RE:HABitat

re:direct

2011-11-26T14:25:00.004-05:00

welcome to my house blog!
to see some before & after pics, go here.
for our DIY tile process, go here or here.
to read about the rat/squirrel skeleton incident, go here.
or just scroll down for a reverse chronology of our house projects.

re:master

2010-06-20T20:35:00.005-04:00

A couple weeks ago we tiled the master bath with some Vermont black slate that we ordered through Dal-Tile.

First we dry-fit and laid a mortar bed for the cement backerboard.

And then screwed it down with cement screws -

Then we used a wet saw to cut and dry-fit the tile using tile spacers -

Then mixed some more mortar and laid the tile...
(This is Anthony putting mesh tape over the joints in the backerboard.)

Next up was grouting the joints, after the tile had set up for a couple of days...

And sponging off the excess grout -

I'll post a final picture later - we still need to add another application of grout to the joints, since the slate isn't as smooth and flat as other tile.

And then a hand-me-down light fixture turned into a bigger project...

Some friends gave us a pretty capiz shell chandelier, which we thought would be perfect for our living room, which has had an empty junction box since we moved in. But before we could hang the fixture, we had to paint the ceiling in the living room, so we moved all the furniture out of the room and into the dining room...

But then, since we had all the furniture out of the room, we decided we might as well finish the rest of the room, so we finished caulking all the baseboards and then painted all the windows, trim and fireplace...

So now we've decided to take one room at a time, and finish everything in the room. It's less daunting to have smaller milestones...

re:use

2010-02-28T18:56:00.007-05:00

we've been busy! to get the guest rooms ready for upcoming guests and potential future roommates, we reused the french doors that were formerly in the dining room, and added some privacy film to the glass -

i like that it still allows light into the hallway from the two guest bedrooms.

we've also been very productive on trim work. nearly every room is complete with window & door trim, baseboards, shoe mould and quarter round! a few pics -

we have some caulking and lots of painting left to complete on the trim and windows...so we'll continue to be productive, though without drastically noticeable results. i'll update again as soon as i can!

re:read

2009-11-22T17:47:00.010-05:00

i love books! love reading them, love being surrounded by them, love libraries, love bookstores. so, we decided to get these billy bookcases from ikea to make our den look and feel more homey, lived in, and loved. :)

this room still needs work, but this goes a long way towards the feel of the space. now i just love this room! one day these shelves will be completely full of books. :)

as you'll see, we left precisely enough room to the left of the unit to add one more of the single-wide bookcases at a later date to fill the entire wall.

window caulking & painting remains in progress.

happy thanksgiving!

re:cover

2009-10-24T16:37:00.008-04:00

trim work continues -

we have the perimeter of all 3 doubles plus the triple window trimmed out, and just need to cut new pieces for the spaces between the windows.

and we've made a couple of furniture purchases via craigslist...
1. a pair of chairs for $100:

i bought some fabric to recover them for $28 and voila:

one day i may paint this chair a fun color, and i was hoping to find a more punchy or funky pattern to make these chairs less formal looking, but didn't find anything just right, so this will do for now. charleston is sadly deficient in fabric resources. does anybody recommend any online sources for modern fabrics?

2. a pair of MCM dressers for $100 that just need a little TLC...

just another project to add to the list! this will be my first experience refinishing furniture. wish me luck!

re:boot

2009-10-15T16:17:00.009-04:00

hello again!

the in-laws are coming down for thanksgiving, so we have a new deadline fast approaching, and little by little we're making big progress on trim work!

we made a door for the storage area under the stairs..
before:

during:

after (with primer coat, before finish paint):

so, opinions: should the panel areas be painted the gray of our walls, with the trim/baseboards to be white, or should this entire area be painted white as it is now with the primer coat?

we've also been working on baseboards and trimming out the windows!

all of the single windows are now trimmed out and in various stages of needing to be puttied/sanded/primed/caulked and painted. that's 17 windows + the small kitchen double window down, and just the 3 double windows + 1 triple window to go.

sanding casings (my least favorite part):

we also filled in the gaps in the corners of the upper kitchen cabinets, and just need to match the paint of our cabinet faces to finish these out:

before:

after:

and last month we scored this old salvaged door from the Historic Charleston Foundation warehouse sale for $10:

it's actually made with real beadboard, and we're going to have to add a couple boards to make it as wide as we need, so then we'll probably paint and distress it to hang on some barn door hardware at our pantry, inspired by this (from cottage living):

and we're currently contemplating ordering the doors for our bedrooms. the problem is, it'll cost us a little over $800 to get the 3 doors within the next couple days - to get them installed before Thanksgiving, or we can save a little and spend about $550 to get them in 6-8 weeks (not in time for the in-laws visit) - so therefore no point in ordering them now. anthony doesn't want to spend the extra $250 - that's the cost of another door!

see, we're very deadline-oriented people. which reminds me, i should just schedule my first ARE exam so i'll actually start studying. breaking work-related news coming soon, hopefully...

re:start

2009-07-31T10:54:00.004-04:00

a sneak peak of the window trim...

re:stock

2009-05-27T08:54:00.005-04:00

so, i'm the latest casualty of the economic downturn.

it happened last friday. i felt like it might be coming - work has been scarce, so we've been trying to save rather than spend on the house over the last few months. charleston architecture firms have been hit hard, so it may take a while to find another position.

in the meantime (downtime?), i'm doing a lot of soul-searching, which is a slippery slope, to be sure. but not a topic for a house renovation blog... :)

re:animate

2009-03-26T22:16:00.006-04:00

i know, i know... it's been a while. we took the winter off. i guess when you gogogo for a year-plus, you get burned out.

in the meantime, i have started studying for my architectural registration exams. i'm jumping into the deep end and starting with structures, and my brain finds the material to be like an alien intruder or foreign object and is fighting to keep it out. but i digress...

we're finally ready to get going on the house projects again. the big projects (especially the master bathroom) are going to have to wait for proper funds, but we can do some small stuff. like the trim... check out this nifty drawing my awesome architect-husband did:

it's a color-coded trim take-off for finishing out the rest of our baseboards and door & window trim! we need four more 5'x12' sheets of mdf to rip down. time to get back on the wagon!

re:cession

2008-12-22T09:26:00.006-05:00

merry christmas!

so, i suppose my lack of posts over the last 2+ months indicates that we haven't done much on the house front. it's a recession, ya'll! we're supposed to be saving up for the next big thing - namely the stair & loft railing or the master bathroom, but between weddings, the holidays and the occasional $200 used-furniture purchase, we're getting nowhere.

so, to satiate your need for pics, i'll post our holiday decorations and furniture finds!

this is a simple holiday wreath i made with our christmas tree clippings and a few glass ball ornaments -

we have some modern christmas decorations in our modern living room -

and our traditional christmas tree is in the den -

we put up some of anthony's sketches from italy in the dining room, along with a few other frames with just placeholders so far -

table found at an antique shop ($190) being used as a kitchen 'island' -

dresser found thru craigslist ($40) and chair found at an antique shop ($70) in one of the guest rooms -

bedside table found thru craigslist ($15), currently being used as a side table in our den -

i hope in the spring we can make some progress on our other major house projects. in the meantime, we should be painting the window sashes on the interior and continuing with baseboards and door/window casings....

re:ception

2008-10-05T14:12:00.008-04:00

we invited all of our friends over last night to show them how far we've come in the last year. we had this slideshow projected onto a wall...

anthony worked very hard on getting as many casings and baseboards as possible installed before the party. it's looking great!

we're looking forward to getting the rest of the 'to do' list knocked out before the 'two years later' party next fall!

re:trim

2008-09-28T21:02:00.006-04:00

i'm back! the work on the house the past few weeks hasn't been blog-worthy, but we're having a 'one year later' party next weekend, and in an effort not to disappoint the people who've never been here and may come expecting the house to be finished, we buckled down this weekend to make some more progress.

