Adding the extra's to the Kitchen

So anyone who has been following our renovation project will have realised that I am in love with the furnishings of Restoration Hardware (we even had our Wedding List there if that wasn't a hint already).  So while we looked other places to find items we wanted from other stores and suppliers, we just found that the quality and style at RH was what we wanted.  So surprise surprise when the finishing touches to our home come from there.  In the kitchen alone, the bar stools, lamps and knobs and pulls were all from Restoration Hardware.

We love these bar stools and have a matching desk chair too:

The final floor finishing.....

Since our floors had been refinished, until all the units and appliances had been installed, we hadn't seen the refinished floors, since they had been covered to ensure that they didn't get dinked!

After everything was in, the covers were removed and the gorgeous floors beneath were finally revealed.  We couldn't have been happier.

Tiles, Lighting, Appliances .... and finally the cooker hood!

So with the Kitchen units installed, the next step was for the tiling of the walls, and the cutting of the Caesarstone.  Choosing the tiles was one of the things which really took a long time.  Jennifer worked tirelessly to make the choice as easy as possible and in the end we had a choice of two which were both gorgeous.  It was a hard decision but this is what we chose in the end:

After the tiles went up, the cut caesarstone arrived and slowly the kitchen took shape with the addition of the huge apron sink and lighting. 

and then for the appliances.

The Range

and of course the wine fridge.

and after a few false starts we finally got the cooker hood installed:



Balcony demolition - worse than expected

We knew when we bought the town home, that the previous owner's had not necessarily given it the full due care and attention that they could have, so we were ready for the additional exterior work that was going to be needed.

One of the biggest shocks to this English Girl is the impact of termintes in California.  They basically live in every house in SoCal and slowly eat the wood away. See  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosan_subterranean_termite for more information.

Unfortunately the Tudor town home has an additional amount of wood so termites are always going to be in an issue.  So even prior to closing escrow we had to have the house treated for the pesky little critters and will have to fumigate fully in the future (along with our neighbours) and then replace the wood on the outside where needed.

Here's a glimpse of what it's going to be like in 2012:

In addition, we decided that we should have the balconies repaired - better to be safe than sorry.  Anyway after removing the exterior stucco, it was obvious that a full replacement was going to be needed. 

So going going gone.....

and slowly they are being rebuilt... this time with actual waterproofing which the original developer didn't use!  At the end of the day the termites love damp and wood so we are trying to elimate as much as possible....