The kitchen is partially installed, and looking better every day. As of today, most of the cabinets are in. (Some doors and drawers looks a bit crooked, they’re not done yet.) This week the granite guy is coming to make our template, and then all we need are the counters, the toe kick (for some reason it was shipped back with the original wrong-colored kitchen), and the appliances! Check it out:

…finally!

We decided on the tile layout (bricked) today, and it’s looking great so far. Here’s what it looked like when I went over:

This is the tile stacked (laid straight):

We both like it better bricked (first picture).

And now the kitchen is completely Sheetrocked, too!

As of this afternoon, the kitchen tile is nearly completely laid: 

(Photo courtesy of Juan, our handyman.)

The tile is continuing into the hallway but we’re not tiling it yet. The kitchen was most important because it’s being installed next week (FINALLY!). Stay tuned for more updates!

Two steps forward, one step back… that’s the theme of this renovation. We’re actually getting somewhere now. The new HVAC system is installed, plumbing in the kitchen is ready, the gas meter is in, and the electric is done. We have all of our kitchen tiles, appliances, sinks, faucets, etc. ready to go – hopefully the walls will be closed up by the beginning of next week and we can schedule our cabinet installation!

This week we got to do some fun stuff: picking paint colors and finalizing the carpets. Our wonderful designer of Green Door Interiors helped us pick a gorgeous palette from Benjamin Moore – we’re just waiting for samples and hopefully we’ll be able to paint soon. Check them out!

Trim throughout the house will be Decorator’s White.

For allover color (kitchen, hallways, stairs):

We’re using it in the playroom too, but with an orange stripe about 3/4 of the way up. Not sure which shade of orange we’re using yet, we need to pick a drum shade color for that room first.

For the living and dining room:

It’s a beautiful grayish color with green (or blue) undertones, depending on the light. It goes well with the Stonington Gray but gives a bit more color to the room.

For our master bedroom:

Soothing and soft, it’s a pale green/gray color that coordinates beautifully with our sheets.

For the guest room:

I love this color. It’s inviting and pretty.

I never thought I’d go for so much green; I’m more of a blue person. Luckily, I have a five-year old boy who loves blue, so I get to have both! This one’s for Leo’s room:

It’s a great denim-y blue, so much fun for a boy’s room. And to make it even more fun, we’re accenting it with orange (maybe one striped wall, or one bold stripe – what do you think?). These are the two orange contenders:

We haven’t decided on Rachel’s room yet. I don’t want it to be too pink because we will likely switch her room and the guest room when she’s old enough for a bed, and her crib set is very pink. So we’re thinking a neutral taupe/beige color with a brown accent, like these:

What do you think? How can we make this room more exciting?

Well, at least something‘s running efficiently here. The kitchen sinks, faucets, and soap dispensers arrived today!

I couldn’t believe it when the delivery guy brought them. I just got my shipping notification a couple of days ago! Thanks Quality Bath for lightning-fast shipping.

I haven’t unpacked them yet; they were delivered to our current apartment so that I would be able to sign for them. I don’t want to open them and risk damage when I move them to the new house. I will post pictures when I do get around to unpacking them.