i lost the battle for wood trim, so anthony and david got some baseboard and casings cut out of mdf on saturday morning and anthony and i primed them in the afternoon...

the reason i wanted to avoid mdf - fearing it would look plastic because it's so smooth - turned out to be the opposite of the actual problem with using mdf - that is, the cut edges end up being kind of "fuzzy," even with sanding. so, we put two coats of primer on the cut sides, and we'll try a very fine sanding before the two finish coats of paint.

the baseboards are 6 1/2" high, and we'll add a quarter round on the top for an extra bead of detail (as well as the quarter round or shoe mould at the floor). we went with 4 1/2" wide door and window casings and routered the edges, and we also have 1 1/4" thick plinthe blocks at the bottom of the door casings. i think the simplicity of the trim complements the style of the house.

we've just begun the trimwork, but it makes such a difference already!

i'm also trying to get on the window & door painting train - but it's hard to find the motivation. it's such a tedious and repetitive task, and there is soooo much of it to do. but i got a little bit of taping done this weekend -

so, little by little the house is starting to look like a home...

re:charge

2008-09-07T18:48:00.004-04:00

hanna ended up being a non-event and ike is staying its westerly course, so so far so good as far as hurricane season goes.

we're on a brief hiatus from the major house projects - currently in save-up mode. next on the list is the stair & loft railing, and then hopefully the master bathroom, although anthony wants to start working on the trim. we're having a bit of a disagreement about the material for the trim - he wants mdf while i want paint-grade wood. i think once we paint mdf, it will end up looking plastic because it's so flat and smooth. thoughts?

in the meantime, while we build up the bankroll, we will try to move forward on things like painting the windows. but it occurred to me that i forgot to share pics of the shed with its new door, so enjoy!

re:visit

2008-08-19T22:25:00.022-04:00

it's time for another round of before and after shots. i want to put these side-by-side, so they're going to be smaller than usual...

(okay, so i guess the horizontal photos won't go side by side, even in the smaller size. boo.)

re:fuge

2008-08-10T21:18:00.013-04:00

we spent an exhausting weekend repainting the den & office and the master bedroom, as well as finishing the stair installation. yay!

we filled the gaps in the mdf with a resin compound, let it harden overnight and then sanded it smooth...

and then we painted everything and installed the treads with construction adhesive and a few finish nails. we still have to caulk and touch up a few spots with paint.

as far as paint goes, i haven't been digging the 'fenland' we put in the master bedroom - it would be more well-suited to a den or office rather than a bedroom. so with this inspiration pic in mind -

[sorry i don't have source info]
...we repainted the master bedroom 'site white' with 'refuge' on the bed wall (all paint colors are sherwin williams). i love it! it will look even better after we get the trim & baseboards installed.

i also wasn't happy with the 'tony taupe' in the den - the whole room was looking rather drab because that taupe was absorbing all the light, so we repainted it a lighter color - 'alpaca' by sherwin williams. it reminds me of the color of my favorite starbucks drink - the chai latte. yum!

we also painted the office 'refuge' as well - so now you get these cool glimpes of the blue from the den and then a modern color combo with the 'wheatgrass' in the powder room...

(the office still needs a 2nd coat of paint)

and here are some more pics of the living room now that it's been properly cleaned -

up next will be the stair and loft railing. no plan for that yet...

re:tread

2008-08-03T22:53:00.007-04:00

lookie here!

anthony (and i, kinda) worked really hard on putting the stair together this weekend! our friend david the woodworker suggested using mdf for the risers and trim, so we cut out the stringer/skirt boards and the risers. we still have to fill any gaps with some compound that dave will mix up, sand it and then paint it all white.

before, with temporary treads and railing -

in process...

the treads are just sitting on top now - not fastened yet. they need to be trimmed to length and then we'll glue them down after all the mdf is painted.

i'm so excited about how it looks! it makes the house feel more normal and less like a construction zone!

we also got our furniture delivery this weekend!

we both loooove the new sofa and chair. (please excuse the mess on the table - we were busy!). our old furniture went into the family room with the new tv. i'm leaning towards repainting the family room now...

re:pose

2008-07-24T11:01:00.005-04:00

the wood floors in the family room / office / powder room are finished! we are conveniently going out of town for the weekend, so they'll have a few days to cure and then we can finally move into the family room! yay!

[i love that you can't even tell we had to infill some flooring]

the floor guys also prefinished our stair treads for us, so anthony and i are going to attempt to install them ourselves (along with the risers, trim, etc). this is no easy DIY task - so wish us luck!

re:location

2008-07-19T19:33:00.007-04:00

it was a productive saturday! (with others doing most of the work - even better!)

the guys from the city's department of urban forestry finally made it over here to grind out the stump of the tree out front. it took them a few hours and was pretty impressive to watch...

(see the termite tracks through the center of the stump...??)

they left all the wood shavings for us -

so anthony relocated most of them to fill in our low mud-prone driveway.

i suppose we'll use the rest as mulch (or is this a bad idea for some reason i'm unaware?).

the wood floors guys also came today to sand and stain the family room, office and powder room as well.

the whole house smells strongly of wood stain right now, so we have windows and doors open and fans blowing to clear it out by bedtime.

they will apply the first coat of poly on monday, and hopefully get all the coats down before we go out of town next weekend, so they can cure while we're away. then we can finally move into our family room! we have our new 46" LCD still in the box ready to go up on the wall, and some furniture being delivered in about 3 weeks.

re:fill

2008-07-16T13:01:00.003-04:00

our wood floor guys got to work today on the family room! they staggered in new boards where the old bathroom used to be and filled in a couple holes that were former supply registers.

i'm not sure if a sanding crew is starting today or tomorrow. stay tuned for sanding and finishing!

re:pair

2008-07-13T11:57:00.006-04:00

minor catastrophe this morning.

we were digging holes to plant some loropetalum (plum delight) shrubs in front of our porch and hit our water line. oh, not just the water line, but the corroded old secondary shut-off at the house (that we didn't know we had). it was just a few inches under the ground. and we couldn't find the shut-off in the meter at the street. super! we had water gushing into our yard for almost 45 minutes!

the water went all the way to the backyard...

our neighbor was very helpful and used a wrench to turn the underwater valve at the house (it had no lever/knob) to shut off the water, but there was still a slow leak because the water wasn't off at the street.

turns out there was a separate hole that our shut-off was in - the cover was completely buried with grass, so we couldn't find it.

i can't believe this would be buried just a few inches under the ground like that. there was grass over it and everything.

we got an emergency plumber out to get rid of the corroded valve and install a shiny new shut-off valve to the tune of $289...

...and we put a much more conspicuous cover on it so we (and any future owners of the house) will know it's there.

and we finally got our shrubs in the ground.

we're very lucky it wasn't a greater catastrophe, but it was stressful when that water was flowing fast and we had no idea how to turn it off. are we the only ones who don't think to check with all of our utilities when we do some minor landscaping?

re:morse

2008-07-08T08:19:00.000-04:00

i picked sherwin williams 'wheat grass' for the powder room downstairs and adjacent office, and fairly immediately regretted the color choice once it went up on the wall. the paint chip looked so neutral compared to all the colors around it in the paint fan, but with the sunlight and the overhead light at night it ends up looking a little too electric-chartreuse for my tastes.

these pictures actually look nice - but that's the dim indirect morning light (or maybe it's growing on me?)

i'll try to update with bad-lighting pics. the color is actually similar to the 'lemongrass' we put in our laundry room and upstairs [guest] bathroom, but the lemongrass has less gold so the light affects it differently.

now i'm trying to decide if we suck it up and paint the adjacent office the same color, or pick yet another color. we also painted the family room this weekend - sherwin williams 'tony taupe.' pics to come later.

re:install

2008-06-28T23:22:00.007-04:00

we have doors! yay! this morning we installed the four interior doors that we ordered. they have one coat of primer and we'll eventually paint them the same as the [future] trim.

coat closet -

laundry room -

upstairs [guest] bathroom -

powder room downstairs -

while we were in seattle we also picked up some house numbers at restoration hardware. they are a little oversized, maybe - but they really work with the style of the house.

so next on the list is to have the floors in the family room refinished (you can see their condition in the powder room photo above) along with having stair treads installed.

re:tag

2008-06-25T19:03:00.000-04:00

i just found out i've been tagged by bunnymendelbaum and by corey over at baltimore rowhouse. the rules: answer the following questions about yourself. at the end of the post you pass the questions on to 6 (or so) bloggers and list their names. then write them a comment telling them that they've been tagged and ask them to read your blog.

here goes...

