Rancho Romance: And So it Goes . . . and Goes . . . and Goes . . .

Oh, Readers! I’ve neglected you for so long. We’ve moved, you know, from our temporary rental situation and into our Rancho. Finally. That whole moving business has taken me away from the computer for all these weeks, but then . . . there’s more. Because guess what? The house wasn’t ready for us when we got here.

Our contractor was running behind when we arrived August 7, and here it is a full month later and our house still isn’t finished. When we got here, our home was supposed to be complete with the exception of countertops. Um-hmmmmm. Not so much.

View from the rumpus room through the newly opened wall

We had floors and walls and such, of course. We had a toilet, sink and tub in one bathroom. There were some cabinets in the kitchen—slick glossy-gray ones from Ikea—but we dared not fill them, because their contents would only be covered in construction dust. We had a temporary, $40 aluminum sink in the kitchen and, thanks to a slow delivery from the appliance store, the fridge and microwave the previous owner had left behind. And because we didn’t want our belongings to get damaged during the construction melee, we put most of our stuff in storage. Nice.

Old microwave in the hole where the new one will be

Since then, most of our appliances have been installed, save the custom-colored microwave I just had to have. (When you land on the page after clicking on the link, click on the first little color swatch in the second row—“Wasabi”—and you’ll see what we’re waiting on backorder for.) Pretty Ikea light fixtures have been installed above the kitchen island. New toilets are in. Sinks and sink-cabinets, again from Ikea, grace the bathrooms. Some furniture has made its way inside.

More painting has taken place since these photos were taken (by our good friend Tom Underhill, a professional photographer)—in fact, the inside is nearly done. We chose to do the majority of the house in a saturated yellow—a color we had Benjamin Moore paint custom-mixed to match a Behr shade we liked (Feather Gold). Accent walls are done in Olive Moss; ceilings, fireplace and trim in Pure White; and the main beam, upright posts and additional horizontal accents in Soot—all from Benjamin Moore. (The Soot treatment was inspired by photos of original Long Beach Ranchos seen on the Huntington Library’s digital library.) Our painter, Steve Smith of Smith Prep 'N' Paint, has done a magnificent job, as usual. We've worked with him, and only him, for many years.

Estate sale headboard with vintage sconces from Etsy.com

As you can see from the photos—if you look past the clutter—Jeff Jeannette, of Jeannette Architects here in Long Beach, did a marvelous job on the design of the kitchen and in opening up the wall between the two large living spaces. We’re very pleased with the result.

Next week, we hope to see the installation of our CaeserStone countertops, with one section of the island topped in butcher block. We’ve been waiting a long time, so we’re looking forward to it. We also expect to get our furniture and art placed in the next week or two. Of course, we’ll keep you updated—but this time in a more timely fashion.