A House Update

We have been updating our house in preparation for putting it back on the market.  We now have granite countertops.  I honestly cannot say that I love them.  They are very pretty and all, but I'm kind of a clutz and the constant clanking of dishes on the granite drives me a bit cra-zay.  But, like everything, surely a person becomes accustomed.  They are also a pain to clean.  And when it comes to cleaning, I prefer simplicity.  The tile back splash I love, though!  I discovered that I am the slowest grouter ever, almost immediately being fired by Shannon!

Shannon also upgraded our doors to solid knotty alder doors, as well as the trim throughout to dark stained knotty alder.  The doors are beautiful as well as the trim.  It has made the house beautiful, as well as making it a better fit for its mountain location.

A new front door with more glass and a wood interior has been added.  It lets in tons of light, but now I won't be able to hide when the UPS man rings the doorbell and I'm still in my pajamas!

Shannon installed a new dining light, but it required that the original hole be moved about six inches. As luck would have it, the paint we used a few years ago to paint the ceiling won't match.  I see a fun little project in the very near future.    

Next up is a master bath conversion/addition, which has begun.  Our current classroom is becoming the master.  As we boxed up books my heart became sadder and sadder.  Our books are our life.  We need all of them all of the time and to have to pack the essential books after having packed up the "extras" last year.....well, it was difficult.
This part will be the dirtiest of all; I'm not super excited about the mess.  I'm very comfortable with my bedroom the way it is.  I love looking out at the stars at night and out across our mountains upon waking in the morning.  When the bedroom is converted that won't be much of a possibility, due to it being on the other side of the house, but, like Shannon says, we are not doing this for us.    

   
A couple pics of the changes ~

Blue countertops and polished chrome faucets, be gone ~

No more constantly wiping the faucets!

The new pantry door.  Our old one had a hole in it, 

but it also had all the kids' heights over the years on the pantry side.  

I'm saving it for our new house....just haven't figured out where yet.

The front door needs to be trimmed ~

that should be done later today.

Preparing for tile ~

Boom! At least the kitchen is complete. 

We replaced the kitchen sink, obviously.  The old sink was awesome, because the basins were huge and deep.  Shannon and I were discussing keeping the old one for a laundry sink in the next house, but I told him to drop it off at the re-use-it store.  Knowing that often the minimalist Allison makes decisions that the sentimental Allison regrets, Shannon says, "Well, I guess I could do that, but think of all your babies that took baths in that sink."

It's now in storage.