1. what did you do 10 years ago? that would put me at the tender age of 20, and that summer between my sophomore and junior years of college i worked my first architecture job in one of those awful firms that just crank out infinite variations of house plans by tweaking a wall here or adding a room there and publishing them for the masses. sorry if that offends the masses and i know it has its place and value but it's not my thing. hardly 'architecture.'
oh, and i was also gearing up for a semester studying abroad in italy during my junior year!

2. five items on your to-do list today:
a. catch up on work email, correspondence & questions
b. unpack from my trip to seattle
c. do laundry
d. grocery shopping and cleaning out the fridge from 6 days of being away
e. go to bed early to get over this jetlag

3. snacks i enjoy: wasabi & soy almonds, apples w/ peanut butter, peanut butter m&ms

4. what would you do if you were a billionaire? pay off my student loans. that would just about do it. might buy a pack of gum with the rest.

5. places i would live: summer in italy, the rest of the year in charleston. what can i say - i love this place and can imagine few places better to live (except in the aforementioned summer).

6. bloggers i am passing the challenge on to are:
just one day
pinklemonadediva
holyhudson
tinyoldhouse
- sorry if any of you have already been tagged!

re:cess

2008-06-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

sorry i've been m.i.a. with the updates - we got back late last night from 6 days in seattle - and because i'm an architecture geek and this is an architecture-related blog, here are some of my favorite photos...

the hotel/conference center where we stayed (northwestern style architecture)...

pike place market -

the famous fish-throwing stall. i couldn't get any actual fish in the air though...

the seattle public library by rem koolhaas (oma)...

(i call this one "the womb")

clearly i don't have to tell you what this is...

(we got really lucky with the weather)

and gehry's experience music project...

seattle city hall by bohlin cywinski jackson...

dale chihuly chandelier in the benaroya symphony hall...

so, it will be back on the house work train this weekend.

re:flection

2008-06-16T18:09:00.000-04:00

we've come a long way, baby!

june 15 (happy father's day!)

november 14

scary. i can't believe we even did this.

re:post

2008-06-09T08:15:00.000-04:00

a few more pics of the [near] final products...

re:entry

2008-06-07T20:34:00.009-04:00

we have a new door! dave and anthony installed it this morning!

just getting started...

lucy guarding the tools...

inside view -

cutting back the siding for the new trim...

trimmed out (still need a drip cap at the top)...

and with the primer coat of paint on the trim...

tomorrow we will fill the screw holes, caulk, and paint the trim.
(old door still on the front porch) -

and the shed is coming along as well!

and the four interior doors we ordered are in-house and ready to be painted.

it was a reeaaaaallllyyyy hot day today, so we're exhausted and our a/c is working overtime now to try to cool the house back down, but we're so happy with our new door. many thanks to new daddy dave for building it and helping us install it!

re:vive

2008-06-04T15:58:00.002-04:00

sweet! just got word that our doors are in - we can go pick them up and get them painted and hung! time to kick this party into gear. woo-hoo!

re:newable

2008-06-01T20:55:00.008-04:00

we installed the cork floor in our pantry today! it's a floating cork floor, so it didn't need any adhesive and just snapped in place. it has great cushion and is very soft underfoot. i think it looks great!

we'll get our floor guys to make a threshold -

we also put the roof on the shed this weekend. by "we" i mean anthony...

i helped a bit lifting the plywood up there and holding things, but anthony was the workhorse this weekend (along with his trusty honda)...

hopefully we can finish cladding the shed next weekend - and we just have to figure out what we're going to do for the door. it's going to be on barn door slider hardware like the pantry door.

re:tain

2008-05-26T10:51:00.007-04:00

anthony started framing the shed this weekend (the foundation was completed last weekend). the rest of our progress on the house depends on getting the shed done so we have a place to store all of our tools/equipment/yard stuff that's currently in our family room.

we're still trying to decide how to clad it, but we're leaning towards 2x2s on the top 1/3 and T1-11 plywood (running horizontal) or corrugated metal for the bottom 2/3.
update - like this:

kitten update:
i made good progress socializing the kittens. they were letting me come up to them and pick them up without scattering or hissing. unfortunately someone has now walked off with two of them (in separate incidents when no one was around) - hopefully to take them to good homes. only the cute whiter one is left now.

re:produce

2008-05-20T20:31:00.007-04:00

the neighborhood cats are multiplying (our neighbor feeds them, so does that make them her cats or neighborhood cats, if they stay outside and wander?). anyway, one of them has had kittens. the momma has been moving them around and today they showed up on the side of our house. they're sooo cute! any locals want a kitten?

i'm guessing these little guys are maybe 4 weeks old? we've agreed with our neighbors on the other side that if they don't get a home we'll go in together to get them fixed (since i think the old lady that feeds them can't afford to or doesn't care to, apparently). i'd like to take them to the shelter so i know they're getting fed well enough and cared for medically. or hopefully we can find a home for them!

re:fulgent

2008-05-20T18:47:00.000-04:00

this doesn't so much have to do with our house (maybe someday it will), but i wanted to share the stunning work of niche modern - gorgeous hand-blown glass pendants.

i was looking for a more contemporary version of a bell jar pendant to hang over our stair landing and stumbled upon this site a few months ago, and have just revisited it for work. i am smitten!

re:semble

2008-05-16T13:20:00.009-04:00

i found the perfect vanity for our master bathroom -

it's 48" wide (the max we have room for) and has tons of storage. i love the walnut and i love the white rectangular vessel sink on top (not included). it would go so well with the rest of my vision for the master bathroom. what i don't love is the $3k price tag. the 36"er is nice too (and would give our toilet more ample room) but it's still $2400. hmm... i guess i'll just have to keep looking for something similar. 42" would be ideal.

re:collect

2008-05-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

not much going on at the casa this weekend - we helped some friends knock out some much-needed sheetrock work and were going to start building our shed, but we got pounded with rain so all of the materials and our backyard got soaked.

we did make a quick trip to atlanta to purchase some very cool mid-century modern clam shell chairs from a woman selling them on craigslist. i looove them!

they are from circa 1960 and have their original tags and white vinyl upholstery (which is in good condition except for just a few spots of wear). a magic eraser worked wonders!

right now they are taking up in our dining room where they happily coexist with the nelson saucer pendant, but who knows where their final resting place will be once we get some nicer furniture.

re:landscape

2008-05-04T18:48:00.009-04:00

with a $300 investment in plants, soil, peat and pine straw and taking a few extra bulbs from a friend's yard, this weekend we worked on increasing our curb appeal and making the deck more lush and inviting...

now we just have to cross our fingers that this side of the house gets enough sun for these plants to stay alive!

and here's an update to our redamndiculous list:

some of these items are in progress (front door, doors) and now we've made a little progress on that last item on the list as well. up next will be a small shed, and stair treads and the family room floor. slowly but surely...

