With the wallpaper, with black molding.
Just, y'know. Messin' with it.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
'Cause I can't leave well enough alone.
With the wallpaper, with black molding.
Just, y'know. Messin' with it.
PS hiiiii Daaaad.
And thanks to my pops, who reminded us that eBay was the place to look for great prices on fixtures and appliances and everything else to do with renovation.
Farmhouse, ho!
Got our sink! 16 gauge satin stainless undermount farmhouse apron double bowl.
It's gonna look AMAZING.
I'd found one on Overstock for 430 bucks and Nate said "nope!"
He got on eBay and found this one for $329. Free shipping, no tax; these things can retail for 1,200 - 2,000 dollars. My husband's awesome.
I'd really wanted a farmhouse sink, I'd really wanted it to be an undermount, and the stainless thing is pretty cool since it keeps it cottage-y and modern all at once. Plus, no danger of cracking like there is in a porcelain sink.
Saw a word the other day that I loved: "retropolitan."
Exactly what we're going for.
In other kitchen news, Ikea's blueprints for our kitchen are pretty much perfect and I love what they came up with for our island. It's tough as hell to find time to write lately, but I'll see if I can convince Nate to update with some of the blueprint pics.
Demo's done! Kinda. We're leaving the small bathroom off the master intact for now - we'll finish that in the last 3 or 4 weeks of renovation. As far as my big beautiful bathroom goes: the cement floor is gone and Jeff is going to frame up that wall soon. We're about to buy a soaking tub and a vanity to go in there, and we've looked at tile and come up with a color scheme for the whole thing. White tile floor with large squares and small grout lines, two black tile borders - one that's wide near the edges of the room and a thin one another foot in. I had it on the brain during a planning period at school and made a really rudimentary drawing in MS Paint just to help me visualize:
I'm thinking wallpaper could go above that beadboard - I want really masculine elements, like the floor pattern and the color scheme, that are softened with some curvier patterns and some feminine accents. Maybe a chandelier above the tub, some blush pink accessories. Like a woman took over a 20's british gentlemen's club.
There's one pattern I really love, and two color schemes I'm deciding between:
and:
Which would look better?
Oh, and after I told our contractor the ideas I had for the bathroom, he said, "so where does the TV go?"
And I laughed at that, and then he said, "seriously. If you want to spend lots of time relaxing in there, check around for sales on a small LCD. I'll run the wiring in there, it's no big deal and no big cost. Stick it in the wall, you'll love it."
So, y'know. Trying not to feel ridiculous about it, but I'm definitely entertaining visions now of watching TCM from my deep, deep tub.
The last thing I had to mention is an amazing website that's both a blessing and a curse if you're into interior design:
DecorPad.
If you select "photos" from that drop menu for the search function at the top of the page and type in ANYTHING IN THE WORLD, this site will come back with a million photos of gorgeous rooms that provide nearly exhausting amounts of inspiration and ideas.
Love that chandelier.
Great mirror and sconces.
Two beautiful console vanities:
Not exactly a ton of storage provided there, but we could do some tower cabinets on the opposite wall to take care of that.
Think that site's addicting much?
Wait'll you see my inspiration pics for living rooms and bedrooms.
It's gonna look AMAZING.
I'd found one on Overstock for 430 bucks and Nate said "nope!"
He got on eBay and found this one for $329. Free shipping, no tax; these things can retail for 1,200 - 2,000 dollars. My husband's awesome.
I'd really wanted a farmhouse sink, I'd really wanted it to be an undermount, and the stainless thing is pretty cool since it keeps it cottage-y and modern all at once. Plus, no danger of cracking like there is in a porcelain sink.
Saw a word the other day that I loved: "retropolitan."
Exactly what we're going for.
In other kitchen news, Ikea's blueprints for our kitchen are pretty much perfect and I love what they came up with for our island. It's tough as hell to find time to write lately, but I'll see if I can convince Nate to update with some of the blueprint pics.
