The "Final" Before and Afters

It's been almost exactly nine months since we bought the Napa house. In that time, we've nearly forgotten that the Napa Valley has more than offer than a Home Depot, building permit office and a slew of eager contractors. And while most couples welcome a new baby into the world after nine months of waiting, well, we're not most couples. :) Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the before and after photos do the talking.
















Does this mean we're done with the renovation? Of course not. We won't be done until the day we move out, but we're intent on enjoying the summer in one of the world's greatest valleys before deciding what project to tackle next.

A Good Week

For the past week, we've spent our time doing as little as possible on the beach in Cancun. With the exception of one rainy day (which has been a near constant in my life lately), the weather was exactly what was needed to jumpstart summer and welcome May.



Upon our return, we took the short drive to Napa to check on the kitchen renovation. The tile is in, the appliances installed and the backsplash set. What a great week! And while there is a short list of items that need to be finalized, I'm confident we'll once again have a fully functioning kitchen in the next week or so!





We'll be taking dinner reservations shortly... ;)

Cheers,
Trever & Spence

New Exterior Paint

The rain stopped just long enough this past week to get the crew out and re-paint the exterior of the house. I didn't realize just how bad it looked before until I pulled up to the house Friday night and saw the new paint. Gone is the final trace of the country blue that seemed to be everywhere in the house. (FINALLY!)



And now, if we can just get the tile in for the kitchen, we'll be nearly done with the major renovations!

The Progress Continues

Another week, another milestone. The granite was installed on Friday. We also spent the weekend enjoying the back patio (including a new fire pit). It’s amazing how much better the back patio is now that the giant awning has been removed from the back of the house.

Next up is the tiling. We still have a week or two of waiting before the tile arrives, but we’re getting close to being complete!

Spring Is Here!

Right on queue, the hot air balloons returned to the backyard this morning after their winter's rest. Spring must officially be here!

The Cabinets Are In!

This week was an exciting one…Despite a backorder on the tile, we made progress -- the cabinets are installed! We now have proper storage for whatever has been hidden in the boxes stacked up in the garage. I’m not sure we’ve ever been so excited to put dishes away! (It’s really kinda sad.)

What I am fully not capable of understanding is how people live through a kitchen renovation on a daily basis. The coffee pot has been in the living room for two months. The most complicated entrée I can make at home is microwave popcorn. And Abbey (the dog) has decided her role is to eat the construction debris that gets tracked through the house, regardless of how much cleaning we try to do. But alas, progress is progress, and for this, I’m very happy!

On another front, however, there was no progress on exterior painting. Apparently our crew decided it was best to take care of another job this week. But they’ve promised that they’ll start on our house the week after next. I’m sure glad we’ve already paid them for half of the job!

Cheers to having a half-way built kitchen!

Trever & Spence

A Quick Update

With the demolition completed, now comes the significant task of putting the pieces of our new kitchen together. Orchestrating the multiple components from texturing and painting to flooring to setting new cabinets and appliances, the goal is for this all to happen like a finely choreographed routine.

And while we’re still early in the process, we are now growing more optimistic that the months of planning will pay off. Here are a few updated snapshots of the most recent happenings. Not a lot more to say, but things are finally rolling along!









Oh...and in case you're wondering about the photo of the paint, we've decided that life wasn't nearly complicated enough for us and that re-painting the exterior of the house this month as well would be a good idea. (We never claimed to be the smartest people in the world...)

Cheers!
Trever & Spence