Dribs 'n drabs

As we wait for the windows to get here this week, work continues on the things that aren't affected by their arrival.
More millwork has been done over the mantel; still waiting for the paint job there.
Kitchen cabinetry is moving along, appliances should be in place shortly.
I think Guillermo is throwing me bones here so that I'll shut and quit complaining about things not moving ahead. I realize it's a domino effect with the windows and a lot can't happen without them in place...but c'mon, other things can happen, right?

Mantel wall millwork around TV area completed

Polishing the mantel

Hallway closets

Kitchen cabinetry coming together

Kitchen stove area; hood installed

The big screw

Remember when I said that I was absolutely POSITIVELY moving this Friday?
I lied.
The window company really screwed us on the delivery date. In discussing things with Steve, we decided it was prudent to hold off a few more days. When they say the windows will be here in NY on Wednesday, we don't know when on wednesday. What if they come end of day? It will take at least a full day to install them. And then we'll need another full day to finish the tiling around the kitchen and bath windows....and that would bring us up to Friday, the day all the furniture was to arrive. No, too messy and complicated. I'd rather have everything finished and done before all my stuff arrives. So, on par with how this whole renovation gone thus far, it's "not so fast" once again.
AAARGH.

The countdown

ONE WEEK from today I will be moving in. 'Come hell or high water' as they say. Even if the workers still need to keep working on the final punch list after next Friday, I WILL BE MOVING IN.
I'm broke and I can't keep paying for the other apartment I'm staying in. I've gone way over budget and this double rent situation is killing me. Not to mention that I'm sooooo tired of not having a home in the city to call my own. I moved out of my last apartment in January and in some ways this year has gone very fast...and some ways it's been the slowest year of my life. I'm ready for 2016 to start a whole new life in the new place in a whole new year. But did I mention there's still one catch? Oh, yes. This apartment saga wouldn't be what it is without a snag. The windows, the last of the majorly big things to get done in the renovation, were due to arrive LAST week. That didn't happen. The window company has told us that they have been shipped (from across the country), and that they're due to arrive NEXT WEDNESDAY. That's only TWO DAYS before my move. It's going to take at least one day to install them and another day (at least) to finish all the tile work around them in the kitchen and bathroom. I'm thinking it's going to take longer that. So....that's why I think I'll be living with workers coming into the apartment for the first few days while I'm unpacking. My architect Steve keeps telling "Calm down, it'll all be fine, they'll be done". I think he's just patronizing me. I have no reason to think it will be done because he and the contractor have been wrong countless times before. It's very frustrating. Do I care that things won't be done.? YES. But it is what it is. I'm NOT going to postpone the move again. This is it. Fini. Stick a fork in me: I'M DONE.

A new idea

When I went to the apartment last week I had a new thought: what if the entry was a darker color than simply the Decorator White we're doing in the rest of the apartment? I thought it would create a separate 'moment' when you entered the apartment and then turned the corner down the main hallway.
Steve liked the plan (he might have just been humoring me since he was on vacation in Mexico), and he told me to find a color I liked. I found this Benjamin Moore color, a dark gray that had a touch of warmth to it...it's simple called "Gray". I thought it would work well with the lighter putty gray color on the kitchen cabinets.

Here's a couple of pictures of the entry (I've posted these before) that were to be white, I think with a little 'oomph' of color it will be more interesting.

Color me calmer

I saw the apartment today and a lot has been done. I feel very confident that it will be ready by the move-in date of December 4th.
Once the windows arrive next week (please Lord), then everything else should fall into place nicely.
The rest is small stuff (lighting and plumbing fixtures, hardware, etc) and the final paint job.
I'm getting very excited and cautiously optimistic--I've been burned before with false starts and setbacks on this whole journey!
Here's a another mega-post of pictures, some with descriptions of things I'm happy about.
Could the end really be in sight??

Pan looking into main room

Pan of main room looking into hallway

Living room 'feature' wall; all to be painted a high gloss gray paint, flatscreen TV above mantel

Built-in shelving to right of mantel

Built-in shelving to right of mantel

Love the marble on the bottom shelves here

Marble sill in place on the picture window

Living room window, AC unit will go below

Mantel

The mantel's medallion in place, very handsome now

Interior brickwork of firebox looks good, will be painted black

Pan of shower in bathroom; glass shower door to come

Bathroom medicine chest and window

Tiling in shower

Linen closet in bath

Ceiling tile detail in bathroom

Hallway closets and dining niche

Dining niche; outlet is for lighting fixture

View of dining niche from bath

Two closets coming here, they'll be covered with accent wall

Door to bathroom

Kitchen cabinets above sink; I like the putty gray color we chose

Kitchen marble counter

Stove area in kitchen with cabinetry above

Where stove will be placed

Marble spice shelf above stove

Detail of tile crown molding in kitchen

Kitchen window with marble sill

Fridge nook

View of entryway from main hallway

Entryway; I'm trying to convince Steve that we should paint this a  dark color

Say it isn't so

Today's mood

So Steve, my architect, emailed me today to say that the windows were NOT going to be arriving this week as originally planned. I could spit nails. This is the SECOND postponement this damn window company has handed us. These things better look awesome or I will happily provide the name of the company to anybody who wants it so that you don't end up in the same situation as I am with them.
In any event, it's good that I pushed back the move in date. Now we're told that the windows will arrive FOR SURE next week. Anybody wanna place their bets?

Not so fast!

I met Steve and Guillermo--the architect and contractor--at the apartment this morning to kick off the last week of construction before the furniture arrives next week. I thought it best to see what progress has been made...and how much still needs to get done in the home stretch.
It's a good news/bad news situation: the good news is that a lot more has gotten done and it looks GREAT, very happy with the results. The bad? In my estimation there's still way too much to finish in just FIVE working days. Guillermo assured me that the place would be "transformed" by this friday and that they'd be ready, but I disagree. I don't want all that furniture and all those boxes sitting in an already stuffed-to-the-gills space when the workers are still finishing. So I decided to postpone the moving date to the end of the following week, to Friday December 4th. This will give the workers ample time to get everything done and to do it RIGHT. Happily this change didn't cost me anything.
Here is a mega-post of pics now, I LOVE how things are looking.
The millwork around the mantel on the feature wall is now in place, still needs to be painted and the wall behind the mantel needs plastering and finishing detail. The inside of firebox needs finishing and painting too.

Here are some views looking into the main hallway. The main room is holding all the appliances and plumbing fixtures in boxes, they're waiting for the tiling and windows to be finished.

The fridge

The casement windows have not arrived yet; they were due last week but no dice yet. You can see from these pics that the room is open to the elements except for the main picture window. It has plastic over it. The carrera marble sills have been put in place.

Picture window covered with plastic

Marble window sills are in place

No windows: looking down into the courtyard

The bathroom tiling is almost done. Once windows go in, the fixtures get installed.

Bathroom window missing

Linen closet in bathroom

The entry hallway closets are in and look fantastic, I'm very happy with how much storage there is! The dining niche also looks adorable...it even has a storage drawer underneath. We're moving the light source from the left side to the right side; the café table I'm hoping to put there will look better on the right side, thus the switch.

The electrical panel right inside front door

Entryway coat closet

View of main hallway closets from kitchen

View inside one of the closets

The dining niche

The tiling in the kitchen is all done. Next up after the window gets installed is the kitchen cabinetry and appliances, all happening this week.

Waiting for the stove

Kitchen window

Doors which will enclose the washer/dryer in kitchen