Sealing the kitchen counter tops was top priority because so many things were riding on that decision. It took many hours of research and fretting on my part but I finally decided to go with an epoxy-type sealer for the counters. And I am SO glad I did! I love how smooth and shiny it has made them. Prior to sealing the exterior counters, I stained them black with the same stain I used on the basement and mudroom floor. I was just not satisfied with the color the concrete was prior to that. The stain really evened it out and gave me that contrast to the island counter top I was hoping for. Once the counters were sealed, which was really not hard to do, I could finish up the tiling and grouting of the back splash and Mr. W installed the sinks and faucets. I just love how it all turned out. Once the back splash was complete, we re-installed all the lower cabinet doors and drawers and I attached some of the pulls and knobs as well. The kitchen is really coming along nicely.
Our master bath is shaping up nicely. The air massage tub we purchased about 1 1/2 years ago off Kijiji and the roman tub faucet I found for a steal at Liquidation World combine to make a wonderful addition to our bathroom. They are all hooked up and functioning perfectly. I have already had a bath in this tub and it.was.glorious! I have since installed the casings on the windows.
The corner shower in our en suite is a lovely European thing that I haven't yet tried out. It has many body jets plus a large rain shower head so it could be fun! Mr.W installed a curved ceiling with lights above it to add some flare! It just needs to be painted.
Jason worked hard on and off for a few days to complete this shelving in our main floor pantry. This walk-in pantry is right next door to our kitchen and is going to be so lovely to use. He says it looks kind of out of place since the rest of our house looks much fancier and this is just functional. I am totally fine with functional! It just needs a bit of touch up paint but other than that it is good to go! We also installed a couple of base cabinets along with a butcher block counter on the opposite wall to create a sort of "butler's pantry" area - a place for the toaster, extra crock pots, food for when large groups are going to be coming over, etc. I think it will come in very handy. You can just see it on the right of the photo.
The big thing Jason and I worked on this past week was to install flooring! We finished installing the flooring in the kitchen so we slide our range and our dishwasher into place. I even used the oven for the first time. Hopefully this coming week, we can move our full fridge/full freezer into place as well. Then our kitchen will be completely functional.
Since the flooring in the kitchen was complete, it was time to move onto the living room. Even though Jay was sick and spent time moaning on the floor, he stuck with the job and together we were able to finish the living room. It looks so spectacular! We love our flooring and hope it holds up really well.
And, as a final photo for today, I am not sure if I have ever shown you the panel detailing that is going up our main staircase. Mr.W did all the work himself and it looks so lovely. He also made our handrail and installed the newel post so now we just need the spindles. I have stained the handrail but will add one more coat to darken the color. As for the panelling, I have since primed it and it totally changes the look of the staircase.
And that is a glimpse of where the house is at today. What do you think?
