The hardwood removal started this week and hopefully by next week the installation will begin. They're going to have to install a new subfloor since the bamboo we're putting in is thinner than the original oak.
The painters came last weekend to paint the first floor. We decided not to use the company recommended by Ryan Homes. The work they did in the basement just didn't meet my expectations and I didn't feel comfortable with that level of quality throughout the first floor. We ended up hiring Jacey's Perfect Painting. If you're in the Pittsburgh area and looking for painters, I would highly recommend Jacey. They worked all day Friday (8am-10pm) and Saturday (8am-4pm) to finish the job. Everything turned out better than I expected, and I'm so glad we decided to paint now, instead of waiting until after the 10-month.We ended up deciding to paint the majority of the first floor Silver Sage (a Restoration Hardware color that was matched at Sherwin Williams). I love how this turned out, it looks different depending on the lighting and it's the perfect shade of blue/gray/green. We used Silver Sage in the mudroom, powder room, kitchen, family room, hallway and stairwell to the 2nd floor.
The wall on the left of the stairwell was completely painted, so right now it's a nice accent when you're on the 2nd floor/in the loft.
The dining room paint was also matched at Sherwin Williams, Sleek Gray (Valspar) above the chair rail and Yachtsman (Valspar) below. I'd really like to wallpaper this room (either above or below), but I haven't worked up the courage quite yet.
I went a little darker in my office with Breezy (Sherwin Williams). I really like how it looks with the white trim, black furniture and pale blue sofa.
The final weekend project was hanging the photo collage in my office. I bought the frames at Pottery Barn like 2 months ago, but finally had a chance to sort through and select the pictures I wanted to display.Of course I decided to start this at 9pm on Sunday which Dan was not at all happy about. This was probably the most stressful project we've tackled so far; it involved taping together 4 sheets of poster board and trying to trace each frame onto it, arguing about the math, deciding that our laser level is obviously broken, more math, covering the wall in painters tape and oh did I mention math?!?
In the end it turned out exactly how I wanted it and it looks fantastic. The pictures are of all of the events that I love working on and I love having them on display. I already have plans for the wall above my printer and the right side of my desk (parallel to the entrance), and just need to remember to have the photographers capture those details at a few of my upcoming events.Next up is window treatments and artwork for the dining room (now that the paint is up it should be a little easier). I really like the natural light in the office, so I don't think I'm going to hang anything on the windows in there. I also need to decide if I'd rather replace the dining room light fixture or the two mismatched fixtures in the hallway (Dan's set on doing one or the other now, but not both). I'm leaning towards the dining room. I talked to the asphalt company today about widening our driveway. Right now if we both park in the driveway only one person can get out of the car comfortably, the other ends up stepping out into the muddy yard. I'm still not sure what we're doing with the back patio/deck situation, but I'd really like to be able to use the backyard this year (once it's not a giant mud pit).
