Chandeliers

Our Robert Abbey chandeliers arrived.  With their 36" diameters and 18 bulbs apiece, they make a bold  statement in the living and dining room.  My enthusiasm for them was nearly squashed when Grant asked our electrician if running them was like having 36 lamps on at one time.  I think I know the answer!  At least they are on a dimmer.

The Kitchen Island

The untreated timber

timber pieces glued together after planing--3 1/2 inches thick

Newel post legs 

Sealing the top and painting the legs

The finished island 

Wood island and soapstone counters

The island in our kitchen is one of my favorite elements in the kitchen design.  It was built by Joel's carpenters Rob and Andy and it is made from old timber salvaged from a mine near Boulder.   It's a great size, 7x3, and has become the heart of the kitchen.  There are endless options in designing a kitchen island.   At first, all I  knew was that I wanted something unique for the space.   Once I confirmed that the island did not need to hold more cabinetry, we were freed to imagine something more furniture-like.    After many discussions and an initial design of a farm table on casters, Joel came back to us offering the douglas fir timbers.   At first glance they looked pretty rough, but after a week long process of planing and sanding and gluing and sealing, they turned into something very elegant and refined.    The thickness and durability of the wood is also a nice contrast to the more delicate soapstone counters in the kitchen. Immediately, the island has become more than just a large surface in the kitchen.  It's a prep surface for cooking; a homework and craft project station for the kids; our everyday dining table; and a gathering spot for parties.  I imagine that  it will become one of the most used and functional piece of furniture that we will ever own--and perhaps the most original.

We've moved!

kitchen (west)

Kitchen (north)

Family room adjacent to kitchen

family room and kitchen

Office

Dining room

Entry hall 

living and dining room

1880s Brunswick billiards table 

After a whirlwind 6 months of work on the house, we are in!  Our amazing contractor Joel got us in ahead of schedule--on September 26th!  We are now quickly unpacking boxes and settling in to our new home.   Here are some pictures of the first floor (still lots of boxes upstairs!).    We are overjoyed and a bit overwhelmed.   Moving forces you to own up to all that you have acquired and gives you the rare opportunity to part with all the things that are no longer relevant to you. If you adopt a ruthless attitude and set the "keep" bar very high, it can be a great opportunity to lighten your load.   But it's not that easy.   Selection is hard, sometimes bizarrely emotional, and curating and editing your collections--be it kitchen gadgets or art can be tougher than it seems.  In addition, due to all of the stuff that came with the purchase of the house, it has been a harder move than usual since we are also sorting and sifting through furniture and objects that the previous owner left behind.  Since we aspire to live in a more minimalist, er, uncluttered way, we are selectively integrating a few wonderful pieces that we inherited.  To that end, the grandfather clock is now back in its original place in the front hall, the 1880s Brunswick billiards table is in the upgraded basement, and I have claimed a small secretary desk for my use, which tucks into Grant's office quite nicely.   And the best part for me?  The kitchen.  It's a perfect combination of form and function.

Face Frame Cabinetry

Face Frame Cabinets in Kitchen

Cabinetry with mix of glass and solid doors

Face Frame Cabinets with exposed hinges

Face frame cabinets around refrigerator

Cabinet boxes before face framing

Face frames added to boxes

Face frame and beaded board applied to inside 

Rob adding the hinges to the doors

Several months ago we decided to construct the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry using a traditional method of cabinet design called face framing.  This method has been used in North America for a long time and it is often seen in older homes.  By contrast, European style (or frameless cabinetry) became popular after WWII in Europe during post war reconstruction.   In frameless cabinetry construction, the hinges are concealed and the door or drawer covers most of the interior frame.  At the time, it was considered an advance in cabinet design because hardware had improved and materials had greatly advanced, allowing for the doors and drawers to be supported by the cabinet box, not the hardwood frame attached to the front.   While frameless cabinetry is streamlined and elegant, face framed cabinetry seemed more appropriate for our turn of the century home. 

