This Ain't HGTV, folks.

The idea of doing a home renovation and creating our dream home seemed so romantic in the beginning.  We would put our hearts into building a house into a home that we would love, and just like on tv, SNAP, it would all come together.  Well, this ain't HGTV, folks.  A 6-8 week project is now entering week 13 and I am exhausted with the stress of it.  My family is living out of boxes and the littles just don't know what to make of everything.  On the positive side, what we are seeing happening is beautiful and I am excited to see the completion of the project.  

Here's what I have to share with you today:

Kitchen

The white Shaker cabinets are going in.  They make the room feel so bright and open.  The backsplash is a real statement.  It still has to be grouted, but here are some of the first photos.  This is a white beveled arabesque tile from Mission Stone and Tile.
https://store.missionstonetile.com/Beveled-Arabesque-Tile-White-p/arabesque-white.htm

 These are not the best photos of the color, but I did find it to not be a true white.  It definitely has some yellow undertones.

 We will be using a pure white epoxy grout.  After reading a bit online and talking to our tile installer, we think that will be best for cleanup.  I am not a careful cook and I fully expect to have oil spatters or splashes of tomato sauce at some point.  Hopefully it is worth the extra money.

 Cabinets are partially in, but I am excited about how they look so far.  We started to hang the pendants, but one of them was missing a piece.  It is on back order for several weeks so I may not have 100% completed photos for a while.  All of the can lighting was upgraded to the newer, more eco-friendly LED lights.

Columns

We rewrapped the columns in the entry with a squared, Shaker-style panel to match the new cabinetry.  

Before (nice, just not our style)

New column

One more coat of paint and then these are done.  :-)