inside update

we are much more moved in now.  about 99.9% of our stuff is unpacked and placed where it belongs. The real accomplishment of the week was that we cleared out the garage enough for us to get both our cars in. It's still a mess - maybe i'll take a picture of it some day for you - but they are in and the door closes so i'm satisfied.

At any rate, i know the masses have been wanting more pictures of the place so, here are the photos you've been waiting for Mom!

view from the front door in the foyer

Painting Progess

We spent the weekend painting, and i mean the WHOLE weekend - 11 hours Saturday and 9 hours Sunday.  Fortunatrely we had some helpers to make it all easier.

Teamwork in my office

Ewa working hard - and even came back Sunday to do MORE

Mini update

here is a little update - to keep y'all in the loop.  Things are chaos here with the finishing of projects and the packing of EVERYTHING.  Here are a few quick pics to show you what i mean - with the promise of some real blog posts to come.

testing some spray paint on kitchen brackets - don't worry, this is the primer :)

Mirror Options

Jon was out of town this weekend, and gave me leave to make the mirror decision myself, so i spent the time focused on finding some solutions.  I hit up HomeGoods and a few thrift shops in search. Here is what i found.

Mirror Hunt!

OMG it is hard to find a bathroom mirror!  I mean, i'm only looking for something spectacular, unique, fun, classy, period-appropriate and functional - why should that be so hard?

ok, so i am perhaps being overly particular about this selection but i strongly feel that in BOTH of our bathrooms we have made simple, elegant, classic selections for all the things like tile, faucets, vanity, light fixtures etc.

Upstairs Bath

Progress Update

It's been awhile since i gave a progress update - with a bunch of progress pics - so here it is! You'll see a lot of open walls where electrical work is being done and a few widened doorways as well as a good amount of construction accouterments and Jon popping in and out of the frame.

This is the eat-in side of the kitchen with a view to the living room and dining room

here is jon in the kitchen, standing about where the sink was in the old pictures

So About That Sink...

Period Inspiration

Jon and i discovered the Cinemax show The Knick a short while ago when HBO was streaming the first season for free.  Recently comcast gave a free week to binge on the second season, without adding a subscription to the channel.  it did not disappoint.

An exciting development!!!!

I got this email today, we'll see how it pans out....

Doing Demo - Progress So Far

To save some money, and let's be real, have some fun, we are doing a portion of the demolition for the renovation ourselves.  We figured we could tackle some easier and more obvious projects that don't really threaten the structural stability of the home, or risk damaging anything too valuable or hard to repair.

Carpets:



Jon and some pals made quick work of ripping out all the GROSS carpets upstairs.  For serious, those carpets were DISGUSTING.  We are talking cat pee soaked carpets and padding, and baseboards. Needless to say, there was lots of trash on that day.  But it's all out now, and the smell is almost completely gone.


Bathrooms:








For me, this was the most satisfying demo, probably because it was the one i was involved in the most.  Learning how to remove a toilet and sink was easier than i thought, even when i had to make a hardware store run in the middle to pick up a hack saw and a larger wrench. Also, tearing up the old linoleum layers was satisfying too.  it already feels like a cleaner  and more functional space in this blank state than it did before.

Kitchen:

Jon and friends really rocked this demo.  It was hard work but they got out all the cabinets and appliances, as well as the wall tile.  this space is looking much better already.  AND he even made some cash on selling the appliances, i am astounded!