Out with the Old

Because I track our FedEx shipment on the chandelier like a serial killer stalker, I "encouraged" my husband to take down the old lights so we could prep the ceiling before the chandelier got here.

Here's how this was all suppose to go down:

1. Remove old fluorescent lights.
2. Install new canister or recessed lights.
3. Remove existing ceiling fan.
   
4. Replace light switches.
   
5. Do any ceiling repair on damages done by the old lights.
6. Repaint the whole ceiling.
7. Install the chandelier.
8. And voila! Life is grand and I would have my beautiful dining room put back together.
   

Now, this is how it really went down:

Before:

Clear all the furniture out of the room. Stow everything away. Cover the furniture left securely with a drop cloth. The room was so spacious!


Pull the covers off the lights. Gently turn and remove the fluorescent lights. They break really easily. Just a bump against something hard and they shatter to a bazillion pieces. I put them in a cardboard box for the time being. Later, I'm going to put them into a garbage bag, go outside and break them in the bag before I throw them out. Better me than an unsuspecting sanitation worker ya know?


Then you're left with this. There were really long screws with anchors that held the casing up to the ceiling. The ballast (black box) is somewhat heavy so you need an assistant as you remove these. Using a drill, take the screws out. Pay attention to how it's wired. Ours was wired all funny. More on that later...


Take a break. Pet your dog.

Next: Installing canister or recessed lights.

The disappearing act

Now you see it.


Now you don't. Hey, where did the ceiling go?


Oh there it is! Found you!


More to come...

2009 Projects & Renovations

January

• How we brightened up our Hallway with paint.
• Sewing: Pot Holders.
  

February

• Budget Bathroom Makeover: DIY shower curtain, changing hardware & decor.
  
• How we installed Chair Rail in our Hallway.
  

March

• Adding Chair Rail Ends and how to fill nail holes.
• How to Tile a Kitchen Floor - Tools, Prep.
• Tiling: How to lay cement board.
• Tiling: How to lay down the tiles.
• Tiling: How to grout.
• How to move a Supply Register (HVAC).
• How to move an Electrical Outlet.
• Had our dishwasher installed by a plumber.
  
• A Man's Pad Makeover: How I sewed a valance and chair cushion covers.

April

• Side entrance Hallway makeover.
• Staining a Railing.
• Organization: Organize your tools by task.

May

• Sewed an Ottoman Cover.
• Lots of Gardening: Peonies in bloom! Corn. Tomatoes. Carrots. Roses. Herb Garden. And mulching.
  

June

• Cheap DIY canvas wall art.
• Sewing: Nursing Covers.
• Sewing: Little Girl's Play Dress Up.
• Sewing: Living Room Window Panels - A balancing act.
  

July

• Redecorated Guest Bedroom.
• Repainted our front door red.
• A Chair Remade.
• Gardening: Working on Curb Appeal.
  

August

• Made Salsa from the Garden.

September

October

• Our awesome french bulldog Basil made us a family.
  

November

• How to crochet a baby afghan.

December

My hands are itchin'

It's like Santa came down on his sleigh and Rudolph couldn't halt fast enough. We received the rug for the dining room and the roman blinds. I haven't opened up the rug yet but the blinds look pretty nice. The one thing we needed most that we haven't received yet is the chandelier. Since you oughta work from top to bottom, we have to install the chandelier and patch up the ceiling before we lay anything else new down below. The last thing we need is plaster vomit all over the new rug. That reminds me I should scotch guard the rug when we lay it out. Keith is going to work on getting the fluourescent lights down this weekend and then we will patch up the ceiling. In the mean time, it's killing me that I can't buy any decor stuff until we have all this other stuff done! As for the dining room floor, we're not doing anything with it yet. If we do replace it, we're going to replace the living room floor all together.

In addition, I saw this image and really liked the way the curtains are done here.

Shucha Shiny Shtove

We got our new stove! Yay! Let the cooking begin!


ooooooooohhhh aaaahhhhhhhh

I can't believe what a face lift it gives to the kitchen! That old stove was really a drag like an unwanted prom date. The new stove is so much cooler to hang out with. Looking back (if we had the funds), we feel like we should have gotten the stove sooner because it's been such a transformation!

More To-Do:

• Paint and install baseboard trim around kitchen floor.
• Fill in nail holes with spackle on door trim. The repaint.
  
• Order a new counter top. (gulp)
  
• DIY wall spice rack.
  
• DIY wall shelves for displaying white china and cookbooks.
• Install cabinetry toe kick and crown molding.
  
• DIY white, linen curtain.
• Shelf in mid section of window for plants (*This is going to be a project*).
• Buy White ceramic pots for house plants.
• DIY cork board for inside cabinet.
  
• DIY chalk board for messages.
  

