Big Changes and a (Good) Surprise

Happy Monday everyone. The crew put in a full day today to make sure that everything's ready for sheetrock installation to begin tomorrow, and it really shows. Before I walked in the front door today I walked around the side of the house to this beautiful sight.

The first of our two new Pella windows has been installed, and we couldn't be happier with how it looks. The muntins you see in the top half will be stained dark when kitchen trim is stained, so it's not totally complete but it's close. The bathroom one will be installed very soon as well.

And that's not all. Our island has finally arrived! We ordered it six weeks ago and shipping was repeatedly delayed, but I picked it up Saturday, and Chris and I promptly put it in the middle of our gutted kitchen and had a celebratory beer on its walnut top. We absolutely love it, and seeing something finished in our very unfinished kitchen was pretty surreal.

The walnut grain on top is beautiful, and will provide a very practical surface that we can use and abuse. This was something we decided was important when we opted for marble counters rather than granite. They are slightly softer and less durable (but oh-so-beautiful and perfect for a classic kitchen look) so the island should make up for any loss in fuctionality. 

I picked up these cute little saddle stools to go with it. They're very comfy and fit nicely under the petite island. The whole setup is currently in our dining room, which is actually nice since we've cleared out the table and chairs.

The crew also got everything all insulated today to get us ready for drywall. The walls were previously empty between the studs, so we hope insulating these two rooms will help our house be a bit less drafty and a lot more efficient. It's strange how filling in the spaces between the studs creates a slightly wall-like effect. Our interior designer friend warned us that when the drywall goes up the room will suddenly feel a lot smaller, and I can see how that would be the case. 

And now for the surprise. Chris was talking to the contractor this morning who informed us that included in the remodel is installation of a ventilation system, which goes into the basement and vents out the wall. To be honest I'm not entirely sure what it does, other than he told us it will make our dehumidifier, which runs constantly in our basement unnecessary. I like the sound of that!

And I like a good surprise - we've had a couple of plumbing snafus during the project - all of which have been fixed, but they're still stressful as they happen. The first was a leak in our basement ceiling last week, which was apparently the result of a poorly connected pipe (big shock there, right?) that had been shifted when the kitchen was replumbed. The plumber fixed it promptly the next day. Then this weekend I ran the washer and our basement sink backed up. We tried to snake out the line ourselves but couldn't. He fixed it today, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him to get the recap. All in all though, he's our hero and has taken everything in great stride, and we know that moving forward our once condemable plumbing is in great shape.

Chris has repeatedly expressed his urge to kiss the plumber. I haven't warned him yet.

And finally, for all of you who are dying of "did the valve arrive" suspense, rest assured we have two valves, installed and ready for faucet trim. Yay for UPS!

That's it for today. Check in tomorrow to see walls start to go up. Crazy!