“A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content"....let's hope!



After 2 coats of paint, half dining room is painted. (ignore the blue trim -it's gross!  Scott says it reminds him of the Care Bears-lol! I have to admit, he's right!)



Bed Time Bear (1982), another flashback!





Tomorrow, the old wood floors will begin a 3 day face lift...here is a before shot...stay tuned for the progress...we're really looking forward to seeing them come alive again!



The siding has begun- and looks awesome!  It was a bit difficult to pick a color as it often is from a small sample...so we are breathing a sigh of relief now that it's o the house & we love it!  (I personally am breathing easier, as I went out on a limb on my own here & lobbied hard for this color, which was not anyone else's first choice!) 

Late afternoon project, as our focus will be upstairs this week (Scott's & mine), due to the kitchen being installed & the floors being refinished...we decided to strip the door hardware off & bring it home to give it a clean...  I read on "This Old House" website that I could melt off the paint from the hardware by heating it all in hot water...it was amazing!  It worked!  & was easy w/ no chemicals involved except brass cleaner.  We did choose to use an old pot instead of our crockpot, not knowing what the paint was...lead or not?  Just didn't seem like something that should be in the crockpot!

before hardware, covered in paint...let us all ask now, "why the hell would anyone paint these beautiful brass plates!?"



Amazingly with one of the plates I could actually peel the paint off in 1 complete layer! 



The one above, before "Brasso" brass cleaner, (which I found under Grandma's sink-yay!) & the bottom one after the cleaning! I can't wait to paint the doors & see this AWESOME hardware on our doors! YAY!!!

 

An exciting day!

Although I am not there to see it all in person & of course am DYING to see it, modern technology allows me to share with everyone what's happening thanks to my own hand photographer! 



HOLY MOLY & on the Olive siding goes- this COULD be a "real house" some day soon!!!



The grouted shower floor...(not wiped clean yet, I can't wait to see the stones come alive with their natural beauty when clean & even better when wet!)

Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice. ~Henry Ford

Today we worked at the house ... again!  We both agreed however that the last few days, especially today have felt really good....it's so nice to "work" on our house.  We have really accomplished a great deal in the last 4 or 5 days.  Yes, as it has been stated by those that love us & don't mean any harm, "we have a lot left to do." ...but boy, have we come a long way too.
I think too, when you have a vision of "what" it will all become & look like, you can see it developing & changing in ways others cannot.

I guess too, it must be like a mother & father with an ugly baby, it's not ugly to them!  It truly is the most "beautiful baby" they've ever seen! :)

Scott finished up the accent wall in the bathroom & we are both very happy with it- so fun to have "personalization" in our home.  Tomorrow the shower floor Scott laid with beach stones by hand will be completed by our tile installer with grout. 

I finally got to put a color we have been anxious to see on the dining room walls (& I forgot to take a pic of it!) so, to come...but it looks awesome, its a dark bluish/gray called Anvil by MS.  Half the dining room will be this color- and its bold & perfect, it accents our half round wall- which is such a beautiful character of the house!

I also painted the front entry way walls, Tahini by MS, same as kitchen entry walls- looks great to see color!
(pic to come promise!)

Scott finished the last of (4) coats of Waterlox Tung Oil on our awesome wide pine kitchen floor- it came out beautiful & he was so patient & perfected the "feathering" technique which I was SO intimidated by! 

Tomorrow will be a GIANT DAY!  We are getting Certainteed fiber cement siding ON THE HOUSE!  Our neighbors will likely come out of their homes & sing joyously- & we will hold our head's high to no longer use the description for directions: it's the "tyveked house" 1/3 mile from downtown! YAY!!!!!  I have made the men potato leek soup to celebrate this event! joyous for all! (the best part of this siding is it comes painted!)



Olive is our color of choice...I can never say this without thinking of PopEye's gal, Olive Oil...







a flash back for us all!

We also went to visit Pete at his shop today as he called us to check out our counter tops, all glued up, final sanding happening, & urethane to go on them soon!  They are beautiful- they were originally cut in 1860 & put in a mill in Biddeford, ME!  They have so much character & natural beauty!  These are all separate boards that have been glued & seamed together, which you would never know, amazing woodworking!



the piece Pete is brushing off is our base island top, (the working top not the eating top), and the piece on the right is an amazingly long counter that will run along the back wall of our house and make the "L" of our kitchen....




So, as you can tell here, because they haven't been "cut" to length yet, 3 separate boards glued together to create 1 solid top.




It's hard to see it from this pic, but this piece, the island base top, is one of the most beautiful pieces we have ALL ever seen.  I said to Pete, "I'm so glad you chose these pieces to make the 'center piece' of the kitchen," as we view the island could be...  Pete replied, "It picked itself." & so it did, as so much of this project has, serendipity.




the master woodworker, at his craft.




Pete using an 'old school' scraper instead of sandpaper as this wood has so much turpentine in it, the sandpaper goops up quickly....this method apparently is an old method of 'sanding' before 'sand paper' cool!



another day, & more accomplished!

Today Scott finally got to get into the previously mentioned accent wall....