Rug Runner

For the kitchen. 2'-6"x7'-6" It's the perfect length for the sink area of our kitchen. I wanted something with a lot more pop, but in the mean time I thought I could not pass this up since it's tricky to find something that is the right combo of size and style. I haven't found my "style" yet for the kitchen, so I wanted to avoid investing in something that I would later regret. We still have shelving and artwork to hang, so until then this will do.


from Overstock here.

New Rug

Time for an intervention! Just one last thing and I'm done...for now. To go with the colonial style of our home and the antique furniture, I chose this traditional but muted rug. The blues, beige and greens will also tie all 3 rooms together. I surfed the web for months. I love the contemporary rugs, but that's more for the living room and not a dining room.


Indo Tabriz Rug from Overstock

I can't wait for everything else to be done, so we can finally put the room together.

Basil Rings Potty Bell

Click here to view this video

Baseboard

Keith decided it was best to rip off all the old baseboard instead of trying to mend it and nail new wood trim down. It was a great idea!


We went to Home Depot and bought a piece of pine and 1/2" bead trim. Cut to length and put in screws.


Spackle, sanded and painted twice. It almost looks as though there were never a bar!

New Stove!

Finally, after weeks of saving we purchased a new stove for the kitchen. A new stove was not a priority since there is nothing wrong with our old one. It's just outdated and did not match the rest of the kitchen. Home Depot had a sale, so we ordered it right a way. It's coming on Wednesday!

GE 30" Freestanding Gas Range here.



Of course I was coveting this one forever but there's just no pay off on a stove. It's just a sunk cost. It's stainless steel and cast iron, so it costs more and has more features, but it also uses more BTUs. In other words, it's going to cost you more to cook instant mac-n-cheese on this versus one of the less costly stoves. It also boils water faster. However, a convection oven would really be useful since I do love to cook and bake.



Maybe in our next home :)

Mending the Dining Room continued...

Early this morning, Keith used the scrap wood paneling from the bar to fill in the floor. We found some extra linoleum in the attic that the previous owner left behind for us. I'm really not so concerned with patching it up. I plan on throwing a rug over it anyhow.


He decided it was better to replace the entire chair rail instead of piecing it together. He wants to do the same to the bottom. We had a tiny bit more sanding and touching up to do.


Back to work!!! Basil was really crackin' the whip on us. We couldn't even stop for a drink of water.

Jute Roman Blinds

I'm addicted to Overstock these days. At $1 shipping, you can't beat that! Our dining room receives a lot of natural light and it's a shame to throw curtains over the windows because it reduces the natural light and warmth in the house by a great deal.

Nevada Timberwolf Roman Shades 30x72



Also, we have beautiful molding which we should show off. These inexpensive roman blinds will provide us with natural light in the day, privacy, and elegance over heavy drapes.

Bar Demolition continued...

Early this morning, we continued to disassemble the bar. There were 2x4's bolted to floor and wall with anchors! Then, another 2x4 bolted to the first 2x4. Then more 4" long screws and nails to another 2x4 which made up the frame of the bar!


You can see that the bar left a space in the floor so now we're going to have to fill it in with wood panel. You can also see the remnants of the former dining room. Baby blue and wall paper!


Keith spackled all the bolt and nail holes while I cleaned and prepared to repaint. Basil continued to manage us.


This is the part that I hate about doing home projects. The rest of your house or room is a mess! While we waited for the spackle to dry, we removed all the old nails and discarded any wood we couldn't salvage for future projects.


When it was dry, we sanded it with sandpaper and a damp cloth to smooth the edges to be flush.


I continued to clean and painted the area. I repainted all the white so it would match.

Tomorrow, we're going to fill in the floor and change out the old outlets because they look outdated and are black. Then I'll have to clean and polish all our furniture again and set the room back up. I might go shopping for an area rug.

Back Door

Our two entry doors are pretty hideous. They are steel doors with one window in them. The back entry door leading to the deck was once a window. Although I appreciate the door, it's smack in the middle of the wall and it's all you see from the living room. The previous owners left us an album of their before and after pictures which is impressive! They gutted the house and even installed all the molding around every door way from scratch.

Anyhoo, if we're going to have a more formal, elegant dining room I would really like to change the back door out. This is what we were thinking. There's no room for french patio doors, but this will work as a single door. It will blend into the setting a little better and provide us with a beautiful view of our yard.



From Lowe's:

I love online shopping!

I order this chandelier for our dining room from Overstock. I went with something mainstream since we will eventually sell this house. We will be replacing the ceiling fan with this. We also have to remove the fluorescent gym lighting in our dining room as well.

We are officially OLD!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

The hubs is very sensitive about this subject, but he knew that the day would come where he would have to let go of his bachelorhood, marry the love of his life (eh hem, ME) and .... demolish his beloved bar!

This is how we spent part of our new year's eve.


Keith saying goodbye one last time. (tear) On the other hand, I was jumping for joy! Look at all the circulation space we will have now. Dinner parties are swirling in my head.


