landscaping is done--- the inside is almost done

the landscaping was done today and Andy from a.b. erosion did a fantastic job. i selected plants that i thought i wanted and he filled in with some suggestions and it looks amazing.  sod is almost done, he ran a little short so he is finishing up in the morning. our city inspection is tomorrow, so fingers crossed we pass all of the irrigation stuff and we can move on in this weekend.

the front garden has so many different plants in it, here are a few close ups

the tall bush in the back is sweet olive in the there is blue salvia in front of that, with some esperanza that will have yellow flowers and grow pretty large, just some annuals in front that will have to be replanted every few months with new pretty flowers.

i will try to get some pics of the interior done soon. we are so excited about this house and cannot wait to get in. we are having an open house this thursday from 5p-8p and will meet a lot of neighbors and have friends and family come over and see it before we move in.

floors and trenches so fun

today inside the floors got their first coat of poly, and oh miss molly (cheesy i know, but i couldn't resist) these floors look so amazing.  check this out,

before:

after:

and the upstairs flooring was the original flooring from the house we tore down, it looks amazing, i cant believe it is the same flooring. it is from the 1940s, and is all the same size.

we also got our lot graded today with sane, trenches dug for the frech drains and the sprinkler system installed.

very exciting dirt because it being correct will allow us to actually pour the driveaway!!!

staining occurred today.

the final sanding and staining occurred today! the poly goes on tomorrow and then we will be able to see the true color. i cannot wait to see it on these floors. the wood itself is amazing, old, reclaimed, 4-5-6-7-8" planks with the plugs in the ends. it is going to look so great and these guys really worked hard to make sure it is ready for modern day wear and tear.

check out this close up of the stripped and sanded wood

and the after

i think once the poly is on, the color will pop and the plugs will really make it amazing. i can't believe this wood is finally down and revitalized. I reserved it at the reclaimed wood guy, "Wes" in about February!

view from back door toward front door

living area

master bedroom

Inside, we have one coat of poly tomorrow, then the some small trim stuff, clean, painters come back to touch up, and repaint the coffered ceiling in the rhinoceros color which i LOVE, and another coat on the black vanities in the bath. we are really close... oh yeah, and the door knobs and handles which should arrive from schlage on october 18th, via overnight shipping for the custom order... who knew matte black knobs would be so difficult! we got measured for shower enclosures and mirrors this week, so those should be in 2 weeks.

the fence is up and we are ready for the grading of the lot, then the french drain and irrigation hopefully by Saturday. then we can work on getting the driveway poured next week, landscaping and grass.  

jeremy has the outside lights looking amazing, 

wood floors are being stripped

work started on the wood floors on thursday. all day was spend drilling out the existing peg holes in the reclaimed flooring with a drill bit, then the guys had to plug each hole that was not originally plugged with a dowel that they cut to size.  that took all day downstairs, upstairs was being sanded, and was done with the rough sand and the fine sand was done on saturday, it looks amazing upstairs. you can never tell it was reclaimed wood- looks just like new wood, except the old wood came in longer strips, our wood is stamped Trammel-- Dubach, LA. 

the downstairs had the dowels put in the holes all day, then rough sanding started saturday.  hopefully the fine sanding will be done monday so we can start staining on tuesday.  the variety in size on the downstairs and wood that is 80 years old makes it a little more challenging for the floor guys, but i know it is going to look amazing when they are done. i am so excited to see it.

we did pick out the stain color, and of course we had to get a custom mix to make sure it went well with all of the other stained pieces in the house, i am very excited to see it. it is 4 parts rosewood, 1 part english chestnut, but it must be put down after they wet the wood so it comes through darker. it is crazy that the same stain put down without wetting the floor and letting it dry first makes it look so much different.

the color on the top left is the same as the color on the bottom with the exception that he wet the floor with water and let it dry, then put down the stain. if i would not have seen him do it yesterday with my own eyes, i would not have believed it.

we are definitely getting there. we are getting a fence this week and then the grading of the lot, so we can put in drainage and sprinkler system. once that is done, we can get a driveway and i wont have to walk through sand (or mud after today's rain) to get to the house.

knobs and pulls are installed

knobs and cabinet pulls are installed, we are still waiting on door knobs, delayed until October 17th last i heard. waiting on the last light fixture, should be delivered today.... we will see.  windows were cleaned and are spotless look terrific, front door is delivered and should be installed this week. AC is in and working, the stripping of the floors should start tomorrow i hope, i cant wait to see those floors.

the limestone countertops look great now, everything is so clean and tidy and looks fantastic.

still hoping to be in the house by october 22nd!