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More progress!!! This is the fun part

15 years ago

So today I didn't get the afternoon progress on film (master bath cabs set, texture on the hall walls, and color in the master bedroom), but I did get some of it:

This is the cat room. It's a nook under the stairs to the library and will be venetian plastered when my hand is better. It's tiled in a gorgeous gold travertine:

The microwave isnt' totally finished (there will be more trim to hide the legs) but the backsplash was completed and the micro shelf built mostly:

Did anyone ever see my horrible living room wall in orange oak? (note the matching oak lighting)

{{gwi:1634827}}

{{gwi:1943717}}

My artist is almost finished...but here's a preview:

It's hard to show the richness of the finish in pictures...but it's gorgeous. Gone from an eye sore to a focal point in all the right ways!

The master closet was rebuilt (right size this time, as well as level..crazy stuff!): The end cabinet by the window will have doors like the others which will hide my sewing machine and thread. The backsplash will be grouted like the kitchen...it was left over stuff. And the walls will be done by my artist god (he's up from dude after doing that oak wall):

The shelves for the shoes need to go in and the shelves that goes around the entire closet. Then floor trim, etc...and as you can see in all of these pictures..a dust goddess needs to show up soon! It's getting deep in here!!!

That's all I saw before I left (or all that was recorded). They all swear they're working tomorrow :) Let's hope so...I'd like a suprise when I return Monday!

E gads I forgot...the family bathroom was finished mostly. I'll photo that this weekend.

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Comments (21)

pluckymama
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
All I can say is WOW! Love it.
bluekitobsessed
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yay! Looks like you will be in a properly furnished and very tasteful igloo by winter!
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kkupstate
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
lookin' good! Can I move in? That is a lot of work to manage - I give you credit. Just doing the kitchen nearly did me in and we didn't have any major issues. I know you have been at this a long time and there is a lot going on...

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bayareafrancy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh--I remember that orange oak! WOW! What a difference!

I think the kitty totally deserves a chicken mosaic too! Think of the lusty feline dreams it would inspire. You must give your kitty a chicken mosaic! It's borderline animal cruelty if you don't. Travertine tiles? Fine. Any cat could have those. But the chickens....oh, the chickens...

;-P

francy
pharaoh
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
question for igloochic?

how are you fitting all those rooms and remodel into this house? ;)

lol, just pulling your leg... gorgeous changes, btw!
igloochic
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sily Pharaoh, that's not my house...this is:

{{gwi:1638652}}

As you see we spent more time on the entry so we could include the mosiac:
{{gwi:1471794}}

The chickens are in this house as well :) Under the massive hood (they're to take your eyes off of it LOL) and they will be tiled and finished hopefully mid week next:
{{gwi:1428545}}

The wood for the hood trim is due in early in the week, and the artist starts on the kitchen tomorrow :) Then the tile will go in on the hood and around the mosaic.

The cats are getting a great new bonus room. Their little travertine heaven butts up to a closet in the garage. We are removing the guts of the closet and tricking that out with steps up and down (it's a six by four' closet) and it will have a fire rated door on the garage side. So they'll leave their little travertine room for their larger cat gym which will contain the litter box and their food...and their antique cat posters (yes I have some) which will be framed and mounted on the walls, right below their cat chandelier, and the artist is painting a picture of "cats playing poker (with our dog dealing)" on the entry door to their whole abode. So the kitties will live...without their chickens, but with their french art prints and their travertine :oP
mahatmacat1
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
But where will Her Majesty go when she wants to escape and be a milkmaid? Is there a Petit Trianon?
coffeebreak
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yowza! Nice progress there! Fantastic job on the great wall. Love the sewing window too! How exciting! It's time for some smooth sailing for you.

So.... did you name the cat room yet? :)
igloochic
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
LOL Flyleft...we're still working out the details...Port Townsend WA (The Old Consolate Inn...which wouldn't be an Inn anymore) or French House in Duluth MN. I can milk the moose for now :)

And ts...nope no name yet. I forgot to post that LOL Guess all this dog excitement took over (I leave at 4 am tomorrow).
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow! It looks beautiful! What a great transformation! I love the richness of the "new" wood in the living room and the closet is to die for. Kitties should be very happy with their new palace. Lucky kitties to be living there. Can't wait to see more changes. Just think, you might actually get done soon! Yahoooooo! Just gorgeous but I wouldn't expect anything less.
cotehele
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The paneling is worthy of an English Manor house!
How is the inside of the cat's door finished? It'll be open, won't it, so the kitties have the run of the house?
igloochic
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The opening in the cat room is a normal (ok short) door, and inside of it is a cat door, which is their way in and out. The man door in the garage will be able to be opened (it's fire rated, etc) so human's can access their private domain for litterbox cleaning and general cleaning (hair LOL). But normally it will be closed and the whole area is to be theirs, for both escape from us, and escape from the dog (the access door in the room inside the house will be up high on the wall where you see the plugs coming out of now).

Normally they will be able to come and go as they please between their two rooms and the house, but when we have parties, we can put them in there and allow them some private space (they don't like lots of people in the house, and they are indoor only, so they have no where to hide). This way I know they're safe and happy when we entertain, and we also have a place for them when we have allergic friends over...and they can't escape the house (which they try) when friends are entering or leaving.

