Our dining room is very long and narrow, so we've got a sitting area at one end, shown here.

It's too bad that I got some glare, because the picture over the fireplace is way cool. It's an 1880s hand-colored print of a renaissance-era court scene. We put an emphasis light in the ceiling, so if you shut off all the lights and then shine that one on the painting, it's awesome.

The sconce lights are original, but the cherubs beneath them were our addition. The one on the right has not yet been put up, because I had a nail problem.

If you're sitting in the dining room sitting area, you can now see into the kitchen. This archway didn't exist before the remodel. We closed off an existing door on the other side of the room and added this arch so we could put in the breakfast peninsula.

Please pardon the paint cans in the window, as we're still getting the final touchups done.

Our kitchen is actually not that large. We went with semi-custom cherry cabinets and granite countertops, the latter of which will be shown in an upcoming closeup.

Our big decision was whether to go with one level of upper cabinets or two, putting the display level at the top. I'm glad we put the extra level in.

Our appliances are relatively basic, because we couldn't justify a need for the fancy ones. We don't do a lot of really involved stuff in the kitchen.

Here's the kitchen from the other direction. The doorway on the left goes down to the basement, and the doorway on the right is the old maid's stairs going to the second floor.

We put a 32" HDTV up on the wall. The HD box is underneath it, and we're still missing a little cabinet for it to go in, so that part looks a little rough right now.

I can't remember the term for the paint, but it's a two-tone layered paint. It looks pretty good in person, but it doesn't photograph well at all.

Finally we get to see the kitchen.

I like what they did. It looks like some quality work. I hope it will bring you many, many years of enjoyment. I'll bet you're incredibly happy to have the construction over with.

The granite is cool, even if I did have to battle the forces of evil to get it. It's an exotic Brazilian variegated material, and it's got tons of color. Some parts of it include a translucent black quartz that's really cool - kind of three-dimensional.

Any pics of the infamous backsplashes?

Here's a bigger view of the granite. The small picture doesn't quite do it justice.

Backsplashes coming up. We went with an irregular backsplash to give the kitchen that rugged Colorado look. If you look closely, you'll see a few spots on them that are almost perfectly round, and that's where the dynamite was inserted to get the granite quarried.

I also show the lights lit up on the display cabinets, and the itty-bitty chandeliers that hang over our breakfast bar.

That bubblegum machine really makes that granite pop. Nice.

Last but not least, we did a lot of landscaping as part of this project, too, adding a patio and doing a lot of xeriscaping. This photo shows part of the patio. That's my wife at the garage door.

We got the front yard plants installed, but weren't able to get the back yard plants installed in time, so the back yard is a little bare right now. Also, we have to completely tear down and replace a two-story deck on the back of the house, and haven't even got any bids on that yet. It'll probably end up being a Spring project, which is a bummer.

Behind the barbecue is The Rock of Lies and Deception.

It's good. Myst is full of pretty architecture.

Sometimes it's the accessories that really finish the look, wouldn't you agree?

Where is it? I don't see it. WHERE IS THE GIANT BOULDER

Thanks. We're very happy with it. The contractor was very quality-conscious, which is important since my wife has pretty discriminating tastes.

Overall, I would give the following grades:

A+ - Cabinetmakers. Did a great job, kept their promised price, and were flexible when we ran into a couple of design problems. It might go down to an A if we don't get that last little cabinet soon, but overall they were great.

A - Drywallers. This was the area that made us nervous, because the drywallers on our last big remodel were really, really bad. These guys were great - very neat and very high quality.

A- - General contractor. Would've been an A, except they ran way behind schedule and were very tardy in giving us pricing on change orders.

C - Electricians. Decent work, but they were very messy and made every hole slightly to big to cover without a drywall repair. The contractor handled that, though.

N/A - Plumbers - Work got done, and the general contractor handled all of it. I guess it was fine, but don't know.

D - HVAC/Sheet Metal guys - Got partway through the job and then left for a month. As a result, I think we may have ended up with a chemical stain on our brick, because they didn't get the outside gutter put up for months. This is bad.

D - Architect - I've told this story before. In the last weeks of the project, she corrected a problem with some materials she recommended without fighting us, so it brought her up from an F. Also, she recommended the general contractor and cabinet firm.

F - Never finished the job, and demanded final payment. We gave them all but $1,000 and told them we'd pay the rest when they finished it up. They kept demanding payment, and we finally hired someone else to finish the work, which cost us $1,400. (Actually, we decided not to do the whole thing, but that was the bid.) They kept sending us threatening letters, and even threatened to put a lien on the house. We finally informed them that they owed us $400 and demanded payment, and they stopped messing with us.

F - Granite company - I hope they rot in hell.

:banghead:

See the landscaper grade.

Last but not least, here's the cat door. It's a double-door, and is very nice. I forgot to take a picture of the little tiny flight of stairs that leads up to it, because it's about five feet above the basement floor.

One of our cats loves it, and the other one can't seem to figure out how it works.

Above the door is the stuff that looks like a chemical stain. The contractor added the drain to the third-floor balcony, and then the sheet metal guys took almost three months to come and add the gutters, despite our constant reminding. Meanwhile, they did the waterproofing of the balcony, and my theory is that some of the chemicals went down the drain and stained the brick. We're really not very happy about it.

Phobia, what would you do in this situation as the contractor? I don't want to ask them to do some sort of bleach or anything else that could damage the brick, but it'd sure be nice to not have that stain.

The foreman's theory is that the brick just got soaked when water went down the drain, and he said that it would eventually dry out. However, it's been a month or more now since the gutter was installed and it's not any better.

