Exterior Facelift

Well hello there beautiful. I absolutely love driving around the bend and see this place now. The curb appeal is finally complete. 

This entry has literally nothing to do with us. The most difficult thing we did with this was write a check. And of course pick a paint color. 

But I knew exactly which color I wanted for years prior to painting. 

When I was driving the kids to and from school I typically avoided main roads. (I don't do traffic.). And I enjoy the leisurely drive through neighborhoods. Especially one particular neighborhood. The house caught my eye each and everyday. Now it's a fabulous shaker style home with proper shutters and and carriage garage doors. 

I can't afford that home. 

But I can afford their paint color. ;). 

Silvermist by Sherman Williams. If I could, I would repaint the interior with the exact same color. (Jeff would kill me).  It's a shade darker than silver sage by Benjamin Moore which is currently bedroom and bath color. 

And it's one of those colors that change throughout the day. Sometimes it's grey, sometimes it's blue, and occasionally it's green. Love love love it. It brings me happiness on a daily basis. (I'm easy to please)

So anyhow. We hired some painters. Jeff refused to do it. And I don't blame him. Plus with the added factor that a good portion of the cedar needed replaced, it was time to use some professionals. 

They started in the back much to my dismay. I couldn't wait to get some on the front. And I probably creeped them out as many pictures as I was taking. 

When they finally got around to the front, I panicked. The brick looked so DARK!  I started to rethink my blessed color. 

Do you know how many paint chips I held up next to that brick???  And on the itty bitty little chip, this one looked the best. I hate that brick. 

Finally after they put a little more up, I stated to feel better about my decision. I was so close to changing the entire color. 

And then they painted the garage doors white. Yikes!  It was horrendous. Giant white squares. And since new carriage garage doors weren't in the budget, some lovely carriage hardware to the rescue. Thank you Home Depot.

Next up, reconfiguring the front facade so that I can have a porch. :)  I won't hold my breath that it'll be soon. 

The Foyer 3.0

Welcome to my 1980's home. Full of dated tile and carpet.  This here is the pano of our foyer. It's atrocious. And the very first thing when you see when you walk in the door.  

When we bought the house at auction, we'd never been able to step foot inside prior to the sale. We peeked in the windows, and I could tell work needed to be done. Obviously it went to auction because it was ugly. You can fix ugly. I guess it could have been a lot worse. Immediately we cleaned and painted. 

Phase one after paint, was some good old board and batten. This is an incredibly cheap and easy way to give a space a facelift. 

Next came removing the old 16 inch tiles. That's the trick here. The people who laid the existing tiles made sure they were gonna stick. But they never bothered to remove the previous layer of mortar. So breaking tile up is one thing, but grinding two layers of mortar is an entirely different story. 

Now I know I previously said I hated laying tile. I now know there is exactly one thing worse than that.... Removing mortar. Undoubtedly the most exhausting dirty job in remodeling. And since we didn't have any money to rent a large jack hammer, it was all done by hand with a little jack and a concrete grinder. 

  Days and days of dirt and dust and sweat. 

And more dust

And finally it is all down to a smooth concrete. Had we had a basement, removing and replacing the subfloor would have been a much easier option. 

Seems ridiculous to spend so much time and effort to remove old tile, just to replace it with something new. But we did. And we were at least smart enough to leave loose tiles in the threshold of the living room and merely grout them down until we were ready for the foyer. So we easily were able to feather in the foyer with the existing previously laid tile. 

Using laser levels made us easily stay on track to keep the tiles nice and straight down the long foyer and into the office. 

On our last evening of laying tile, the power went out. But we had a full bucket of thin set. So even though the tile saw was out of commission. We made do by candlelight, and laid what we could without any cuts required. 

My awesome man is one incredible worker. Only out of powerfor a couple of hours and we were still able to cover some ground. 

I have noticed that the more tile we lay, the better the cuts and angles get in all those tricky areas. 

I love to show off his incredible working this particular cut. 

After we grouted and cleaned, we waited a couple days and finally put the kids to work sealing the grout. 

So glad this project is behind us. However we the old tile running through the kitchen. So, at least we have a couple years till we tackle that one. 

The after picture will be up once I finish the stairs. 

The staircase

The 80's were really bad for houses. I mean the construction is good, but the choice of stain was piss poor. Here is my grand oak staircase in the foyer. And some dipshit decided to put carpet on it. And we all know how I loathe carpet. And then the cat pissed on it. (Story of my life)

Well we have spent all our money on the new windows, exterior paint, the master bath, the new flooring etc. So basically we're dead broke. But my eye soarer is the first damn thing you see when you walk in the house. Every day I drive home, pull up in front of my beautiful house and then I walk in the front door and have to keep myself from vomiting. 

So when you're broke, and bored, and have nothing but time and few elbows that need a work out... You grab some sand paper, blue tape, paint and stain, put on your crappy clothes and go for it. Well, I lied about having nothing but time, as I do have to work. But, evenings and weekends and very patient children are a blessing. 

