Colonial Crap

Kitchen Floor

2007-09-14T08:54:00.001-05:00

It has been 2.5 years and the kitchen is almost right where we want it. With the exception of a new stove and a new french door, we are done. I am so relieved to have the new floor and be able to feel clean in that room.

Before moving in:

Move in day:

After paint:

New kitchen floor!~

New Bed

2007-07-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

Phil and I finally became real grown ups and got a king sized bed. With us not being...well...thin, we knew it was time to get a new bed when 2 kids invaded the space and we didn't all fit.

I stalked Craigslist for months and finally found the IKEA bed we liked for 1/4 the price if we bought it new. Then, again with the Craiglist stalking, I found an almost new mattress for $100. Whoo hoo!

So, we now have a new luxury bed, new linens, a new duvet and comforter. It is so nice, we can barely get out of it at times.

Henry's Room

2007-05-05T20:04:00.000-05:00

I realized that there have been some changes that I never posted about. I am going to give it a little try to update the things I missed.

Henry is our newest addition. His room is the sad little room that contained nothing but ugly blinds and a sewing machine.

We used the leftover paint from the kitchen cabinets to paint the room. He is the second child, which relegates him to hand me down crib, old dresser as changing table and second child to use the rocker. Poor dear.

(Sorry about the blurries, but if you look closely, Henry was fast asleep in the crib when I was taking photos.)

Microwave Fun

2007-04-14T14:09:00.000-05:00

Here is a post from my other site about my new microwave.

Bathroom, Again

2007-04-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

It seems that I have been absent for a good year now. In that time I had another project I was working on.

Now that things are a little more settled and I am in the mood to start cleaning up a bit, the first project was the downstairs bathroom.

We had to move the litter box into the bathtub because one cat would not stop peeing around the office where it was originally located. We closed off that room (which is truthfully still storage) and moved it elsewhere.

I suppose the same culprit that peed all over before was trying to tell me we needed a whole new litter box, because soon the peeing started on my newly remodeled bathroom's floor. This didn't work well because we opted for the Flor tiles, which held the pee like a gigantic sponge.

I went in and removed the carpet tiles, which was really easy because they never stuck down to begin with. I was greeted with a blast of ammonia, telling me how bad it really was. After tossing all of those and putting some enzyme cleaner to try and get rid of the pee smell, I found peel and stick vinyl tiles for $2.50 a case at Home Depot.

I am not a fan of vinyl to begin with, but I couldn't pass up a new floor for under three bucks. It took all of 2 hours including Vivienne's "help", Phil gently picking up the toilet for me to tile under and taking breaks when the cats decided to stink up the room by pooping.

All in all, it isn't that bad. If those animals stop peeing on the floor, it will be worth all 250 pennies.

Wallpaper Ick

2006-04-26T20:24:00.000-05:00

Good God there is some ugly crap in this house.

Hiding under chair rails or light fixtures, behind wallplates or door frames, these little pieces of 70s history are making an appearance.

The one below was found under the light fixture in the upstairs bathroom. It seems that this house had 2 looks, Williamsburg blue and Harvest Gold. The bathroom. if you care to reminisce with me, had golden linoleum as well. The wallapaper must have only aded to the lovliness of the yellow hues:

This light blue patchwork beauty was hidden under the chair rail in the kitchen. It consisted of about 5 different types of patterns in a quilt-like configuration. Sweet. I even saved a chunk of this for the binder:

It would take a lot for me to agree on wallpapering any part of my home, now. After scraping the last house's bathroom for days on end, I couldn't do that to myself. Besides, paint is so much easier and happier.

My Sanctuary

2006-04-20T18:12:00.000-05:00

I recall Oprah saying it 497 times one season "Your bedroom is your sanctuary." So when we moved into this house I swore that the first room to be completed would be our bedroom.

For whatever reason, I forgot to take and post photos of the after. Here they are!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Finished product

2006-04-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here are the before and afters:

Before:

After:

The Floor:

Our new floor!:

Shower before:

Shower after:

Phil is my Hero, my Bathroom is done.

2006-04-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

Well, practically done.

