weekend update

Craigslist is my favorite. Without it, I think I'd currently be sitting on the floor typing instead of on a plush leather couch. And that would be bad on the back. Anyways, was pointed to a set of chairs for my rec room. My vision was to have four chairs, conversation style. My vision came true:

They rock and swivel (my mom "you had me at 'swivel'!") Interestingly, the blue-green in the chairs, which are wickedly comfortable, matches my walls very nicely. It's a shame, really, that they are a hideous pattern. Real shame. I hope to cover or reupholster these, but for now they're fine. And at only $250 for all four, that is FINE!!

On another note, please never let your window wells go too long without cleaning out.


You see, this well had a good half a foot of leaves accumulated. It's maybe 5ft deep. And not wide enough! Not nearly. In the end, I bested the situation- leaves removed. In the process? Sure scratched up my shoulders. Thank you genetics & swimming.

I'm floored

First thing in the morning, my uncle shows up and disturbs me from my slumber. So, I put him to work cutting molding. And wouldn't you know, this was the result:


Pretty, huh? It's weird. When we were first laying out the molding along the walls, it took a second to get used to the room looking finished. That is how much I have gotten accustomed to my half-finished house..... I don't think a single room has quarter-round.*

Once my dad and his fiance showed up, we got to work on laying the floor in the front downstairs bedroom. This goes fairly quickly- lay barrier then start locking and clicking. It gets time consuming when you have to cut pieces to fit around doorways (especially abnormal on-a-slant doorways,) closets, and the base of stairs.

See? Took 3 brothers working together.. er.... well, maybe not "together," but it took 3 brothers working.



*Anymore. There was some crappy quarter-round that was removed during demo.









Cooper helps by walking through our work area.











Finished! We got the hallway and front bedroom done, so all that remains is the back bedroom. Oh, and nailing in the molding for the bedrooms. And installing the thresholds across the doorways. But other than that, it's practically finished!

See? Awesomeness!!! And there's a peek at the transformation this bedroom underwent.

promise of things to come

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend......

stoned

Look at my boot tray! My house doesn't have an entry-way, but instead opens straight into the family room. Therefore, I wanted to have a boot tray for ... um... boots. And shoes. You should see the amount of dirt the tray collects! Actually, you shouldn't. Too dirty. Anyways, I saw this idea on a blog & ran with it. Got cheap bags of decorative stone from Ikea to fill the tray- really helps it blend into the room instead of standing out like a sore thumb AND adds a nice natural element. I'm planning on looking into painting the tray, itself, as black doesn't really fit in.....

magician in the kitchen

BEFORE:



Notice the fridge out in No Man's Land.


DURING:


.... ok, so there's not much change other than the addition of stuff. But, if this was in high-def, you'd be able to see how CLEAN it is now! Before = greasy, crumby, and complete with dead mouse. After = CLEAN! Amazing, I know.





LOOK AT MY REFRIGERATOR! Isn't it beautiful? Shiny and black and big and and and.... full of food! As if that wasn't enough, it's now in the kitchen! I tell you, genius like this just doesn't come around every day.











Side Story: This vent was above the stove. I have serious doubts about whether or not this was cleaned. Ever. Since 1960. So, it was gross and old and without purpose. When the drywaller was here, I had him patch this closed. More importantly, he fixed the ceiling next to the vent, which was bubbling and cracking. You'll just have to take my word for it, as I have no photographic evidence of it. Oh, and that is sunlight you see. It's not always an open hole to the sky, I just took this picture when the roofers were a'roofin.


AFTER:

Ooooohhh. Aaaaaahhh. Not much changing here that you can see. Moved the fridge (major); tore up the devil's-made adhesive tiles* (LOOK! REAL TILE!!); replaced dish-washer (not interesting); and replaced sink faucet. And added the orange! Bring on the color.

Imagine I had a picture of the old, standard kitchen faucet that whined whenever turned on high. Then looky here:




Next up: .... I don't know. Living room, maybe??

rec (wreck?) room

BEFORE:

Let us remember: paneling, drop ceiling, broken window (pretend you can see that), carpet reminent, and general grodiness.