Now I have to preface this with my husband absolutely refused to lift one damn finger to help on this particular project. He instead rode his harley to Sturgis for bike week instead. (I'll get my revenge eventually).  But to his credit, he probably is worn out from all the tile removal and installing the new tile (which I did help with).  

Anyhow, I began sanding... And sanding. And sanding. Then taping... And taping. In retrospect, I probably would have stained first, but I didn't mentally prepare for that. 

Don't have a lot of during photos, because I was a hot mess about taping, painting (4 coats mind you), un-taping, re-taping, staining (2 coats) and un-taping again. 

Regardless, it's done, looks amazing, and makes me happy to have people come visit. We made a swinging gate to keep the dog off the stairs since he took a tumble down them twice. It's not the most pleasing thing to look at, but it works. 

Dining/living room 2.0

Oh look. Yet more shag carpet in the dining room. Why????

So we've got one of those long dining/living room combos. I'm sorry these are Christmas time photos. I'm also sorry I'm using a 1980's dining set. But we sold my dining room table and chairs with our last house. But I do have the most wonderful parents in the entire world and they bought a new set and let us "borrow" this set. The room was dark and dingy. My least favorite space in the house. 

So we had this cat, whom we loved dearly (key word is "had"). This amazing cat developed diabetes and a forte for using this room as an extra litter box. Oh joy. Well it's not sanitary for a family to live in a house that smells of diabetic male cat urine. And it's also next to impossible to control blood sugars in a cat. And animals aren't made to be pin cushions.  We had a tough choice to make. I never liked the carpet anyhow. He just happened to assist in ripping this room apart a little sooner than planned.  

So. Time to decide on flooring, because it'll never be carpet. I love hard wood. But I also love our pool, our pets and our kids more. Enter wood-like porcelain tile. Super duper durable. Properly laid, grouted and sealed, this stuff will hold up against wet little feet, dogs nails, millions of legos, and high heals. And we chose an awesome product from all places, Lowes. And this is much wider and longer than most wood-like tiles that I've seen. I also like the distressed look for my "country" feel. 

So, ripping out carpet is easy. Laying tile... Way hard. Way way way hard. I hate it. REALLY REALLY hate it. We also bought enough tile to tile the entire 1st floor of the house all at one time. Eventually as we redo the rest of the main floor, we'll have the same tile on hand to finish it all off. But in the mean time, I've got two pallets sitting in my parents barn. And I'm gonna need a really long break before the next tiling project. 

We still knocked out the tile part in a weekend. Grouted and sealed the next weekend. Of course I needed more board and batten to dress long room up a little.  We left the threshold tiles loose in order to transition it all seamlessly into the kitchen and foyer. 

We painted the bookcases and "built it in." Obtained a new custom farm table and I've recently replaced the TV stand-turned buffet with a craiglist Willet hutch I found. Still undecided on how I'll refinish it or if I'll just leave it the same. Some apothecary jars and knick-knacks to finish it all off. 

We also used a carpet scrap for an area rug, so I can't get too upset when the kids or animals destroy it. 

So now I don't spend my evening on my hands and knees trying to get the smell of cat urine out of nasty shag carpet. We also went to the humane society and adopted a new little kitty. Miss Lulu. And she loves using the actual litter box. 

We never used this room/s before, now I never want leave it. 

Craiglist cabinet

So, master bath remodel is mostly done. But since we didn't change the foot print of the bathroom, I'm still in dire need of some storage. Enter craigslist.  Every single day I searched for cabinet or even hutches that would give me a similar look to a cabinet I found on restoration hardware.

And since we doubled our bathroom budget, I needed it under $100. And this pretty piece was 16 times my budget. The daily craiglist searches continued. Suddenly, there was a possibility. It had potential, but required a little fixing up. $40 and 30 miles later we loaded this beast in the minivan on a rainy day with the kids in tow. 

A little rearranging of children was required, but we made it fit. Love love my minivan. 

Then the real work began... Sanding. 

A power sander was used for the flat surfaces. Removed the glass from the doors and sanded the crevices by hand. Now this was used as a TV entertainment center (Musta been a small TV). Holes were crudely cut into the back panel so we purchased a piece of panelling to replace it.  

Then the painting began. My husband "borrowed" my father's paint sprayer and we primed it with this awesome product that we've used to prime each and every piece of stained woodwork in the house. I swear by this stuff.  It doesn't scratch off easily and holds up well with normal wear and tear. 

A professional painter recommended it and we couldn't be happier. After the primer was applied we sanded again. Then the first coat of pain was applied. Sanded again and a second and final coat was applied. 

We had glorious weather so a "kill room" wasn't needed this time around. 

Even Miss Lu was out to watch the transformation. 

Anyhow. Long story short, a $40 entertainment console, a couple coats of paint and few new pieces of hardware gave me a nice restoration hardware knockoff storage cabinet for my new bathroom. 

Just wanna give a huge shout out to my sexy husband because everytime I say "we" what I really mean is "he." He's the man behind my design transformation. In my defense, he is making ME sand the staircase. 

