Curtain Call!

It has been entirely too long since I've written an update, even by my standards.  That's the problem when you're so busy updating the house...no time to update the blog!  Today is different though because it's a snow day! We're home waiting for the 8-14" they're calling for and have some extra time on our hands.  We have made some major strides though, so here we go...

Yes! My curtain dreams have become a reality!  If these curtains look familiar, it's because they used to be in the living room.  We just decided that they looked way better in here, which is funny because we chose the paint color independently of the curtains. If you haven't been following since the beginning, here's a recap:

The closet behind these doors spans the entire length of the wall, which is great!  The closet doors are not so great, in fact, they are very ugly.  And asymmetrical for that matter, so I knew I had to think outside the box to redeem this wall.  So, as you can see, I decided to place the bed on the center of this wall with the hopes of removing the closet doors, adding some curtains that would hide the closet, and install light sconces to make the wall symmetrical.  

And so here ends the closet journey.  In fact, this room is almost completely finished except for crown molding.  Let's turn out attention to the windows, one of which you can see in the left of this picture.

I knew I didn't want to put curtains on the windows in our bedroom because 1) We had a whole wall of curtains and I didn't want the room to look too curtainy (just to throw in some technical decorating terms for you) or for the curtains to compete with one another and 2) There's not enough space on the other window in this room to fit a curtain rod.  Originally we went with plantation shutters but I just didn't love them.  They weren't quite white enough to match our ultra-white trim that we painted so instead we went with woven wood blinds. 

This picture makes them look like they let in a lot of light, but in real life they are really good and blocking light.  They also have a privacy liner, so no worries there.

Here's a close-up on the window itself.  Such an improvement from the 42 year old windows we inherited when we bought this place!  They're beautiful and fresh, but more importantly they've made a huge difference in conserving heat which is great because it's been a cold winter. 

This is the new sliding window we installed in the half bathroom of our master bedroom.  As you can see, it's still pretty rustic because we haven't installed trim yet, but I'll take visible insulation if that means this room is a little warmer!  It's still known lovingly as the "zombie bathroom" but at least we can leave the door open without getting hit with a wall of frigid air.  

There are a few new things going on this room.  1) We painted the ceiling white, 2) New front door, 3) New curtains!  Here's a close up of the front door...

We've got a curtain rod up, but we're still looking for the perfect curtains to hang over the door window.  You can see on the left side of the new molding that there's some touching up that needs to be done and of course we haven't painted it yet.

And because I love a good before/after picture...

That's it for today....Happy Snow Day!

Sally

Things are starting to look up!

Things are starting to look up, and my neck and shoulders are very sore because of it!

 

Remember our terrible ceiling fan and pink ceiling?

 

 

Well the ceiling fan and pink ceiling are gone! Hooray!  I never thought just having a white ceiling would make me so happy!

 

 Here is a progress picture for those of you who, when I pointed out the pink ceiling, said things like, "Is it really pink? I never would have guessed! It doesn't LOOK pink!"

 

 

Let's take one more look at the before/after pictures before we visit the living room:

 

 

 

I know it has been a long time since I've posted, but with the busy-ness of the Christmas season, we haven't done much to our house!  It was nice to take a break, and now we're eager to throw ourselves back into it!  Here is a glimpse of what our living room is looking like these days...

 

We got a great deal on two matching dressers that I got at a yard sale.  We are using this smaller one in the living room as an entertainment center and the much larger chest of drawers in our bedroom.  They were each $20 and they are solid wood (AKA very heavy!!!)  I've got some exciting plans for these babies which include replacing the top two drawers with baskets, sanding and painting, and replacing the knobs.

 

 

To the right of the entertainment center, you can see our Christmas tree.  Here is a close-up:

 

 

 

If you were being very observant, you might have spotted a new light above the entertainment center.  First, check out the before:

 

 

And here is our new can light!  Eric installed it and then for weeks we played a not-so-fun game where we would buy a light bulb and then return it and buy another one because it didn't fit or it was way too bright!  When we finally figured out the right wattage, we decided to install a dimmer switch, which meant buying yet another light bulb.  But we finally got it right! 

 

 

Here is the dimmer switch.  It's a little funny looking because the lights from the Christmas tree are reflecting off of it.

 

 

And speaking of switches, isn't this a far cry from the old paint-covered switches/plates we started with?

 

That pink color will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

 

 

Yes, we've come a long way, that's for sure!  Next on the list for us is:  Hanging some curtains on the "closet wall" in our bedroom (curtain rods are up and waiting!), installing some exposed shelving in the kitchen, and replacing the floor in our bathroom. 

 

Happy New Year everyone!

 

-Sal

 

 

 

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

 

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