The construction of our cabinetry was a multi-step process and more labor intensive than the frameless option.  First, we ordered standard size cabinet boxes from a manufacturer in Grand Junction, CO.   Then, Joel's carpenters constructed the face frames for each box and also lined many of the upper boxes with traditional beaded board.  Some boxes were divided into drawers, while others were designated as cabinets with doors.  This was the point in the design process where we truly got to customize our space and get the storage that we needed for our lifestyle.  The next step was to carefully measure all of the openings to allow for the flush inset drawer or cabinet door.  This was critical step because there is a small gap around every opening that gives it a uniform appearance and allows for very little error.  Next, the doors and drawer fronts were ordered locally, along with the interior drawers and drawer hardware.  Custom shelves were made on site for the upper cabinets.  All the doors and drawers were then sprayed with Benjamin Moore's Lancaster White paint and sealed with a clear coat of lacquer.   Next, the doors were mounted with exposed hinges, glass was inserted in some doors and the door and the drawer knobs (small round knobs in oil rubbed bronze and a few traditional latches for the upper cabinets) were attached.   Joel added magnets to all of the doors so that they would have a solid connection with the face frame.    Now that the cabinets are finished, it seems like the right choice for our 110-year-old home.  

Our Rocky Mountain Summer

Grant summiting Imogene Pass (13,100ft!)

Carson at Red Feather Lakes

Swimming at Red Feather

The Stupa at the Shambhala Center, Red Feather Lakes

Dads after Steamboat Trail Run

9 of the 18 kids in Steamboat

Quinn at Cutthroat

Camping at Cutthroat Bay

Santa Fe

Quinn milking a goat

Grant and boys in Santa Fe with their Poppy

Cole's post-camp arms covered in girls' phone numbers

Although I felt like my mind was a captive of our house remodel all summer, we did get to enjoy some fun times around Boulder and some new spots in Colorado.    In June, the boys went to a two week YMCA summer camp (Camp Santa Maria) in the mountains of Bailey, Colorado, where they got their first taste of being away from home.  Cole came home with his arms covered in girls' phone numbers, a solid sign that a request to return to Santa Maria might be in store next summer.  In August, we weekended with 6 other families (18 children, one house!) in Steamboat Springs, where Grant and 4 other dads ran a 15 mile trail race;  friends Kita and Toby organized a mutli-family camping get-away at Cutthroat Bay near Granby just before school started on August 15th;  Grant visited his dad in Santa Fe over a long weekend with Cole and Quinn; friends Eric and Faire invited us to spend Labor Day weekend in Red Feather Lakes; and just last weekend Grant ran the famous Imogene Pass Race, a  17.1 mile point-to-point mountain race, which connects the towns of Ouray (7810 ft.) and Telluride (8750 ft.) by way of 13,114 foot Imogene Pass.    

Door Hardware

Front door hardware

Exterior lock set at family room

Door hardware at Denver salvage

Existing glass knobs with new back plates

2nd floor egg-shaped hardware

Knob set at Denver Architectural Salvage

New knob set on master bath 

I made several trips to Denver's Architectural Salvage warehouse last week to find compatible pieces of door hardware for a few new doors.    The existing hardware at 1109 Pine is quite impressive (23 doors have their original hardware), but I needed to find something old to blend in with the existing doors.  The hardware on our main floor is quite intricate, and fortunately I wasn't trying to match that hardware.  Out of curiosity I have looked at many architectural salvage online sites across the country, but I have yet to see the same door hardware as ours in their collections.  The immediate challenge was to find something for our master bathroom that would be compatible to the aged brass egg-shaped sets that are throughout the upstairs.  The best I could do was to find a beaded brass set that was not identical, but had the same overall shape and finish.  I also picked up some pretty bronze back plates for the two glass knob sets that I already had, which will serve the basement and pantry doors.  The hunt for hardware was quite fun but it could have been very daunting had I needed to find exact matches.  

Floors

Quinn's bedroom

walnut floors before refinishing

refinishing the walnut floors

newly refinished walnut floors

douglas fir floors in dining room

stairs 

Stairs

entry

We had the existing floors and our new walnut floors refinished last week.  Upon inspecting our existing floors, our floor guy Jim told us that he suspected that the 110-year-old douglas fir floors had never been refinished.  We loved the way they looked with their minor scratches and dings, so we opted to have them screened and sealed instead of having them fully sanded.  Screening takes a small layer off the top and removes all the dirt and some of the scratches from the floor.  It also retains the color, which in our case is a rich amber color that has taken decades to develop.  The stairs are especially full of wear and character and we are happy to have them look their age.   In contrast, our new walnut floors in the kitchen and family room got the full treatment:  a full sanding and several coats of a chestnut stain.   The walnut and the douglas fir are quite different both in size and color, but the wood in both these spaces works as a unifying element so they are remarkably compatible.