space!

 

Like the decorative paneling on the island? Mike made this decision when I was laid up with a back injury. It put us JUST over our cabinet budget, but I think it does look good. 

Most of the fixtures are pretty standard, but here are some that I think will look nice and give us little "pops" of color and fun around the house. Since we went fairly safe with our granite/tile/paint choices (keeping in mind this is our 5-year house...not our 20-year house), it was fun to get a little more adventurous with the lighting.

 Love this fun, multi-colored pendant light for our kitchen! We'll have two of them above the island. Definitely will add some much-needed color to our mostly black, white, and gray kitchen.

 

At the top of the upstairs will be this funky light. It looks better in person than this picture.

Kind of in love with this chandelier that will dangle above our stairs. I was walking around Arhaus, and didn't really notice it at first. But I kept coming back to it, and every time I saw it I liked it more and more. We needed something that looks cool both from the bottom (since people will be looking at it from below when walking up the stairs), and from the side (since people will see it from the side when walking down the stairs). This fit the bill. And I did a LOT of searching around for a pendant light above the steps!

 

 

Within the next couple of days, EVERYTHING will be on site - appliances, lighting, all bathroom accessories (TP holders, towel bars, vanities, faucets, etc. It's CRAZY how much money all of that adds up to!), door handles, locks, etc.

 

All I have to say is...

This sh*t is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.