Summer Update

Well, the lack of posts does not reflect a lack of work, only a blogging hibernation on my part. As I said in my last post, Ryan has put in quite a bit of quality time on the house in the past six months. Through the winter we made a great deal of indoor progress. The kitchen is in including the counter tops. They are concrete, crafted by a local company. In conjunction with the kitchen cabinetry, we installed a line of cabinets in the sun room that provide a ton of storage and sit underneath the eating area that connects the kitchen and sun room. In order to spice up our dark concrete counter tops, we've installed a large section of butcher-block on the island and the eating area is also covered with a large stretch of butcher-block. The IKEA kitchen exceeded our expectations. It was as easy as they say to install and Ryan was able to customize certain parts to meet our needs and ideas. He added panels to give the fridge a built-in look. We also decided to do our own custom end-panels stained a charcoal color to go with some of our other trim. These panels are on all visible ends of counter tops including both ends of the island. Our favorite customization is for the wall-oven. We really wanted an oven separate from the range-top to avoid constant stooping to access the oven. However, with the shape of the kitchen and our design, there was no space on the wall that made sense for an oven. To remedy this, we decided to put the oven in the island, slightly raised up with a drawer underneath. The result is that a section of the island has a higher counter top which works out well given Ryan's substantial height (6'5"). Now that we have had the entire kitchen installed for a while, using the oven is easy and I'm very glad we made the decision that we did. Now all that's left to do in the kitchen is a tile back splash and paint. We're thinking of bringing all the colors together for the tile, including gray, black and red to spice things up a bit.

Once the kitchen went in, the beautifully re-milled hardwood floors went back down in the kitchen and front room. The floors looked absolutely stunning when we got them down with a little help from Ryan's parents and my mom, so we decided jut to go with a clear coat rather than any stain that would change the color of the natural wood. Once the floors were in, Ryan was able to pour the concrete hearth in the front room. Although it has been great to have the kitchen in, and the floors are amazing, the stairs are the most beautiful interior piece in the house. Back when when we were still in the framing stages of work, we deliberated for weeks, probably months about where the stairs should be and how they should be designed. I could never have imagined that the final product would be so stunning. Everything is done on the stairs except the balusters which will be metal cables. The rest of the structure is a combination of wood, large pine treads stained black with simple banisters made of hemlock extracted from the house. Ryan then constructed the rough trim for the windows on the front of the house with their deeper boxes. We have decided to paint the boxes and trim, but stain the actual wood window frames. We decided to steer away from staining all our trim, because we already have a lot of stained wood in the house and don't want to overdo the look. Most recently, our first built-in piece came together. We have been talking about a piece that will divide the front room into a living and dining area and double as a place to put mail, newspapers and hang a few coats. The shelving unit that Ryan constructed looks great and we think it will have the desired affect.

In the spring we were able to finally get the concrete floors stained. Ryan did the mudroom first and then we did the sun room together. We are happy we decided to carry the charcoal/black theme over into those floors. I think they add some depth especially in the sun room where we get so much light and offer a complement to the end panels and the red in the kitchen.

As the weather has warmed up we have headed outside to prep the exterior for paint. The first step was to power-wash the the brick to loosen up some of the old paint. Next, Ryan and I painstakingly scraped the old and loose paint from the brick. Ryan then caulked the joints that needed a bit of filling and next we'll power wash one more time to made sure we've got everything off that's going to come off. We've been back and forth and back again on colors, but right now it looks like we're headed for a very light purple base with a light green and darker pink/purple trim. I hesitate to even list the colors, because I imagine they sound a little strange, but we really think they will look great in the end. Try not to pass judgement before you see the house after it's done!

Still outside the house, this time in the backyard, we have made quite a bit of progress. With the help of my parents and a small backhoe, we transformed our dirt-pit of a yard into a grassy, doggy paradise. Ok, so it's not perfect, but the house is the main project. We did, however, spend a long, hard day removing the overgrown, beyond-help quince that was taking over the left side of the yard. We leveled the yard and Ryan planted new grass everywhere. Maci did not enjoy the weeks she was forced to stay out off the grass, but it paid off and now we've got tons of great grass and all her friends can come over and play with her out there. We've still got the infamous pond that we think might end up as some kind of herb garden spot, but the backyard has certainly reached a level where we can really enjoy it. Ryan recently constructed the largest picnic table I've ever seen and it has been great to eat out on the deck with friends or just the two of us.

Having made some comparisons with friends and neighbors throughout the winter in regards to heating bills, we're excited to report that we pay just about half of what most people with conventional heating and insulation systems pay monthly and through the winter. The house was toasty-warm and comfortable all winter and we saved a bundle! Now that we are into the heat and humidity of the summer we're happy to report that we are very comfortable without air conditioning. The fans do a great job and the roof, insulation, passive solar, and the ventilation system that keeps the humidity in the house in check have created a house that does not require AC!

Honestly, this summer is turning out to be less productive for housework than we hoped. Ryan is getting ready to start a bunch of projects at work, which is great and my year went longer than usual due to a trip with the team to race in England. There is also a new and unexpected change in the plans for work on the house. I have accepted a job at the University of Michigan and will be moving there in the middle of August. The decision was a tough one, but the opportunity is too good to pass up both for myself and our future plans. I will therefore be consulting from out of state this year on house matters and supporting Ryan as he tries to finish much of the work. I will have some time off in which I'll be able to come back and help, but it will not be what we had initially planned on doing. Our goal is to finish the house by the summer and put it on the market so Ryan can make the move to Michigan as well. I will greatly miss living in and working on the house regularly, although I hope to get an entry up on the blog from time to time.

Last bit of news is that we will be on the Lewisburg House Tour this September 27th from 10am-3pm. The theme this year of the Slifer Museum Home and Church Tour is "Harvesting the Past to Sustain the Future" and we are really excited to be a part of it. If you live in the area, Ryan would love to see you here!

Pics to come in the next few days!