House Remodel, February - March

I've taken some photos of the house remodel and forgotten to post them. The demo part was remarkably fast. Putting everything back together, conversely, has taken some time! Here is a time line of the happenings thus far:

February 10:

Day 1 of Demo: Kitchen cabinets out

February 20:

Master Bath demo begins

Kitchen island is gone,  window trim is all gone

Back to the bones of the kitchen walls

February 28:

What used to be our upstairs balcony. Site of our new walk-in closets.

Master Bath. This is the same view as the photo above with the guy standing there.

Makeshift stair railing

Kids' bathroom upstairs

View as you walk in. Note the horizontal strip of drywall running across the ceiling, for a later photo...

From the kitchen, this is the site of our future pantry

Looking into the garage, this is the site of our future mudroom

March 28:

As referenced above on the drywall, they exposed this existing horizontal 'beam' of wood which was hiding beneath the drywall. I was really hoping for an exposed beam, and it's perfect! We needed some separation from the entryway to dining room and I think this will work well.

My deep thoughts on remodeling:

1) I cannot believe the knowledge and ability of the builders. This process requires so much measuring and exactness and foresight and planning. It requires coordinating about 15 different subcontractors and everyone has to know what everyone else is doing. The plumber needs to know what the drywaller is doing. The lumber guy needs to know where his studs and joists are going and needs to know where electrical is going to be. The low-voltage guy needs to know where drywall is going so he can run some sterero lines. The cabinet guy needs to get a hold of the plumber and the appliance guy to get the exact measurements of our kitchen sink, fixtures, and appliances. The quartz countertop guy needs to talk to the cabinet guy so they can coordinate their measurements. It is mind-numbing. The time it would take us to complete one of the hundreds of tasks they do in any given day would be....a long time. Every single day I think of things I am thankful for, and every single day the remodeling people pop up in my mind.

2) How lucky are we to be able to remodel our house to make it more or less exactly how we want it? The other side of the coin - I am making decisions like it's my job, unharnessed, and worry that all of my decisions will end up in some kind of a total esthetic nightmare. Only time will tell.

3) The decisions we have to make. Oh. my. goodness. Unending. Ridiculous. Trivial. But not :) Examples: Quartz vs. granite, what color countertops, thermafoil cabinets vs laminate, alder built-ins vs. white, 4" wood vs 2" wood, brushed nickel vs. stainless steel, skim coated dry wall vs. orange peel, paint colors for walls, type of carpet, color of carpet, type and size and color of floor tile, backsplash tile, shower tile, accent tile, shower roof tile, bathtub tile, size and color and type of hardwood, where to put the hardwood, type of doorknobs, style of doors, 2 1/2" window trim vs 3 1/2" window trim, cabinet design, pantry design, style of fan, style and type of island vent hood, # of CFM for our island vent hood, remote blower vs. non-remote blower, where to put our TV in the family room, where to install our TV in the master, is it ok if it's not centered on the wall but centered to the bed, do we want speakers in every room, are we ok with visible wireless speakers or do we want them in the wall, type of fridge, size, deciding all appliances, built-in convection microwave vs. traditional microwave with trim kit, farmhouse sink or traditional sink, placement of rain shower, steam shower vs. not, modern glass with some steam escape vs. ugly glass and no steam escape, windows or no in the closets, where to put pull-down iron, hanging vanities or traditional, vanity lighting on top, to the side, or installed in the mirrors, size of cooktop, 30" vs. 36"....

4) So sometimes I get super overwhelmed. But I definitely feel more excitement and appreciation than irritation, for once. haha!