Present Joys

The Schrocks installers were here for nearly a full day again today, and they spent most of it getting the front parlor cabinets fitted and installed. These were particularly exciting to see go in. Since I’d had the chance to prefinish these boxes, it was instantly possible to see how the color on the new pieces matched the color on the adjacent antique mantelpiece (and they looked really good). The tops are still raw, so those will need more attention when I get the time.

Unfortunately, three days for installation was all I’d been allotted for on the schedule, and because they didn’t finish up, they’ll have to come back at an undetermined future date to get things wrapped up. Here’s what’s left:

• I need more holes drilled in the side of the dining room uppers so I can adjust those shelves beyond what Schrocks anticipated. The guys brought a jig to drill those additional holes but they didn’t get to it today. Oh, horror—this means I will have to wait to start putting things on shelves!
• They also didn’t get to installing the mirrored backsplash in the dining room. This is also a bummer because it means we’ll still have a bit of open studs visible until they come back.
• The cornice on the foyer bookcases needs to be installed. This consists of a very attractive solid top panel with an integrated crown molding plus a few lengths of dentil and cove molding that go below it. Thankfully, the missing bookcase cornices won’t hold up the finishing work I need to do on them.
• The front parlor built-ins are closest to finished, but they’re very conspicuously missing doors. These weren’t finished, but hopefully they’ll be ready by the next time the installers are here.

Jordan is returning next week to continue working on our stairs, so I need to do some prefinishing in the foyer before he comes back.