Take a Look!

It's been a while since the last update back in January and a lot of progress has been made throughout the entire house. I'm going to give a quick overview in this post.
The front door is finished.

I am proud every time it swings open. The door is heavy, beautiful, solid, rich and warm mahogany - making the house feel secure, welcoming, gracious. (Staggeringly heavy, it took all my strength to install it.) The floors are done and they came out as I had hoped. As you walk into the living room, you can see the new mantle. It was resurrected from a turn of the century home in the Bay Area and was missing many components when we claimed it. I had to recreate what I envisioned the original piece to look like, using what was there for guidance.
The custom made radius topped windows and true divide 15 glass paned doors provide lots of natural light throughout the downstairs. The doors are solid yet add an airy, light-filled feel to the house.
The solid wrought iron handrail on the staircase is now installed and the first of three gilding colors have been applied to embellish and accent the metal scroll and panel work.
Both of the downstairs bedrooms are completely painted, and each have double doors leading out to the backyard. The hardware and trim work will be complete soon.

The downstairs bathroom -- with old world tile floor and wainscot as well as custom trim and cabinetry -- is nearing completion. The dining room chandelier centers majestically in the room and matches the newly installed handrail and balustrade. I envision a table with a comfortable seating capacity of 12 people.
The wood stairs look warm next to the raised paneled wainscoting and newly installed wrought-iron handrail.
The wrought-iron handrail and balustrade is both heavy and delicate, inspired by the handrails found in other Tudor homes we visited while designing the house. In the next post I'll include more pictures of the upstairs, which is nearly finished!Upstairs there are three more bedrooms. One includes two doors leading out to a 7' x 14' front balcony, built-in custom cabinets and computer work station.
We need to install carpet in the upstairs bedrooms, one of the final tasks upstairs. There are 5 bedrooms: 2 downstairs, 3 upstairs. The second upstairs bedroom has a 10' closet with three 6-panel doors that match the rest. All bedroom closets have custom shelving and closet poles inside. All bedrooms are equipped with multiple TV and telephone jacks for various options for furniture positioning. The second upstairs bathroom has a custom vanity and cabinet, custom granite work and a large shower. The entry door to the bathroom is fitted with a full length mirror.
The laundry room is upstairs and closely connected to where the majority of laundry will be located. It is functional yet elegant with granite tops, custom cabinetry, can lighting and a full size stainless steel sink. The laundry also serves as the mechanical room where the electrical sub-panel and telecom panel can easily be accessed. All electrical breakers associated with the upstairs are located in this upstairs panel for convenience. This prevents having to go down stairs and outside for servicing. The hot water heater is also located here and equipped with a recirculating pump to minimize water waste and to avoid having to wait for instant hot water at any faucet in the house. The master bedroom has double doors with a private balcony for the morning retreat. The balcony has a custom wrought-iron railing and tile deck overlooking the backyard. The master bathroom is a large spa-like retreat. The large custom shower is equiped with two shower heads with separate controls, a seat and heavy frameless glass enclosure and door (to be installed).
It's painted in a soothing color and contains double sinks, a huge soaking tub, custom his and hers sinks and vanities and an option for TV and cable/telephone connections.
Stay tuned - the house is changing quickly every day as the finish work nears completion.