re:order

2008-04-30T12:42:00.000-04:00

we couldn't find any 5-panel doors at the salvage yard (i guess no one is getting rid of them), so i just placed an order for four new flat panel 5-panel doors.

i would have liked to have ordered all the doors we need now, but the budget won't allow for that. we're getting pre-hung doors, so we don't have to deal with jambs and machining the doors for hinges and knobs. we are getting oil-rubbed bronze hinges and we'll be painting the doors white to match all of our [future] trim.

unfortunately we have to wait 6-8 weeks for them to come in, but my mom will be happy we're on our way to finally getting doors on the bathrooms, at least. she's not going to come visit until we have doors. hmm, maybe we should have held off on ordering them.... (ha! kidding!)

re:laxing

2008-04-29T08:16:00.000-04:00

anthony finished up the majority of the deck on saturday, and we spent the weekend entertaining guests for cookouts!

it's so nice, especially with the pecan tree leafing out and giving us some dappled shade. now that the painters are done we'll start some landscaping projects soon - before it gets too hot.

we still have to build two small steps - one from the ground to the first platform and one between the platform and the deck, and then just close in the bottom with 1x4s and seal the whole thing. but it's enjoyable now as-is!

re:stain

2008-04-19T22:08:00.007-04:00

this week anthony and i worked on staining the front door that our friend david has built for us. it's now ready to install the lockset and glass and we're hoping to have it hung in the next week or so!

and our painters are almost complete! we're very happy with how the house has turned out and now we don't have to worry every time it rains. the house has so much more character and personality now - we love it!

re:birth

2008-04-11T18:33:00.000-04:00

ta-da! the final look!

it's not complete - not all of the windows are painted yet, and they still need to do a 2nd coat on everything. i love it! (we've told them to hold off on the railing and porch floor, which both need to be replaced.) can't wait to get the new front door to complete the picture!

re:inspire

2008-04-10T08:33:00.000-04:00

i've picked out the tile for the master bath shower! it's so fresh & clean, i love it!

this is called china blend by a glass tile company called hakatai - and it's actually very reasonably priced at $5.29 per sheet (1 sheet is 1.15 square feet - so that's $4.60 per square foot!). i love the top pictures and would like to go with coloring along those lines - walnut, slate, teak - but our bathroom is more like the size of the bottom pic. not quite that small - we will be able to have a 4' wide vanity. we will have a frameless glass shower door, and i'm looking at lacava for vanities but am trying to find a similar source that's a little less expensive. any recs? i'm going for the spa-like master bath. dreamy!

re:dress

2008-04-08T21:20:00.004-04:00

surprise! look what i got to come home to today!

this is just a tinted primer coat and the house looks better already! it's finally starting to look like a house in good condition!

so, by the way - we're going with the renwick olive and the bronze windows. stay tuned to see how it comes out!

re:color

2008-04-06T12:37:00.007-04:00

sorry i've been mia with the updates. the past couple of weekends we've been working on interior painting. here's the color palette for upstairs -

the colors are all by sherwin williams - fenland on top right for our master bedroom, netsuke on top left for the front guest bedroom, requisite gray is the hall & loft color, lemongrass at middle left is the guest bathroom and laundry room color, snowbound is the trim color, and on the bottom is backdrop, the middle guest bedroom color. and here are some pics of the messy rooms -

SW fenland:

SW backdrop:

SW netsuke:

we've also worked on installing the deck boards on the deck -

we still have to do the stairs, the perimeter skirt boards and the screening boards around the bottom, but at least we don't have to jump out the back door now!

we have hired the painter for the exterior, but we've had several days of rain so he's had a hard time getting started. he should get the ball rolling on monday. i'll keep you in suspense about the final decision on the paint color...

re:ferendum

2008-03-25T23:44:00.012-04:00

hooray for photoshop! let's hear your votes on these paint schemes...
now down to three options:

renwick olive - bronze windows:

renwick olive - red windows:

connected gray - bronze windows:
out

connected gray - red windows:

brown siding - bronze windows:
out

brown siding - red/orange windows:
out

here are some of the photos i've been using for inspiration - from bunnymendelbaum and the houseblogs flickr pool...

who knew this would be such a difficult decision??!!

re:visit

2008-03-24T14:20:00.005-04:00

we had our first overnight guests this weekend for easter (anthony's parents), so we worked to make the house as comfortable as a house can be without any interior doors...

using some of our construction paraphernalia for decor -

some of our recent ikea purchases -

the new kitchen was in full effect for easter dinner (setting off the smoke detectors on preheating the oven for the first time - that was fun).

love this view through the dining room -

we got the pantry functional just in time for the first big meal too -

anthony's parents brought down this very cool vintage radio that was in their attic -

love it! as far as house projects go, anthony framed the deck last weekend, so next up are decking and stairs...

and we put up yet another paint sample - renwick olive - bottom center of the window.

and the close up - renwick olive above the avocado. i'll have to try another photo at a different time of day, maybe. what do all you avocado lovers think of renwick olive? its more earthy, i think. not as punchy. avocado on the entire house might be too much green.

i'm happy to hear any comments or recommendations you may have!

re:vel (updated)

2008-03-17T12:35:00.009-04:00

it's a happy day! the appliances arrived on friday and countertops were installed this morning! they're perfect - i loooove them!

they will complete installation tomorrow - any white splotches you see in the pics are epoxy that they use for adhesive and also to fill marks, so they'll sand that down tomorrow, install the 4" backsplash, install the undermount sink and drill a hole for the faucet, and then seal the countertops. yay!

now updated with more pics!

and more pics - we're totally functional now!

we just need to put the doors on the sink base, and the filler pieces in the corners of the upper cabinets. and hang our pantry shelves so we have a place to put our food...

so now we can scratch a few things off our obnoxious list!

re:plication?

2008-03-14T10:31:00.004-04:00

a fellow renovator in asheville sent me this photo...

this house looks a lot like ours in that it's just a big rectangular box with a front porch, and they have the horizontal trim band dividing the top and bottom of the house, but used the same paint color top & bottom. and they have the dark windows that i like. this color looks kinda like the name-i-couldn't-remember brown we have a sample of in the photo below. maybe we could go in this direction for our paint scheme...

re:paint

2008-03-13T14:39:00.006-04:00

we have gotten quotes (within $750 of each other) from two different painters for the exterior of our house, which we're hoping to get started on at the end of this month. they will strip/scrape/sand as necessary (not down to bare wood), prime, caulk and paint - one coat of primer and two coats of finish. the quotes were good and both painters come highly recommended, and we're excited to get the house painted - and not worry every time it rains about our siding & trim & new windows.

our problem is deciding what color to paint the house! right now it looks like we're going for the camouflage look...

from upper left, the colors are by sherwin williams: connected gray, svelte sage, avocado (off historic preservation palette), ancient marble, and some brown color i forgot the name of (also off the historic preservation palette). the two trim colors are alabaster and classic white (the creamier color on the right). the window is painted urbane bronze on the left and the bottom right corner is also alabaster.

originally we were thinking a two tone (top half of house painted a different color from bottom half, since we have the trim band that divides the house) - connected gray on top and svelte sage on the bottom with cream trim and bronze windows. we put those samples up and it turns out to look almost exactly like our neighbor's house. so we negated those colors. so we're testing some more colors, but not sure about these either...

avocado w/ classic white (cream) trim & urbane bronze windows:

ancient marble w/ alabaster trim & windows:

(need a 2nd coat of alabaster to make it look whiter like photo above)

we tried out the ancient marble because we thought about repainting the house white, but the four houses across the street are white, and our neighbor's neighbor's house is white also, so we didn't want to go white. ancient marble is a couple shades off of white, but the white (alabaster) trim still pops against it.

the avocado comes off sherwin williams historic preservation palette, and the chip looks olive, especially against other greens, but it looks really green on the house! it's a very cool/funky color, which i like, but i worry that it might be a bit much on the entire house.

