Counting Down

Each day the apartment gets a little closer to being finished. The HTR crew is trying to complete their part by July 31, after which I will still need to deal with the painting and probably a few other loose ends. I’ve nearly blinded myself looking at cabinet hardware and towel racks. Finding sconces for the living room is another challenge still unfinished. There is, however, a working toilet now--civilization returns!

The pictures below were with the cell phone camera; sorry about the lower quality!

Many of the lights are now in place in the kitchen, and I'm ordering the glass for the cabinets just above the counter.

I visited Erik's shop and saw the ladder, waiting to be finished to match the mahogany. I tested picking it up as I've been assuming I would be able to move it around the kitchen without too much difficulty, and I'm confident I can handle it.

Downstairs, the lighting is in place in the hallway:

The new heating system is being installed in the kitchen/living room level—European-style Runtels. Someday I’ll have the same system installed on the bedroom level, but I have to recover a bit (financially and psychologically) first!

This week I should receive some ideas about paint colors from Laura Knight, a color expert who also runs a bed & breakfast in upstate NY and with her partner does “community-supported agriculture.” She is trained in fine art and has a deeper understanding of color than I am likely to have in my lifetime.

Today I returned from a big reunion on the McAdoo side of the family, celebrating the 85th birthday of twins Murt and Eunie, and welcoming the new set of twins, Parker and Peyton, just 3 months old. Many promised to visit Boston!

End in Sight?

It seems impossible, but it looks like the contractor may finish by the end of July. The intensity has been notched up a bit with more urgency about decisions like molding and hardware. New doors are being hung. The counters are being templated; likewise the glass shower enclosures. The new heating system on the top floor is being installed. The bathroom tiling is just about done.

The appliances have arrived and have been herded into the living room. The cabinetry is nearly all in place—my job is to select the hardware and the glass that will go in the lower range of kitchen cabinets. The library ladder is in hand and is now being finished to match the cabinets. The wall with the desk, pantry, and wine area is taking shape. Below you can see the desk on the left side of that wall...

...the bar/wine area with the wine fridge (!) on right side of the wall...

...and in between the pantry which is still waiting for its doors.

Another treasure has been brought to Boston from the Connecticut house--a Tiffany mantle clock. Unlike the chandelier, we don't have much knowledge of its origin or the background story, but it's a very pretty thing. It was likely made sometime between 1890 and 1910. The damage to the glass will be repaired, the clockworks cleaned, and it will live on my mantle.

I’ve also engaged a color expert to develop some possible strategies for painting nearly everything in the apartment. She met with me last weekend and it’s clear that she will come up with ideas that I never in a million years would have thought of. I have wanted a more vivid set of colors, but realize I don’t have confidence in selecting them. Left to my own devices I would make very dull choices.

I feel very lucky in my choice of project partners--they are making everything look wonderful!

The Tyranny of "Stuff"

I’m just back from CT where Ellen and I spent the weekend readying Dad to move from the house into the condo…a weekend engaged at a deep level with stuff, more stuff, and even more stuff. Tax returns going back to 1951 when Mom and Dad were married. Vacation pictures by the boxful. Cut glass, candles, and linens that exceed the ability of any person to use in a lifetime.

None of us realized the full scope and scale of my mother’s acquisitions, each one protected with fierce loyalty. Without her to protect them, most are going to charities, and the local dump. We can hear her protesting in our mind’s ear. Never mind her promise (after emptying her own mother’s house) that she would never inflict such a burden on her own children. For her, “stuff” had a very strong attraction.

The “tag sale” plan had to be scrapped. The sheer scale of disposal made this the only possible course of action, given that Dad still has to get all of his belongings out by the end of July.
While I feel I successfully discarded a lot in emptying my place for the renovation, with this experience fresh in mind I see another round of de-acquisition on the back end of the renovation.

Back at my space the pace has slowed as the team gets into the detailed finish work. Last week was the beginning of the tiling in the bathrooms. All three now have floors, and the guest shower is almost complete. A bit of plumbing in the master shower needs to be re-located which will clear the way for the completion of the master bath tile.

Now that the tiles are here, I can see the shapes and colors and am pleased with my choice. Below is the floor of the powder room with marble mosaic.

In the kitchen, James tells me he’s spending hours on the phone with the cabinetmaker figuring out how the whole intricate puzzle goes together. Despite the complexity, pieces are being fitted into place and the overall vision is getting clearer. On the lower left is where the sink will be and on the lower right will be the microwave.

Looking out of the center of the kitchen, you can see where the wine area will be on the right. Wine racks are on the lower right, next to where the wine fridge will be. The large open space is pantry--just deep enough for cereal boxes and canned goods. My challenge will be to resist filling all these cabinets to capacity, given my possible genetic predisposition to accumulation.