Work also has been moving along on the interior of the home. The drywall was installed and is being finished. The living room and master bedroom on this home have a vaulted ceiling. The vault is a 4/12 pitch so it ends up being about 12′ high at the peak, creaing a light, airy feel to the home.

It really struck me how nice and light the home is. Even with cloudy skies and drizzle yesterday the house had a very warm feeling. Some areas, such as the staircase, are flooded with light creating an interplay of shadows and designs on the balusters. Other areas, such as the eating nook, create a real cozy feeling.

The kitchen incorporates honed black granite countertop work areas. Most of the granite countertops we install is polished. This honed surface doesn’t reflect light and creates a softer appearance. The honed dark granite creates a nice contrast with the lighter bamboo countertop used on the island.

The fireplace is a three-sided gas unit. It was not embellished with extra materials, just wrapped with oak to match the bookcases that surround the unit. Being able to view the fire from three sides is a nice feature.

The granite countertops were installed last week. An undermount stainless steel sink was incorporated into the granite countertops. Granite makes a wonderful countertop material. It tough, doesn’t scratch easily, and doesn’t absorb most liquids. I like the natural look of cut stone.

The owner selected cherry finished hardwood for the doors and trim in the condominiums. We installed a 15 light glass French door between the living room and the study. This allows light to pass through but keeps out sound when closed.

The bathroom in the unit incorporates a wall hung water closet. This is a very nice feature in that it makes cleaning the floor much easier. As in the other areas, the vanity is has a cherry finish.

We have set the custom bookcases in the hallway. The shelves in these bookcases are about 10” deep. Most of the shelves are adjustable to suit the size of books and art work to be displayed here. We also have the seats set in place in the eating nook at the kitchen. This is a really nice spot with east views of the backyard.

The music room is flanked by some smaller bookcases set on the floor, with oak columns extending up to the lowered ceiling. The ceiling in the music room has some oak trim on it as well. This creates a very nice setting for the piano.

Every time I am in the units I manage to glance out the windows and see something new. Today, with our massive white snowfall, I saw a gray fox marching along the riverbank….too quick for a photo however.

We had our tile installers complete the floors in the bathrooms and laundry areas. The tile is a nice slate gray material in a 12”x 12” size. The vanities are the same cherry cabinetry as the kitchen.

The interior doors in the home are solid three panel oak units. This style of door blends in well with the Craftsman style. Our base trim is also flat trim without any embellished routing or molding applied. The hardware in the house is oil rubbed bronze which has a dark patina.

The mechanical equipment has mostly been set in place and connected. We are now running the permanent heating system. To do this we first clean the house well and then cover all the duct openings with filter fabric. That keeps the duct systems clean.

Next week we will be working on wood floors and starting to set cabinets.

The main floor of this home has 9’ high ceilings so we use 54” drywall. That allows us to cover the wall surfaces with two sheets of drywall with a tapered seam in the middle of the wall. That seems to work very will and creates a nice, flat, smooth wall. The ceilings are finished with a very light texture which breaks up light refection. The drywall finishers do most of the high work from stilts. This allows them to get close to their work without having to climb up and down ladders….but it takes getting used to walking on tall stilts!

The second product is IKEA kitchen cabinets. We have seen many catalogs of IKEA products but have not used them in the past. Again, the owner’s purchased the products directly and we installed them. The light maple cabinets took a fair amount of time to assemble, but once that was done the installation in the home has worked out well.