The bathroom upstairs has been a headache from day one. I have never felt comfortable in it and it never felt clean. I bought the sink I had in my previous house to replace the vanity and sink with when we moved in, 8 long months ago.

We painted last weekend and thanks to my lovely Sister In Law and her Disney-esque homestead, Vivienne spent a good deal of time there at the end of last week while Phil and I got the room done.

During the Demo:

During the reconstruction:

Phil really hurt his foot:

Bathroom #2 - Time for another big change

2006-04-08T20:14:00.000-05:00

When we moved in, I knew that the upstairs bathroom would have to be one of the first rooms done. Now that it has been 9 months and 6 rooms later, it is finally time to get my bathroom in order.

When we got here, it was a slight shade of yellow, as was most of the house. There isn't a window or a vent to be had (which sadly, is against code), so we needed to do the best we could with what we had. The tub is a fiberglass that has a slight texture to it, making it almost impossible to get clean and it refuses to accept any sort of suction cup.

Phil convinced me to paint it a bright temporary color in order to offset the lovely original vinyl floor:

So he went to the store and picked this Miami Dolphins blue. It was seriously this sea blue green color. But the good news was that no one noticed the floor anymore. Everthing else we kind of dealt with on a temporary basis. We bought a cabinet with mirror and a shelf for the short term, which is now over, THANK GOD. Come to think of it, I can't believe I don't have any photos of the temporary bathroom!

This weekend was painting, next weekend will be the new sink installation:

Here is the before:

Here is the so-far:

(Yes! I paint doors. It is a small space and this door is always closed.)

My Favorite Material

2006-03-31T09:23:00.000-05:00

I hate curtains and think that I might have mentioned it on here once or twice. They are intimidating and mostly too showy for me.

I loved the tab top curtains years ago, but now do not appreciate how they show off the curtain rod. Typically, I go to the hardware store and buy copper pipe and get them to cut it to length. I take 2 big hooks and screw them into the door frame to hang the rod. This costs about $5, as opposed to $45 for a store bought one. But this doesn't allow very much room for 'not pretty' tab top curtains.

I found Roman Shades about 6 years ago and fell in love. All the benefits of curtains (which are to block the window, right?) but none of the foofiness that I hate.

Here is my favorite set of curtains/shades in my house:

I didn't have anything better to post so this will have to do until I find something!

Our "Gallery"

2006-03-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

I always wanted to have a room that was nothing but a mix of photos, artwork, silly things, childhood drawings, posters and prints hung up haphazardly on the walls.

When we moved in, this room was the color of a cardboard box. It was originally the dining room, situated in the south and front part of the first floor. The kitchen is in the nothern back of the house. You must walk from one corner of the house to the other to get between rooms. It didn't make sense to us, just like formal dining rooms don't have a place in our lives.

We think that originally this was a bedroom, with a closet and entrance doors on either side. We also believe that this house was originally a one floor, 2 bedroom when first built with the option to finish the upstairs, which when completed, would add 3-4 more bedrooms and another bathroom.

As I have mentioned before, the couple that lived here previously were going through a horrible divorce and the house had obviously suffered for a while before it. The dining room was dark and sad. The walls were covered in paper bag flat brown paint and the furniture was equally as dark:

We decided about two months after we moved in to make this our guestroom/gallery. It would serve as an extra living room/playroom when it was just us. We bought a uber-modern fold out sofa and some curtains. To add insult to the fact that we are making you stay in a room that is on a seperate floor than the rest of the family, we decided to pull out my favorite color ever, Lime Pop.

When this photo was taken, it was right before charity donation pickup, so there is a lot of crap in there. Hopefully, they will be by to pick up more and more as time goes forward:

Final "Wall" Before and Afters

2006-02-25T12:46:00.000-05:00

It isn't completely done, but this is pretty darn close:

Before we moved in:

This morning:

Before we moved in:

This morning:

Again, before we moved in:

This morning:

Before we moved in:

This morning:

Lastly, view from the kitchen:

Kitchen Floor

2006-02-18T19:17:00.000-05:00

We are doing the floor in a VCT - Vinyl Composition Tile. Mainly, I wanted something within our budget (which is just whatever is cheap) and something easilt installed. The VCT fit that to a "T".