It took us both 2 hours to get it to this point. Because the previous owner built it into the house, there were so many different types of nails, screws and BOLTS! The bar is apparently bolted to the floor and wall which we will work on today. After an exhausting demo, we went to a NYE party for some much needed drinks.


Basil was managing the project for us.

We hope to finish the demo today and I will start mending the wall and molding. I ordered a chandelier for the dining room which will be arriving in a few days. It will be a total overhaul.

2010 DIY Goals

We've been taking a break from the house in the summer when I'm in our garden. Now, that it's winter again we will be picking up where we left off. Here are some things we plan on doing immediately this winter:

• Replace the kitchen countertop.
• Install the 1/2 bathroom on the first floor - includes putting in the plumbing from scratch and tiling the floor.
  
• Tiling the kitchen back splash. This will be my first attempt at glass tile.
  
• Demo the built-in bar in the dining room & repair all the molding that will be missing.
• Installing wood floors in the dining room.
• Replacing the lights in the dining room.
  

If we survive, we'll be finishing the basement next fall. We need a little more room for a home office, game room, spare bedroom and storage. That's all going to go into the basement.

What are some of your goals? Do you have things on last year's list that have been carried over?

Dinner

Using veggies from the garden:

Spinach Fettuccine, Yellow Squash and Pesto



Corn, Grilled Pork Loin, and Salad made of English Cucumber, Green Apples, and Feta.

Hello Kitties give a tour

Helro I'm Kitty. No, I'm Kitty. And we're going to give you a tour of the new guest room.



First, let's revisit what the room use to look like before Keith and Anita moved in!

Before: 2006 - Previous owner - Traditional, forest green molding and white walls. Very un-kitty friendly. But that basket looks like a kitty place to sleep.


After we moved in! Yippee! Bright teal and deep, rich cherry brown. Wow! But a little bright on these kitties' eyes, don't cha think? And a little too cramped for the 4 of us.


Now: Light and airy. Keith and Anita moved into the other bedroom and gave us this bedroom! Hooray! And look! There we are!


And now back to Anita to finish the tour while we enjoy our new room.


Inspired by Pottery Barn, I sewed the paisley patterned duvet cover. The sheets are super soft too. 360 thread count by Sutton Park from Ross. They look baby blue, but they are actually teal which lends a contemporary look.


Next to the bed is a wicker shelf taken from the porch furniture. Here it's being used as a night stand/book shelf. I love the way it looks because it adds charm to the room.


The opposite side of the room.


Lamp-yard sale find $7, 1940 French style mahogany table-Craig's List, Wicker waste basket-Ross $4, New light switch plate-$6 Lowe's.


Bird & Cherry Blossom hot plate - $1 at Goodwill. It's pretty and acts as a coaster.


I was going for a contemporary look in this room, but it naturally evolved to a more traditional style. It looks so peaceful and soothing that I just want to put my head down and stay here forever.


We hope you enjoyed the tour!

Our RED Door

After giving our rhododendron a new home yesterday, I thought the front of the house could use some sprucing up. I love the look of bright front doors or shudders, so I got the okay from the hubs to paint the door red! I only wished we had black shudders.

Curb Appeal - Rhododendron

The front yard was an area that I kept ignoring, but really needed some shaping up. Besides being busy with the veggie garden and back yard, the reason I was holding out is because I really wasn't sure what to do about the front. Did I want to build it up? Did I want to plant more? Should I get rid of the hydrangea? The front segment just looked unbalance and had different needs - blistering sun on the south side and cool shade on the front side.


Before: Our meager little shrubs last spring '08. From left to right is my peony, a rhododendron (center) and hydrangea (that came with the house) and a new weeping cherry blossom tree.



After: I moved the Rhododendron over to the left about 2 feet and turned it 90 degrees, so it would grow more attractively. Doesn't it look like a totally new plant!?

I asked my neighbors who told me that the Rho had been there at least 6 years and hasn't grown one bit! So I did some reading online about how to care for Rhos and read they needed a shot of fertilizer in the spring, moist soil, natural compost such as leaves, and in extremely poor cases some strategic pruning. This spring I did give it some flower food pellets and noticed the Rho grew at least a foot! I also pruned 2-3 branches back that were growing funny.



Before I moved it, I filled the hole with lots of leaves and tree bark that I gathered from the lawn. Carefully I moved the entire Rho with the root ball intact into the hole and back filled it with very rich humus from the nursery.



Always water thoroughly. I made a "well" around the base and slowly poured 2 buckets of water into the area. Then I mulched over it.

Guest Room Continued...

I touched up the edges yesterday and gave the walls a second coat of paint. It's really starting to come together now. I also painted the old Ikea dresser white. I still have to give it a second coat and change the knobs out. The dresser holds all my sewing and scrap booking stuff.



The room feels so much more spacious now. I wish we had arranged it this way sooner.



Now, I'm looking for bedding and an accent color.