so, we're confounded. what color to paint the house? do we do a two-tone? try more samples? any thoughts/opinions/inspiration pics would be greatly appreciated!

re:ciprocate

2008-03-09T20:13:00.011-04:00

this weekend we commenced work on the new deck in the backyard, off the family room. anthony dug some holes and put some gravel in the bottom, and we mixed some concrete to pour some footings.

and, for the past several weeks, our friend dave has been working on a new front door for us to replace our cheap hollow-core aluminum front door. he and anthony fit in a few hours working on it here and there, and anthony helps out as best he can, but dave's doing a really nice thing for us.

the door is mahogany with a single panel on the bottom, and the top will have 3 lites of glass to match our windows. it should be ready to be hung in a few weeks or so.

it's great having friends who are handy (or woodworkers, in dave's case) and who are also doing renovation projects, so we can take turns working on each others' houses. dave recently finished building a garage and is getting ready to start an addition on his house. we'll be paying him back for our door soon enough... :)

re:quisition

2008-03-08T09:07:00.006-05:00

the stone installers made a template of our counters this week, and the appliances are ordered. we're hoping for counter installation on the 17th. update: the appliances are scheduled for delivery on the 14th!

here are the appliances again:

microwave/hood combo:

unfortunately anthony wouldn't let me spend a couple hundred more on the sleek fully stainless steel dishwasher with hidden controls, so here's the compromise dishwasher -

again, hooray for architects' discounts! here are the stainless steel sink and faucet (also in stainless steel as opposed to chrome) we got as well:

stay tuned for our kitchen to come together!

re:splendent

2008-03-03T09:01:00.013-05:00

and the winner is....

colorado gold vein! (this is our actual slab!) it's stunning! i am absolutely giddy over the deal i just got, but don't want to jinx it so i'll spill the details after this puppy is installed.

funny thing - i got pricing on several different varieties of white marble from four different local dealers/installers, and in every case the domestic varieties were more expensive than the international varieties (imported from italy & greece). how does that happen?

anyway...i can't stop looking at this picture. it's dreamy...

not-so-dreamy update:
apparently that slab above had some "unsightly scratches" so now this is our slab:

not quite as nice, but still pretty.

update #2:
they ordered that dreamy first slab before they found out about the marks in it, and couldn't cancel so it arrived in charleston today. i went to check it out - and i'm working on trying to embrace imperfection, so i approved the slab. most of the marks will diminish with the honing process, and they said they'll work to locate them where they'll be minimally noticeable. they said they could rush another slab from atlanta, and their supplier sent pictures of two others for me to choose from, but none were as soft and pretty as the first one. so, we're back to that, and i'm ok with a few minimal scratches. it's going to happen eventually anyway.

as far as the deal, we're under contract and we've paid our deposit so they can't take it away from me now. ;) the two other quotes i got for colorado gold vein were for $135/sf and $6400 installed (we have about 42sf total counting the backsplash). in other words, it wasn't even an option - i was going to go with the carrara or alabama white - until we got our 4th quote. the installer we went with quoted all of the marbles below (except statuary) at the same price - and it's less than half of those first two quotes. yay for architects discounts!

re:surface

2008-02-28T12:23:00.006-05:00

i am so in love with the idea of white marble countertops. i know they will be more high maintenance, and we'll have to be sure to clean up spills quickly, but i like the idea of the patina that will show as the kitchen gets lived in. it's like a bar top in italy - so classic but modern at the same time, and still beautiful after decades of use.

these are the varieties of marble we're deciding between right now (not these actual slabs) - depending on pricing and availability. what's your favorite stone?

alabama white:

colorado gold vein:

statuary:

volakas:

white carrera:

venetino:

you can click here to see some my inspiration pics of white cabinets with white marble countertops.

re:finance

2008-02-27T17:39:00.003-05:00

we're refinancing to take advantage of the great rates as of two weeks ago, and we have to have our kitchen complete before closing, so stay tuned for some fast kitchen updates! woo-hoo!

re:damndiculous

2008-02-17T19:55:00.011-05:00

so, chalkboards are great for lists, right? i thought it would be cool to make a list of all the things we still have to do on the house, so we can feel a sense of accomplishment when we can cross something off the list. well, things got a little out of control. seriously.

(click to view the list in all its depressing, discouraging, money-hemorrhaging glory):

that said, we did make minor progress this weekend, taking care of a little sheetrock work needed around the stair and anthony finished installing some exterior lights in the back.

(with flash):

(without flash):

p.s. thanks to alicia for the best idea for post-naming!

re:spite

2008-02-15T11:20:00.005-05:00

ugh. sorry there hasn't been much to update about recently. i think that means its time for another round of before and afters - since we have some rooms painted and everything is primed since our last b&a post. so i'll take new pics next time our house is clean and post them soon.

re:pose

2008-02-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

i caught the flu bug that's been going around here, so i've been laid up in bed all weekend. but our friend kim stopped by and brought over some chalk - so she and i had to break in the new chalkboard wall!

represent!

and because anthony's been so great taking care of me while i've been sick...

we've got warm weather down here so bring on the spring fever...

re:creation

2008-02-05T08:44:00.000-05:00

i painted the chalkboard wall! we used ben moore chalkboard paint - it's a dark gray, almost black - just like a school chalkboard. it's very cool. after we get some chalk up on it, it will lighten out - but i really like the balance of the white kitchen (with future white marble countertops) opposite the blackish wall. plus it will be fun to draw on, and write grocery lists, etc.

here are a few pictures. i'll post more this weekend after we can draw on it! (have to wait 3 days to apply chalk) -

here is the main image that gave us our inspiration (from cottage living), as we're also planning on doing a pantry door on sliding/barn door hardware:

but for some more images of black chalkboard walls like ours check out cottage living; another cool wall from apartment therapy; and more here and here.

re:commend

2008-01-30T15:34:00.001-05:00

since we're on a major progress hiatus, i have to confess it gets difficult to come up with new relevant or clever re: words to name my posts. so, here's a fun game to get some participation from all you people who visit my site. list some words you can think of that i can put in a word bank for future post naming. they have to start with re - and it's best if pronounced 'rEE' but could be 'reh' as a fallback. ready? go!

re:fresh

2008-01-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

so... here is our sherwin williams 'calico' dining room! thoughts? it's subtle and muted, right? (kidding.)

i think i'll like it better after we get some new dining room furniture (lighter/warmer wood) and some art on the walls. it's like a little jewel in the middle of our house!

re:date

2008-01-24T15:14:00.001-05:00

a friend who works for the city was telling anthony that while the city's records have our house dated to 1935, that's the date they record when they don't know the real date (ha, i thought it was curious that it was the same date as our old house). he said our house is more likely circa 1915, or possibly even earlier - our area started being developed around 1905. pretty cool.

re:animate

2008-01-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

anthony is picking up some more paint today. i'm very excited to work on the dining room - it will add a lot of character to the house, and be modern at the same time. this is the look i'm going for in the dining room (from room and board) -

so, we've chosen a paint color called calico. and maybe one day i'll be able to afford that concord cabinet. and some steel frames. this is the light fixture we ordered (also from room and board):

and i already purchased this cute mid-century inspired mirror from west elm to go in the room as well -

the plan is to get - or make - a big (54-60") round dining table, as the room is nearly square and therefore needs a round table, in my opinion. check back later in the week for more paint pictures!

re:quisite gray

2008-01-16T09:07:00.000-05:00

we're in save-up mode, so it's going to be a while before anything big and flashy gets done. in the meantime, i'm really only going to have paint pictures to show. we chose sherwin williams requisite gray to go in the continuous space of the living-kitchen-stair-loft areas after looking at bunny mendelbaum's cool house.

