NEW Old Doors

We just had another matching door installed on a pantry closet in the rear sun-room addition area of our house. The previous door that existed was removed early in the renovation of our house because it was just too caked with paint. It was also really heavy and cumbersome for the closet.

Anyway, this is an old door that is from the same house as the other one that went in our kitchen/entry area. It wasn't in as good condition as the other one, but with some Murphy's oil soap, and some stain touch-up it looks great now.






Here's a view of the other door as seen from the kitchen. I love how it looks with the color we chose for the kitchen. This door has a nice glossy finish on it, which is very pretty with the grain.




excuse all the clutter on our fridge! :)

Doors Are In!

Well, after an unfortunate mishap involving one of our beloved furry friends escaping, and going astray for 1 night, we are glad to have some new doors in our entryway...we weren't glad to have the doors at the expense of losing Tucker a.k.a. little Tyke, but thank heavens...he has returned home safely and we can appreciate that the work was completed by our contractor Barry.





Wow, whose house is this, again? Barry was able to pick up that antique door on the cheap for us, and it was just about a perfect fit. Looks like it's been there forever.

We now have a spacious storage closet, we can keep the kitty food in as well. 3 more doors to go on the 1st floor which is coming along nicely.

Kitchen Painted

Color is Cape Hatteras Sand by Benjamin Moore

Photos taken after the first coat. I still have a lot of touch-up work to do.


Well, my goal was to have the kitchen painted by the time we went to the Hessler Street fair this Saturday...and I met that goal! I began the following Monday after Mother's Day working to prepare the kitchen to be painted. That work included:

1. repairing damage from the electrican's work.
2. Spackling low areas in the wall & removing high areas lightly sanding
3. Sanding up the doorway trims to remove paint drips & slops, scraping peeling paint, applying peel stop, then wood putty in areas to be sanded.

Liam caulked the trims & baseboards.

Then, everything was sanded & then primed.

4. I stippled the ceiling. Liam helped paint the ceiling.

NEW RUG...

I'm very happy with this rug I won on eBay for $39 with free shipping. If you're from Cleveland, you would call this a "Marc's bargain!"...

No bungee cords, flashing hazards, 20 mph, flippin' birds, or honking necessary. It arrived quickly!

There are a lot of great rug deals to be had on there...antique and new-one of the advantages of this economy.

Finished Entryway!

The painting in our side entryway/mini foyer is just about finished. Here are some photos of the completed work. Liam is about to install the closet door. I have possibly 1 more coat to do on the red entry door.





















clickHEREfor BEFORE images.

Side Entry Update: Color

The color is Behr "Wild Honey" after 7 color samples. It appears a bit more gold than the photos suggest. It's a nice color for an entry. It will also go in the dining room.

These were taken after the first coat. I finished the 2nd coat today, and we have some more touching up to do tonight. It was quite a challenge for me to paint 9ft ceilings vaulted over stairs, so I need a lot of help from Liam. It's looking good though.

Cold Air Return Make-over

When we bought the house everything inside and out was either slopped with white paint or spray painted with white paint. It's still painful for me to remember the amount of paint that was on the hardwood floors after we tore up the carpet. It was ridiculous. I've never seen such idiocy, such disrespect!!!

Anyway, the cold air returns in the house were gunked up with peeling white spray paint, with big dried on drips in all the crevices. We even considered replacing them, not even sure what to do to make them look normal again. Then quickly realized that would cost about $400, but the cold air returns are very necessary and functional.

Well, with a little paint stripper, some tedious scraping, a light sanding, and a hosing down outside, the first cold air return was ready to be re-coated with a nice copper finish. You'd never know! The entire project only took a few hours over the course of a couple of days.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Side Entry Update: Flooring is in!

The slate vinyl flooring has been installed by our contractor Barry earlier in the week. It looks really nice! This is a moment that has been very long awaited.

This is Allure Trafficmaster. It's really durable and water resistent and looks really smooth. It was laid down right over the existing torn up vinyl tiles and you can't tell! It looks like it's the 1st flooring layer.



Side Entry as it is today. It has come a VERY long way. Right now we are finishing up the priming & the ceiling will be stippled and painted. The door is ready to be painted and all the hardware has been stripped and is ready to go back on the door. It's very close to being ready for the color to go on the walls!

Side Entry in 2008 right after we bought the house and tore out the plastic tile. [insert scream here]



Short re-cap of the work that's been done since February.

1. all new door casing to match original
2. door jamb repaired & dead-bolt installed & new glass window insert in door.
3. plaster walls refinished
4. wainscot installed
5. new flooring
6. wood putty repairs
7. everything being primed for paint

sampling colors:



I decided this dark, narrow space needs a nice light cheerful color to compliment it's amazing remodel. I wanted it to feel warm and inviting very unlike it did not so long ago...so I've decided on a color by Benjamin Moore called "Greenmount Silk" which is the furthest color to the right. It's a very soft golden cream.

Another Schoolhouse Light!

I won this schoolhouse light for $14 on eBay. This is original to a 1920s home from which it was taken out. It's a classic style milk glass globe in a flush mount. I love it! I can see why these are so loved. Aren't they kind of "cute"?...in an industrial kind of way. All I know is that I feel really attached to the thing when it comes out of the box...and that's not something I normally feel about light fixtures. :)

I think I'm going to give this one a new chrome or nickle finish. It will also need to be rewired with a new socket. (no big deal)



How many of these simple light fixtures have survived 80+ years? That's something I wonder.

1920s Schoolhouse light for kitchen!

I bought this beautiful antique art deco schoolhouse swag light on eBay for the winning bid of $15! I had my eye on a nice light like this for the kitchen for a few weeks now, but I was getting outbid on a lot of these. They've become really sought after. I almost didn't bid on this one. I'm so glad I did.

I also won another small flush mount schoolhouse light for $14 for the side entry!
(photos soon)











Look at the beautiful shape to this one. I love the ripples along the side and the button top. The brass ball is really unique as well. I have not seen another like this one. I would expect to pay at least $200 for this light at an antique store or architectural salvage. I think it's a great buy!

I can't wait to restore it and see it lit up! It'll need a new socket, rewiring, and maybe a new finish, although I hate to touch that gorgeous patina on the globe fitter. I may try to match it. I'll also shorten the chain.

Here is are some examples of these lights in kitchens today. (courtesy flickr, google, blogger, schoolhouse electric etc.)

Choosing Paint Colors!

I'm very excited to begin the process of choosing paint colors for the rest of the first floor. There is still alot of preparation & repair necessary before we will be able to paint much of the rooms, but choosing paint colors for the most important rooms in the house, deserves a head start!

Here are the colors that made the semi-finals so far.




Kitchen: Cape Hatteras Sand-Benjamin Moore



Diningroom leading to 'Card Room': Oklahoma Wheat-Behr & Weston Flax-Benjamin Moore



Dining Room: L to R-- Oklahoma Wheat-Behr & Weston Flax-Benjamin Moore

I am planning on sampling Windham Cream by BM although, I like the Weston Flax maybe 25% or 50% watered down. I'm aiming for a very soft warm muted yellow.



Side Entry/Foyer: Oklahoma Wheat-Behr & Weston Flax-Benjamin Moore



Living Room: Stone Harbor-Benjamin Moore...I love this color. I might test it at 25% lighter. It's definitly a rich color at night.



Living Room (beneath staircase): Stone Harbor/Cape Hatteras Sand-Benjamin Moore (I chose the Cape Hatteras in the kitchen instead)