What we accomplished in August

It's been a long hiatus from the blog - but only because we've been working so hard.  The pictures won't make it seem we've accomplish as much as we did in July, but it's only because we haven't hired anyone to do help us this month. Everything done inside the house during August was done exclusively by us ... while Lucy watched copious episodes of Carebears on my laptop.  We are not ashamed to use technology as a babysitter.  It's all we can afford right now.

She's not complaining.

Our biggest accomplishment is the laundry room.  This baby took us ALL MONTH to do.  First we peeled off the two layers of linoleum, which was surprisingly easy because the previous owners had not use any adhesive.  Easy, but gross.  No adhesive under linoleum means water gets under there and creates some serious funky mildew and mold.  This required several scrubs with bleach water.

Real men scrub floors.

We installed new 'peel and stick' vinyl tiles in the laundry room.  This part was extremely easy, save for the high school geometry we had to whip out to figure out how to cut the squares that met the walls.  During the work on the floor, we were peeling off the wall paper.  This took us a lot longer than we had anticipated, even with our wallpaper peeling lessons from Juan.  After the wallpaper was peeled, we knew we had a problem.

The wall paper on the bottom half of the walls had been applied incorrectly, and then reapplied over that the incorrect application.  (Ah, parfait house, how I love your many layers.)  When we tried peeling both layers of wallpaper, the glue was too strong and ended up peeling off small parts of the sheetrock and drywall.  We were planning on simply painting the whole room, but in order to do that without looking like we live in a hovel, we would have to replace the sheet rock. 

Although Caleb learned how to sheet rock from Brian when he was here in July, sheet rock and drywalling is expensive and our budget is growing ever tighter.  Instead, we decided to do something else within our budget, but beyond our competence level.  We decided to add Wainscoting to the bottom half of the walls.  We found a product that made the process relatively simple for people who have no idea what they're doing, it even comes with a handy youtube 'how to' video.  The wainscoting put us back an additional $200, more than the $50 we had anticipated spending on paint, but it was cheaper than new walls.

And, if I do say so myself, I think the end result is quite lovely.  We used Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter on the top half.  We still need to caulk the areas where the boards come together, to make it look seamless.  We're also going to caulk the top and bottom edges to make sure water doesn't get in and make more mold friends.

We had some extra Revere Pewter left over, so I decided to paint Lucy's bathroom in the color as well.  It was a yellowish-ivory color before, and not matching the modern colors of the rest of the house.  The transformation isn't quite as dramatic as other rooms (mainly because we need to replace the ugly mustard countertops), but it's a step in the right direction.

Finally, Lucy's room is finished being painted.  Purple walls and dark purple ceiling - per her request.  We ordered some vinyl wall decals with trees from Etsy to break up the purple a bit.  We're in the process of putting this up, slowly but surely.  My mom has actually taken the helm on that process.  The blue parts you see are the contact paper that comes on it to keep it from sticking to itself.  By the time we're done, the contact paper will be gone and it'll just be white trees, green leaves and pink birds.

So, that is August.  We still have a few things to do ourselves over the next few months - finishing the deck and basement.  But the major action coming up is the demolition of the kitchen and master bathroom.  The designer and construction company have finally been able to come to a compromise on a design that is within our budget, but will still look really good.  I'm excited to see how that will come along - and hoping (praying) that it's done by the time we have to leave our rental house (Nov. 1).

What a difference paint makes!

While I was feeling overwhelmed with fixing up the house because my arm was broken, we decided to hire CertaPro painters to take on our major painting projects.  So, no, we're not John & Sherry Petersik from Young House Love.  We are not DIY masters, nor is this our full time job.  I feel slightly guilty about this, but the professional results are so beautiful that my guilt is short lived. Like, I'm already over it.

The Family Room is almost done - just one more coat of white on the brick.  I am so happy we decided to paint the trim white (and not just any white, Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace).  It looks so clean!

We painted our Master bedroom the same color (Benjamin Moore's Stratton Blue) as the Family room - because they're directly above each other and get the same light.   I love how airy it feels.

The 3rd bedroom, which we are optimistically referring to as the "nursery" (no baby on the way, but some day?) is also so much happier.  We used Benjamin Moore's Antiguan Sky, and figured it could be paired with greens and deeper blues for a boy or pinks and purples for a girl.  I'm also amazed at house the blues on the walls make the wood floors look more orange.

