Making my own history.

The digging for answers has ended for the day, but I'm working on doing some things of my own in the house as it rains outside. It's 37 degrees.

In 2007/8, the bathroom was remodeled. Laura and I had done some temporary work in the fall of 2007. It turned out to be less of a fix than I had hoped for. So in 2008, I ripped nearly everything out and replaced the old tub with a new fiberglass unit and ceramic tile surround. This is the only room that has new doors thus far. I'll replace the rest in the future as funds are available. Winter is the best time to work inside.







Then the living room was redone in December of 2008. It was a three day job with all the paint scraping, sanding, new baseboards, new paint, and cleaning the floors.



In February of 2009, I finished the dining room. There was snow on the ground as I painted and sorted seeds for my first seed swap.



In August of 2009, I painted my bedroom. The paint was a mixture of several half gallons left over from other rooms. I think it turned out serene.





I've been working on the kitchen since October. It's been a much larger undertaking than I want to admit, but I do love the results so far. The countertop laminate has been laying on the dining room floor for months. Next week, I'll be receiving a gift card from Lowe's as a prize in a contest we won. That will be used to purchase the MDF countertop base I need to glue my laminate to. I can't wait to say goodbye to these waferboard counters. I've still got more painting to do this evening. I missed a few areas when I was caulking. The white primer really makes them stand out. I've got to wait until it's dry to caulk. Maybe I'll head to the grocery store in the meantime.

I really like the green now.







I still need to do one more coat on the other side of the kitchen. I'm hoping my last coat can be done in one day. Until then, the walls will have to live with a little masking tape. A hair dryer from Carla will make it easy to remove.

Next winter, the hallway. Some work has already been done. It's mostly caulk and paint that needs to be finished. I sure don't miss that hot pink bedroom.

Green and the Psychology of Colors

Notice anything different this morning? I've changed the background of the blog to a soft green color. Why green?

Currently the most popular decorating color, green symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. However, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread on the eve of a fashion show for fear it will bring bad luck.

Color Psychology

Green is also the prominent color inside my house. One of the bedrooms is a light grass green.



The living room is a sage green that changes colors during the day based on the weather.



The dining room is a dark greenish brown.



The bathroom is a dark gray with green undertones.



Eventually, every room in the house will be painted with some version of green. I find the color and all its variations to be soothing. Now, if the trees would cooperate and give us some outside green, I'll be happier. Spring is coming.

43 degrees, light fog, with sunlight streaming through the trees out back. Thunderstorms and rain again last night.

The Dining Room

It's 32, sunny and breezy. The next couple of days will remind me that winter is not over regardless of how nice it was yesterday. It reached 63. I opened the windows for a while yesterday afternoon.

Today I'll be finishing the dining room. At Lowe's last weekend, I found a gallon of "oops" paint for $5 that I liked a lot more than the gray I had originally used. It's a dark greenish brown. It fits with the rest of the house bettern than the color I mixed from several partial cans.

I'll post pictures when it's done. I need to put one coat on all the trim and clean the floors. I hope it's still daylight when I'm done this time.

This light fixture was given to me by a friend. It was in the living room of his 1920s house. I painted it black, cleaned all the crystals, and replaced the bulbs. I found a dimmer switch in my toolbox (where did that come from?). I installed it yesterday.



I'll get started once I finish my coffee.

2:24pm - I'm almost done. I need to put one more coat of acrylic on the floor.

Let's review. The original dining room.



What I lived with for over a year.



The gray.



And finally, done.















The chandelier from my friend in VA.



I still need a vent cover for the floor register. And furniture. Next up, the hallway. It only needs paint at this point.

Ugly Sunday

It's another rainy day here in NC. It's 60 degrees. The coffee is brewing. The cats are fed, and I'm trying to decide what to do today.

Since it's raining, I thought I would turn my attention to the inside of the house. Below are pictures of the house as it was when I purchased it.











This is what the living room looked like when I first saw the house. It's a shame that a house with such character and bones was covered up by what has been said to be an "explosion of potpourri."



I've spent some time remodeling the bathroom and living room over the past year. I ripped out almost everything in the bathroom. I replaced the original tub with a larger fiberglass unit. I installed ceramic tile to protect the walls around the shower. I removed and replaced the window trim with a pvc molding. Everything has been caulked tighter than a drum.

A work in progress - the bathroom.





Have you ever tried to install a 60" tub in a space only 59" wide?





The new tile - installed.







And finally, the almost finished project. I still need to paint the 'crown molding', install the toe molding on the floor, and lay two small pieces of tile behind the toilet. I've got a new toilet seat too that just can't seem to get itself installed.







With the bathroom finished, I moved on to the living room. I removed all the baseboards and installed new ones. I scraped and repainted all the window frames. At the entrance to the hall, the door and frame were removed to make a wider opening. I created an arch to match the existing one leading to the dining room. The front door was replaced this summer with one that matches the cottage character of the exterior. I'm very happy with the way it came out even though it was improperly installed by a local handyman.









The finished room.







Sorry about the blur. I was tired.



Instead of crown molding, I painted a 2" wide strip around the ceiling. With plaster walls, it was impossible to get the clean, crisp line I wanted.



Next on the agenda is the hallway, dining room, and larger bedroom. I'm not sure when I'll get to all of that as finances are running tight with a downturn in the economy and work. I have most of the materials, but as we know, we never have everything and it all costs twice as much. Still, I've spent just over $1000 on the interior so far. Money well spent in my opinion.

Time to get my butt in gear and remove the last of the wall paper border in the hallway off the kitchen.



10:45am and the sun is out. The clouds are clearing and the temperatures are rising. Time to get dressed. The wallpaper can wait.

4:22pm. It's raining again - 67 degrees. Just a light drizzle. What happened to winter? Wouldn't you know as soon as I got outside, it started again. I did manage to get the wallpaper border down in the kitchen hallway. Now I need to clean up.

7:19pm. It's raining. Again. 65 degrees. Now I know we've been having drought conditions for the past couple years, but enough is enough. Come on.