We bought all the supplies for under $250 thanks to a friend who helped me get them at cost...hooray! There is no need to pull up the old floor, which is the most important thing to me, and we can just lay the adhesive, stick on a tile and move on to the next one.

Here is a picture of the tiles laid out:

I am not sure if I am happier to get this stack out of the spot it has inhabited for 8 months now or if I want to see the floor done:

More Wall Pictures

2006-02-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

This is close to finished. We have to paint, and obviously do the floor of the kitchen. We are also missing the pendant light fixture for above the bar.

From this:

To This:

I told you I was going to lose that wall

2006-02-15T10:17:00.000-05:00

And in only 8 months, we were able to make it happen.

Before:

The Middle Part:

Bathroom Completion

2006-02-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

The bathroom is finally done. Hooray!

Before:

After:

We opted for the FLOR carpet tiles for a temporary covering until we have so much money that we can paste dollar bills to the floor, OR until we can afford some real tiles. Although these are a great option for this room, I wouldn't recommend these. Since they have rubber backing, they come up each time I vaccuum and that makes me angry.

New stuff

2005-10-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

In all truth, things started to get slow around here once the money ran out....how sad.

I am posting some updated photos of just some things that we have done, both big and small.

This is my new $9.99 light fixture over my sink. When lit, it gives the room as creepy warm glow...

Daytime:

Nighttime:

We also ripped out the downstairs bathroom, to a point:

"Poo Hole":

I got to rip out the cabinet while Phil bought a new toilet:

New Toilet:

New Sink:

New Light Fixture:

Kitchen Before and (almost) After 6.26.05

2005-06-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

As promised, we are almost done with the smaller (relatively) projects in the kitchen. We will still have to deal with re-doing the floors and tearing out the wall.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

There are a few doors that need to be painted on the inside (methinks my painter enjoyed a little too much "relaxation" at lunch that day). The counters still need to be attached to the cabinets. The corner cabinet isn't fully assembled yet and the upper cabinets in the corner will be removed. There is still another counter (next to the stove) which we have to cut. Both Phil and I are really nervous, so we are putting it off. We also have really great drawer pulls and handles to put onto the cabinets.

The floors will be Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT) in black and white 1x1 ft checkerboard. It should brighten up a floor that we have destroyed by not caring what happened to it during all the move. The flooring is commercial grade, so it won't be too expensive (thanks Ronni!) and also, hopefully, won't get too screwed up by us.

I am calling the person about the wall this week. If we get no response, its on to the next person. I hate contractors, have I mentioned that?

More fun to come!

Even more kitchen pics....

2005-06-21T16:30:00.000-05:00

With cabinet doors off, new faucet and dishwasher. Cabinets are partly painted.

Another view. YAY!

The Office

2005-06-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

This is all stuff that I will be selling on eBay. Thanks WEA!

After I cleared a space for my desk and filing cabinet...shelving unit comes on Tuesday.

More Kitchen Updates

2005-06-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

Counter tops, new cabinets

Piles of kitchen garbage and IKEA boxes

Don't give up on me....

2005-06-20T23:23:00.000-05:00

I am getting the camera charged up and my office set up in order to download some photos again. But right now, I am off to bed.

Laundry Anyone?

2005-06-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

These have worked non stop since Saturday. Phil and I started putting some clothes in and thinking "that is enough, right?". Only to come back later when it was washing to find the thing over half empty.

The dryer is like a cavern. You get an echo when you yell into it, swear. It even has a light inside. I am afraid that I have entered the kingdom of appliance heaven.

I love it here.

Its amazing what a little paint and carpet can do!

2005-06-12T22:03:00.000-05:00

Master Bedroom:
(Reminder of the old room if needed)

Oh, not to mention the removal and replacment of a horrid ceiling fan.

Vivienne's new ceiling fan. Also, a pic of her feeling right at home in the new room.

Let The Games Begin

2005-06-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Ok. so we are now in the house. Closing took no more than 25 minutes from the time we sat down to the time we left the offices. We went right to the house, where I opened the door and thought, "Holy Crap, what have I done???"

Now, I know buyer's remorse is completely normal for these types of purchases. I also was happy to have 2 people who have gone/ are going through this right now. This helped tremendously.

