Fun Finishes

It became clear to us that the decision to paint our walls with COLORS instead of white, would be a commitment. We really wanted to do it, but were afraid of making bad choices. This scary decision was soon changed into a fun challenge when our friend and professional painter Fidelma stepped in to be our consultant. What a treat to have her thoughtfully guide us toward what we liked in colors without having them look "wrong" together. Fidelma is passionate about her profession and communicates her knowledge well. She also has a lively personality and wonderful Irish accent, which makes working with her all the more enjoyable. We feel grateful to have her on our team. Thank you Fidelma!
Here's Fidelma and Eileen having a laugh over the fan deck:

More fun as Eileen rolls the colors onto brand new walls:

The second coats will go on after the floor, door and window trim are installed. This is a view through the rooms on the second floor:

Speaking of flooring, here's the first truckload of oak flooring from the trees we cut last fall. It was kiln dried, milled to three different widths and random (but delightfully long) lengths.

It takes some fine carpentry to fit the flooring around the birch tree column:

A piece of flooring cut to fit:

Looks good:

John taps it into place:

A nice fit:

As promised, our invaluable neighbor Paul helped install the flooring.

John cut while Paul set and nailed the pieces:

A mallet is used on the pneumatic flooring nailer to set the nail:

John finishes the last few pieces upstairs. Later, the floors will be sanded and finished.

Oh, more progress.... the plugs and light fixtures are now activated!

And now.... the best part for last: Mr Bean has a beautiful and healthy new baby sister, Stella!

A Fine Newel Post

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We previously left off with beadboard installation. Before finishing the lower section of the stairway with it, John had to install the remaining newel posts. This one goes up through the center section of the stairs where the winders are. Two others were previously installed at the second floor balcony, and one last post will go at the very bottom of the stairs. The newel posts are made from fir timbers that were salvaged from a Westfield factory demolition. We bought them from Tony Mason (who also kiln dried and milled our oak flooring). John cleaned up and planed the timbers into the square 6x6 form that you see in the photos; final shaping and detailing will come later (when we decide what to do with them...it's an organic design process that we use!)
Umm, how does one cut a timber to fit here? Here's a look at the section mentioned:


Another look from above:

A few cuts later, it's ready to install! (Whoa, how on earth did John do this ??!!)

The installed newel post and adjoining beadboard:

Here's more beadboard on the adjacent wall in the stairwell:

A skylight helps light this area:

BeadBoard

(Dear Readers: Please note that this Blog allows comments. We'd love to get more than the few since last fall, and encourage you to leave them. We know you're out there -- You even have the option to remain anonymous, so say whatever you want!)

The sheetrock is now installed and painted with primer. Next, the beadboard will be installed. John found a good deal on bead board during one of his daily scouts on Craig'sList. It's 3/4 inch tongue and groove pine that is already primed. This will be used as wainscotting in the first floor main living area, and on the knee walls and sloped ceilings upstairs. Here's the stock:


John prepares to cut a curve for where the HRV enters the guest room:


Ahh, wood is so much nicer to work with than sheetrock!


We decided (once again), to be unconventional and install the boards horizontally.

It creates a nice effect:

You may have noticed some color on the adjacent sheetrock wall. We've been choosing colors and doing lots painting, too. Stay tuned.