Glad I could revisit this.

DURING:

First thing's first- remove ugly carpet and drop ceiling. One may ask "Why not replace the open window in your house first?" Well, I'll tell you. Because.... because.... because I like a good breeze early in the morning, don't you?

help from the fam.

Well, there you go. Window solved.

As you can see, there was painting. And there was fiasco. But first! First there was dry-walling. Hired a dry-waller to re-do the previously paneled walls and ceiling, both of which looked strikingly similar to Swiss cheese. So, post-dry-wall, I thought it was a smashing idea to paint the ceiling.... the picture above is the result. This is why I should not be left alone. Not because it ends in disaster, but because there needs to be someone around to witness such hilarity. Humor like this should not be wasted.

You know what's fun? Moving all those boxes of flooring. This is a promise of things to come...

Interesting story about the paint. I had a metallic that I LOVED- it was a shiny blue-green. Sagey. Really cool. But, when I found out that that particular paint required a base coat plus the color top-coat... well, that was the end of that! Later, I went and had the paint men color match regular paint to the metallic sample. Ta da!! And now, for the final reveal...

AFTER:

LOOK AT THE FLOOR!! Go on, look at it! So pretty. So, so pretty. Wanna hear a secret? It's an interlocking, tongue & groove, floating floor. Super easy to install! I'll be running this in the bedrooms, too, as soon as I have the time/ my dad comes to visit.

Yes, that is an Ikea futon. It's a college relic and, in all honestly, very handy for visiting friends!

How perfect is that painting? Love it. The coffee table & the fish tank will be refinished in a darker brown.... eventually. OH! Speaking of the coffee table, take a look earlier & you will see that it used to be taller. I went all mafia on that sucker & now it's shorter... like a coffee table should be. I think it still could loose a couple inches, though. And, in regards to the fish tank, there is nothing currently inside. Plan is to eventually make it home to a bunch of fish, but I'm holding off until the shoe molding is done and the tank stand is painted.

Other plans include: breezy & light curtains, finishing the window (yes, well aware it's not completed,) ceiling medallion above the chandelier, shoe molding, rugs, and changing out the futon. I know, shocking that I'm not planning my decor around that futon.

Next up, kitchen!

my boudoir

BEFORE:

Let's remember the pink. Also, there were two dead birds stuck in that window with the AC.




DURING:




SOLID GOLD, BABY! This is a shiny metallic paint... I believe from Home Depot, (but don't quote me) that only needs the special roller for application. (FYI- other metallic paints require the special roller and a separate base & top coat. Which means more work. And more expensive. This isn't exactly rocket science. Or even freakin ecology for that matter.)

So, 1) cleaned the floor & applied floor shiner/protector; 2) removed AC unit; 3) removed about 85 stupid glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling; 4) painted ceiling; 5) painted room walls; 6) removed ugly vinyl accordion closet door; 7) install closet shelving (below); 8) move in!

Oh aren't they pretty?? And guess what? They are filled with shoes! And purses! And and and... SCARVES and stuff!!! And (teaser) I am so awesome at shelving, you better believe I continued my groove on into the living room closet, too.


AFTER:


And by "After," I mean "done for now, but there's still more to go," but that doesn't roll off the tongue so well. Got me an orange-red bedspread with gold threading (though this isn't really reflected by my award-winning photography) and gold curtains.



Eventually, that closet will be closed off. I don't know if that means a basic sliding closet door (which would require installing the tracks, too) or curtains? Crazy, yes. But it's a gold bedroom.

The furniture is an antique set I have had since I was about 14 yrs old. I dream about darker wood and something more along the lines of a sleigh bed... but I have doubts about what my teeny tiny room can hold. Size-wise. I also have doubts on what my bank account can hold. Money-wise.

This was the first room done in (mostly) whole. I started sleeping in my brand new place the first Sunday, and stayed completely about a week after I closed. Wow, I am exhausted just remembering this.

Next up, rec room!