Saturday, November 23, 2013

It's beginning to look a lot like the 21st century

We have been very busy lately!


We got four new windows for the front of the house! So last Saturday Eric and his dad installed them while I painted the bedroom...

 
The color is Valspar "Homestead Resort Spa Aqua."  I decided this time around that I would not belabor the paint-selecting process, but rather just choose from Lowes' Valspar selection.  Our experience with selecting our living room color was not in vain, however...it allowed me to feel comfortable just going with the lightest shade of whatever color struck my fancy.  But back to the windows...

 Here are the before shots:


 
And here's after!
 
 
 
As you can see, I also painted the trim.  All of the trim in this house is yellow/brown and once we put those new window it looked even worse!  The windows are wonderful and once I got the trim painted....well, it just totally transformed the living room!  Looking at those windows, I can actually visualize this house looking fresh, clean and modern.
 
Here are some before shots of our bedroom:
 

 
After:
 

 


Notice anything funny about the "after" photos?  Other than the horrible ceiling fan and the yellow trim, I mean?  The ceiling is PINK!  So one of our next tasks will be to paint the ceiling white in our master bedroom and the second bedroom, where the ceiling is also, unfortunately, pink. 
 
Still to be done in the master bedroom:
  • Paint the ceiling white
  • Paint the trim (in process!)
  • Replace blinds with plantation blinds (in process!)
  • Install new windows
  • Crown molding
  • Curtains to line the wall behind the bed
  • Replace ceiling fan with new light fixture
  • Hang pictures/artwork
  • Create reading nook on wall opposite the bed
  • New accent pillows/throw blanket
Hopefully it won't take me as long to post next time! Until then!
 
Sal

 


Friday, November 1, 2013

Painting in Progress

Finally...progress! 

 

It's been a while since my last update, but there really wasn't a whole lot going on!  Two weekends ago, Eric and I had our minds set on demolishing the half-bath and installing our (free!) pedestal sink, but that didn't exactly happen.  We ended up getting sucked into yard work and cleaning-- I forget that just because you're spending all your time and energy updating a house doesn't mean you don't have to mop the floors and scrub the toilets in the meantime...bummer!  And then last weekend we had our annual Halloween weekend in Boone with my family, it was so much fun! We look forward to this weekend almost as much as Christmas!  Our traditions include the Ghost Train at Tweetsie Railroad, an Appalachian State football game, and lots of food. 



So that brings me back to the progress we've been making!  After a painstaking paint-choosing process we ended up going with the very first paint sample we tried-- Sherwin William's "Sea Salt."  Remember this picture below?  I actually have no idea which color blob is "Sea Salt" but if you're looking at the color collection behind the TV, I think it may be the third one from the right.



It hasn't been an easy process...before we even started painting we had to repair some of the messes the previous owners left for us, which included massive paint drips, spackle diasters, and how they painted right over the light switches, which made getting the outlet covers off the walls almost impossible and left some of the outlets completely non-functional! 




Seriously, who does that?!?  I hate to be ugly, but I just have to say that every bit of work that the previous owners put into this house has been cheap, messy and lazy!  There...I said it!  So, one of our major goals for this weekend is to replace all of the covers, outlets, and light switches.  I'm excited!!  Here are some before and after pictures to show you the paint color:


 
 
 
 





 
 
 
 
Now if I could get my act together and straighten up before I take pictures and broadcast them to the world!  Oh well, you can't have it all.  Unfortunately, it is always very dark in our house...that is one of the things we're looking most forward to changing about it.  Because of that, all of these pictures were taken with the flash, so the color looks very blue, when in actuality it's a tie between blue and gray.  Here is a picture I snapped on my phone right when I got home from work and the natural light was hitting a wall:
 
 

And if you haven't noticed, we got new curtains!
 
 
 In other exciting news, we've ordered four new windows!  We'll be ordering them three or four at a time, and Eric and his dad will be installing them.  I think that will make a huge difference.  Hooray for progress!

Sal