Bedrooms done!

We are finally done with the upstairs bedrooms! It took a little longer because we decided to paint the doors and trim a higher gloss. Trim should always always be HIGH gloss! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! And our doors are now semi-gloss.

Plus, we installed new fans,

put up the new blinds,

re-hung the doors,

and did final touch-ups

 

In all, we’re very pleased with how they came out! 

Some of my favorite things:

the way Rob oohs and aahhs when he walks on the luscious carpet in the green room.

the colors of the rooms – very happy!

the airy-ness of the blue room (the color is actually called “Distant Valley” and it’s kind of a blue-green-grey)

the carpet in the blue room is perfect for yoga, using my yoga towel!

the fans are great! They provide plenty of clearance, without compromising air circulation – they’re specially designed for lower ceilings! Plus, they’re so pretty!

the white trim – thanks for helping me decide! I think if we’d kept much wood, it would have still been stuck in the 70s (not bad, but I like the fresh new look of white trim).

the doorknobs that we got at auction for a measly $10! They are beautiful and I love the lever handle! Plus, with new hinges and striker plates, they make it look like a new house!

Currently, Rob has almost all his pieces cut for building the bathroom cabinet. We might start putting some of it together today. Then, we can make the mold for the concrete countertop (which will be awesome, by the way!) and start that (it takes about 4 weeks to cure).

Today, I need to clean out the garage of the old carpet (anyone know where to recycle carpet? I hate to just take it to the land fill… such a pity). And asap I will start to move our bedroom to the green room! Yay!!!!

DIY Galore

The carpet upstairs is being installed TODAY!!!! I’m SOOO excited!!! I’m sure amazing pics will be soon. But for now, this what we’ve been doing:

ripping up carpet – So fun! Rob would come home to find a big pile of carpet and padding by the front door.

prying away baseboards and door casings – I rocked this baby out! Plus, I removed ALL the staples from the floor, vacuumed (with my new best friend - mr, shopvac) and removed more staples.

removing and prepping doors – also done while Rob was at work!

spackling

sanding

caulking – I know of no one better at this than Rob! Major skills!

re-texturing – whoa! getting high now! better open a window.

priming – SO much to primer! doors, casings, closets…

choosing paint colors – this is my method – happily Lowe’s is not stingy with their paint samples!

grinding – we took a break to grind the sample pieces for the bathroom countertop and decide what the final product would have in it – glass sand recycled from Abilene’s recycle center, white quartz, black granite, and a shell accent all in white cement for our black and white bathroom! No final pic yet, as they’re still with slurry.

renting a paint sprayer (Rob’s skills as a painter have come in handy a LOT!)

painting doors – with the sprayer! So fast!

painting ceilings – again with the sprayer and wicked fast! We decided not to deal with the popcorn in the bedrooms as it wasn’t that bad and I didn’t want to wear myself out scraping popcorn before I tackled the main floor…

painting trim – paint sprayer rental is SO worth it!!

painting walls – color is BEAUTIFUL! No more dingy white for me!!!!

cutting and installing baseboards and casing (again, Rob is AMAZING!) His first time installing trim and he made it look super easy! But of course, the miter saw and nail gun helped a lot!

changing electrical switches – white is better than ugly cream/brown that was in every rental I lived in!

pulling wiring for the fan and light – attics are hot! Even in fall!

more caulking

more spackling

more painting

more vacuuming

and right now… carpet guys are here!!!! Can’t wait for the finished product!!!!

Some pics in progress:

Carpet going in! I’m in love with our paint colors! And that white trim! MMm!

Renovation: the Beginning

I finally was able to rearrange the basement enough to accommodate moving more stuff down there without creating too much chaos. Determined to start demolition soon, I moved the stuff from the upstairs bedrooms into the basement. I was almost ready to rip up the carpet when Rob wanted to postpone the carpet ripping for a while.

What?? Why?? You want to stare at the 70s shag a little longer? You don’t want to walk on bare boards? Why postpone?

He had to cave as I was holding my awesome prybar at the ready: “LeeAnn is coming for a visit – it was a surprise.”