The most dramatic difference is in the office.  I do not regret for one second painting the wood paneling.  It's a completely new space (one that doesn't remind me of child molesters).  The walls are Benjamin Moore's Classic Grey.  We figured using a neutral in this room would allow us to hang lots of Lucy's colorful art on the walls without being competing.  

 

I am so excited about the transformations underway in our house!  It is really beginning to feel more like ours. 
 

The painting crew from CertaPro is mostly Latino - Mexican and Honduran.  I've brushed off my rusty Spanish in an effort to communicate with them.  Other than the occasional miscommunication (i.e. the word for 'hammer' in Spanish is not 'maleta'), my Spanish has gotten me some definite brownie points.  Yesterday I was at the house attempting to peel the wallpaper off in the laundry room while the crew was painting the gardening room.  Juan, the crew's leader, came in and very patiently told me I was doing it wrong.  In minutes he had peeled twice as much wallpaper as I had in an hour.  Thanks to Juan's free wallpaper peeling lessons, I've made some serious progress in the laundry room.

The coming week holds more painting and wallpaper peeling, but we're also going to try to finish up the porch once and for all.  We need to add the stripping to the outside of the screen, to cover up the ugly staples, and we need to stain the beautiful wood that was hidden underneath the many layers of carpet.  Hopefully, we'll also have time to slap on another coat of Dri-Loc in the basement. 

Brian's Visit - Done

Brian left a week ago.  It's taken me a while to catch up - what with all of this free wheeling I've been doing without my arm sling!  That's right folks, the broken arm is a thing of the past (mostly, I still can't lift heavy things for another 2 weeks).  

Brian left last Friday, Caleb and I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach for our 6th wedding anniversary, and then on Monday I got my sling off.  Since Monday, I've been overcome with productivity.  Running errands like a boss.  Paying bills like a boss.  Cooking dinner like a boss.  Sweeping floors like a boss.  Going to play group like a boss.  I'm queen of the world.

Anyway, back to the point of this blog - the house.  Here were our goals for before Brian came, with what we accomplished last week struck through:

- Put a ceiling in the basement (the flammable insulation is exposed)- Remove carpet from screened-in porch, put in a different (more weather proof) flooring
- Rebuild the stairs, railing, and screen door going up to the screened-in porch

- Remove classic 1970s intercom systems and plaster over space

- New double door from outside to basement

- Replace painted over and non-functioning electrical outlets

- Extend and/or rerouting some downspouts to prevent water leaking into the basement

- Replace most of the doors (particularly the ones that lead outdoors and are leaking air)

- Install a handrail on the stairs going to the family room- Securely fasten the toilet in Lucy's bathroom in a way that prevents movement

- Set up a working smoke alarm system

- Remove linoleum in laundry room (2 layers) and replace with new linoleum
- Remove wall paper in laundry room
- Paint laundry room

You can see we got quite a bit done, but we still have some left to do.  The biggest differences are in our porch and basement.  Below is the progression of photos through out Friday and Monday (while I was getting my sling off, Caleb and my parents were putting up screen).

Friday morning
Half painted, no stairs, no door, no screen

Friday evening

Painted, stairs, door, no screen

Monday evening

Painted, stairs, door, screen

We still have to stain the floors and put up wood stripping to hide the screen seams, but all of our work has really transformed the space.  When it's completely done I'll be sure to post before and after photos.

The painters also arrived this week to start painting all of our brown trim white.  Caleb was joking today that pretty much all we've done at the house is turned brown things white - trim, electrical face plates, the porch.  I think it has made everything look so much more modern.  Although, I don't think I would say, "all we've done is turn brown things white" without context.  Yes, that's right, we're  gentrifying our house.  No, we're not racists.

Brian's Visit - Day 4

Remember when summer vacation used to be relaxing and you could spend your money on fun souvenirs, like a piggy bank in the shape of the the Empire State Building?  Now in adulthood, we get to spend our summer vacation painting, sanding, and removing wall paper and our money is all spent at Lowe's.  (BTW, Is Rob Lowe of the 1980s Brat Pack of any relation?  If so they should totally put him in their commercials.  I know I'd buy more thinking of that dreamy face.)