for some other images around the web of requisite gray, go here and also check out this page in this month's issue of cottage living -

by the way, sherwin williams duration paint goes on like a dream. best paint i've ever used.

re:grettable

2008-01-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

booo. the city took down the tree in front of our house yesterday. now our sad-looking house is much more exposed and screaming, "hey, look at me!"

it feels naked. i know there's nothing we could do about it - it was in the city's right-of-way and was sick with termites anyway, but i hate it. they're supposed to grind out the stump today, and we can plant a new street tree, but it won't be a mature [oak?] tree like this was. it just draws more attention to our pitiful exterior. it will be a happy day when we can have the exterior painted!

re:solution

2008-01-03T15:03:00.000-05:00

ha, you thought this post was going to be about my new years resolutions. but i won't bore you anymore than necessary.

nope, this post is about the decision as far as the kitchen sink goes. we've decided to go with an asymmetrical offset sink like this -

- that way the big bowl on the right can be centered under the window but the overall sink can be centered in the cabinet. or close. see how off they are -

we're leaving the doors off of the sink base until after the counters and sink and disposal are installed, just for ease.

here are the rest of the final (for now) kitchen pics!

now we need to save up for the countertops, appliances and sink so we can have them all installed at the same time. i have to say, our kitchen is small by today's suburban standards, but this is the most storage i've ever had in a kitchen in my adult life, so i'm pretty excited about it!

here are the other appliances we have picked out:

i can't wait to use that range! and you can click over on 'inspiration' to see what i'm hoping for the countertops.

re:semble

2008-01-01T11:16:00.001-05:00

we've been working on assembling and installing the cabinets little by little, and it's actually starting to look like a kitchen now!

i love the color combination of the creamy white cabinets with the walnut-y wood floor and the stainless steel appliance(s).

those ikea people are geniuses, because these cabinets go together so easily (especially the hinges). it's getting them installed against our not-so-square walls that is sometimes frustrating.

unfortunately we've found that our framers didn't quite center the window, so we've had to adjust where the upper cabinets are installed, and we have to make a decision on whether the kitchen sink will be centered on the window or on the base cabinet it sits in...any opinions out there? the centers are off by about 3.5 inches. which way do you think your eye will see it? in relation to the window or in relation to the base cabinet?

re:visit

2007-12-27T19:34:00.001-05:00

just for kicks, let's take a look at how far we've come in the last five months.

to recap, we tore out the old stair to open up the flow and increase the size of the kitchen and framed a new stair; added a 2nd story master suite onto an existing single-story at the back of the house; installed all new windows (and added some); turned a tiny bedroom into a loft open to the stair below and various other rework required to accomplish all of the above, as well as refinishing hardwood floors, new tile floors, etc. we're now at 2200-2250 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, + loft, + office/small multipurpose room off the family room. click to see the plans.

some before and afters for your viewing pleasure (not all pics are post-primer coat, but you get the idea):

before (w/ seller's stuff):

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

(please excuse the mess. what, you don't live out of boxes? well, lah-tee-dah. you and your fancy-schmancy furniture and your pretentious putting-things-away. psha!)

still so much to do, but we've come a long way! still to do: doors, window & door casings, baseboards, finish master bathroom, finish floors in family room, assemble & install kitchen cabinets (in progress), railings at stair & loft, paint, update front porch flooring & railing, build deck in back, paint the exterior...

re:charge

2007-12-21T23:03:00.000-05:00

6 days...13 gallons of paint...2 sanded knuckles...1 paint-in-my-hair incident...1,873 trips up and down the ladder...1 white dog ear, and we're celebrating a white! christmas - a primer white christmas, that is.

and primer white it will be for a while. we wanted to pull up the paper and get rid of the dust and dirt and feel like we are living for a while. and the house looks great already! now i'm dying for some new furniture, but that will have to wait for doors, baseboards, casings, etc...

merry christmas!

re:frigerator

2007-12-19T22:36:00.000-05:00

we received our refrigerator last night! what an ordeal it was for the whirlpool delivery guys to get the semi-truck down our street; i think it took them 30 minutes to travel the last block to the front of our house, having to navigate around low-hanging tree limbs and cable lines crossing the street.

anyway, here it is...alone in the middle of our future kitchen -

and now that we're living in this construction zone, it's hard to get away from working on something, so we've begun the sucky task of priming every single wall and ceiling in the house. this is going to be a long process...

anthony has the fun and instantly-gratifying job of rolling, while i have the boring and tedious job of brushing in the corners and around fixtures. and i'll admit i don't know what the goal of the primer coat is - what sort of coverage should we be going for? should it be a solid white coat, or is a thinner/translucent coat sufficient? are we talking granny's-cotton-panties coverage or sheer-bikini coverage? if you know, help me out here.

re:locate

2007-12-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

saturday was move-in day!
thanks to my boss, we had professional movers and didn't have to bother all of our friends. they got it done in 4 1/2 hours!

(yes, there will be a railing here one day)

we needed to get some closet organizers before we could move our hanging clothes, so we got this nifty package from lowe's and installed it saturday night -

welcome home kiddies! mama missed you...

we covered the floors with paper to help protect them from the movers, and for the next task: paint. we will also work on assembling & installing the kitchen cabinets. we can't really unpack until the walls are painted and the kitchen cabinets installed, so we can set furniture and put things away.

re:quisite

2007-12-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

clawfoot tub reglazing: $395
kohler pinoir pedestal sink: $100 on craigslist
kohler cimarron toilet: $200 at lowe's
chrome bath & shower hardware: $599 on overstock.com
windmill tile: appx $5/sf at daltile (w/ trade discount)

having a functioning bathroom so you can move into your house:
$1,525 + tax & labor.

re:stain

2007-12-10T20:10:00.001-05:00

our wood floors have been sanded, and staining started today!
photos pre-stain:

our wood floor guys also did some minor carpentry work, like this nosing at the loft -

and some thresholds -

the stain is a color called 'spice brown' on the old wood and a 50/50 mix of 'english chestnut' and 'spice brown' on the new wood (since it's much more yellow and doesn't have the red undertones of the old wood)...

pics after first of three coats of poly...

we also have some plumbing work nearing completion -

yay! move-in is scheduled for this weekend!

re:finish

2007-12-05T16:17:00.000-05:00

*sigh*
we just accepted a proposal to have a professional refinish our hardwood floors. anthony started last night and it's just going to be too difficult for him to do in such a short time frame, since we won't be able to work on it this weekend because we'll be out of town for my sister's wedding, and we want to move in next weekend. we met a couple of flooring guys out there today, got one proposal from a guy who can start immediately because he's also working on a neighbor's house across the street, and we're going for it. so...ordering appliances will have to wait. :(

re:equip

2007-12-05T07:55:00.000-05:00

it strikes me as odd that toilets are so cheap for how important they are. i mean, you can't live without a toilet. but i can get this toilet -

with "class five extraordinary bulk flushing power" (lol) for only $200 at lowe's. seriously, think about it. these things are made out of porcelain or china or whatever. people spend $200 on a place setting of china. a toilet is a lot bigger and more necessary than a plate and a mug. you'd think they would charge more, because people need toilets. it doesn't matter how much it costs - if you don't have one, you have to buy one.

anyway, i'm glad they're not more expensive! i got a couple good, powerful toilets (for the powder room and guest bath) - and these babies aren't going to leave any surprises behind. these are no low-flow toilets, let me assure you. that would not be pleasant with anthony living in the house... ha ha

re:tile

2007-12-02T18:46:00.001-05:00

anthony and i spent the weekend tiling! it went really well! we completed both the laundry room and guest bathroom.

first we troweled a thin bed of mortar to lay the durock (cement backerboard for the tile)...

then we used cement screws to help attach the durock to the subfloor...

after all the durock was down, we put fiberglass mesh tape over the seams, then laid out the tile to dry-fit it and cut any pieces that needed cutting...

