A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To This Renovation

It's been a very exciting time at the church. Big changes happen every week and I am truly awed how it all comes together between carpenter, plumber, electrician, tiler, et al and me. When I walked through the church for the first time, it was a bunch of cut off spaces with no flow. But when I got back to the deck and saw the view of the Hudson River, I was sold. NOW, that the interiors have really started to come together, when I walk back to the deck, it looks sad and forlorn because it hasn't received any attention. Come May, I will have a laser like focus on that deck.
But for now, what has happened inside is amazing. Here is my new kitchen, complete with running water, all appliances and lights working and cabinets installed.

Here's the view of the kitchen from my bedroom loft:

The bathroom is completely functional although in desperate need of some paint. I finally think I've got the paint color so that's my gig to get done. Here's the new shower doors and shower panel. I ordered both of these on Overstock.com (as well as the tiles). It's such a relief when the stuff shows up and looks exactly like it did in the picture on line.

And the double sink vanity.

I bought these voile like curtains for $10 in the clearance bin and I was surprised at how it kind of made me feel like I was in the sea foam.
One of the big things, other than the deck, that I still have to do is begin some plan for the landscaping of the front of the house. That requires more earth moving machinery and a clear idea of what I want. I am trying to learn about plants and zones (Coxsackie is in zone 5) blooming times. One thing for sure: I like hedges. I enjoy trimming them into order. It helps my serenity. But Deb coined it best when we drove to the church last weekend. She said "Awww, it looks like its pants are down".

I think that just about says it all. And I have a lot of house pride so I'm pretty anxious to get some bright and shiny new pants on it!

Here's my sketch that I sent to the building inspector.

Here's the porch rail. David explained that that kind of wood work doesn't really happen anymore so I'm glad that I can give a little nod to the church's history. I don't like such fancy scrolly stuff but I can see how special it is. And the big idea is for the church to look completely traditional from the front and modern once you're inside. I joked and said "It's like a mullet: business in the front, party in the back!"

The good news is that the building inspector approved the double staircase design and David will start working on that as soon as the frozen ground allows him.

And finally, I am sleeping there. David did everything he could do to finish up the bedroom loft and get all the tools and stuff out of there. It's all in the office loft now and that's a great thing since my office will be a project a little later down the line. And the bed and mattress showed up the week before and the guys put it together.

And now some of my stuff is in there so I feel at home:

My friend Rosemary, who is David's girlfriend, came to see the church with David last April when I was just considering buying it and trying to gauge what it would take to make it livable. Rosemary said, "Gail, I think you are going to show this church some love and it will love you back."

I think she's right.