closets in progress

Wow, what seemed like an o.k. space just outside of the master bath, turns out to be really narrow after the closets are installed. Unfortunately, we need the storage space and will have to deal with it. Below is a shot of the closet that is in the Master bedroom, it looks bigger then it really is. The doors will be painted the same color as the walls, and some very slender and indiscreet handles have been purchased in a brushed nickle.
Below is Olivia's closet. Her wall is at an angle, and this makes for a tricky installation. We will have the carpenter move the closet over a bit, and place a spacer, so the last door can open better. Apparently it was in the original plans, but was not translated to the worker correctly...ahhh, yet again. We did not do a huge closet in Olivia's room to allow for more flexibility with the space. Things change, and the girls now want to sleep in the same room, so this might become a playroom and additional guest space.
That leaves Sianna's closet. Pretty big, and built in shelves will proved a lot of storage space. Both her's and Olivia's closets will be painted white, and the exposed shelves are in a wood tone. Then I will go back and try to do a mural at some point for each of them...depending on where they decide to sleep and how the rooms work out. Probably best to wait a bit to see if they even like sleeping in the same room. Or if I like it. They are chatty Kathies...

I found some hand painted handles, and could not decide on which ones I liked the best. So, I took a bunch of each design and will mix them up in each of the rooms.

doors in progress

The interior doors are in!!! Wooohooo! Frames have gone in and the doors were all placed, but taken off for the time being, since a lot of work is still going on. But, the wood flooring guy came right over and finished up the baseboards for the entire house. Last step in that is going out to find the wood strips that will be in place between the tile floor and the wood, and in the doorways.

Alex and I ran to the hardware shop and picked out some sturdy door handles. We opted for all metal mechanisms as opposed to plastic. My thought was that he lives with 3 females...the slamming of doors is to be expected. The sturdier the better.
This last shot is of one of the doors while it was being set. They really don't have those 2 lines...I think those were a bar of some sort.

countertops!!!

The counter tops have arrived, and boy do they show the dust! But, once the construction is done and they are cleaned properly, we think they will look great. They actually compliment the window frames and shutters, something we had not even considered, and seem to tie the whole thing together.

Next to the island, we have had a kitchen table made with two benches. White legs and tops that are the same as the counter tops. The table is really great as it has a leaf that can easily be pulled out for additional seating. I think we will be able to move it in and out the front door for when we are entertaining outside. So we are getting there slowly. Now we need the carpenter to finish any bit around the kitchen so the tile guy can get in there and do the back splash. Time to order the hood for the range...and a dish washer!!!

Wood floors!!!

After more delays then I can count, our electricity was finally changed from a 1 to a 3---don't ask me about the specifics of this. All I know is that the underfloor heating requires a higher energy draw, so while we had power before, it has to be change to start up the heating system. This took a week or so, since some one in some office somewhere had to take there time to put a rubber stamp on some paper before the guys could actually go turn it over. At a 650 euro service fee, I would think they could be a bit faster...but hey, at least there was not a strike. So, that got changed over and the heating guys finished the last bits and turned it on, with a few days of testing, all was warm and tested OK. That gave the OK for the flooring guys to go in and start the clean up and laying down of the wood floors. Above is a shot from Olivia's room and out towards the stairs. Below is the master bedroom.

Now you see the loft space, that was done first. They actually finished all of the work in a record two days! The carpenter will come in and put in all the doors today and tomorrow, then they will be able to do the baseboard for the rest of the rooms. You can see that the baseboard is already up in the loft, since there is no door involved.

Below is a shot from the stairwell looking towards Olivia's room. Maybe the next time a photo is taken her walls will be lavender. Alex met with the painter today, he claims that the walls are not really yellowish, that that is the under coat showing through. But, Alex pressed him to mix the color to match the ceiling more. I am a bit apprehensive. I have colours chosen, and I really want a test patch before I give an OK for a final coat. Let us see what happens.