Master-ful!

This entry is definitely begging for a picture…or better yet a video documenting the progress, but in the interim, let me just say that the master bedroom in this house has been utterly transformed. For those who didn’t see the original state of the house, this may be difficult to follow, but try to keep up. One BIG room (which clearly at one point had been two rooms, one having been added on to the original frame of the house) was broken up back into two rooms and a hallway. Ultimately, the newly created hallway will extend all the way (funny… “all the way” is a VERY relative term) to the family room, past another bedroom, which will be John’s office. So, for now, half the hallway is in place, with a completely finished, masterful master bedroom, with a big ol’ closet, beautiful “window treatments,” and freshly installed carpet. That’s right...we have our first finished floor! We moved John’s king-size bed in over the weekend, a little unsure of how everything would fit, but I tell you, it’s the nicest bedroom I’ve ever had. I love it, I love it, I love it!!! (she exclaimed in her best Molly Shannon impression) I also love that Amy is flying in tonight for Christmas and we’ve got her guest room all ready for her. Despite some real concern about the bed fitting in what can only be considered a “size-challenged” room, we figured it out, and now, not only does the room have a bed, night stand, rug and closet, it will even have a dresser. So, from “size-challenged” to downright cozy, I say.

Fix'n a Kitchen

Life of a Fireplace

Happy Thanksgiving

Our big milestone has been reached...after 8 weeks of working on our Home Sweet Home, John and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 14. And by all accounts, the house made a very positive impression. With furniture now in the living room (at least temporarily until the floors are tackled), our new majestic fireplace glowing, an immaculate bathroom, and an extensive (yet still intimate, I hope) Thanksgiving table, for the first time, 381 Smith Ave. felt like a home, not just a project. Mostly, though, I was just delighted to have a house full of people...people who really had very little idea what to expect when they walked through our doors, but they did it eagerly nonetheless. There were, of course, a few little hiccups...the new dishwasher was less than cooperative, and despite my "dry run" the day before, it turns out I just couldn't get everything to fit in the oven simultaneously. Oh yeah, and I accidentally served my father nuts and celery (though as far as I've heard, no Epi-pen was necessary). But why focus on the hiccups? It was a really wonderful and gratifying day...now let's get back to work! I need a bedroom! =)

Progress!

First off...my bad for leaving my last rant of frustration up as the most recent narrative post for such a long time. Look, I was having a bad day, I wanted to capture it for posterity's sake, and now each time I see it, I think, What a whiner!!!

We're almost to the point where we can have some pretty nifty before and after documentation of the kitchen. There are a few finishing touches to be made, but for the most part, it is done....and looking fine, I might add! I've become a bit of a freak with the stainless steel cleaner (man, that stuff can show some fingerprints!!!), but I'm sure that will wear off. Actually, John and I have are both being obsessive cleaners, which is a completely insane exercise of futility. This is a construction site, after all...

So you've seen the video of the countertop and cabinets and tiled floor and appliances in the kitchen. A picture is a worth a thousand words, so I won't wax on about that. The bathroom, though, is also coming along. Actually, make that bathroomS. John has taken on the sheetrocking of the basement bathroom as his own special project. I'd share a before photo of it, but with all the profanity scawled on the existing walls (well, wall...it was pretty much completely open), I opted against it. Anyway, the idea is to have two working bathrooms for our Thanksgiving guests...though, between you and me, there ain't NO WAY, I'm using the basement one!!! But, it's not because the new walls don't rock.

We've also got a neat little entrance way element added. We added some tile when you first come in the front door. John managed to talk me out of my 'it must be neutral!!!' mantra and we went with a very pretty design that actually does a great job of pulling in the colors of the kitchen and tying together that whole front space. It turned out great, but really it was more of a necessity than a finishing touch. We knew the floor there was pretty damaged so we needed to come up with a solution for the area...what we didn't know until we cut into it was that it was badly damaged by excessive amounts of cat urine. Candles were lit, holes were cut completely into the floor, tiles were laid, and no one will ever be the wiser. (By the way, David wins the "First to Fall through the Floor Award.")

Let's see...what else. We've got an attic door, we've got progress made on the fireplace, we've got two new doors (one off the deck and one into the soon-to-be-completed mud room). Next up? Trim all around! That, and framing the master bedroom...and inaugurating the new kitchen on Thanksgiving Day.

Kitchen Counter top

Manic Monday

In a completely unsurprising development, I’ve gone a bit manic. There’s just a lot going on these days – I’ve been traveling a lot for work, I’m transitioning to a new job, I’m trying to get myself coordinated for Thanksgiving, and oh yeah...there’s this little house project. Anyway, I am someone who thrives on order, control, having a plan, having a check list, and having everything in its place. Well that has all been turned on its head with this house renovation…my limited time and even more limited skills mean I have very little control personally over the home renovation projects. Things happen when they happen, and really, that’s okay…it just makes my stomach churn a bit, and my mind race, and my body refuse to fall asleep. Back to my manic tendencies…last night in a fit of trying to force a sense of control, I thought, ‘why not pack up my kitchen and get ready to move everything over to the new house?’ Then I thought, ‘well, with these boxes packed, I might as well move them down to the car so I can get that over with and not have to think about it tonight.’ So that explains why last night I extricated myself from my warm, comfortable bed (where I just couldn’t seem to fall asleep), threw on a sweatshirt and sneakers, and started loading up my car with boxes…boxes that can’t be unpacked, boxes of things like spices and wooden spoons and bread pans that are really of no use to anyone, but boxes that nonetheless are now in my car and will soon be in my new home.