Demo's done! Kinda. We're leaving the small bathroom off the master intact for now - we'll finish that in the last 3 or 4 weeks of renovation. As far as my big beautiful bathroom goes: the cement floor is gone and Jeff is going to frame up that wall soon. We're about to buy a soaking tub and a vanity to go in there, and we've looked at tile and come up with a color scheme for the whole thing. White tile floor with large squares and small grout lines, two black tile borders - one that's wide near the edges of the room and a thin one another foot in. I had it on the brain during a planning period at school and made a really rudimentary drawing in MS Paint just to help me visualize:
I'm thinking wallpaper could go above that beadboard - I want really masculine elements, like the floor pattern and the color scheme, that are softened with some curvier patterns and some feminine accents. Maybe a chandelier above the tub, some blush pink accessories. Like a woman took over a 20's british gentlemen's club.
There's one pattern I really love, and two color schemes I'm deciding between:
and:
Which would look better?
Oh, and after I told our contractor the ideas I had for the bathroom, he said, "so where does the TV go?"
And I laughed at that, and then he said, "seriously. If you want to spend lots of time relaxing in there, check around for sales on a small LCD. I'll run the wiring in there, it's no big deal and no big cost. Stick it in the wall, you'll love it."
So, y'know. Trying not to feel ridiculous about it, but I'm definitely entertaining visions now of watching TCM from my deep, deep tub.
The last thing I had to mention is an amazing website that's both a blessing and a curse if you're into interior design:
DecorPad.
If you select "photos" from that drop menu for the search function at the top of the page and type in ANYTHING IN THE WORLD, this site will come back with a million photos of gorgeous rooms that provide nearly exhausting amounts of inspiration and ideas.
Love that chandelier.
Great mirror and sconces.
Two beautiful console vanities:
Not exactly a ton of storage provided there, but we could do some tower cabinets on the opposite wall to take care of that.
Think that site's addicting much?
Wait'll you see my inspiration pics for living rooms and bedrooms.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Time for a man update.
Demolition has been longer and a lot tougher than I initially imagined. The kitchen was no sweat, Jerry and I had it totally taken apart in barely over an hour from start to finish. Pulling up the carpet wasn't too bad either, all we had to do is cut it up in big strips and drag it to the dumpster. There's a crapload of tacks left in the floor everywhere, each of which has to be pulled up with a catclaw or pliars. It's not hard but it's incredibly tedious. I've been doing a little bit every time I go over there in order to retain my sanity.
The bathroom is a whole different story. Back in the 60s they did tiling differently - back then it was backed with steel netting and concrete, which was then stapled to the stud. Needless to say, it's pretty strong. The stuff takes two or three good wacks with a sledgehammer before it starts to crack. Andrea had a ball hammering at it, here's a good picture that shows the netting with the concrete attached to it.
But I did realize that it's easier to pull it from the studs than hammering away with brute force. With that in mind, I bought the biggest pick axe I could find from Home Depot. If you can get it between the netting and the wall behind it, you can use the leverage to pull it out. Of course it comes out in a huge shower of concrete pebbles and a twisted mess of steel harness and tile. The netting is a danger in and of itself, because it's really sharp and can cut you if you're not careful. Needless to say, it's hard work and it is taking a lot longer than I expected.
Jeff also helped me get the toilet and bathtub out. Let me tell you, bathtubs are heavy. Like really, really over 300 pounds heavy. Just in case you were wondering. The tub is now propped up against the dumpster, and I'm probably going to have to get a couple friends to help me lift it up over the edge. Maybe I'll call a couple friends from CrossFit, or maybe I should accept that my lifting weights my entire life has prepared me for this one task. Who am I kidding, I can't do it on my own.