WHAT?? LEEANN!! Holy cow! That’s AWESOME! What a great surprise! And a GREAT reason to postpone demolishing the guest room!

So, my VERY good friend and rockin’ former roommate arrived the next morning with her beautiful baby daughter and we were able to spend a few days catching up face to face. *sigh* so nice!

NOW… the blue shag has become my vanquished foe! muah hah hah!

It put up a really good fight at the end. Rolling and moving carpet is surprisingly difficult! But, it’s down the stairs and ready to be moved into the garage (that is… when Rob gets home).

And let me just say, demolition is so rewarding!! I might like it better than cleaning! You get to see such a big difference in such a short amount of time. Plus, you’re getting rid of something you didn’t want to be there and making way for something you’ve been looking forward to for months… yea, it’s awesome.

We have also made the forms and poured our sample concrete pieces for the bathroom countertop. Both of us have different ideas about what will look good with our black tile we got at the auction, so we decided to make two sample pieces in the size of a bedside tabletop. Each of us designed our piece to exhibit our ideas for the countertop AND we can use them later as bedside tables!

We just poured them last night, so they’re not interesting to look at yet… Maybe next week we’ll do some grinding (so to speak) and reveal the aggregates.

We rearranged the greenhouse, taking out the bottom shelf on one side so we could fit the larger potted plants. The matsuma orange, fig, and pepper plants have been very happy now.

 

We also got the worms into their new (clean!) home. Plus, we added a light rope for some additional heat. It comes on at 11pm and shuts off at 6am – yea, there’s a timer in the greenhouse! We also plugged in the heater and set it. But, we don’t know if it works because it hasn’t been below 40 degrees during the day (thank you South Dakota!) But, the plants and worms all seem happy!

And check out the blueberry plants showing off their fall foliage!

And my last home brag: I lit the basement! It is no longer a dreary and, let’s face it - a little bit creepy, place! I ordered a cord with ten sockets and hung paper lanterns on the ceiling. Now, with a flip of a switch, the whole room is lit! It’s WONDERFUL!

Dark

Light

YAY!

I’m going back to finish off the blue shag room! Plunder and pillage!

Adventures in South Dakota

Here’s Rob on another hunting adventure. I went this time! And took photos. Notice that Rob is wearing orange, per hunting regulations. Yeah, that’s a Hawaiian shirt…

One of the great perks – the beautiful sunset!

Officially addicted, Rob went the next chance he got and brought home this rabbit! I’m preparing to make Hossenfeffer, per the Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Last weekend, we drove through Spearfish Canyon and gazed at the beautiful scenery… the golden aspen leaves, rocky cliffs, and happily running streams.

We also went to the Old Trout Hatchery in Spearfish where we gawked at the GIANT trout through the underwater viewing area – very cool! Rob’s hand is there for comparison.

We’re thinking about getting some trout to put in the future aquaponics system in the greenhouse…

Another hunting adventure! Yes, this is all the same weekend.

Rob got a TURKEY! We were super excited!

And I cooked it per Ina Garten’s guidance by stuffing it with onions, garlic, a lime (she used a lemon, but lime was fine), butter, salt, and pepper. SO easy! And it turned out great! Rob may have to get another turkey tag… delish!

Continuing our South Dakota adventures… this weekend, Rob and I happened upon the Black Hills Kennel Club Dog Show! SO FUN! We’d never been to one before and really had a good time.

I loved walking around auditioning dogs for future family additions. Plus, the owners are more than happy to talk to you about the breed! I love the Saluki and think maybe one down the road, but the Ibizan still stands out as a pretty dog to me – plus it looks a little more substantial and I think can hold its own with a Ridgeback… However, none of their temperaments compare to the Ridgeback (so laid back, chill, and super fun!) We’re sticking with the Ridgies!

We had to take a photo of this! The Golden Retrievers all looked like CLONES! It was like being on the set of Air Bud…

Look! The Shaggy Dog from the movie!

Poodles galore!