So now the search for babysitters has begun. Lauren came over this morning and saved my butt by allowing me to stat painting. I got 3 celings done upstairs and half our bedroom wall. The painter came over and will be doing an estimate on our cabinets and office, since those will take too much time and concentration on my part. I hate that. I get too bored and then get sloppy. Primer is a waste of time for me....see?

Carpets come on Friday, so we should be golden after that. Now I must go get my non-sleeping child and run to Home Depot again.

Its about time...

2005-06-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

We are closing at 230pm today. That is only a half hour away. If the universe can hold off on wreaking havoc for a few more hours, we can get this all underway and be done with buying this house.

Everyone, please cross your fingers at once that we can push this through!

A Better Front View (with Scary Tree and all)

2005-06-07T06:51:00.000-05:00

This is just a better photo of the outside of the house.

This is the really huge tree that sits directly in front of the house and precariously leans over to it. It reminds me of that giant tree in Poltergiest that tried to eat the boy. At least we have no bedroom windows next to it.

Our New Neighbor

2005-06-07T06:47:00.000-05:00

This guy is a real tool. He is the selling agent for the house we just bought. He was present at the open house and was trying his best to "sell" us this house. He offered up all the great restaurants in the area, how great the schools are, the super lot and *wink wink* wonderful next door neighbor -- which just happens to be him.

He was constantly "too busy" to be bothered with calling the sellers should we have a question. He was out of town with no forwarding voicemail when we wanted to make an offer. He put a non-existent date for our closing on our contract. He is a very not nice man.

So I am including a photo and sign JUST IN CASE you are ever in need of a realtor in this town. Do NOT pick him. 'Nuff said.

Last few photos - Back Yard

2005-06-07T06:37:00.000-05:00

Back of the house view. The deck is REALLY bad and needs to be torn down. Phil has a gradiose plan consisting of screened in porch and a two level deck and patio with specific "grilling area". I love him so. My idea (in jest but he is running with it) was a two story proch with a sun deck off the master bedroom. What goobers we are.

This is MY shed. How fun. I always wanted a "girl shed". Mine will sparkle and have potting soil and flowers and girly aprons/gloves and stuff. Phil's is made of hardboard and plywood and will be full of tools and crap (kind of like the one we have now).

Closing Day........NOT!

2005-06-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

As is the case with house closings, ours did not come to pass. Now we must wait the whole weekend and hope that we close on Monday. This creates a nice 72 hour period where the house is empty and ready for us to start painting/destroying/fixing and we can't even get in.
The worst part? Its all the fault of the realtor buying my current home. He is a Numero Uno Loser. He "forgot" to tell us that his client switched mortgage companies so we wasted a week trying to locate her approval letter from the wrong company. Thank god we have a super mortgage broker who is all over him and the new company trying to get this under control. She is a life saver.

Even though things didn't work out and now we are left sitting here for another 2 days waiting for the closing, I know my peeps were working as hard as they could to make things happen. It was simply all just out of our control.

The walk through went well. The house was very clean and nicely emptied. I have everything planned as far as appliance delivery, carpet installers, cable and phone. Now we just have to paint and re-do the kitchen floor before next Friday. Sure, thats possible!

Last 2 Rooms

2005-06-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

Vivienne's closet and the extra bedroom's only use, sewing space. Notice the beige shag. YUM!

The Hall...ick

2005-06-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

Even the hallway is bad...trim, ick. Sconce? yucky. Little "God Bless this House" wooden heart with mauve and blue faux cross-stitch design, no thanks. (this was even left for us by the homeowner...wishful thinking on her part, eh?)

Master Bedroom insert Psycho theme music here

2005-06-01T20:49:00.000-05:00

Now, do you see why I say this house is just sad? This is this woman's SANCTUARY. This is the place she sleeps every night to feel safe and warm and comforted. Um... I just don't think so.

The worst part about this room? The teeny tiny little door NEXT to her bed. Its where the scary trolls live in the attic, swear. That thing will be painted like the wall (yes mom, moulding, trim and all) so I can lose it behind a dresser. It freaks me out so bad, I will be turning the bed which ever way puts Phil close to the door, not me. *Shudder*

The Good: This is the OTHER HALF of my giant new master bedroom.

