If we were in the movie production business, I would say that principal shooting wrapped today on the Mountain House. The last pieces of furniture were delivered, paint touch up has been done and the house is stocked and clean. The cabinets and pantry are all organized. There was one glitch on the backsplash for the kitchen but more on that later.
I wanted to look back a moment and post some before and after shots so that the transformation is all the more clear. I have been watching Downton Abbey Season Four trailers so hopefully my English won't be unintelligible.
The custom night stands for the Master Bedroom arrived today. However simple, I love one of a kind pieces that are designed and made for a specific location and use. In order to take advantage of the fireplace and views, the bed needs to be placed on a wall that is just the tiniest bit narrow. But by making the night stands (or bedside tables in design speak) to the shape of the wall, we are able to offer plenty of space for the many beside items we have now. A single Big Ben wind-up alarm clock is a thing of the past. The tables are as open as possible but still offer a panel to hide cords and are made of Alder in a slab thickness of 1 3/4" solid stock. While I wouldn't recommend it, the furniture maker insists that they are sturdy enough to dance upon.
The Guest Bedroom and Children's Bedrooms are below. They are both a bit too grown up to qualify as children, but Bedroom 3 and Bedroom 4 have a "Thing One, Thing Two" sound about them.
Here's a shot of the Dining Room just because I like it.
The backsplash for the Kitchen is mostly installed. A leather finish quartz material that echoes the snowy landscape was selected. Of course, it isn't stocked within a thousand miles. While loading the slabs for delivery to the house, the large panel that is to be placed behind the range was dropped and shattered in to countless pieces. A new slab has to be ordered and won't arrive until January with an estimated installation date in mid-january. So I will have the opportunity to return to Durango for the installation. We also fabricated legs so that we could retain the antique doors which make up the top of the dining table but did not install them since we were not able to find a local resource to do a new painted finish on the table frame. But the craftsman has been found and will do the work when I return to oversee the remaining backsplash installation.
The Durango Mountain House project has been such a pleasure with materials and contractors from Dallas to LA. I have the best job in the world. I get to do what I love for people that genuinely appreciate the work and when I leave, the project affects the way they live in a positive way every day. There could be nothing better.
Merry Christmas to all and the very best wishes for a wonderful 2014!
Friday the 13th was not the least bit unlucky on the mountain today. More accessories have been placed, area rug pads lain, the Kitchen organization is almost complete and lots and lots of cleaning was done as well.
Check out a few of the nearly completed rooms below.
While the repair of a garage door may not seem like news, it's pretty exciting when it hasn't been working properly. Likewise the telephone system but both are purring like a mountain cat.
Lots of elbow grease and stainless steel polish went to work on the ranges today and they are gleaming like a new dime. Between the Dyson Pet Vac and the lint rollers, the rugs are looking great as well.
They may be very "old school" but a completed list is always a good thing.
A big day on the mountain that began with the arrival of all the new upholstered furniture. Due to the difficult access all 18 pieces were shipped to a moving company in Durango which then transferred them to a smaller truck. The movers also brought a four wheel drive pick up into which each piece was transferred again for the trip up the hill. Four men and four house later, all the pieces are in place.
The accessory work isn't complete (nor are the Christmas decorations) but we are well underway. There are lamps and occasional tables also in route.
The client's caretaker also came to split the log slices that have been curing for a couple years in the front courtyard. It's nice to have them out of the way.
The electricians arrived and installed the automatic transfer switch for the generator so even should the power fail in a storm, the critical systems will continue to operate. Powered by propane, the house is now ready for any circumstance.
The last of the linen organizing has been completed and all is ready for donation. Trips to Home Depot, Walmart (a person needs paper towels) Bed Bath and Beyond as well as Pier One wrapped up the day. More accessories should arrive from Dallas with the UPS man on Friday.
A three man crew will be hard a work cleaning and fine tuning on friday with another arriving on Saturday to do the detailed cleaning.
Today the Bradford Stewart painting, which we wrangled up to the house yesterday, was installed. Everybody needs an 8' x 8' painting over their seating area. Just be sure they have a way to get something that big in the house. Thankfully, the double doors just allow it in. The piece is painted on board with a wood frame rather than stretched canvas. By careful measurements and by locating the wall studs, we were able to place blocks on the wall which inset into the painting frame to properly support it and allow it to lay flat upon the wall. Josh Dearien and his crew were great in helping with the project.
The great plumbers from Mile High Plumbing also arrived to install the kitchen sink and touch faucet, the island sink and touch faucet, the Mud Room faucet and helped to light the pilot light for the fireplace in the Master Suite. The new dishwasher is my favorite Bosch model. The machine is so quiet that you literally can not tell that it is running. So to let you know, there is an LED read-out projected onto the floor which shows how many minutes are left in the cycle. Very high tech. We also hung a few more pieces of the clients' existing art around the house.
Since everything looks better with sparkling windows, we had the window washers out and what a job they did! These really are million dollar views now! By the way, the small black hole you see out in the ice is made by a family of otters who seem to have missed the memo regarding how cold that water is. They love Winter sports.
We also recently installed an upholstered leather headboard for the Guest Suite and today got that bed made. The room looks far better than my iPhone photos represent. Lamps will be coming this weekend. It was a full day job, but the office has now been cleaned, and is ready for the clients to organize.
Another big day (one of the biggest) on Thursday when hundreds of pieces of upholstered furniture will be delivered. Okay, not hundreds, but eighteen pieces and that will make a big statement. We can then begin accessory placement in earnest. I can't wait to share the photos with you! This is gonna be one very handsome and comfortable home.
