6 posts tagged “renovation”
A short list of things I have done around the new house:
- changed out regular outlet covers for childsafe outlet covers
- installed a safety latch on the door to the stairs
- built an etagere for the downstairs bathroom (okay, so that's not the one. Mine is from Tarzhay*, but it's not on the website. And damn, it was not that expensive.)
- whipped up a charcoal grey felt slipcover for my antique army trunk. The trunk belonged to my grandmother's cousin, and still has the PA Railroad ticket on the top. The Bug was very interested in removing the PARR ticket. Now, with a little padding between the trunk and the slipcover, it's an awesome ottoman/coffee table in front of the sofa.
- hung a door
- changed out a couple doorknobs and all the attendant hardware
- installed a clothes rod in one of the master bedroom closets (the other closet will have its turn, it's just not dire)
- put up curtains in the living, guest room and office
- put up curtains and blinds in The Bug's room
- built a desk for the office
- built a bed frame (king size, yo)
- changed the shower head in the upstairs bathroom
- replaced the fill valve in the downstairs toilet
Still to come:
- way too much to contemplate. This year's uber list consists mainly of things that have to be done around the house and yard.
*The other day at the breakfast table, The Bug came out with "Bug wants to go to Tarzhay." It was hiLARious.
I can't believe that the whole house was carpeted.
Or: Things I've Learned Since We Bought This Damned House Over Three Months Ago
- I do not want to paint any part of the house myself. Not even the laundry room/walk-in closet that looked so small before we started. I might want to do it if I had time (read " had no toddler") and was doing it by myself (read "my husband is A Very Bad Painter"), but under the current circumstances? No way. We are going to pay someone else to do the rest of it. We'll probably pay them to second coat the laundry room, too.
- Pay close attention to the layout of your new kitchen cabinets, and ASK WHICH SIDE THE DOORS WILL BE HINGED ON. Because I was not smart enough to do this, I have a kitchen full of cabinets that are hinged exactly opposite of what makes sense to me. At this point, I'm just going to live with it.
- When shopping for a house, be sure to take into account the height of the ceilings versus the height of your husband. 6' 6" husband + 7' 5" ceilings upstairs = waaaay too much time spent looking for a "hugger" style (flush mount) ceiling fan/light fixture (damn you, Cape Cod style house, damn you). The upside is that what's available that fits our needs is very nice indeed. The downside is, it's so nice it sort of hurts our bank account.
- The contractor will install at least one cabinet so that the door can not be opened completely. This one is so stupid I can't even explain it right now. I'ma make 'em fix it, though.
- The windows are not consistent widths throughout the house, and very few of them are standard widths. This will make it very difficult to find window coverings that both my husband and I can live with, at a price we can live with.
I'll leave you with the latest photographic evidence that progress is being made, and I'll ask your opinion on the colors for the living room. Main color = lambskin, accent wall = that dark brown color whose name I can't remember, baseboards & trim (throughout the whole downstairs) = white dove.
The house, she is coming along slowly. And filthily. Is that even a word? Well, it describes the progress on our house. Just so you can appreciate how low our ceilings are, here's a shot of Seth in our living room (looking through the pass-through into the kitchen). Seth is six feet and six inches tall.
Directly above his head, that's a soffit hiding some necessary duct work. The ceiling is just shy of eight feet. And that weird, murky look to the photo? That's the filth, wafting through the air. Really, it is. Today they sanded, prepped and primed the drywall, grouted the kitchen floor, sanded the drywall in the laundry room, and installed the tiles for the laundry room floor (at least I hope they put the tiles down - there was adhesive on the floor when I left...).
We spent our day raking leaves, hauling out junk that the previous owner had left, ripping up nasty carpet in the closet (uh huh, really), taking down fugly drapes and the attendant hardware... all while wearing highly attractive dust masks.
Did I mention that it should be illegal to paint over switchplates, switches and sockets? Why the fuck do people do this? Are they trying to torment me?
So.Tired. House.Hard.Work.
Move in date... still unknown.
We spent our day raking leaves, hauling out junk that the previous owner had left, ripping up nasty carpet in the closet (uh huh, really), taking down fugly drapes and the attendant hardware... all while wearing highly attractive dust masks.
Did I mention that it should be illegal to paint over switchplates, switches and sockets? Why the fuck do people do this? Are they trying to torment me?
So.Tired. House.Hard.Work.
Move in date... still unknown.
Cabinets have been ordered, granite countertops have been chosen, ceramic floor tile has been purchased. Pretty, no?