Ta-daaaaaa! (Takes a bow.)

That's it. I'm very pleased and proud of how it's turned out.

I'm guessing a very light power wash will clean that brick. You can pick up a very cheap power washer for under $100 at any home improvement center or you can hire a reputable professional. It shouldn't cost too much since it's a fairly small area.

My company
http://www.growing-concern.com/

PM me if you ever want landscaping advice..I don't know about pricing out there in Colorado..but I do know specs..

I don't know, but if I were him, I'd be more interested in your snow removal sevices right about now. Those plows ain't getting much done here in the east anyway...

F - Granite company - I hope they rot in hell.

Why you hatin' on the granite company?

Lets keep it that way....I only want snow after the super bowl is over;)

Read this thread starting with post #153.

:banghead:

That's what I get for not reading back far enough.

Thanks.

Nice backsplashes, Rainman.

Would it be any of these:

• Sponging on/Sponging off

• Ragging on/Ragging off

• Frottage

Colorwashing is three colors

Love the kitchen!!!

Ragging, I think. I know that we painted it one solid color, and then my wife went back with a different color and kind of smeared it on with a rag.

And thanks. We like it.

We love the backsplashes, despite the problems. The house is now officially our Fortress of Solitude.

But, aren't there two of you? Also, does your house come with instructional crystals?

There are aren't there are two of them. If I understood correctly.

Fortress of Duality?

faux painting....and yes, I can confirm that these pictures of Kevins house are legitimate....even down to the old salmon tv room.

speaking of faux, your entry, living room and dining area is crying for a one color wash..

nice job though...congrats to you and the mr's...it's a great house.

Faux! That's what my wife was calling it.

Backcharge them for the time you spent attempting to correct their error. Be sure to make it more than the $445 that they want. Then after they refuse to make things right, find a lawyer and sue them for the total price of the granite and installation.

After the charge is placed on your credit card, dispute the charge as it is bogus.

The place looks great RM. Glad it worked out well.

Wow Rainman....very nice house and congrats on staying sane throughout the process. Thanks for sharing.

It all came out very nice. You guys do a good job of mixing the traditional with the eclectic. Makes for an interesting house. And yes, thanks for sharing. Would love to see before and after pics of any other remodels people are doing.

Curtainrods from Target? We have some just like those in Antique Bronze from Target....

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. We're pleased with it, and as cdcox said, we're happy with how we managed to marry the tradition of the home with some other things that were a little more avant garde.

And yeah, Fat Elvis, I think most or all of the second-floor curtain rods are from Target. We liked their stuff better than the stuff we had seen at the curtain store, and it was about a third of the price.

I must say, though, that I'm a particularly big fan of the "curtain rod" on the third floor (Post 264 - barely visible). I don't know where the wife bought it, but it's essentially a wire with some chrome holders. The rings that hold the curtains clip onto the curtains, so it's easy to use and it looks really cool.

I really like what you did, Rain Man! Those multi-colored lights are way cool, but the kitchen is the best! Everything looks like it turned out real well.

yup, an old and new mix never goes out of style.

they also have a good and diverse collection of original artwork, which never hurts.

I've got a pretty massive DIY bathroom remodel going on at the moment. I took before pictures and process pics. The after probably won't be for another month or so. Once they're all done, I'll post them up. That is, if my wife doesn't kill me before I get finished.

Since August I've been doing my entire house. Seriously. I've done 3 bathrooms and a minor remodel (more like an updating) on our small kitchen. I did a total overhaul of the big kitchen and the master bathroom. I'm 75% done with the big kitchen and I should have the master bathroom complete before the end of the year. You guys wouldn't believe the before and after pics on this house.

I just wish I had more time to work on it. Whenever I get a full, uninterrupted day to get stuff done, I get a lot done. Unfortunately, during the Fall, those days are few and far between. Thankfully I should have some days coming up after the New Years.

Anyway, the before and after on mine will be dramatic. The DURING pictures will be the most dramatic, though. Nothing like demolishing a whole bathroom, including ripping up the subfloor, to show dramatic change.

I'd be interested in seeing any before and after pictures on either project.

I could put up some before and during pictures, but after seeing all the anticipation yours started and the resulting pressure, I'm going to hold off. My wife is enough pressure. The last thing I need right now is to wake up every morning for my morning coffee/Planet perusal and find my "home renovation" thread bumped yet again with people saying, "ANY PROGRESS YET?>!"

How are those 'before' pictures coming along? Any updates for us?

I have plenty of time, I sometimes have trouble getting motivated to do this stuff by my lonesome. I'm used to having guys working with me and kinda directing traffic. For my own home, I can't really afford the help so I've taken several months off to do it myself. Sometimes I'll get up and not get a whole lot done in a day - that gets pretty frustrating for everybody. I work a lot better on a team.

"Phobia - get me some more coffee."

"Phobia - peel me a grape."

"Phobia - hit the ****ing grey thing in the middle."

LOL You'll never make it to Rain-Man-like internet legend status if you can't take the pressure from your fans. :p

I know that feeling as well. I also have a lot more confidence when I have someone there to just nod their head and say, "Yeah, that'll work." I usually know what needs to be done, and I have a good idea of how to do it, but sometimes it just helps to have someone else there to affirm it. Luckily, I have two brothers in construction that have helped out some. I also have a best friend who has a house, and we do swap days on our houses.

Swingin Baby!

Houses, not wives... though now that you mention it his is pretty hot :hmmm:

(just kidding, honey, if this is one of those days you're reading the Planet instead of working).