Light at the end of the tunnel

Did you know that a good blogger posts something every day?  Obviously, I am NOT a good blogger. Part of the reason why I am not a true blogger is because many, many, many (and so on), days there is no progress at 319 Somonauk.  The other reason?  I didn't really think anyone was reading this blog.  Lately, however, people have been telling me that they love my blog!  Hmm, imagine that!  I'm not alone in cyber space!  So, for all of you who have been following our progress, I thank you and I have many updates.

Uncovering entry flooring

Last you left me, I was disenchanted with our flooring guys.  I'm happy to say, they removed the flooring that was laid in the wrong direction and reinstalled it going the correct direction.  They also repaired some of the terribly measured/cut boards. Below is the progression of the entry hallway.

New floor laid the WRONG direction

New floor laid in correct direction

New floor with 2 coats of poly...1 more to go!

Living room sanded and unfinished

Living room two coats of polyurethane

Office sanded and unfinished

Office two coats of poly

Only the east side of the downstairs has the original antique floors.  The downstairs west side is all new hickory, which Brad and I laid with some help here and there from our saviors Kevin Reynolds and Kurt Vavra.  We debated the qualities of many species of wood, but in the end, we thought the hickory's color variation would blend well with the many colors of our antique floors.  Even though this was a new process for Brad and I, his perfectionist nature took over and he made sure nearly every board fit to perfection.  It looks great and we are very happy with our choice of wood.

Sticking with the hardwood, take a look at the upstairs hallway, also with new hickory.

Since we're talking about flooring, I should mention the tile work has been done for sometime now.  Our tile girl (that's right, I said GIRL) was great!  Sadly, all the rooms that are tiled are quite a mess, so we don't have photos yet that do the rooms justice.  I'll show you what we have, remember to concentrate on the tile, not the mess.

By using marble and a Greek Key accent, the master bath reflects not only my Greek heritage, but also is time period appropriate.  The ancient Greeks would have visited a bath house or hot springs, we made it a bit easier with a whirlpool tub and steam shower.

Newly framed shower and tub deck

Tub installed and Kurdi board down

Waterproofing up

Show floor installed

Tub deck and surround done

Floor heat first

Carrara marble and specially cut border tiles

Finished!

Not to be outdone by her parents, Oraya's bathroom needed to be equally impressive.  Her's is the most traditional room in our house.  The bathroom is lined with black and white subway tile.  The floor is adorned with black and white hexagon tiles.  

Brad's sister-in-law's mom gave us her old claw foot tub, which we have restored.  Instead of repainting in solid white, we went with a white interior (nicely resurfaced by Resurface Pros) and a black exterior with silver feet.

Original tub sanded...I'm nervous about tackling this DIY

One coat of black...now I'm really nervous 

Two coats of black,,,wheeeew!

The final bathroom is downstairs.  For the shower, we again incorporated subway tiles (as they are time-period appropriate), but went with the more contemporary look of  beige marble.  These tiles share space with chocolate brown larger wall tiles and bull nose pieces.  Instead of a built in nook, we opted for matching brown marble corner shelves.  

Beige subway tiles and Brown 12x12s

 Finally, the floor is a large format beige ceramic. Ironically, the cheapest tile in the whole house, but the only one that was subtle enough to balance the light beige and dark chocolate marble. 

Beige 18x18 floor tile

The last of the tile work was in the mudroom.  To no avail, I searched high and low, near and far for a slate lookalike.  I wanted the look of slate but I did not want the brittleness and the roughness.  After seeing a picture in a magazine, I also wanted a paver size tile in a herringbone pattern.  Darn media!  Always makes us want something we can't have!  I did however, come pretty darn close.  Instead of the subtle color variation that slate gives, we have a more shimmery-charcoal color and I'm completely happy with it!

Alright, now I know why a good blogger posts something everyday...'cause if you don't, you end up with WAY too much to say and you're up until WAY too late typing like mad.  I had intended to update you on all the progress at 319 Somonauk, but for tonight, just the flooring will have to be enough.  

Until next time, thanks for following our progress!