Grape Did It

More renovation updates? Ok.

Remember this little project? It looked so pretty in that bottom picture that made it look like I'd just plunk those numbers on a pretty white plank and mount it next to the front door. How cute few-days-ago-Hope you were.

I tried using the hardware it came with but it was huge, unwieldy, cracked the wood, & plus was complicated for my non-detail oriented brain. 

So I used wood putty to fix it, sanded it down, re-painted it and went to the hardware store for better screws. 

Now I need to try & mount the numbers by drilling the screws in the back. Which only requires I get the holes perfectly lined up with the front. NBD. 

On an up note, the kitchen cabinets are installed & they are priming them today! Wahoo!

House numbers on our renovation

I'm in a bit of a hurry-up-and wait stage with the renovation right now. My contractor is busy building cabinets :) and so I'm working on little inside projects, mostly, tediously, painting and more painting. It's a small house, but by the time you add in the scraping and painting of doors, windows & molding, it seems endless. 

In the meantime, Bud is working on a railing for the front porch & we've been discussing what to do with an old door that leads to the kitchen. 

Next week I'll meet with a friend who has a landscaping company and she's agreed to help me with a plan for the front yard.

The only fun thing I can show you right now is this little house number project. I took two pieces of shiplap, used finishing nails to connect them, painted the board and got these cool looking numbers from Home Depot. Although similar in so many ways, Lowes and Home Depot differ enough that I've found I do have to ping pong between the two. Turns out Home Depot had much more attractive house numbers. If this board works out - I haven't attached the numbers yet and am traveling this week - I'll put the finished product next to the front door. I'm stoked, I think so far it looks pretty. 

Hope you're having a good week so far. xo

Renovation front door picture

For those of you not on instagram, here's a picture of the freshly painted front door + the Soot (Benjamin Moore see previous post) field color :)

I spent Saturday morning repainting the porch ceiling & will post a picture to that soon.

Happy Monday. 

xo

Updates on the renovation

The most exciting thing that happened at the Marling renovation this week was the exterior paint. I don't have a picture including the front door(s) - they were painted yesterday - but I can show you one exterior wall (above) and the paint colors.

I decided to go with Soot by Benjamin Moore for the outside. I don't love the tiles that comprise the outside of the house, so I went with something dark and something that will look crisp and clean next to the white trim.

I went with my gut on the front door(s) and ended up doing San Jose Blue, also by Benjamin Moore. I asked my painter to use the blue and cut it with white to paint the porch ceiling, but it is still way too bright, so I'm going to cut a gallon of white with just a bit of the blue and roll it again myself. The doors though, look so great :) (And if you're interested, the history of light blue porch ceilings).

I'm also almost done with the interior paint - mostly a creamy white with bright white for trim.

Proudest moment, and I totally put my arms in the air and yelled when I dropped this thing on the curb. Good thing you weren't there or I probably would've embarrassed you (looking at you, Georgia).

Plus, a picture of tearing out the original backsplash.

Happy Friday 

Marling renovation - kitchen

This picture, of this stunning kitchen by Emily Henderson, is all over the internet. So, no originality points there. But it is a lovely jumping off point & is helping inform my decisions with the - differently shaped - kitchen at our Marling (street name) renovation. 

In the end, I've had to make lots of compromises, mainly and most painfully, a farmhouse sink just wouldn't work in this kitchen. Because I'm trying to keep the renovation as cost-effective as possible - which also helps me to splurge here and there - I just couldn't risk having to remake the cabinets below. I'm doing a mixture of keeping the existing cabinetry, & adding new cabinetry on the other side of the kitchen.

This is the sink I bought. 

This faucet.

I'm not sure about the floor yet, but I think I'll use luxury vinyl tile in a light, ash color (the photo came from polyflor).

I will use this gorgeous paint color for the cabinets, it's called Wolf Gray and it's by Benjamin Moore. I'll make the cabinets look aesthetically similar by doing all new doors. 

Because this is a small house, the water heater & the washer/dryer all have to go into the kitchen. Luckily it's quite large and we'll be using the entire second side of the kitchen for cabinets that close in the washer/dryer, water heater, and even add a little storage & counter space.

