Dinette progress and painted banister

Scott made a dinette while I was at girl's camp back in July.  I kept thinking I would save this post until everything is finished, but it is time I give a progress report.  I originally got the idea for a dinette here.  I fell in love with the idea of having a fun and cozy spot for our kids right in the kitchen.  I could just picture them with their cousins and friends eating their after school snack, doing crafts or even doing homework there.      

Scott thought about it for a while, measured some benches at church and at the Thai restaurant, looked up some plans on magazines, and then drew ours up.  He wanted to make sure it was going to be comfortable, so he angled the back, seat, and foot pieces.  He also added the chunky molding details to match the rest of the kitchen.  We chose the trim white paint, but after looking at it in our kitchen for two months, we are leaning towards re-painting it in the same warm grey color as the kitchen cabinets.  The white feels too stark.   The next step is deciding on the color of the vinyle cushion.  I want to have a professional make it, but Scott thinks I can buy an industrial sewing machine and sew it up.  I am not sure if my skills can do these benches justice.  I am pretty happy sewing bibs and blankets.          

He added filing cabinets under the seats.  Always nice to have more storage.    

Yesterday I painted the banister.  The wood color stuck out like a sore thumb against the new wall color, so it was a great relief to get that finished. 

Here is the before...  

 

...and after.

I love it.  It feels so crisp and clean.  My sister and then my mom kept me company on the phone white I painted into the night.  Three hours and five coats later, it looked good enough.

Last week we got to spend the day with a cute baby.  Her twin sister had surgery and her parents were with her sister.  There is a special spirit babies bring into a home.  We got to feel that sweetness all day.           
 

Our "Labor" Day weekend

Have I told you Asha takes beautiful pictures?  She does.  I asked her to take a few shots of the chandelier so it shows how sparkly it gets.  Here is what she got.      

And I love the crystals.    

We had a fun camping trip planned with Scott's brother Colin and Kersten's family for Labor Day weekend, but we decided to cancel and stay home to "labor".  Living in a mess was starting to grind on us.  It has been two and a half months since we started construction.  And we are not the patient kind that enjoys the process.  Kersten took Kai and Quinn to the pool Saturday afternoon and Bryan and Karine took the kids all day Monday.  Caroline and Asha kept asking us what they could do to help.  We are grateful for the help.       

Scott worked on moldings and base boards.  I had no idea what a big job it was going to be.  If I had known, I don't know if I would have asked.  I found a blog that had moldings I liked and asked if Scott could copy it.  He said he could, and has worked so hard since.        

Scott also finished the island by putting in the toe kick and base boards.  It is so pretty.

You can tell why we have to paint the bar stools.  It has an olive tint in it.  I am still working on choosing the color.  I think I am going to keep it light.     

I got the mud room cleaned up.  This room had turned into a "catch all" as we worked on the other parts of the house, so it took some doing to get all the junk out of the way.  Here is the laundry side.  The tall cabinet is from IKEA.  It is actually a kitchen cabinet called AKURAM.  I love it that it has drawers inside.  Really nice quality.  I originally bought it for the office, but decided I didn't want anything tall in there.  I am glad I found a spot for it.

The door you see on the right opens to the back yard.  We got rid of the door in the kitchen, so this is the way the kids come in after school.  I love it that the mess stays in this room.  I am going to love it even more when winter comes.  All the shedding of clothes, hats, mitts and boots can happen here instead of in my kitchen.             

This side is not finished yet, but the hooks went up. Scott is going to make a bench that goes along the wall.  And the floor needs to go in, but that is a topic for another post.    

   
We painted the living room in a soft grey.  We haven't painted the ceiling yet, so you can see the old color there.  I couldn't believe how high you could reach with an extension pole.  We got to the top of the second floor without a ladder.    

We also got the closet shelves in.  Asha got right into organizing.  Her room is the closest to being finished.  Another coat of paint on the wall, window molding, and the vanity is what is left.    

This is Kai and Quinn's closet.  I put everything low so they could get to their clothes without climbing.  The bottom shelf is Quinn's, next is Kai's, and the other two are for off season clothes and hand-me-downs.  hopefully no more hanging from the closet pole.  

And here is how Quinn spent today.  Poor guy has a high fever and hasn't been able to keep much down.  I sat next to him most of the day with a laptop, while I tried to get him to drink.