Today - day 4 of our "summer vacation" - we have accomplished a few things.  Our wrought iron railing is finally done!  We used the directions from here, or rather, I printed the directions from there and handed them to my parents (I could get used to this broken arm thing).  One thing I do not recommend is sanding all of the old paint and rust off and "getting some shut eye" before painting the enamel on.  It stormed that night.  And guess what happens to unprotected iron after a storm?  It rusts.  So we had to begin all over again.  But the final product is decent.  I hope it stays that way for a long time.

Before

After

Otherwise, the rest of today was dedicated to one thing - painting the deck.  It took us a full 8 hours, even with two people working all day.  The heat index today was 106 degrees, and the humidity was so high that most of my pictures were fuzzy from the condensation on my camera lens.  Everyone is exhausted, except Lucy. 

Tomorrow is our last day with Brian here, and we're planning on using his expertise in every possible way.  He's going to build our deck stairs, install a new screen door, and teach us how to sand and stain the deck.  In his "down time" (a.k.a. time in the air conditioning) he's going to teach me how to remove wall paper and linoleum from the laundry room.  We can get this all done in the 5 hours he has before he has to go to the airport, right?

Brian's Visit - Days 2 & 3

We are now three days through our summer "vacation" and though I feel like we've accomplished a lot, you can't really tell by just looking at the house right now.  Like most improvements, it has gotten worse before it gets better.

The basement is now 90% done.  The sheetrock is all up and "mudded" and Brian is working on building us a drop ceiling to access our plumbing pipes and HVAC system.

The rest of the last two days have turned out to be the saga of the deck. I have begun to refer to the house as "the parfait house" after the Shrek quote about layers.

Astroturf (circa 1977), beige carpet (circa 1990), and
future deck tiles glimmering in the distance.

Shrek: Ogres are like onions! 
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes... No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs...
Shrek: NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions. What about cake? Everybody loves cake! Shrek:  I don't care what everyone else likes! Ogres are not like cakes.
Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!

Like parfait, this house has several layers.  In our screened in porch, as we began to peel off the carpet we realized - much to our horror - that there was a layer of astroturf underneath the carpet. 

This is not the first time we've found layers in the house. The laundry room has two layers of linoleum.  The roof has two layers of shingles.  The walls are several layers of paint over wall paper.  We should expect from now on to find remnants of previous owners in all of our house projects. But, it's still a shock.

But back to the screened-in porch.  Brian convinced us that rather than patching holes in the screen that we should just start from zero - take off all of the screens, paint the wood without the screens on and then re-screen the area.  So after we got all of the carpets off, we began power-washing. 

Powerwashing is my mother's favorite activity.  She enjoys it immensely.  And I'm not even being facetious.  Really.  She does.  So she did that while I went home and waited for the dishwasher repair man at our rental house (his wise words, "yep, it's broken."  Thanks dude.)

When I came back with Lucy around 4 p.m., the deck looked amazing and Caleb was busy installing new outlets and light switches in the bedrooms.  All of the face plates and units were a 1970s chocolate brown, and Caleb updated them to a modern white (with a little tutoring from Brian).  Lucy was very impressed, and tried to "help" daddy by poking scissors in there.  We might need some serious discussions about the dangers of electricity.

Turns out after all of that powerwashing, the floor boards underneath are actually quite beautiful.  I had bought some very expensive eco-friendly deck tiles to cover what I thought was going to be hideous wood.  The good news is, we can return the expensive deck tiles (which adds $2,000 back to our budget) and just seal or paint the wood.   By the time I left to go home and make dinner, the men were working on installing the ceiling!  I'm getting very excited for how this space will turn out!

Brian's Visit - Day 1

Blame it on sequestration or lame airlines - who knows why - but Brian's flight was delayed and he didn't get into Richmond until around 1 a.m., which didn't put him back home until 2:30 a.m.  Thus, we got a late start today.  Once we got to the house around 10:30, we took Brian on a tour around the house to give him an idea of all the things that need to be done.  Brian, ever the optimist, thinks we can accomplish all of the things on our "to do" list and then some.