The Bad: Um, did you SEE THE CARPET? Eek...its original orange/gold shag. Only its not real shaggy anymore. Then, there is that ceiling fan. Barf. Did I mention the drapes...the tv tray that holds a dvd player but no tv? So very, very completely strange.

Linoleum and Particle Board and Faux Marble --- OH MY!

2005-05-31T21:39:00.000-05:00

Please take a moment to enjoy the fact that the homeowner didn't see any reason to close her tampon packed cabinet before she left that morning. It didn't cross her mind that if her house wasn't bad enough, here was all her womanly glory for the world to gaze upon. Maybe she was being nice by saving me the hassle of bending down to open the pretty dark wood laminate over particle board cabinet?

Lucky Me! Yellowy-beige all-in-one shower/tub unit! Please take a quick glance downward at the yellow ORIGINAL lino flooring....makes you want to lay down there, huh? Such a relaxing and clean atmosphere.

Behold!!!! Its my walk in closet....in the bathroom!!! Why? Who knows? But apparently, the people who created the bathroom felt that there was not only no need for a window, but ventilation wasn't high on the list either. No fan, no vents, no nothing. This place is SCREAMING for a total rehaul.

The Stairway to Hell

2005-05-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

Now the fun begins....It looks rather harmless so far, right? Kinda.

See that Williamsburg blue trim? See that blue carpet? Don't let that fool you. Underneath that in the hallway lurks 1977 golden shag. The hallways light is a tin/candle sconce that serves to light the whole hallway. Up there, at the top right of the stairs.....is THE BATHROOM!!!!!!

Dining Room

2005-05-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

Besides this just not being my thing, its an OK room. However, we will not "dine" here. This room is the exact opposite from the kitchen. In fact, in order to dine in there, you must walk by the front door or through the hallway next to the bathroom. Phil told me when buying it "I don't think anyone should walk food past a bathroom to get to the dining room". Point taken.

This room will become the guest room/ playroom/ living room. It will be an extra room to play in while no one is staying here. When we have a guest, it has a huge closet, doors to close off the room and its own bathroom. Oh Joy! Book your vacation now!

Friggin' Ikea!!!!

2005-05-30T17:04:00.000-05:00

They discontinued the counter tops that I wanted! Not very nice, not nice at all. But its a running joke with me. If I like something, it will be removed from production. This happens with clothing, shoes, scents, and anything IKEA.

We settled for a dark grey laminate as a replacement for the current top. We will still buy the other pieces that will be a butcher block top. I hugged all the individual units and told them I will return for them soon. I miss them already....

Whoo Hoo Appliances Fairy came!

2005-05-29T18:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it wasn't a fairy. It was my hardworking husband.

We went to breakfast this morning to discuss appliances and new house purchases over waffles and pancakes. We decided to walk on over to Lowes and see what Memorial Day meant to them.

We ended up getting our washer and dryer (Whirlpool Duet) and dishwasher (Whirlpool Gold). All in all we get $135 in gift cards, $100 in rebates and a 2 year supply of Tide Detergent for our washer. I think that was a fairly good deal. Vivienne was not as excited as we were, she only wanted to play on the tractors....

As of June 10th, I will be the proud owner of my own fancy appliances. You better know that I will be a washing fiend shortly after.

Office

2005-05-27T14:39:00.000-05:00

I am really excited about having an office that is nothing but an office. Phil and I will both be sharing this space. I plan on doing 3 huge stripes of green, all different shades, seperated by a thin white line. Should be VERY VERY cool.

Downstairs bath

2005-05-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

I know what you are thinking..."Meredith, how did you luck out and get such an AMAZING bathroom?" Well, it was all luck. I am really upset that she will not be leaving this lovely curtain-like showcase of the tub. I really like thinking that a play will begin in the bathroom at any moment. There are also 3 sprigs on eucalyptus on the vanity...speaking of, what in the hell is that cabinet all about? It has 2 stories almost.

And yes...if you are looking close enough, you are seeing 1977 linoleum in gold. This must go too. I am sorry that I didn't have the forsight to take a picture of the light fixture and mirror. If nothing else, it would give people a good giggle.

