Stairs!

Our stairs are, for the most part, in! We need to finish two of them and then do the railing, but you can get an idea of what they look like. These were essentially a gift from my dad. He bought the wood and spent weeks finishing them offsite at his shop in big Lake. Another big thanks to Dad for all the help on the house! They are very stout, made from solid Ash with a mahogany inlay. You can really jump on the cantilevered portion with no worries.

Here's a closeup and also a new angle of our great room to show how the loft hangs above the kitchen and everything integrates together.

Kitchen

Our kitchen is in and mostly functional! I installed the sink and dishwasher today, which finishes off plumbing for the house. A certified installer is coming tomorrow to hook up the propane for the stove. It's only $90 - well worth it considering the risks. After that, we're good to go and all we need to do is a little trim and a couple lights.

We really like the kitchen, and we better because it's the one element of the house that went significantly beyond our estimates, like double. But I think in the end it's worth it.

Instead of buying in stock cabinets, we ordered nicer cherry cabinets. Then there's the Jenn-Air stove, which is very expensive to begin with and I didn't have time so paid someone to install the downdraft ventilation, which is so tricky that it took a couple days.
Granted, it does save the cost of a stove hood, and it looks super nice. Plus we bought a cast iron sink, and a fancy faucet. But it's all part of our philosophy with the project, which is building small and efficient but very nice.

Also, a while back we finished the downstairs bathroom, so our room mate Paul can shower and stuff, but I don't think we ever posted a photo.

One of us is a reader

Marcy was happy to be able to fill our big built in bookshelf. She left one spot for me, but I wasn't quite able to fill it so she put some of her extra books in there as well. My books include such classics as "Do it yourself homebuilding" and "residential plumbing"





The Kitchen Begins
Also, our kitchen is finally underway! We can't wait to be able to - what's that word? Oh yeah, cook! Brandon, who has helped with trim work and roof sheathing, it setting the base cabinets and did the Jenn-air duct work, which is a major pain. Hats off to his patience. He does a wonderful job.