The main thing "the men" (Brian, Caleb and my dad) accomplished today was getting sheet rock up in the basement.  When we bought the sheet rock at Lowe's this weekend Caleb was obsessed with asking me, "How are we going to get this on the ceiling?" as if I knew the answer.  Apparently the sheet rock is ridiculously heavy.  I wouldn't know because I was able to claim the broken arm to get out of the heavy lifting.  Low and behold, Brian arrives and says, "Oh shoot, I forgot to ask you to rent a sheet rock lift."  Aha!  So that's how you lift these heavy 4 foot by 8 foot pieces of gypsum on the ceiling!  So my dad and I headed to an equipment rental place and got the sheet rock lift.  By the time we got back it was 2 p.m.

But, with three men drilling, they were able to sheet rock most of the 575 square foot basement in the next 3 hours.  They couldn't finish it all because my mom insisted we were all home for dinner.  Thank you mom for feeding us!

The other thing we started was the process of getting rid of the intercoms!  The hated, ugly, 1970s intercoms.  Step one, remove screws and remove intercoms from wall.  Step two ... I have no idea what they did for step two because I was at the rental place picking up the sheet rock lift.  But when I come home, this is what I saw:

A wall in each bedroom that looked like this, and a pile of things pulled out of walls.  I've been told the holes will need several layers of this wall compound and lots of sanding, so it won't look like abstract art forever.

Looking forward to what tomorrow may hold!

Painting Party

After weeks of feeling unaccomplished, yesterday's painting party is just what the doctor ordered!  Ironically, one of the couples wasn't able to make it because the husband thought he had broken his arm that morning while trail running.  The last thing a painting party needs is two people with broken arms!

Here's what we got accomplished:
- painted the front door from white to a sunny yellow
- painted the front door hardware from a brassy metallic to black
- sanded down the wrought iron railing on the front porch
- put Drylok up on the basement walls to stop the mold and mildew
- painted 7 shutters (many more to go)

I mostly supervised and made lunch, since my broken arm rendered me useless.  The people who did the most work were Caleb and our pastors.  A husband-wife team are pastors of our church and they are amazing, hard-working, humble people.  What other pastor would strap on a vapor mask and help you Drylok your basement?

Or help you chose what shade of yellow you should paint your front door? (We chose the right-hand side, Benjamin Moore's Classical Yellow).

Another church member, a former carpenter, helped us power wash the shutters.

My parents showed up and pitched in too!  Even bringing their tools for us to use.

Lucy helped out by taping off the bushes.  After all, what would we do it we got shutter paint on a leaf?

At the end of the day we were exhausted.  We headed to my parents pool and relaxed with some cheeseburgers.  Tonight my cousin arrives from Minnesota to help us with more projects.  He's a contractor and has graciously volunteered to come out and teach us some of the basics of home repair, and some not so basics (like how to install a ceiling). 

This week is officially our summer "vacation."  Caleb has taken the week off of work and we hired a babysitter to watch Lucy.  We're hoping to get a lot done. 

Here's our list:

- Put a ceiling in the basement (the flammable insulation is exposed)
- Remove carpet from screened-in porch, put in a different (more weather proof) flooring
- Rebuild the stairs, railing, and screen door going up to the screened-in porch

- Remove classic 1970s intercom systems and plaster over space

- New double door from outside to basement

- Replace painted over and non-functioning electrical outlets

- Extend and/or rerouting some downspouts to prevent water leaking into the basement

- Replace most of the doors (particularly the ones that lead outdoors and are leaking air)

- Install a handrail on the stairs going to the family room
- Securely fasten the toilet in Lucy's bathroom in a way that prevents movement

- Set up a working smoke alarm system

- Remove linoleum in laundry room (2 layers) and replace with new linoleum
- Remove wall paper in laundry room
- Paint laundry room

At the end of the week we will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary with a weekend trip to Virginia Beach.   Here goes nothing!

You can die now

I have spent every free moment of the last 3 months checking out design blogs in anticipation of our new home.  Since I've broken my arm the obsession has only grown.  The NSA probably already knows exactly how I'm going to decorate Lucy's bedroom.

Knowing that background, here is a list of things I think need to stop trending NOW.

1. Chevron.  This is going to look dated faster than Hammer pants.

 

Mark my words.