So during all this I didn't give much thought to the floor because it was carpeted. But when we pulled it up, guess what was there? More tile. A lovely 1960s vintage green, and a whole lot more concrete. This stuff came out a little easier. Jeff showed me that the best way was to get the narrow end of the pick axe under the edge and then wack the surface with the sledgehammer to break it up. Everything has to come out so we can build a new subfloor with 2 x 4s and plywood. Then on top of that will come hardie board and the tile (which we're close to making a decision on, we did narrow our options considerably over the weekend at Floor & Decor.)
We're almost at that point, but not quite yet obviously. Here it is with all the wall tile pulled out, this is what I worked on today. I took this before pulling up the concrete from the floor. Now all that's really left is a few chunks and a lot of debris that needs to be taken up with a shopvac. Thankfully my mom and her Slic will help. I think the hardest part is over, which is a good thing since the dumpster has to be returned soon and the joys of demolition have long since faded.
Demolition has been longer and a lot tougher than I initially imagined. The kitchen was no sweat, Jerry and I had it totally taken apart in barely over an hour from start to finish. Pulling up the carpet wasn't too bad either, all we had to do is cut it up in big strips and drag it to the dumpster. There's a crapload of tacks left in the floor everywhere, each of which has to be pulled up with a catclaw or pliars. It's not hard but it's incredibly tedious. I've been doing a little bit every time I go over there in order to retain my sanity.
The bathroom is a whole different story. Back in the 60s they did tiling differently - back then it was backed with steel netting and concrete, which was then stapled to the stud. Needless to say, it's pretty strong. The stuff takes two or three good wacks with a sledgehammer before it starts to crack. Andrea had a ball hammering at it, here's a good picture that shows the netting with the concrete attached to it.
But I did realize that it's easier to pull it from the studs than hammering away with brute force. With that in mind, I bought the biggest pick axe I could find from Home Depot. If you can get it between the netting and the wall behind it, you can use the leverage to pull it out. Of course it comes out in a huge shower of concrete pebbles and a twisted mess of steel harness and tile. The netting is a danger in and of itself, because it's really sharp and can cut you if you're not careful. Needless to say, it's hard work and it is taking a lot longer than I expected.
Jeff also helped me get the toilet and bathtub out. Let me tell you, bathtubs are heavy. Like really, really over 300 pounds heavy. Just in case you were wondering. The tub is now propped up against the dumpster, and I'm probably going to have to get a couple friends to help me lift it up over the edge. Maybe I'll call a couple friends from CrossFit, or maybe I should accept that my lifting weights my entire life has prepared me for this one task. Who am I kidding, I can't do it on my own.
So during all this I didn't give much thought to the floor because it was carpeted. But when we pulled it up, guess what was there? More tile. A lovely 1960s vintage green, and a whole lot more concrete. This stuff came out a little easier. Jeff showed me that the best way was to get the narrow end of the pick axe under the edge and then wack the surface with the sledgehammer to break it up. Everything has to come out so we can build a new subfloor with 2 x 4s and plywood. Then on top of that will come hardie board and the tile (which we're close to making a decision on, we did narrow our options considerably over the weekend at Floor & Decor.)
We're almost at that point, but not quite yet obviously. Here it is with all the wall tile pulled out, this is what I worked on today. I took this before pulling up the concrete from the floor. Now all that's really left is a few chunks and a lot of debris that needs to be taken up with a shopvac. Thankfully my mom and her Slic will help. I think the hardest part is over, which is a good thing since the dumpster has to be returned soon and the joys of demolition have long since faded.
It's funny how a new day can help with your outlook.
There's still a ton to do, but I don't have to be anywhere after work today and that alone is helping tremendously.
And I do like my job, stressful though it can be. I like being here.
Also, I have probably the best mother-in-law ever who sends me sweet, supportive emails.
Anyway. (I use that word way too much.)
Today is a day in which I will do nothing except wash my hair, play with Walt and Nate, and watch TV. And try not to worry.
There's still a ton to do, but I don't have to be anywhere after work today and that alone is helping tremendously.