We'll trick it out with comfy beds etc :) And lots of climbing shelves up and down the wall to enjoy racing up and down (a favorite activity).
cotehele
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lucky cats:D I just wondered if the under-stair door is open all the time, you must be planning something not possibly ordinary. I worry constantly about our cat getting outside unseen. He is an indoor cat with lots of allergies, especially to vaccines, so he is not protected to be outside roaming. And, he doesn't like visitors either.
deedee-2008
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm jealous of your kitties' new abode, so I'm not even letting my two cats snoop at your pixs...they'll be calling the ASPCA and complaining about my regular house! Igloo, you are one talented lady! Do you have a background in interior design, or just a natural knack for it. You combine the most outrageous designs (chickens, crocs, poker cats) and always come out way ahead of those "designers" on TV. Keep the pics coming!
cooperbailey
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hold on there missy! Cat this, cat that!! What about Kilroy?? hmm??? NO fair! We are the doggy police and we are serving notice that Kilroy must get equal housing. King sized bed- yours will do, doggie popsickle freezer, meat locker full of filet, gourmet dog bones baked fresh daily, swims in lake on demand. Look how big we are- we aint afraid of no moose!

Igloo love what youve done with the place- keep the photos comin!
bayareafrancy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I hope you heated the kitty's floor! *shuddering at the thought of cold kitty paws*

When I renovated my guinea pig's hutch, I made sure to install heating under the tumbled marble tiles. And I backlit the onxy platform where he sleeps. It creates a soothing glow through his wood shavings, which seems to help him sleep better.

;-P
kitchendetective
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
LOL!!!!!!!
morton5
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Igloo, you are creating innovative inspiration for all! What a warm, elegant space for you and your family.

The kitty "palace" under the stairs reminds me of Harry Potter's digs at the Dursley's-- in location only. Harry would have been thrilled to have travertine tiles, art, and a gym!
themommy1
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
deedee, to answer your question, Ichick I think gets her style, from her late great Auntie V. (not her mommy I fear) Can't wait to see it all done, it was nice before,but it sure is over the top WOW now.
cooperbailey
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
themommy1- Iggie is quite a wonderful person, had a chance to meet her in Balto this year. You done good :)
rmkitchen
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes -- congratulations on moving forward! What a relief, eh?

You kindly asked on another post if we were done with our project ... well, we're done for now! Our project was not as extensive as yours (we didn't touch our bed / bath) so we've left projects for later. Honestly, I couldn't take it all at once and also, there's that pesky issue of funding it! Imagine that.

So in our family room, which took a lot of work (removing a fireplace and a revolting two-story drywall arch barf-detail and installing a new fireplace on a different wall), we are still without mantle, built-ins around the new fireplace and the windows above it. They (GC) want to come back Monday (8/11) to do it but I can't take it I.C.! I really love having our house to ourselves. And sometime within the next few years we'll deal with our bed / bath: our bedroom will just be cosmetic, well, and adding a fireplace. The bath, however, will be a gut job and as it's a rather large bath (what is with these ridiculous more-recent builds? we do NOT live in our bathroom and it just strikes us as ridiculous all that wasted square footage) I can wait. Besides, the planning is fun!

I'm going to include a few photos -- decorating is an ongoing process, and my four year-old really likes his "decorating." He'll flip pillows over and move bibelots from here to there -- I never know where I'm going to find things. But I do love how interested he is and that he enjoys our goodies. That's a good thing!

In '02 we went trekking in the Himalayas (climbed Everest) and on our way back, we tootled around SEAsia. (It was a homecoming of sorts for me as back in the early '90s I lived in Hanoi, Viet Nam, plus some friends of ours were living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, so it made it all the more fun to pop in to see them.) Okay, so in Bangkok we made a pilgrimage to my beloved Jim Thompson's house and shop. Oh my god do I love his fabrics! So we bought twenty-six metres of the dreamiest peach Thai silk and maybe this month, most likely next we'll have drapes made of it for the living room. (I can make a story out of anything!)

before & after of our living room:

We had the walls / ceilings smooth-coated (had been the ickiest, ugliest, tackiest knock-down texture) and moulding galore added -- thick crown (based on a drawing I did), high base, panel, chair, casing -- LOVE IT!

before and after of our entry:

and our dining room:

Can you see the Louis Ghost chair there in the right corner? Its mate is on the other side of the mizuya (buffet). In this room the entrance to the kitchen was moved (obviously), we changed a much wider window into the narrower outswing french doors, we had the built-ins built in (ha ha), the beveled mirror wall and more mouldings! (chair rail and panel mouldings in here as in the living room)

Here's our lonely family room fireplace -- I really love our Delft tiles!

I haven't taken any photos (yet) of our den where we also added a lot of custom cabinets -- it's like another kitchen in there! I do love storage. No photos of our family room. Or the children's rooms. Or their bath. Or the guest room and its bath. Well, I'm tired, so there you have it!

Okay, I won't butt into your pictorial any longer. Thanks for letting me share! I know we have really different styles and aesthetics, but I absolutely appreciate what you have been through and how fun all these projects are for you. I feel the same way and am so excited for your progress! Congratulations, my dear!

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