Narrowing It Down

Ok. I've chosen the bin pulls for the cabinet and the finish I want all the kitchen hardware to be. Here's the bin pulls:

The finish is brushed nickle. I want the lights to be like that too and the faucet. I still have to pick out the knobs for the cabinets though. I can't decide if metal, glass, or porcelain would be best. Rejuvenation has a bunch of cool ones, but for some reason their online store doesn't seem to have many options in the brushed metal finish. Here are some choices, what do you think??

Metal #1

Metal #2

Glass #1

Glass #2

Porcelain #1

Porcelain #2

Salvage Building

My sister, Molly, and I went to a great place this weekend in East Palo Alto called Whole House Building Supply and Salvage. It's this place that takes apart houses that are going to be demolished, piece by piece, and sells the recycled materials to the public. They also get a bunch of donations. The place was amazing. It was kind of like an organized junk yard that went on and on forever. They had absolutely everything...wood, picket fences, antique and modern windows, doors, toilets, sinks, tubs, bricks, ducks (yes, really), hardware, lights...everything! I'm definitely going back there with all my door measurements and buying a bunch of old doors that belong in a house like ours. There were also a bunch of cool bricks that caught my eye and some glass french doors that I want to make into mini greenhouses in the vegetable garden some day. Getting lost in isle after isle of doors was fun, but the best part of the day was when the guy who worked there told us that they were actually doing a house demolition that day and gave us a map to a nice neighborhood in Palo Alto. We decided to drive by and check it out and I'm so glad we did. When we got there the ladies in the garage gave us a price list with over 200 items on it all corresponding to something in the house. It was so weird! All these people were hurrying around (kind of like vultures) tearing out every last piece of the house. There were big holes in the walls where window used to be and bathroom cabinets with no more sinks in them. Some guy was taking out the front door when we were there and there were sold stickers on nearly everything. I even got caught up in the excitement and bought an old wooden potting bench for the back yard!
The sale lasted Saturday and Sunday, and then on Monday the house would be demolished and anything that wasn't sold gets taken back to the shop. It's actually a pretty great concept. Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, right?

A cell phone pic of what was left of the master bathroom shower!

My new potting bench!

Slow and Steady

Here's a little update on the house. We've been here about 3 weeks and it's great. We have hot water now, a closed up kitchen floor that's not a hole to the underworld anymore, and most importantly, internet. We've still have a lot of boxes to go through, but we've gone through enough to finally consolidate them all in one room (the "kitchen"), which means we can actually use the others! My old wood shop teacher from junior high came up on Wednesday and we signed a contract to get our cabinets done in the kitchen, which I'm extremely excited about. Finish date for the cabinets is Feb. 28, but he said more than likely he'll get them done sooner. It seems like a long time away, but I have a feeling it will go by quickly. I have yet to pick out the hardware for the cabinets, kitchen lights, or a faucet so I guess having some extra time is a good thing. The weather's been so nice lately that all I want to do is work in the yard, but I've have to make myself stay indoors instead and work on house.
The house is starting to feel more and more like home. Things are finding their places and the house is starting to take on our personality. It's all coming together!

The front entry with a great rug from Jose's dad, Javier.

The living room.

Another flea market find from Javier.

The dining room, looking into the living room. We still have paper on some of the hardwood floor to protect it. I can't wait til we don't need it anymore, though.

The front room/office. The oak desk is from my dad's workshop in Hollister. I love it.

My camera collection, finally displayed properly (thanks to Jose's great suggestion). Maybe I'll even use them more now that I'll have to look at them everyday!

The multi-purpose bathroom sink.

My garden table fits perfectly on the front porch.

The succulents also found a home on the porch.

A flea market find from Jose's dad. I need to find the right plant for it.

Hammering the final nails in the kitchen floor.