next, thin-set mortar and laying tile:

the tile is called "windmill" and came in 12x24" sheets, with the individual tiles attached on the underside with a tab of glue or something.

smearing grout into the spaces (we went with "pewter" grout)...

sponging off the excess grout -

ta-da! our beautiful new bathroom floor!

we have to wait two days for the grout to cure before we can seal it.
then ready for our tub, toilet & pedestal sink!

i'm so excited and proud of our handiwork this weekend!

this is actually quite physical work - i'm rather sore this evening...my back hurts, my legs are sore, my hands are sore, my shoulders are sore. i also have a lovely blister on my hand from troweling.

can't wait to get a working bathroom!

re:enclose

2007-11-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

*updated with more pictures*
sheetrock started wednesday and mudding & taping started monday...we have walls! it's actually starting to look like a place to live!

the family room/tv room: *click to view larger*

the master bedroom:

dining room:

kitchen:

living room/stair:

siding repair/replacement before and after:

view with second story addition visible at rear:

sheetrock should be complete by the end of the day thursday, and anthony and i will start tiling the bathroom & laundry room floors and refinishing the hardwoods this weekend. eek! wish us luck! i'm a little nervous having to DIY this stuff.

re:lief (again)

2007-11-20T08:48:00.001-05:00

phew! we passed framing and insulation inspection first thing this morning! sheetrock starts today!

re:formulate

2007-11-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

we have had some disappointing setbacks this week and it looks like we won't be getting sheetrock done and floors refinished by the end of the month, and therefore will not be able to move in.

we couldn't get our framing inspection until the plumbing, electrical and HVAC inspections passed. there was a delay on the electrical inspection, and that finally passed mid-week, so we requested our framing inspection. the framing inspection was friday and failed because they used the wrong hurricane ties, and because the inspections happen in the afternoon and you have to fax in a request for inspection before noon, that means we can't fax in our request until monday, which means they won't inspect until tuesday. then after framing we have to get an insulation inspection (huh?), the request for which also has to be faxed in by noon for inspection the following day. who knows when that inspection will occur with thanksgiving this week. and they can't start closing in the walls with sheetrock until all these inspections are passed. so, failing the framing inspection on a friday afternoon has set us back at least a week. *sigh*

so, now we will work to get in around mid-december.

re:glaze

2007-11-15T07:13:00.001-05:00

*updated with more photos*
the windows have been delivered and started going in on wednesday! they are jeld-wen (norco) primed wood windows...

we have some ugly gaping holes in the house right now waiting for windows, but we're going through some b.s. with the city that held up our installers from making more progress on wednesday. we have a crew installing windows, another crew installing siding, and sheetrock is being delivered on thursday.

meanwhile, anthony and i have been working every night this week putting in insulation so the sheetrockers aren't held up.

hopefully things will start coming together now!

re:floor

2007-11-12T07:32:00.001-05:00

this weekend anthony and our friend david knocked out the wood floors in the master bedroom & closet, and the kitchen area.

they had to tear out the existing boards that lead through the new pass-through to the kitchen, because there was no way to feather them in -

- so we're going to have to try really hard to match the stain (maybe 2-3 coats on the new boards and one coat on the old boards).

meanwhile, i continued putting felt in the stud cavities (just as an extra something since we have no exterior sheathing)...

siding repair & new siding on the addition starts monday and windows arrive and start going in thursday morning! stay tuned for the transformation when we can see how much light we get in there!

re:pository

2007-11-04T18:43:00.000-05:00

we had a productive weekend! we rented a cargo van and drove to atlanta to go to ikea to purchase our kitchen cabinets. if you don't know about ikea, it's a modern scandinavian furniture & housewares retailer - but it's a big-box superstore like no other. we spent over five hours there, and came away with a full van! their kitchen cabinets come packed in flat boxes and obviously require assembly...but you save a lot of money as a result. (they also have a 25 year warranty.)

since we were heading to atlanta, i took the opportunity to check out craigslist atlanta, and found two pedestal sinks for cheap! we got this brand new kohler pedestal for $100 (ours has 3 holes for separate faucet & knobs) -

it will go in the powder room. and we got this slightly used pedestal sink with hardware for $30!

- a great find and the seller was super nice to bring it over to ikea for us as we were loading our cabinets into the van. the hardware will go great with the set i got for the clawfoot tub in the guest bath. so, after all this, our house is filling up like a storehouse.

we also got a lot done at the house. anthony worked on removing some more of the aluminum siding - it's down from the entire first floor now, including the rear addition -

but taking it down revealed some smoke/fire damage so we'll probably have to re-side this area -

and i worked on the inside filling holes & cracks in the siding with 'great stuff' and then lining the inside of the siding with felt - just for an extra barrier since the old part of the house doesn't have sheathing.

as far as the rest of the subs go, the electrical rough-in is 60% complete, and they'll come back to finish after we get sheetrock up. the new hvac is about 90% in, but they won't test and balance the system until we get the house dried-in with floors, windows & sheetrock and the dust is cleared. (we're waiting on windows before we can put sheetrock up.) and the plumbing rough-in is complete and passed inspection...here's our master bath shower -

and lucy got to spend her first weekend at the house and she had a great time!

re:lief

2007-10-29T11:44:00.000-04:00

our hvac sub talked to the building inspector and we will be allowed to put the new ductwork in the crawl space! phew! we were really stressing about having to tunnel through the house to find room for ducts. the new hvac starts going in today.

re:purpose

2007-10-25T12:59:00.000-04:00

i just ordered this package to convert our clawfoot tub to a shower...

these things are much more expensive than we expected! i'm amazed at how little the big things cost and how much the little things cost. but we have to get one bathroom functioning before we move in, and that bathroom has to be the guest bathroom because there's no way we're getting our master bathroom & shower tiled before the end of next month. we just need to have the clawfoot tub reglazed now.

more news to report from the hvac sub. apparently the city just started enforcing no ductwork below flood elevation, and our first floor structure is just above flood, so there probably isn't room to put the ductwork in the crawl space - where it was before (crawl space serves first floor and attic serves second floor). so now it looks like we're going to have to put it between the first and second floors to serve the first floor - and will have to box out a tray ceiling in the dining room and a couple other box-outs to carry the ductwork. that also means we'll have to try to fill in the wood floor where the former registers were located. super!

anyway, the electrical wiring is complete, and they'll come back to finish up after we get sheetrock up. plumbing rough-in started today, and hvac starts next week.

re:build

2007-10-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

this weekend we rebuilt the hvac platform out back, as it had to be demolished to put in the foundation, and it wasn't very structurally sound to begin with. we haven't put the floor boards on yet, but here are our process photos:

and a picture of our ghetto-fabulous house:

the framers covered all the openings of the addition with felt just to protect the inside from rain until the windows come in and we get siding up. all the rest of the openings around the house are covered with plywood, so overall the house is looking pretty much like a crack-den for the time being!

re:new

2007-10-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

we ordered the windows yesterday! we're going with jeld-wen (norco) wood windows, 3-over-1s like in our elevation dwgs. they should arrive by november 14! we had to lose the window in the laundry room because it's too close to the electrical weatherhead bringing the electrical wires from the street to the house. and we went with one pair of operable french doors in the family room and one fixed pair - we still get the same look but greater functionality of the space and a lower cost.

i'll update with current house photos later today. the framing is complete (including sheathing and papering the addition), the new foundation is in, the roof is shingled on the addition, and they've covered all the windows with plywood to keep rain and intruders out until the new windows get here.

we've been planning our ikea kitchen and hoping to make a trip to atlanta to buy the kitchen components around november 1-2. we're leaning towards the akurum/adel white style to keep the smallish kitchen bright and airy and have a little modern-craftsman/shaker style:

...and we've picked out appliances and will order those in a few weeks. we're leaning towards white (granite or oh-how-i-would-love-marble) countertops, like this -

(image from Martha Stewart)

...but we may also go with a black countertop in granite, soapstone or paperstone (a green product).

re:alize

2007-10-14T20:48:00.000-04:00

the framers have almost all of the rooms framed and have just a few more openings and walls to frame in.

our 2nd floor 16'x16' master bedroom -

the master bath on the left and the closet on the right -

and our laundry room at the top of the stairs -

we get more and more excited as the new house takes shape! the plan is for the framers to finish up this week and the plumber and electrician to start (and hopefully finish) next week.

re:frame

2007-10-11T20:46:00.001-04:00

gooood stuff! hooray for our framing crew! (click to view larger)

from the front door -

in the living room -

the new family room with future french doors -

the loft (standing on the new stair landing) -

and the master bedroom!

here are the outside views...

we're hitting a few snags, but framing should be complete by the middle of next week!

re:turn

2007-10-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

not too much progress to report from wednesday because the lumber company delivered our materials at the end of the day instead of the beginning of the day as promised, and then it was discovered that they delivered some of the wrong size material. super!

re:construct

2007-10-10T07:30:00.000-04:00

the progress tuesday wasn't as staggering as monday, because we're waiting for materials to be delivered, but they are doing what they can.

here's a montage of the living room from the front door:

the studs to the immediate left are temporary just to hold up the floor until they get the new structure in there. but you can see the new stair landing and you can see the stringers they've cut lying on the floor. ahead to the right is the dining room, which we are upgrading from a single window to a triple window, and straight ahead through the new "hall" will be the kitchen (coat closet under the stairs).

and look - a skylight!

stay tuned!

re:markable

2007-10-08T18:55:00.001-04:00

wow. i am amazed and so excited at the transformation already after one day of framing and demo. it looks bigger and more open already! *really wishing i had a wideangle lens*

from the living room looking towards the new stair wall (and where the old stair used to be)...

from the front door looking towards the new open hall to the kitchen (formerly the stair):

where they've cut the floor for the new stair (loft above)...

new header for triple window in the dining room!

from the bottom of the new future stair looking up the exterior wall -

demo at the rear wall of the house where we need to add a concrete foundation (none currently exists)...

it's so cool! i'll probably have progress pics to post every night, so stay tuned! i think the new stair is going in tomorrow! here's another exclamation point for you!

re:ady

2007-10-08T07:48:00.000-04:00

the HVAC guys demo'ed out all of our old ductwork, air handlers and condensers on friday (which kind of sucks since it's supposed to be 90 today thru wednesday)...

and we spent the weekend getting the house ready for the framers to start.

so, framing is starting today. i think they are starting on the stair, which will involve bracing the 2nd floor and demo'ing the old stair first. stay tuned for big changes!

re:schedule

2007-10-04T07:34:00.000-04:00

so, the weather is delaying our framer and HVAC subs. it rained all day yesterday (wednesday) and you can see above what's coming. hopefully i'll have some progress to report soon.

re:sume

2007-09-30T21:21:00.001-04:00

this weekend we continued with demo to get the house ready for the framers to start this week.

we stripped some plaster, removed sheetrock, took down some interior walls...

found evidence of the fire the house had in the 90s...

and our dumpster got its fill this weekend! (this is the third time we've had the dumpster emptied!)

we also went to a tile auction and got this beautiful marble tile for our master bathroom, yay!

so, the framers are supposed to start this week! hopefully i'll have pictures to post of their progress.

re:place

2007-09-28T07:39:00.001-04:00

we got a window quote, and yikes! shocking. this quote was for top-of-the-line marvin clad wood windows (primed wood interior and aluminum clad exterior) - and was for contractors pricing plus an architects discount...but it was still about 1.5-2x what we were thinking. but we've recently been talking about doing all wood windows instead - they will look better and maintain the integrity of our 1935 house. yes, they're more maintenance, and we have to paint them, but on the plus side, they're less expensive than clad... and we just feel like its the right thing to do. so, we'll get a couple more quotes.

re:quirement

2007-09-26T13:49:00.000-04:00

we have the building permit!!

anthony took the drawings down to the permit office today. we were nervous because we've heard conflicting experiences of it taking anywhere from a week and a half to eight weeks to get a building permit. so, anthony went down there today and walked it through and we had our permit in two hours!

here is our permit set of dwgs (click to view larger):

ready to go on the big stuff - hopefully all of our subs can start next week! yay!

re:cess

2007-09-24T09:01:00.000-04:00

sorry, no update to post this weekend. anthony was out of town and i took the weekend off to rest. we have gotten a second framing quote and a window quote should be coming in by tomorrow. we need to work on getting the building permit this week!

re:miss

2007-09-17T17:59:00.000-04:00

this house just amazes me. today we discovered that there is no exterior sheathing on the main (old) part of the house. we should have found diagonal wood board sheathing between the studs and the wood siding, but the siding is nailed right into the wood studs! crazy.

this is a concern with respect to moisture getting into the wall cavity. the aluminum siding and the foil-backed insulation behind it were preventing moisture from getting into the wall cavity. now that we're taking the aluminum siding off, there's not a whole lot between the wall cavity and the outside elements. we just have to hope that if moisture gets in, it can get out.

re:move (more)

2007-09-16T20:41:00.001-04:00

this weekend we scraped the popcorn off the ceilings!

it was a very easy task - much easier than we anticipated (finally! something easy!) - just very messy.

we just used a hose with a spray nozzle to spray the popcorn, let it soak in for a minute and then used a 12" scraper to scrape it off. easy as that! and now we have nice smooth ceilings, yay! the ceilings feel higher already. :)

so glad we decided to do this ourselves rather than hiring somebody - we got the entire house scraped in one day!

we also took out the sheetrock at the future loft:

i love how open it makes the stair and upstairs hall feel.

and we also started pulling up some of the old wood flooring in the kitchen, to get down to the subfloor - which clearly needs some patching and/or replacing (those are holes into the crawlspace)...

(by the way, we're doing this because there were so many layers of flooring in the kitchen (sheet vinyl on top of plywood on top of vinyl tile on top of t&g wood on top of diagonal 1x subfloor) that it was higher than the surrounding rooms, and we want the transition between rooms to be seamless.)

this week we should be getting pricing for the structural/foundation work at the back of the house, as well as another framing quote. hopefully we can move forward on those soon!

re:lax

2007-09-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

i can't let the scary post below be the first thing people see when they click on this page, so until i have new work photos to post, these are a few of the beautiful houses we get to look at from our front porch...

re:gurgitate

2007-09-09T15:52:00.001-04:00

so now that the roof is fixed, i'm pulling down the last of the damaged sheetrock in the top of the closet in the back bedroom upstairs, and then this falls down from the attic:

it's a rat or a squirrel skeleton, one - because as you can see it's hanging from its tail.

this is the head of the rat/squirrel skeleton that fell off the body and that i accidentally stepped on with a sickening crunch as i quickly climbed down from my ladder:

at this point, i am near tears at the foulness that i am dealing with, and i tell anthony that i don't want to do this anymore and ask if he can finish, and he just laughs and says, "you have to finish!" jerk.

that thing did not want to come down, and i didn't want to get remotely close to it, so i'm blindly using a crowbar to try to shake it down from the top of the closet while the rest of my body is outside of the closet, and finally it falls with a shower of insulation...

sick.

so, if any of anthony's friends or coworkers are reading this, please tell him he's a bad husband and call him a girl (or something similar and more imaginative), because he's always doing this to me - making me kill spiders or palmetto bugs...

moving on...
this weekend we also began taking down the plaster and lath from the one room that still has the original plaster...

and anthony also pulled off some more of the aluminum siding from the front of the house...

good stuff.

i don't even want to think about the possibility of other carcasses in the attic...