See…I’m in control.

And…I have a kitchen that is nearly complete. (Man, "nearly complete’" has taken on a completely different meaning with this project…it’s all relative, I guess). The tile looks great (thanks David!), I’m loving the color of the kitchen and I can not wait to see the cabinets fully installed with doors and everything (hint, hint). (And not for nothing, once that happens, you know my spices are finding their home!)

And a giant shout-out to my painting superhero, Kirk. He came in like a whirlwind and got the job done. Talk about taking control… Both the living room and family room are painted and looking fine (again, another assessment that is completely relative).

kitchen tile

kitchen painted

kitchen future

Less than 5 Weeks Until Thanksgiving

More videos are coming, though for the most part, they will likely look like more of the same. Much of the work done this past weekend was electrical and plumbing in nature...not really the types of stuff that make for compelling video footage. But, we're slowly inching our way to a finished kitchen. John has put together all of the cabinets, David is replacing much of the sheetrock in the kitchen, and next-door-neighbor Louis re-wired the area. We've got a little more sheetrocking to go, and then we can paint, hang cabinetry, order the countertop and get moving on tiling the floor. Oh yeah...as I write this, we're also getting delivered our refridgerator and dishwasher. The stove we brought home ourselves yesterday. So good news for our Thanksgiving guests...what's supposed to be hot will be hot, and what's supposed to be cold will be cold.

The Eagle Has Landed

66 boxes of Ikea kitchen cabinetry, hardware, etc. arrived today at the house. I'm so excited to see it, but I'll have to be patient. I've been working long hours, going in early and staying late to get ready for the big GALA on Saturday night. Then, it's off to Milwaukee next Monday. Hmmm...maybe when I get back from my trip....dare I say it???...I'll have a kitchen AND a shower!!!

Unexpected Treasures

Thanks, John, for videos that really only we homeowners could love…well, us, and apparently, Amy.

A few comments on the comments:

Yes, the yellow paint in both the kitchen and bathroom is hideous. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t fully do it justice…not only is the color ugly, the texture is hideous…it peels off in big ol’ chunks. Evidence suggests that a previous owner liked to decorate with sunflower-patterns, and tried to match the wall color exactly.

I’ve yet to find a beach…but there have been countless other unexpected treasures. My favorite: a half-full package of Q-tips…no need to be too jealous; they were generic-brand.

I hate my voice of these videos.

What I don’t hate AT ALL are my new kitchen cabinets. After three hours at Ikea on Monday, preceded by countless hours on my computer at home using their kitchen design software, the kitchen has been ordered. And now, I wait. Meanwhile, I hope John is watching the instructional DVD to prepare himself for the installation process. I’m sure with an 11-minute DVD and two instructional wall posters to hang nearby for easy reference, constructing and installing a full set of kitchen cabinets from 88 flat boxes will be a piece of cake…right? Mmmm…cake.

Ooh yes, also new to report…I’ve officially starting moving some of my stuff to the new place. Well, okay, it’s just one table, but that’s one less thing I have to move on the actual moving day.

Plus, it means more room in the truck for Grandma’s china.

Basement Day 1

Shower Removal Under Sink

Bathroom and kitchen Gutted

Renovating Deck

New Toilet and Vanity

Later Day 1

Outside House Day 1

Living Room & Kitchen Day 1

Deck

Long Overdue Update

Okay, exceedingly clever twin sister (and your ambiguously last-initialed friend Matt), here's a brief recount to tide you over until photos are available. First, some noteworthy details:

1. The house is officially ours. The deed is filed, we have keys, we check the mail, and we've even gotten the first electric bill.

2. The house is also officially a mess. We spent the first weekend of home ownership cleaning it up, taking out carpets, filling a dumpster with garbage left behind by the somewhat notorious previous owners (at least that's what we gather from talking to the neighbors), and completely gutting the kitchen. By the end of that weekend, it actually looked halfway not disgusting. A week later, it's back to being a hub of chaos. There's now a bathtub in one bedroom, a stove in the entryway, paint splatters all over the floors, and still (despite regular and frequent sweeping), lots of dead bugs. But, hey, they're dead.

3. Projects currently underway include the bathroom renovation (thanks to Cousin Bill). John installed the toilet himself (and the flush is completely not even close to being as intimidating as I would have liked, but I suppose less water usage makes the environment happy). He also decided to go out on his own and buy a vanity. It's a perfectly attractive looking thing, but it's huge in our little bathroom. Let's put it this way, no one who needs a wheelchair or a walker or who needs to bathe a child will ever be buying this house. The kitchen is gutted and I'm off to Ikea tonight to order our new cabinets. The deck has been temporarily renovated to expose a little more driveway (previously the oversized deck made driving into the garage a near impossible feat). I know, I know, you're thinking why didn't anyone scoop up this gem sooner??? We have a brand new hot water heater, and freshly primed walls.

4. John finally got a chance last night to sit on his deck with a bottle of wine and a cigar, which made him very happy. I, meanwhile, was priming walls.

5. I have lots of calluses on my hands; John probably has a bit of a hangover.

6. Now we are trying to tap into our inner architects to figure out how to make a completely non-sensical layout flow in a logical way. At this point, I can't even give a straight answer when someone asks how many bedrooms it has. We honestly don't know. It's just straight up funky.

7. The plan is to be in by Thanksgiving, and hopefully to have photos up at least by then...

tricky password

I am sick and tired of coming to this site and seeing nothing.

Show me some house!

-A