And I do like my job, stressful though it can be. I like being here.
Also, I have probably the best mother-in-law ever who sends me sweet, supportive emails.
Anyway. (I use that word way too much.)
Today is a day in which I will do nothing except wash my hair, play with Walt and Nate, and watch TV. And try not to worry.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hatin' on life at the moment.
I'm stressed.
Planning general layouts wasn't excruciating - that was fun, for the most part. But now we're making small decisions that all need to fit together like pieces in a puzzle - but at least with a puzzle, you can SEE the pieces and know what fits and what doesn't.
With kitchen materials, I'm groping around in the dark, trying to visualize a room with dark porcelain tile floors (don't get me started on the details in that), one or two or both of those Ikea cabinet faces mentioned in the previous entry, paint on the walls based on a small chip from Home Depot, beadboard goes where exactly?, dimensions of the banquette seating area, can we fit a built-in bar area in the other corner of the dining room?, hardware, faucets, an island that coordinates but isn't matched exactly to the cabinet/countertop color scheme, a glass tile mosaic backsplash that matches the countertops and the walls and the overall style we're going for, and all of it has to look cozy and airy instead of antiseptic and stark.
I'm tired of trying to multiply costs for materials and comparing differences between 50 types of tile or paint, I'm tired of having a million tabs open in this browser while I hunt through millons of pictures to try and find something that can help me picture all of this. I hate thinking about sofas and end tables. Colors for the bedroom. Pocket doors. Where our bed will fit. Furniture for the office. Molding. Flooring colors. All we could do at Floor and Decor today was take pictures of things we were interested in, because we don't have the blueprints and dimensions that'll tell us the amounts we'll need to buy.
It's just too much uncertainty, too many choices, too much time spent thinking on this and making decisions and worrying about timelines.
We're ready for things to be finished, ready to get going on the next phase of our lives, and it's still months away.
I'm also trying to file away a lot of the stresses we went through this summer and get back into some disciplined habits - all while I'm hitting the ground running at 6 each morning, spending my days trying to learn how to be a teacher without a teacher's degree.
Too many thoughts to think, and I have a feeling that's where these stomach aches are coming from. Nate's a little worried I've given myself an ulcer.
So anyway. If I'm out of commission or glazed over or tense lately, these are the reasons why.
This is an ugly post, I know. I don't exactly like whining to the internet . . . but the point of this blog is to document what's really going on in our lives during this whole process - and with an entry like this, I want to read it in a week or a month or two months and feel proud of how far we've come and how we DID make these decisions that seem so overwhelming right now. Recording the downsides so we can remember just how accomplished we can feel when this is all over.
Planning general layouts wasn't excruciating - that was fun, for the most part. But now we're making small decisions that all need to fit together like pieces in a puzzle - but at least with a puzzle, you can SEE the pieces and know what fits and what doesn't.
With kitchen materials, I'm groping around in the dark, trying to visualize a room with dark porcelain tile floors (don't get me started on the details in that), one or two or both of those Ikea cabinet faces mentioned in the previous entry, paint on the walls based on a small chip from Home Depot, beadboard goes where exactly?, dimensions of the banquette seating area, can we fit a built-in bar area in the other corner of the dining room?, hardware, faucets, an island that coordinates but isn't matched exactly to the cabinet/countertop color scheme, a glass tile mosaic backsplash that matches the countertops and the walls and the overall style we're going for, and all of it has to look cozy and airy instead of antiseptic and stark.
I'm tired of trying to multiply costs for materials and comparing differences between 50 types of tile or paint, I'm tired of having a million tabs open in this browser while I hunt through millons of pictures to try and find something that can help me picture all of this. I hate thinking about sofas and end tables. Colors for the bedroom. Pocket doors. Where our bed will fit. Furniture for the office. Molding. Flooring colors. All we could do at Floor and Decor today was take pictures of things we were interested in, because we don't have the blueprints and dimensions that'll tell us the amounts we'll need to buy.
