Kitchen countertops!

Most visible of the week's efforts involved interior painting, and working with cabinets and remaining countertop installations. As a result, the kitchen is starting to look like a living space, as the cabinets are finally out from under their protective coverings, at least for the time being.

The kitchen is starting to come to life! The lower cabinets have been uncovered for the first time since installation several weeks ago

The crew was installing the countertop around the perimeter of the kitchen when we visited the site this afternoon

As the paint work continues we've focused our attention on planning for the upcoming weeks, and taking care of the many odds and ends from our to-do list. Shower door glass was ordered. Among other things, we bought a small chandelier for the powder room, an outdoor shower fixture, and dining room chairs and lighting to accompany the ash table we've commissioned (note to us -- check status on this!!)

Custom cabinet doors, freshly painted and awaiting installation in the family room built-in entertainment wall

Spray-painting of the trim work is making for a very smooth finish

From the "bigger than a breadbox" list, we pulled the trigger on purchase of a standby generator. On paper, at least, this natural gas powered system will create enough energy (22kW) to run the whole house, including two air conditioning units, simultaneously!

The "innards" of the 22kW generator, with doors removed. This unit will be connected to the house's natural gas supply line, ensuring a steady, reliable source of fuel to run as long as needed (hopefully not TOO long!) when power goes out

The generator shipped today, so we should see it on-site by later next week. By that time our crew will need to determine how to lift this 500 lb. piece of equipment 10 feet in the air to position on the elevated HVAC platform at the side of the house!

This simple antiqued-silver chandelier should be a nice complement to the somewhat rustic trestle-style dining room table (good choice Megan!)

The last item on our must-buy list of lighting fixtures was this small chandelier destined for the main-level powder room 

Despite good progress, the list of miscellaneous items we need to address continues to grow! Next week we'll be looking at options for Bahama shutters (hinged at top) to install on one of a few South-facing windows that is not shaded by our porches. We'll need to finalizing selections for the cabinet and door hardware, probably order some coffee tables, and who knows what else!

From the upper balcony... just a nice shot of a beautiful sky to share!

That's it for this week. As we look ahead, it appears our project will be going right down to the wire, with some residual work to complete after move-in being a real possibility. We're planning to move from our apartment by the middle of August, so things need to fall into place over the next 4 weeks, or we'll be sleeping under the stars!

Ron & Bonnie