We are going for the Shag Hawaiian thing in here. I have these two great prints of hula girls. Today I ordered the "Meadow Grass" shower curtain that is actually a photo of grass printed on vinyl. The walls are going to be a grey/purple with green and light orange accents. Wild, huh?

Behind these Doors....

2005-05-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

..lurks joy and happiness.

The first time since I moved out of my parent's home that I will have my own, GIANT SIZE washer and dryer...

These are not them. We will have to buy some (which makes me really excited!).

Its really the little things, huh?

More Kitchen Pics

2005-05-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

A better photo of the wall that will be removed. The fridge is going to live on the other side of the cabinets and there will be a cabinet and bar here (not to mention the living room will be totally visible! YAY!)

I just took a picture because it was ugly. But there is a big window there, so maybe that makes up for it?

Lastly, the stove...Phil tells me that they it is an optical illusion that the microwave it practically SITTING on top of the stove. I still think it seems a little low. Opinions?

Welcome to Williamburg in 1977

2005-05-23T13:52:00.000-05:00

I can't say anything about this really. Its a cluster of bad taste. Its sad, neglected, ugly, boring, old, decrepit and icky. Wow, I suppose I can say something. The counter tops are a lovely wood laminate. The cabinets were once a dark wood but have been painted white (only on the outside). There is tons of wasted spaces and nooks in the cabinets. Its an organizational nightmare...

So here is a run down of my favorite uglies in this photo:

1. Decorative trim under kitchen sink
2. Williamsburg blue chair rain and trim
3. Hammered Iron hinges on cabinets (paired with little wooden round knobs)
4. That countertop!!!
5. The floor (which looks black but is actually faux-brick linoleum)
6. The REALLY BIG clearance between the stove and the microwave

Another View:

That's my Realtor over on the right. She is super!

Remind me that I said this later.....

2005-05-20T19:49:00.000-05:00

Yay Home Depot! I went in on Tuesday to order carpet. I had my measuring on Thursday, the called this morning to say that they received the measurements and would call me later with a quote. They called at 4pm and I had been given the quote, ordered the carpet and paid all by 5:30pm. I also make out with the 12 months no payments, no interest on the Home Depot credit card which gives us a little more immediate cash to finish the kitchen.
Now, both Lowe's and Home Depot have seriously screwed me in the past with installations and special orders, so please someone remind me how well it is all going now. Luckily, the special order coordinator's name is Meredith, so we hit it off. I, of course, used that to get some special treatment. They have called the company to verify when the carpet would ship (June 3rd...hooray!), she hooked me up with some great installers (not one complaint on record...yay!), and took all my info over the phone so I didn't have to lug the demon child up to the store.
I am so relieved to have this stuff going in sooner rather than later. Now we might actually be able to have movers bring the furniture in and carry it all the way upstairs. Anyone and everyone who knows me well enough knows that I don't like to life heavy things.

Jesse Vasquez - Carpet Measurer Extraordinaire

2005-05-19T13:03:00.000-05:00

Today I met my realtor at the new house to get it measured for new carpet. I haven't posted photos of the old carpet yet, its just too scary. I was lucky to be able to get in one more time to measure the countertops, fridge, new space for fridge, kitchen floor (which has faux-brick linoleum--sweet!), front door, french doors and really take a good look at the kitchen cabinets.
The carpet will not be estimated in cost and reported to me until Monday or Tuesday *argh*. Then they will have to order it, which might take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to arrive. Then I have to coordinate an installer. I am not under the impression that this will go smoothly OR that I will have new carpet when its ultimately time to move in.

Just for fun, here is our choice of carpet. Its dark grey and fuzzy. Vivienne showed her approval in the store by laying down on the sample piece and said "Soft. Sleep."

Living Room Windows

2005-05-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

This one is a little dark. That is good news to me because the windows are big enough that a lot of light is coming through, enough that my camera thought it didn't need a flash. The windows on the bottom floor all come within 8 inches of the flooring. I think that it pretty cool. The cats will, too.

