We're Near the Finish Line!

My apologies for the long absence! After months of thinking of nothing but the house, we welcomed the chance to have some fun at my family reunion in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

A great time was had by all, but now it's back to the task at hand (and foot and leg and arm -- you get the idea, lots of work): getting this house, especially the kitchen, ready for its photo debut. The rest of the house is going to take a few more years, make that decades, to become presentable, but the kitchen is about 90% finished!!!!

Yesterday, cabinet maker Mr. Honest and his son Kip came to install the butcher block island countertop, and it's a beauty! It's taking some time to get used to the sheer magnitude of it, but I think I'm going to love it. Mr. Hubby has already fallen hard for the maple addition to the family -- saying it's exactly what he wanted.

And I'm totally infatuated with the recycling bin that I designed (yes, it's bragging, but it's my first furniture design, and I'm just darn proud of the way Mr. Honest took my ideas and turned them into a cool and oh-so-handy addition to the cabinet family). It has a hinged top, so we can throw our empty wine bottles into the allotted glass bin; beer cans in the metal one and boxed wine into the cardboard container -- you get the idea.

Mr. Honest had the idea of making the lid out of butcher block, and it looks soooooo good. And he covered up the casters, so they're not visible, but we can move the unit around for more countertop space, like if we have a lot of dishes that need to be washed by hand (God forbid), I can move the cabinet over to provide more dish space by the sink.

Plus, Mr. H and Kip installed the door knobs and pulls. And although they created a sawdust tornado, the handles look crazy-good (IMHO, anyway).

So now it's time for paint, backsplash and a few odds and ends to get this kitchen finished and fabulous. So as you look at Mr. Hubby preparing dinner last night, know that it's not all complete -- but it's sure got me smiling ...

I don't think I've ever posted a pic of Mr. Honest and Kip, cabinet makers and so much more. 

Check out the recycling bin next to the island.

That island is huge!

Mr. Hubby admiring his nearly completed kitchen ...