Renovation Sensation

We've lived in our 1973 house now for five years and didn't start renovating until 2013.  This has been a busy year for removing textured popcorn ceilings, installing crown molding, and replacing dated carpet with hardwoods.  It's starting to come together!  Here's a shot of the family room.  I caulked dozens of cracks in the seams of this tongue in groove paneling and painted it Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore.

This is the living room.  The ceiling texture is gone and the crown molding is in.

Living room shot into the dining room.  I removed the texture myself in the dining room and skim coated a nasty texture off the walls.  It was more work than I could handle again, so my contractor handled the living and family rooms.

Back into the family room.  More pics of the after later when all furniture is moved in, but the white around the cutout is new and I ended up painting the doorway into the kitchen white, too.  This is not gorgeous 1921 wood I'm painting over, this is dated 1970's that needed some freshening up.

Here's the hickory wood waiting to be installed.

And some afters!  We need some furniture in here, but here's a shot of the living and dining rooms post hardwoods.  What a difference.  We didn't do this ourselves and I was amazed at the work that went into them.  I just had no idea.  Hickory wood with Minwax Jacobean stain cut by 25%.  The smell was horrible and it was a huge pain to work around, but it was worth it.

Family room shot post hardwood.

Another family room shot.  I have a lot of experience painting, but these walls were very time consuming.  It took me about 20 hours to complete.  I had never had baseboards in this room, and I love them.

Family room.

I love black and white with antique gold finishings.  I traded out a brushed nickel type finish for this pretty crystal door knob.

This door was stained dark and really beat up.  I painted it black.  The trim was also dark stained and that got fresh white.

Traded out the pulls on a built in cabinet for these pretties.

Dining room shot.  Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore on the top and Revere Pewter on the bottom.

This antique oil is from a shop in Kansas City that closed.  The soft colors really work in the dining room.  I'd love new dining room chairs - I need to move the old ones in from the garage.  We need a new couch and chairs, also, and I think I've finally decided on those after months of sourcing.  Next up, we are building out the attic space in this one and a half story home into a large home office for my husband, comic book writer, Jason Aaron.  This is the first time we've worked with an architect and the plans are fabulous.  I'm also dreaming of moving my dungeon studio out of the basement and over the unfinished space in the garage.  Sunlight??  In my workspace??  I can always dream.

Landscaping Clean Up

I've neglected posting my recent home improvement projects because the mosaics biz is so busy, but I did take some pictures of the landscaping today.  Before the gardener did her work, the landscaping was full of weeds and grass.  She did a great job shaping everything up, cutting in the ivy, and planting bushes.  Suburban Lawn and Garden planted a couple of trees for us today.  It's really nice to see it looking good again!  If you're in the Kansas City area, call Bev the Gardener at 816-807-1008.  We've already scheduled her for maintenance and are thinking of our next project(s)!

New pavers installed up the hose to match existing pavers.

Fire star hydrangea tree to replace a lilac tree we lost in a winter storm.

I'm loving the sharp cut in with the ivy along the walkways.

Almost There!

See the last post for before pics, but here are some afters of the foyer and upstairs hallway.  The molding isn't yet finished.  Someone is coming next week to caulk it all together and then another project will be complete!  Next up, the upstairs bathroom and of course, there is always more popcorn ceiling!

The moulding was a challenge because walls had been skim coated and the house has settled and bowed.  No square corners or level walls!

Upstairs hallway.  The walls are Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore and the ceilings are Edgecomb Gray.  Trim is White Dove.

Shot from the upstairs down to the foyer hallway.

I took these last night.

Repentant Magdalene.  Got it in 2003 at a Smithsonian museum gift shop while visiting my friend in DC!

 

More Projects

I needed a break after having the foyer tiled and the master bath redone last year.  Not sure I'm ready, yet, but more projects are scheduled to begin in a couple weeks.  First up, some popcorn removal and painting.  This is the upstairs hallway.  I've changed out the light fixtures and now there are big rings around the ceiling where the old ones were. 

 

 Some of it's even peeling off the ceiling.

 

 The yellowish beige paint in the hallway is getting a makeover.  Some shade of gray, I am sure.  Maybe the same Anonymous by Beher that's in the master bath.  The carpet on the stairs is on the list when I can get to it - hardwoods throughout, eventually!

The stairway merges into the foyer and is in for new paint.  The basketball size hole in the drywall is new.  My husband fell down the stairs and this is where his shoulder went.

I'd love to change out the metal banister and railing soon.

Another shot of the foyer.  This awful texture is getting smoothed out and painted.

This is gray, not blue like it looks here.

The upstairs bathroom needs a makeover and it's on the list for 2014/15.  Nice broken, plastic blinds!

Builders mirror.

Familiar shell sinks.

And of course, plenty of carpet.

We liked the toilet in the master bath so much, we put one up here and in the downstairs half bath.  The tile has got to go.

This shower curtain by Thomas Paul is the inspiration for the bathroom redo.  I'm still putting the pieces together on Pinterest.

 I'm already picking a few accessories, including this antique shell mirror.  I'm considering fixtures in brass.  Not shiny brass, but heavy looking ship brass that takes on a patina over time.  Not sure I can pull that together on a reasonable budget, but we shall see!

Master Bath Before and After

We hired Handyman Matters in Kansas City to remodel our master bath and they did a really nice job.  Here are some before pics:

And after.  My dream bathroom (within reason considering the space we had!). 

I wanted the soffit completely removed, but there's a pipe running through it to the bathroom upstairs.  The contractor shrunk it and put the sconces on it and I think it looks terrific.  The lighting is by Schoolhouse Electric.

New mirrors replace the one that was void of personality and took up the entire wall.

Crystal doorknobs from Locks and Pulls.

Penny hex tile with charcoal grout.  Love it!!!

We replaced the mirrored closet doors with these solid wood doors that were specially built by the contractor.

Kohler Memoirs.

Roman shade replaces the broken plastic blinds.

Cherub tile from International Materials of Design top off the subway tile.

Beautiful white subway tile with charcoal grout installed flawlessly.

New vanity with marble top and Moen faucets.

And this is the shower curtain I finally settled on.  This was the fourth one I bought.  My husband gives me total freedom with this stuff - he didn't know what anything looked like until it was installed.  However, when a ruffled shower curtain from Pottery Barn arrived one day, my heartily bearded, heartily tattooed husband said, "Oh, hell no."  So back it went.

I just love my new bathroom.  We have dozens of other projects to pull the house out of 1973, but the master bath was a great start and I enjoy it every single day.