Two inspections down, two to go

We passed plumbing and electrical inspections today! Coming up next is HVAC, and then the final building inspection to get our certificate of occupancy. Today the mister ordered power to be reconnected to the house. Once it's up, the HVAC inspection can happen.

In other news, the stair rail was installed today:

We measure for the mirrors tomorrow. The final hardwood floor coating goes on Monday, and carpeting is installed Tuesday. More pictures now available in Interiors!

Closets are in

I said we were doing basic closets, using white wire systems. They're nothing fancy, but they'll definitely do the job in providing plenty of space for us to store hanging and folded clothing. We can always upgrade in the future. You see, while we love a gorgeous walk-in closet as much as the next person, it just wasn't high on our priority list. Here's a glimpse of one wall in my closet (for shoes and flat storage):

Dining room (+ more) pictures

Tonight the mister is over at the house talking about the shower door templates. Tomorrow they're installing the closets. And they may take the paper off the floor so we can see how everything looks together. For now, we're optimistic it will look great. We're waiting on the rest of the lights to come in, but what we've got is up. Including this beauty...

Paint decided. Now, on to the staircase

Confirmed the paint colors this morning. For your viewing pleasure:

We also talked (and talked, and talked) about our staircase. You'd think a staircase is pretty straightforward. It's stairs, right? And a handrail. Well I'm here to tell you it's decidedly not a straightforward project. Because here's what you have to figure out:

So many lovely shades of gray

Finally we got to go through the umpteen hundred paint chips we've amassed over the last several months! Only after we got home I realized there were nine additional shades of gray we forgot to consider so...shhhhhhh...we're going to have to go back to the house in the morning just to make sure. The mister doesn't know this yet.

I can tell you this, though. We're painting the entire first floor, minus the two existing bedrooms and the bathroom, plus the staircase, upstairs hallway and master bath the same shade of light-to-medium gray (Manhatten Mist). The girls's rooms, bathrooms and closets will all be a light neutral gray (Silver Charm). The master will be a darker shade of gray (Cathedral). This assumes none of the nine shades I found bump any of these.

So why all the gray? It's a fantastic neutral. Given that many of the rooms face different directions (so the sunlight is different), the color will take on different hues in the light. For example, in one room Silver Charm takes on a slight bluish cast, but in another, more of a clay. *swoon*

Tomorrow we meet with our builder to go over the master tub placement, our paint colors, and the staircase. They've installed all of the doors, and are beginning all the trim work this week!

How I use Pinterest

I'm not just on the Pinterest bandwagon, I'm up front handing out bumper stickers, kissing babies, and campaigning for it as one of the best sites ever.

It's been a fantastic way for me to organize ideas and options, especially when I need to show the mister what I'm thinking. I've got a board for most things to do with the house, like carpeting and front doors. Here are other boards I'm currently filling:

• Chandeliers. I'm a sucker for a drum pendant. It's sleek, mid-century, looks classic/modern/retro, comes in a variety of options from fabric to glass, and can be one of the most striking and yet affordable fixtures you can install. Can I get an amen?
• Blue ceilings. A while back I read a great piece on how it's tradition in some places (especially the South) to paint your porch ceiling blue. I'll tell you why soon.
• Staircases: We have some choices about how we want to finish the staircase, and it may affect our other staircase heading downstairs. Mostly to do with the balusters, a word I haven't had occasion to use until this reno.

I also use Pinterest for non-reno things, like storm photos (natch) and letters and numbers.  Are you on Pinterest? Do I follow you? Would love to see what you're working on!

We have stairs, and more

Over the past few days, our house has received her shingles, and workers have been swaddling her in the construction-equivalent of Saran Wrap. While Chris has braved the ladder in the never-ending rain to check progress on the second floor, the girls and I have been waiting on the stairs. Yesterday afternoon, our wait was over:

So up we went. We were able to see where the rooms would be, and point out what was going where. We could also see what would be our new attic space (amazing storage space). Our new staircase going up is so roomy that our (existing) staircase going downstairs feels like a drive-through banking chute. Hmmm.

Because I don't want us to be the reason work on the house is delayed, we stay pretty busy researching and selecting all the remaining purchases. Stay tuned for posts on:

• Tile: earlier this week we visited a tile showroom, and quite the unexpected happened.
• Something we all use every single day: it has become my new online hunting prey. You may even be asked for your opinion.
• Carpet: more commonly known around here as someone's obsession (hint: not mine).
• Why I love gray: and how it will be a part of every single room in this house if I get my way.

And if there's anything in particular you want to hear about, just let me know in the comments.