It's just too much uncertainty, too many choices, too much time spent thinking on this and making decisions and worrying about timelines.
We're ready for things to be finished, ready to get going on the next phase of our lives, and it's still months away.
I'm also trying to file away a lot of the stresses we went through this summer and get back into some disciplined habits - all while I'm hitting the ground running at 6 each morning, spending my days trying to learn how to be a teacher without a teacher's degree.
Too many thoughts to think, and I have a feeling that's where these stomach aches are coming from. Nate's a little worried I've given myself an ulcer.
So anyway. If I'm out of commission or glazed over or tense lately, these are the reasons why.
This is an ugly post, I know. I don't exactly like whining to the internet . . . but the point of this blog is to document what's really going on in our lives during this whole process - and with an entry like this, I want to read it in a week or a month or two months and feel proud of how far we've come and how we DID make these decisions that seem so overwhelming right now. Recording the downsides so we can remember just how accomplished we can feel when this is all over.
Doors, doors, doors.
Week from hell is over. Still have really bad nervous stomach aches that keep popping up. Show's done, saving the pieces for the Halloween show. Nate and Jeff took out the tub and toilet on Saturday and I just swept a bit 'cause I felt like crap.
The arbitrary doorway between the living room and the hallway has been knocked down, and it's opened that area up so, so much.
I might be relenting on the idea of a powder room because I want to keep a handle on costs more than I want people out of my bathroom. Long as it's gorgeous and we have a cleaning lady, come on in.
I guess.
The big bathroom's gonna be 9'6" by 7'3".
Ikea's measuring/planning service came in and measured and talked with us about what we wanted. Glass fronts for several cabinets, dark stone countertops, recessed rope lighting above the cabinets, below the wall cabinets, and below the base cabinets.
We're struggling with which cabinet face to use - Adel or Lidingo.
Adel:
Craftsman-y recessed panels, but the glass cabinets in this style aren't what I'm looking for at all.
Lidingo:
Cabinet faces are on those doors on the left-hand side of the island and then the glass cabinet faces hanging in the background. Those glass fronts are the style I want exactly.
I guess we need to figure out if we can mix and match some things to get precisely what we're going for . . .
Today we're off to Floor and Decor to look at tiles for the kitchen floor, bathroom floors/walls, and hopefully we'll see something lovely for a backsplash.
And. We're pricing bathtubs and we want 5 panel shaker-style doors. Like the one here in the picture on the right.
Slap some glossy white on that sucker, bam.
Gorgeous.
The arbitrary doorway between the living room and the hallway has been knocked down, and it's opened that area up so, so much.
I might be relenting on the idea of a powder room because I want to keep a handle on costs more than I want people out of my bathroom. Long as it's gorgeous and we have a cleaning lady, come on in.
I guess.
The big bathroom's gonna be 9'6" by 7'3".
Ikea's measuring/planning service came in and measured and talked with us about what we wanted. Glass fronts for several cabinets, dark stone countertops, recessed rope lighting above the cabinets, below the wall cabinets, and below the base cabinets.
We're struggling with which cabinet face to use - Adel or Lidingo.
Adel:
Craftsman-y recessed panels, but the glass cabinets in this style aren't what I'm looking for at all.
Lidingo:
Cabinet faces are on those doors on the left-hand side of the island and then the glass cabinet faces hanging in the background. Those glass fronts are the style I want exactly.
I guess we need to figure out if we can mix and match some things to get precisely what we're going for . . .
Today we're off to Floor and Decor to look at tiles for the kitchen floor, bathroom floors/walls, and hopefully we'll see something lovely for a backsplash.
And. We're pricing bathtubs and we want 5 panel shaker-style doors. Like the one here in the picture on the right.
Slap some glossy white on that sucker, bam.
Gorgeous.
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