Interior painting is complete, and the installation of cabinets, tile, and wood trim is under way. Seeing cabinets in place gives a much better idea of what the house will be like.

Meanwhile, Island County, in its wisdom, has thrown us a curve ball. They say that some of the wetlands mitigation (removing some bushes and planting others) must be done in order to get final approval of the house. We had planned to wait until the house was done, so that the landscapers wouldn’t have to work around the builders.

Last week the landscapers took out the blackberries in front of the house, which does open up the front a lot. Next they’ll plant enough bushes to make the county happy.

Kitchen cabinets, viewed from the dining room

Shelves and wine rack in the pantry

Bookshelves and file drawers in the study

Cabinets in the master bath

Tile on the floor in the powder room. Still to be added: decorative tiles made by a local artisan.

Trim around the window in the loft bathroom. The lighting wasn’t very good, but you get the idea.

Stairway windows with trim partly in place

No more blackberries

With the blackberries gone, it is now possible to get far enough back to get a wider view of the house.