Good progress despite a very tough month

Who hasn't had a tough month? Bank failures, Wall Street sell-offs and a terrible housing market have not only been a huge distraction, but have directly affected all of us.
Two weeks ago I watched Washington Mutual's stock tank, and after seeing an additional 65% drop after-hours I ran to Wamu just before closing. I managed to get some critical construction funds out of my account. Wamu failed only hours later, and if it weren't for the FDIC watching its own back, Wamu would have locked out its customers. Not a good feeling. I bumped into a reporter for the Everett Herald on the way out of the bank. The story made the front page the next day.

Meanwhile, the house project has had its own drama, but at least progress has been made. Finishing Touch PNW, Inc. gets a thumbs up for some beautiful tile work (they also installed the Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors). All three upper bathrooms are custom layouts. Here are some pics:


Master Bath: Italian porcelain tile, floor to ceiling. The tiny backsplash tiles are a glass tile called Kyoto Silk, from Lunada Bay Tile. A massive piece of 1/2" thick glass is being made to create the interior shower wall, which will run from floor to ceiling (9-feet x 4-feet). Other than the glass, its an open walk-in shower. Opening is for the round soaking tub.




18"x36" Ston-grey Italian Porcelain floor tiles make up the floor.



To contrast the grey floor tiles & espresso colored shower walls, we chose Muluka tan pebbles for the shower floor. These really contrast well with the other tile & we get a nice foot massage every time we shower. We also had the pebbles installed as an accent border around the shower pan & tub base as you can see both pictures above.



Upper Powder Bath. Tile floor with shoulder high wainscot. These are a rustic ceramic tile in 3 different sizes with a ton of cut-in detail.


Accent tiles are a really cool looking cracked-glass tile called Tantrum Glass.

I think we are gaining momentum now. The trim pack was pretty extensive to install, and is being prepped for paint as I write this. Once the trim is finished, we'll move forward with final colors inside as well as getting the outside painted & stained(weather permitting of course).