July 11, 2008—A little more progress and the fate of the intruder

We got our foam form for the faux chimney and it looks great. It finally makes the fireplace seem more important than the door.

The reason the fireplace is so close to the door is that we wanted it to be centered opposite the arch into the dining room. But putting it so close to the door made it seem less important, when it should be the focal point of the room. At any rate, we finally got the proportions for the chimney correct and I am very pleased with it.

The plasterer also brought two samples of the final finish—which I forgot to photograph, of course. Both the fireplace and the range hood will have a smooth plaster finish that will then be waxed with a hard wax to seal it.

I had mixed feelings when I found the pitiful corpse of Wednesday’s intruder. As noted then, it was sick, so this was not unexpected. I am glad to know it hasn’t moved in, but I still felt a pang. I am sure that when we are living here, I won’t feel nearly as tolerant. Mice are cute as long as you don’t have to deal with their depredations.

We got the speakers for the stereo system installed including those in the bedroom ceiling. In the other rooms where there are speakers, the ceiling is essentially the same color and they don’t show, but here . . . not so good.

The electrician said that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to paint the screens, so I have decided to wait until everything is installed before passing judgment. Once the light cans go in and the ceiling fan—which is brushed nickel—is installed, they may seem less prominent.

It was almost as crowded in the driveway as last week’s All Trades Day, but when I tried to take a photo, it just didn’t register. The truck with the flag is Kai’s.

All the ceiling fans had arrived and are now stored in the foyer closet for safekeeping. We have one Minka “San Francisco” fan for the living room, two Minka “Espacio II” fans for the kitchen/family room, and one Modern Fan “Flute” for the master bedroom.

I hope I don’t regret not putting more in. There are some very old-fashioned belt-driven fans that I loved, but they don’t move as much air. Our fans will help flush the house after hot days, so we really need them to push at their high speed.

The last of the tile for the master bath arrived and was laid today. There are still some sections of chair rail and some grouting to do, but I am very happy with the way it is coming out. It looks crisp but warm (at least to me) which is the effect we wanted.
Here’s another view of the tile from inside the shower. The little pipe thing up high on the left will be the steam controls. The pipe down low is where the steam will come out.
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