Bathroom 2.3

Omg mold!  Yea that's right. The leak in the shower is exactly why we bumped the bathroom remodel to the forefront. And thankfully it was merely contained to the lower half of one wall. Demo is dirty but fun. Down to plywood and studs. We kept the footprint the same. The flow worked well, and we didn't really wanna add anymore to the budget.  Granted our budget still flew out the window, and we still haven't sprung for the glass shower door enclosure as of yet.  (A curtain will suffice for the time being) 

Now I love love LOVE subway tile.  But I loath cleaning grout in a shower.  So we made the decision to have custom cultured marble shower surround.  So after the shower demo was complete, we removed all the flooring and base and and applied plywood instead of green board behind the shower.  Why, you might ask?  Long story short, this is our last house until we retire.  Planning on living here until we're in our 60's.  And as a home health nurse, I routinely assess home safety.  One of the biggest things required for people recovering from surgery, illness, etc, is safety in the bathroom.  Ergo grab bars.  Super duper important to have, as most falls occur in the bathroom.  While we're not installing any eye-soarers just yet, we will prep accordingly if such things will need to be installed in the future.    And plywood is strong as needed to support the future installation of bathroom safety devices.  

Oxen strong plywood

Look mom, no grout!

And since I didn't get my subway tile in the shower, I thought a lovely wet wall around the tub would be in order.  After removing the hideous corner tub which took up a huge area in the bathroom, we did pay for a plumber to move the drain and pipes to the new location.  We replaced a good portion of subfloor and used an excessive amount of screws to keep any squeaking at bay.

Nastiness

A little more work underneath

Plumbing moved, green board up, electrical outlet added and concrete board down

Tile!

More tile!

Tub from vintagetubs.com

Now this is a second story bathroom.  And as much as I wanted a cast-iron tub, it's certainly not feasible unless I took the chance of having my lovely new tub crash through my lovely new floors into my lovely new dining room.  This acrylic tub was just the answer. It's both beautiful and sturdy.

And now... my subway tile.  My husband bartered services with his best friend Tory for a weekend subway tile extravaganza.  24 hours later, I had my beautiful wall.  This is as high as they would go, despite my attempts to make them do it floor to ceiling.

Using a laser level kept the tiles straight and centered. 

Good job boys.

Ugly ugly cabinets, made for short people.  The sinks were actually plastic.  Ordered custom cabinet from Menards and the same people who make my shower walls, also poured me a 96inch cultured marble vanity top with sinks to fit perfectly. And they are also kitchen height, just perfect for us tall folk.  Despite my original desire to leave the light fixtures, they just didn't look right with my chrome.   A trip to Home Depot remedied that.  

And after a mere 6 weeks of having no bathroom... This is what I now get to walk into. And sometimes I never want to leave this room. 

Side handle so I don't get drip marks on the faucet.  

Certainly looks like wood, without the fear of getting it wet.

Raised shower head so now my 6'5 husband can stand up straight in the shower.

And no bathroom is complete without a mid-century modern radio for listening to tunes in the shower.

Not entirely complete.  Hope to have shower glass enclosure by end of the year.  The weather got nice when spring arrived and our efforts (and money) are now centered to the home's exterior.  And possibly one day we plan to split the mirror and add a center upper cabinet.  But that's in the future.  So much more house to complete.  And I think she's beautiful.  One of my favorite rooms in the house so far.  

Alright, time to go sand the staircase.

Laundry 2.0

Oh lookie, things I look at every single time I walk into my house.

So, beggars can't be choosers.  We bought a house without a basement.  Therefore I'm forced to look at my water heater and softener each time I enter my home from the garage. However, I'm thankful that we have them, because when I bought the house, we didn't. Of course I don't have a "before" picture of the laundry room because it had no lighting and then I just plain forgot.  Managed to grab a few of these just after the first coat of paint.  Benjamin Moore's Hepplewhite Ivory is the color used here.  We stole this "neutral" color from a friend of ours because it's clean, simple and happy.  Which is how I feel when I walk into my home.

Did I also mention I have an unhealthy addiction to board and batten?

I love old homes, the ones with all the "character".  But my husband hates them.  He sees behind the "character" as knob and tube wiring and old corroded plumbing.  So we found a happy medium.  We can have a "newish" home with old world design.  And after our most recent project, I think he will never ever do another board and batten again.  I might have pushed the envelope too far.  

It's a long narrow hall, with no good useable storage space.  

So I fixed the lack of storage with a plethora of hooks
(See, I knew that board and batten would come in handy)

My stud muffin

The storage wall is complete
(I know what season it is by what hangs on these hooks)

Never had a utility sink before

Did I also mention my love of subway tile?

Ikea holders (currently used for paint brushes at all times)

Handy Hubby made a bench for washer and dryer so I can have more storage

No room is complete without pics of my kids in laundry baskets.

Silly sign, but true.

 So that's it for the long narrow, formally empty laundry room.  Eventually I'll put down new tile, but that's pretty far down the list.  Now it's time for some toilets.... priorities.