2. Mustaches. Really?  Really?  When did this come back as a thing?  Mustaches were, are and will forever be creepy.

Do you see the similarities?

3. Pennants Banners, or "bunting."  Don't get me wrong, I love bunting for how it's an eco-friendly party decorating item.  You can use the same bunting for every party and no one will know.  What drives me crazy is the mass proliferation of bunting as a cutesy artistic statement.  I get that it's cheery.  I get that it's colorful.  I like cheery and colorful.  But it's become the new "bird" of design.  Cards, baby onesies, necklaces.  STOP. IT. NOW.

 

 Put a Bird on It

 

1 month in

So, we bought our house a month ago, and what have we accomplished?  TWO things on our "to do" list.  I believe that makes us 1% closer to our goal.  In my defense, we would have been able to cross off three things this month had I not fallen off a ladder while painting the basement and broken my arm a week ago.

 

House, 1.  Kristin, 0.  So far the house is winning, Charlie Sheen style.

At this point it is a miracle that I can type this blog post left handed with a minimal number of type-o's.  I don't see my contribution to DIY projects over the next 4 weeks to be significant seeing as how I can't drive, write, lift things or feed myself.

I want to state here, for the record, how crazy I feel when all I can do is sit on my butt.  Today Caleb and I got in a fight - our first in a while.  Partly because my feeling out of control has a direct correlation with my ability to lose it.  And partly because the financial pressure of paying for a mortgage and rent, while not making any progress on the house, became real as we discussed our budget for the next few months.  The words, "Buying this house was a mistake" were indeed uttered.  But it's too late now.

What's really amazing is how people have stepped up to help.  Next Saturday a group of friends and church members are coming to help us paint the outside of our house - shutters, trim and doors.  The day after that my cousin is flying in from Minnesota to help us repair the deck and get rid of the intercom system.  Hopefully by the end of July I will feel differently about our decision to purchase the house.

Pigment

I feel so energized after today's meeting with Christy Baker of Pigment.  She's a color consultant, who for a very modest fee will help you pick out the right paint colors for rooms in your home.  And, as I learned today, the woman is a color genius.  She knows everything from how a room with a north facing window will make dark colors look darker to how the orange tints in your hardwood floors will make a teal look more blue.

To truly appreciate her genius, you should know the back story of my paint meltdown.  Last week I tried to pick out my own colors for the bedrooms.  My method was trial through obsession.  I literally stayed up every night until 1 a.m. last week fiddling around on the Sherwin Williams website.  I do not recommend this.  What little sleep you get will be riddled with nightmares of computerized paint chips attacking you.  After many sleepless nights, I forced my husband to drive with me to the Sherwin Williams store on a Saturday and bought samples of the following colors.

For Master bedroom, Sherwin Williams Seaworthy.

For Lucy's room, Sherwin Williams Dahlia.

For spare bedroom, Sherwin Williams Blue Sky.

For hallways and office, Sherwin Williams Techno Gray.

After getting the samples home, I immediately regretted my "get it done" buy, because none of them looked right.  It was purely through the grace of God that I happened to mention it to Christy at church on Sunday (btw, Christy and I go to church together), and she reminded me of her new color consulting business.  I believe I sent her an e-mail that night that showed my panic and need for her immediate help.  (I really need to calm down, it's just paint).

So today Christy swung by with her suitcases of paint chips and set me straight - in an extremely professional and kind way.  With her comprehensive knowledge of hues and ability to listen to what I wanted, she was able to take my ideas and make them into a more cohesive color pallet and one that I'm really excited to share.

For master bedroom, Benjamin Moore Stratton Blue.

For Lucy's room, a combination of 3 colors to tone down the purple.  (Lucy wanted purple, and for those of you who knows Lucy, she gets what she wants).  The grey will go on 3 of the walls, the darker purple on the ceiling, and the lighter purple on the main wall.  Benjamin Moore's African Violet, Benjamin Moore's Hazy Lilac and Benjamin Moore's Classic Gray.



We're going to paint all of the trim white.  The Classic Gray will also go on the walls in the hall and in the office, to keep them neutral, and we're still trying to come up with color ideas for the "spare" bedroom.  I gave Christy this as my inspiration for the room, and we've created a pinterest board to brainstorm more ideas.  I can't wait to get going!