And we think Rob’s grandmother should show the yorkies she has now… look how fun it looks! :-)

 

Dog Show. Fun and FREE entertainment! Highly recommended.

Another Reader Advice One

Since you were SO helpful with the painting trim question – thank you so much! I’m giving you another advice solicitation.

So, after looking at more pictures and reading reviews, I’m about 55/45 for Brazilian Walnut wood floors for the living/dining room. The other choice we like is Brazilian Koa (tigerwood).

The Koa is beautiful, but I’m worried it’s too “interesting” for this house and might affect resale with its “uniqueness.” It’s also a little softer than the Walnut and I figure that’s a factor with Gus’ nails and if we rent the house in the future.

What I’m concerned about is this:

Rob likes the 5” planks and I think I do too… except…

Here’s some photos of the 5” walnut.

I worry that with the wider planks, as in the bottom two photos, the random dark piece and the random light piece will be too obvious.

If it’s in a 3 1/4” width, I think those variations will blend more into the whole. Here’s a 3 1/4” width.

   

And for your option to chime in, here’s the Brazilian Koa, which I think is SO pretty and so “me”, but I know that my taste doesn’t necessarily sell a house… plus, I do really like the walnut…

   

So… what do you think??

Need Reader Help

Okay, I need your help.

We’re finishing the planning stages of the upstairs bedrooms and new blinds are part of that plan. My question is:

Should I paint the trim around the windows?

 

Pros:

It would give the rooms a fresh, clean look.

It would go better with the white 2” vinyl blinds that I like.

It would go better with the more contemporary style I’m going for in the remodel.

Cons:

Wood is easier to keep it looking clean.

Painting trim is more work than not painting trim.

This wood trim is ALL OVER THE HOUSE. If I paint these two rooms, where would it stop?

Would painted trim look okay with wood doors? Would I end up painting the doors?

I hope you can see my dilemma. Please help! I go in circles when I think about this and I’m getting dizzy!

Good Advice

My great friend, Rebecca, gives really good advice. Having recently done a big remodel on a 70s house bought from a member of the older generation, she had loads of good advice. But this tidbit is the most profound of all.

Remember that this is not your dream house.

She is so wise. This week, I had to give up on my dream of radiant floor heating throughout the house. *sigh*. I know some of you are saying, well, duh! But, I just really thought it could happen with us replacing the flooring anyway… but we finally got some real numbers and those, combined with the extra stuff we were thinking about (moving the basement arrangement, raising the door frames, re-ducting the A/C…), it just wasn’t feasible.

I’m pretty comfortable with it now. I’m no longer worried our renovations might price us out of our market. Plus, I’m comfortable with the skill level of all the DIY projects remaining. But, one day…

As a compromise, I will be getting radiant heat in the bathrooms (with those electrical pads that don’t raise the floor and look super easy to install!).

We’re almost done with the planning stages and might start on some demo upstairs soon… !!!

In the meantime, we’ve been renovating the greenhouse. We’re cleaning it out and preparing it to hold the potted plants for the winter. Rob also is figuring out how he wants to do the aquaponics (we plan to have a fish tank! – fresh fish, anyone?)

As part of that process, yesterday we did one of the more disgusting things either of us has ever done. In an effort to rid ourselves of the gross, yet effective composters – the maggots – we took on a daunting task.

We separated the worms from the maggots. Hands covered in muck, Rob imagined that this was one of those gross medieval era jobs – picking worms from the muck. It really wasn’t that bad until we got down to the details. Worried (and rightly so) that baby maggots would be impossible to separate without washing the worms, we each took a handful of worms and slowly and methodically rinsed them, picking out the clean worms and placing them in their new home.

It took about two hours.

Later that night, when I closed my eyes, the picture etched into my eyelids was that of a writhing ball of earthworms wriggling in my hand. I guess the experience was a little traumatizing…

You should be glad we didn’t take pictures.

But here’s one of our first ideas to separate the worms:

We thought if we put a handful of worms in water, they would swim to the top and we could easily transfer them cleanly.

They did not.

But hopefully now we’ll have a much more pleasant compost bin!