Chalked design on wall...ready for paint- after lunch!! (can't have a hungry artist!)



& off he goes...





I am blessed to have such talent at hand, I couldn't have measured this out, never mind had the patience & steady hand that Scott has to paint this wall!




Losing daylight, & another coat of Tung Oil needs to go on kitchen floor...the "accent wall" will have to wait till tomorrow!  It looks awesome- & we both are very excited about it!



 

Third coat of finish- one to go!  I know Scott will be thrilled to not have to do this anymore!  However he won't be able to look like Darth Vader with his respirator on anymore!



So what was I doing while Scott was "accent walling"....(reading a book with my feet up, nah just kidding!)...There are very few walls in the old part of the house that can be painted at this time, as they were almost all skim coated with plaster, and now need to "set up" for 30 days before primer or paint...so I took advantage of the few walls downstairs that were not new plaster (due to amazingly being in excellent shape) and I primed them...color tomorrow!

before priming...



after priming, and no the nasty blue trim paint is NOT staying! yuck!  there is something oh so nice about clean white walls, the primer I used is BM Fresh Start....& that's exactly what this all is- goodbye 30 year old wallpaper, hello beautiful, clean paint!



The difference a day makes

Just 2 days ago I was crying & frustrated, "it" had gotten the best of me.
The mess...would it ever be a "home"
Would we ever really live there?!
Time was ticking....I couldn't clean, paint, everything was beyond my "control" I couldn't do a thing it seemed only 2 days ago.

Yesterday felt a bit better as we got the first coat of Tung Oil on the kitchen floor.....then today such a great surprise the Up-Country crew was there- I didn't realize they would be on site today!

We got 2 new bathroom floors!  I also painted the bathroom walls to prep for accent wall (Tomorrow), and we also started the prep for painting of the old trim today with sanding & a coat of Kilz primer!  The woodwork in the old part of the home is gorgeous & I can't wait to freshen it up & show it off!!



downstairs bath before flooring....





downstairs bath flooring going down!  It's SO beautiful!!! So much grain showing- we love it! Matt's butt is cute too!




close up!



The accent wall begins...."Yellow Magnolia" Stay tuned for design to begin tomorrow!



I'm not sure what's more distressing the fact we ACTUALLY got primer on these- or the fact that I believe these WERE white I at one time! yikes! :)



My new adorable nephew, Remy, paid us a visit!  He left with white paint on his face & drywall dust all over his fur!  He looked more gray than black!  Hope the house is cleaner next time for you Remy!



Yes, we all had a good laugh behind my back- my arse was a wee bit dirty...a Skoogs reminder, thanks!  Um...did you sit on a dirty milk crate?! ha ha!




The finished floor downstairs bath- I'm seriously considering those white operating room booties! Footprints- everywhere!!!



The upstairs bath flooring going in!

 

A project for tomorrow

Tomorrow's project is an accent wall in the upstairs bath...We will be using a step by step guide from Dec 2010 This Old House Magazine:

Our colors will be:
(Martha Stewart Paints)
Base color: Yellow Magnolia
Moroccan Stencil: Macadamia (which is the color all the other bath walls will be)
Dots: Ladybug Red

It's funny how when you are "into" design....simple things will inspire you, and jump out at you- & you just seem to know immediately that you've discovered your "inspiration piece" as designers call it...

The sign below is mine for our upstairs bath.... the clawfoot tub will be the "blue" of the , and the yellowish accent wall we will create tomorrow will be directly behind the tub....



A bit hard to see in this pic, but the border is a beautiful yellow color, alike to the Yellow Magnolia we will paint the base of the accent wall.



yes, needs a cleaning & her legs will be painted white tomorrow...but what a new life she will have!

YAY! A kitchen floor is born!

We had the amazing pleasure of beginning the finish leg of our kitchen floor yesterday!  A much awaited for day had arrived.  The Up-Country gang had laid the wide pine flooring a few days earlier. 

We borrowed sanders from Pete & Theron, who are always more than willing to loan their tools- thank you!  & we began sanding....as with most things with this project, it took longer than expected...and was a bit more work than orginally thought.  The floor had stubborn black stains from boots, hammers, etc...that had to be sanded off....

This a.m. we finished the sanding & vacuumed the floor again & again, & once again!  I was still amazed how much dust the tack cloths picked up!

Finally....(drum roll please....) it was time for the Waterlox tung oil to hit the floor!  Scott did a great job at applying it, I was a bit intimidated by the application, but was excellent w/the vacuuming & not too bad with the sander- so it all worked out! :) 

stay tuned....3 coats to go!



Here it goes...."I better start somewhere it won't show....(will be hidden by the cabinets), till I get the hang of this." a wink & a nod & Emily replies, "good idea!" :) (Scott I love those knee pads- very essential for applying floor finish!) :)




"Okay, I'm doing better now....I'm on a roll!  I'm going to wear this respirator- this stuff is toxic!" yuck!




a beautiful finish at 1 coat- we cannot wait to see 4 coats- this product really seems to bring out the beauty of the wood- we are thrilled!