Up, Up and Away

Yep, that's a second floor!  This is a drive-by photo from a friend of mine.  (Thanks, Liyah!)   It was very exciting to see the new developments.  We are able to see the scale of the house now that the 2nd story exterior walls are nearly complete. 

The shape of the back of the house is also taking form.  We've cantilevered out about 3-4' in order to gain a bit more floor space upstairs and so that we'd have a covered area for the BBQ.

We really wanted to avoid another "modern box house" so our architect came up with a few creative concepts and they are starting to take shape in the photo above:

(1) We decided to split our roof line and make it about 2' higher on one side.  This also allows us to show off our funky, angular soffits.  Love 'em or hate 'em, we promise that they will be unique.  I really don't think we've seen another house in the neighborhood with this type of soffit.  Our contractor tells me that they will take a long time to construct - but (hopefully) well worth the extra effort!
(2)  The depth of the back of the house will be slightly greater on one side than the other, meaning that it will push further into the yard on one side (on the 2nd story).
(3)  Also (slightly hard to see - and explain), the "belly band" raises up about a foot in the middle of the house.

The front entry of the home will look very different as well, but they won't start on the new entry until the roof is underway.  Roofing package gets delivered next week!  

Movin' on up!

Things are moving along!  I drove by on Thursday and took this picture for Ben.  It was the first time either of us had seen any framing for the 2nd floor.  I sent him the photo by text...

His immediate response, "Someone tell that guy to put down his Coke and pick up a hammer." 

Ha!  It is official proof that Ben is way more observant than me.

Then and Now

1943

The Year the Home was Built

2007

The Year we Purchased the Home

2013
The Year we Started our Remodel

Stay tuned for...
2014:  The Finished Project

Progress

When I walked up to the house today, there were visible signs of an addition.  If you look closely (below), you can see the 2nd story overhang starting to be framed out.  That is part of the floor of the new master bedroom.  Eventually, the front door will move to make way for the new "entry" area.  One of my complaints about our house was that you just open the door and walk into the living room.  In the new house, there will be a short walk-though entryway with a coat closet, before reaching the living room.  It should feel a lot more welcoming.  

Here is a picture of the framing for the 2nd story addition (below).  This is inside the living room.  We intended to raise the ceiling from 7'6" to 8'3", but the demo team realized that our house "tipped" about 3" towards the street over the years.  So, effectively, it was 3" shorter on the street side.  In order to even everything out, they added another 3" to the living room side.  Yay!  Now our ceilings will be a foot taller.  This 3" "tip" ended up to be a blessing in disguise.

Kitchen demo has begun... the 80s cabinets are gone!  And so is that awful grayish-blue tile with gold flecks.  Good news all around.

Bar Cantinetta

2 kids = we deserve a glass of wine
2 kids plus a large-scale remodel project = we deserve a bottle (or two) of good wine AND an amazing dinner.  So...

Last night, Ben and I went on a well-deserved date night to Bar Cantinetta - one of Madison Park's newest "hot spot" restaurants (barcantinetta.com).  We absolutely loved it - five stars all the way.  It's now one of my favorite restaurants in the city.  (No, I'll never cheat on you, St. Clouds... you'll always be my favorite.  But last night I definitely had the best meal I've had in Seattle in a long time.)  La Bete and Tanglewood Supreme were other recent top contenders, but gosh, Bar Cantinetta just blows them right out of the water.

Wine

We ordered the Stevens Cab Franc.  A trusty favorite.

Food 

We were seated at the kitchen bar and we watched executive chef, Emran Chowdhury, cook each and every dish.  We'd see something that looked tasty and then we'd ask Emran to cook it up for us.  Such a fun experience!  Amazing that this guy, must be in his 20s, can cook such delicious food in a 10' long, 2-man kitchen.

All of the dishes were awesome... but we LOVED and salivated over the polenta with sopressata and poached egg.  Seriously, I would have ordered 3 more of those.

Here is a picture of the menu blurb.  The last sentence is simply awesome and so well suited for Madison Park, where everyone is just a bit "loftier" than in other parts of the city.

The restaurant is small - only 8 tables - but well worth the wait if you get in (no reservations).  The perfect date night restaurant!

I just realized this post has NOTHING to do about the remodel.  Ha!  See, I knew I should have just written about food and wine.  Hmmm...

Jonathan Adler: I love you!

Jonathan Adler: I love you.  But why did you have to open a store in Seattle?  (And why is your return policy so stinkin' crappy?)

I don't want a house that looks or feels like any other house in Seattle.  That just seems boring.  I want something unique and fun.  And now that JA has a store about a mile from our house, I know his designs will be all over the 'hood.

I guess I'll have to limit my JA purchases for the home.  Here are a few of my top contenders:

1.  The Meurice Chandelier.  I love it in every shape and size.  Gotta go with the brass.  Would it be annoying to worry about changing 42 light bulbs?  Probably, since I barely have time to sweep my floors.  But, a friend of mine (with excellent taste) said, "if that's a concern, you don't love the light enough to buy it."  Hmm, interesting thought.  I'll just have to add "change light bulbs" to my honey-do list (which I've now learned is totally okay to just leave over voice mail).

Contemporary Pendant Lighting by Sacramento Lighting Lumens

Contemporary Chandeliers

2.  Antlers and Hippos.  Jonathan Adler has fantastic decor pieces.  Sadly, it would be really hard for me to justify buying an $895 leather hippo.  I have a voice inside my head saying, "that $895 should probably go into the college fund."  Damn you, voice.

Not much I can say about urchins on a wall, except that this is Seattle and anything goes - and I think 3D art is really cool.

Artwork

Eclectic Ottomans And Cubes

Modern Artwork

3.  Grasscloth - We've had our eye on wallpaper for a long time.  Grasscloth is easy to look at and can really warm a space.  JA has some great ones.  We're planning to go with something with a bit more pizzazz but I still love this gray one.  It would be great in a master bedroom.  Gray, gray, gray!  I can't get enough of it.  Yes, even in Seattle... love it.

Traditional Wallpaper

Tarps with holes...

Tarps with holes... don't hold water.  And under this weekend's very wet and very windy conditions, the tarps failed.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.  The basement, which was supposed to be untouched during this project, has water soaking through the drywall in the downstairs bathroom and the furnace room.  Kuddos to our hard working construction team that did their best to contain the water during one of Seattle's worst September storms in history.  Good time to have a house with no roof.

Despite, stress level is still fairly low.

The 2nd floor framing should be visible by the end of the week.  It will be exciting to start to see the structure's size and shape come together during framing.