My biggest splurge will be white quartz counter top. Although I love butcher block, it's specific to taste and I think quartz will set the kitchen above a bit. Image here and is, obviously, just an example. 

I'm going to use simple & classic subway tile for the backsplash, I'm just deciding between light or dark grout. All the appliances will be stainless.

I'm excited & will keep trying to post updates :)

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Professional before photos

I completely forgot to do the pro-pre-reno pictures! This will hopefully make the end result even more fun to look through. Here they are:

Next up I'll post some of the inspiration + materials I'm buying. xo

PS - I used Chuck Holden photography.

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A renovation update

I'm SO excited, the renovation is ticking along - the demo is mostly over so my role is smaller - buying supplies, making design decisions.

 

The shiplap in the bathroom is almost up, and my contractor has started the tile.

Here's the shiplap next to the tile.

And if you like the visuals, here's what it looked like before & during demo.

Happy Tuesday! I'm off to meet the HVAC guys. So not sexy, so necessary.

This is what happened yesterday

Remember this hallway with the huge hole in the floor and burned out furnace? 

Yesterday I got it fixed!

My hardwood guy - who was the nicest - ripped out that old furnace like it was no thing. Bam! Then he capped the gas line and began work.

Almost done...

I was so excited with the result.

Floors next to each other. The seam is tight which is great & I think once the old floors are sanded & all the floors are stained the same dark color it will look pretty natural. We shall see.

And then...best part. I was pulling nails out of the ceiling in the kitchen, using a step ladder, when the floor contractor asked if I didn't want to use contractor stilts. Did I? DID I?

Funnest way to rip out ceiling nails ever. 

xoxo

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A non-sexy before and after

These pictures of the stripping of the shower aren't exactly sexy but they do make me proud. Enjoy :)

Hauling that stuff out of the bathub was some of the hardest work I've ever done. 

A new project!

Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how long I have been dreaming about this...dream. Truett reminded me yesterday in the car that we'd been talking about it since he was three, at least, because he can remember joining in the conversation. So, almost five years? Like most dreams, for years it was nebulous and then, finally, about a year ago, I began searching in more earnest. 

So, without dragging this out any longer, I give you...my flip project! It's a small house located near where we are now - about a mile or so, as the crow flies, and it's cute, cute, but also kind of a disaster - you'll see. 

I'm vacillating between extreme excitement and extreme terror. I mean, no pressure! 

Here are my Before photos, but I will have someone come take more next week with a wide-angle lens. I figure we'll have some works in progress by then, but at least it will be mostly un-done. And then, when it's done (if it's ever done ;), I'll do the side-by-sides that are the most fun.

This is the front of the house, oddly the front door is around the corner on the side. It's common in the neighborhood, though.

Side of the house where the front door sits & the "back" kitchen door.

Huge backyard! Which...good, but, landscaping.

Living room, looking in.

Living room, looking out.

First bedroom (of two). Hard to tell here, but it's actually quite large and pretty.

Smaller bedroom. 

Small hallway where the living room, bedrooms, bathroom & kitchen all spoke out. Also, note the beautimus hole in the floor due to a furnace fire. Not only does that have to be fixed, but we have the pleasure of installing an HVAC. Note I said installing, because nothing exists. No duct work, nothing, nada, rien. Yay!

Here's another picture of the hole, in case you were wondering. Any idea how to get a super heavy, burned furnace out of a hole in a floor? Thanks.

Bathroom.

Shower.

Yucky bathroom floor. I've already peeled up two layers of linoleum. 

Kitchen looking in from the hallway.

If you take the picture above and imagine me turning to my right, this is your view.

Opposite side of kitchen. Check out that linoleum, it's a sexy beast.

This hole in the kitchen ceiling came free of charge. Also, it means the roof is rotted and we need new sheetrock. I'm being a lot sarcastic, but I actually do love this little house.

Lastly, my little helpers. Truett's mostly interested in smashing things, while June sweeps way before we're done messing up the room. I love it.