Living Room Wall

2005-05-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

This is the wall between the living room and the kitchen. Do you like it? Well, don't get too attached because it is coming down. This whole wall is blocking the new and fabulous kitchen Phil and I will be attempting to create. I like to call it "Contemporary on a Budget". I would rather call it "Created and Installed by Professionals", but we aren't that rich.....yet.

Living Room

2005-05-18T12:40:00.000-05:00

I like this room. I hate the furnishing, and the fireplace insert, but I like this room. The wall on the left is the kitchen wall, this will have to go. I have never taken a wall down before and will admit that I am nervous. I always think that it looks so simple, yet I know what an incredible pain in the ass it will be. Ultimately, I will pay someone a lot of money to fix what I mess up. Its inevitable. Thank god for people like Ronni who are already going through it. At least she can stop me from really screwing up. (maybe).

Oh Joy, Front Entry

2005-05-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

So, there are some really bad things about the entry. I know I am making fun of this house, but I promise I intend to "fix" it all before too long. The front door is this really bad putty color. It has a domed glass panel in the middle with etched glass and brass accents. My god how Phil and I hate this door. It will be painted red immediately upon arrival. While this won't fix it, it will make it tolerable for a few weeks.

You will notice the front door is open. This is as far as it goes. Since the dining room is directly beyond the door, there is also a door frame. So there is a stopper keping the door from opening any wider. This is really strange to me, but whatever.

Please also note the contractor grade light fixture...also going bye by.

Front Yard

2005-05-17T14:56:00.000-05:00

Phil and I are excited about the lot. Its a strange shape which gives us a nice piece of land. The next door neighbor to our left is quite a good chunk of land away. There is a big wooded area between the lots. That makes us happy since our neighbor is the realtor representing the sellers. He is a big tool.

Front Door

2005-05-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

For those of you that know me well, you must be thinking to yourself "Is she insane?". This would not be my first pick of colors; beige, putty and maroon. It actually pains me to know how fabulous the inside will be before we can get around to having the exterior painted.
I think that the immediate change will be a red door, dark brown paint on the shutters and maybe an awning to cover the steps. Oh...and losing that light fixture. We can do better than that! (Planters are nice, eh?)

Front Walkway

2005-05-17T14:49:00.000-05:00

This is the walkway from the (ugly) blacktop drive to the front door. Its your basic concrete walk. It is nice that there is a light right here. Also, there is an attempt at planting some Loriope on the edges. I will most likely dig up a bunch from Seddon Rd and bring it with me. Don't you HATE the color? Ugh.

This is the beginning....

2005-04-29T13:35:00.000-05:00

I am posting some photos first and foremost to give everyone a glance. Hopefully, I can then start deciding what there is to do. Or at least, what needs to be done first.

Colonial Crap

Kitchen Floor

New Bed

Henry's Room

Microwave Fun

Bathroom, Again

Wallpaper Ick

My Sanctuary

Finished product

Phil is my Hero, my Bathroom is done.

Bathroom #2 - Time for another big change

My Favorite Material

Our "Gallery"

Final "Wall" Before and Afters

Kitchen Floor

More Wall Pictures

I told you I was going to lose that wall

Bathroom Completion

New stuff

Kitchen Before and (almost) After 6.26.05

Even more kitchen pics....

The Office

More Kitchen Updates

Don't give up on me....

Laundry Anyone?

Its amazing what a little paint and carpet can do!

Let The Games Begin

Its about time...

A Better Front View (with Scary Tree and all)

Our New Neighbor

Last few photos - Back Yard

Closing Day........NOT!

Last 2 Rooms

The Hall...ick

Master Bedroom *insert Psycho theme music here*

Linoleum and Particle Board and Faux Marble --- OH MY!

The Stairway to Hell

Dining Room

Friggin' Ikea!!!!

Whoo Hoo Appliances Fairy came!

Office

Downstairs bath

Behind these Doors....

More Kitchen Pics

Welcome to Williamburg in 1977

Remind me that I said this later.....

Jesse Vasquez - Carpet Measurer Extraordinaire

Living Room Windows

Living Room Wall

Living Room

Oh Joy, Front Entry

Front Yard

Front Door

Front Walkway

This is the beginning....

Master Bedroom insert Psycho theme music here