Living Room

When I last left you, the living room sorta looked like this:

It hasn't looked like that in a long, long time.  That red couch was the victim of our cute kitten who was not happy with our addition of a new poodle puppy.  She took out her displeasure on the couch. Multiple times.  So, we got rid of the couch and orange chair.  And it looked pretty empty for a few years.  

So empty, we put a huge tree in the middle of the room one year.

We only had the heat pumps for heat and we wanted an alternate heat source, just in case we ever lost power during the winter.  So, we went looking for a gas insert.  Looky what we found!

And installed it looks like this:

So, then we needed furniture.  I found these two couches and had them reupholstered.  Found the perfect rug, redid a couple of chairs, and made some pillows.  Presto, change, voila!  A living room!

Before

After

Before

After

And, so, today, it looks like this:

Vivian heartily approves of the changes.

Squeaky Clean

So, without question, the work on the house has slowed down over the past two years compared to the first two, as to be expected. At some point, you have to stop working on the house and just live in it. Enjoy all that the city has to offer which was the reason we moved here in the first place. I will be sharing each project (with lots of pictures) over the next few weeks, as well as some of the upcoming projects. Today, it's the master bathroom! Yippee! For the first time in my adult life, I have a master bathroom. Oh hell, this is the first time in my adult life I've had more than one toilet. This is a big deal people. Let me tell you, having more than one toilet becomes more and more important as you age, just saying. So, let's start with how the room look originally, or as close as I have. Somehow I never took an original before. Suffice it to say that it was a small (9x9ish) sleeping porch (?) surrounded on three sides by windows. This pic is after we ripped out the paneling and exposed the crumbling plaster:


We knew that we had to lose this window because the electrical line comes in and we had to by code, but also because that was to become the shower wall.
  

The window on the right in the pic above we pulled out and replaced with glass block so as to not lose the great light in here.  It's really hard to take a good picture of a glass block wall with the sun shining in.





I also insisted that the shower wall did not go all the way up to the ceiling.  I didn't want it to feel too boxed in and coffin like.  I wanted it to feel pretty expansive, for such a small bath.



And that's how it got left for a really long time.  And then we decided it was time to start shopping for tile.  The fun stuff!  I knew I wanted something that looked like it could be original, but fresh and shiny too.  I wanted to respect the history of the house.  So, we went with subway for the walls, traditional, and not terribly expensive.  Where we splurged was on the floor tile and the radiant heat.  That is the best shit ever!

Marble threshold

The column on the shower wall was a bit tricky to finish out.  But I am very pleased with our solution.

Painted it blue.  Was supposed to be a moody grey/blue but it ended up just blue and I like it.

I love the way the sink looks, but haven't been thrilled with the quality.  I wouldn't recommend it.  Style is killer though. It's really tall.

My $9 mirror score.  Lights are from School House Electric.  Love them!

It feels so luxurious to have a bath right in the bedroom.  It's pretty cool.

So, until next time!

Updates coming soon

Okay, so a week or two turned into two years. Life happens that way sometimes. In two weeks, school will be over and I'll be back to providing some updates of the changes we've made over the past two years, and there are a great many of them. We still have a long list of "to do" items still yet. Hang tight, updates coming. In the mean time, here are some sneak peeks.

Bloggy Hiatus

Okay, so my paint hand got tired. My local Ben Moore store ran out of paint. Aliens ate my paint brush.

No No No No No No No NO

I've decided to give up home renovations for the next two weeks and do something that doesn't include paint, hammers, drywall, plumbing, gardening, or any other home improvement vocabulary. I am running away to play! PLAY. Did you hear me people? I'm taking a well deserved break and am going to go PLAY. Play at the beach! Play with friends. Just play.

I'll be back in September sometime to show you what I'll be working on this fall.

Another Lamp Redo

I'm so excited. I'm going up to Northern Virginia on Wednesday this week to work with a friend of mine. We are going to put some items in some big organized garage sale next weekend. I'm spending some time working on items I want to sell. It might be nice to get some money rather than spend it all the time. Besides, I'm running out of room for lamps!

So, here's what I've been working on today:

The Before:

With Primer:

The After:

Not sure that the shade is perfect, but it will do.

What do you think?

I'll be back tomorrow with a bunch of other items I'll be taking with me north.

How do you like me now?

Remember this?

I picked it up at an estate sale in the 'hood a few weeks ago. It was a gilt and plaster light with thirty + years of grime.

Kinda gross, eh?

Well, look at me now:

Isn't it amazing what a coat of paint will do for you?

I took it down to the basement, took it apart, cleaned it well, rewired it and gave it a new chain. The chain that came with it was more foul than I care to remember. Sticky, dusty, and just down right grimy. Erg. But now, we're fancy, and shiny, and purty!

Problem is, I hate the light it casts! Remember those old police shows where the suspect was interrogated under a bright, harsh light and everything else was dark? Yeah, that is what it reminds me of. So, I need to figure out a way to make a diffuser that can be removed to change the bulb...any suggestions?

Paintapalooza!

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

I can't believe I lived with the ugly for so long.  Obviously, I am not quite done.  I'm still painting the balusters on the stairwell, hence the blue tape.  I'm working on putting in missing moldings. I also have a stencil for the risers.  My hand needs a few weeks to recover before tackling those jobs.

It feels so much cleaner and fresher.  Looking back, it amazes me that we could see any potential in that hideousness.

The color is Valspar Granite Dust and I really love it.  It's a very green grey that changes color drastically through the day, sometimes a deeper grey, others very green.  I love how color does that.

What do you think?  Not bad for two years worth of work.


I've linked up to Remodelaholic's Friday Link Party