Remodel Project #2 Update

 

 

The four pictures above where the pre-remodel project. 

One of the 4 upstairs bedrooms was small and had a wall and a half of oak bookshelves.  We kept three of the book shelves, painted them white and added crown molding.  This room is for our 7 year old soon who loves to display Legos, so you can never have too many shelves.  We also added beadboard and new carpet (not shown).  One of the other two bookshelves holds our ski's in the garage storage room, and the other sits in the upstairs landing (first picture).   

 One thing I can say, I am so happy the remodel is behind me.  The above picture shows where the addition is, over the existing third car garage stall.  We also added a boat/RV structure to the left of garage.

 This addition gave us a sitting room, huge new closet and boat and garage storage.

 
The project started in October, right around Halloween.  The workers where even at the house on Thanksgiving as we prepared our dinner.  My daughter Madeline and all time best helper, helped me make pies.

 

I bought the leaf shape cutter at William-Sonoma several years ago and absolutely love it for making fall pies.  I use Marie Calendar frozen crusts, then cut leaves out of the top crust.  we added some red and yellow food coloring to the unrolled pie crust to add a little fall color.  I also like to use cookie cutters for other times of the year, i.e. hearts at Valentine's and stars for July 4th.

This picture shows the boat garage as its going up.  One of the pains of remodeling is that you have to take down to put up.  There are always unforeseen problems and added expenses, like our situation where half of the stucco on the side of the house had to be redone.  The stone also had to be taken off and then redone.  Our project was a little tricky because they removed our cracked driveway plus all of the cement inside the garage.  We had hoped to avoid that, but the cement had settled and was on top of several feet of sand.  Because of delays, they didn't actually poor the driveway cement until January, on the coldest few days on record.  Unfortunately, I am not very happy with the finished product.

 All of the pumpkins (except the white and red ones) and squash were from our garden.  They lasted so long, that I finally had to throw them away for Christmas.  This year I haven't had such good luck with pumpkins, I only have one and it's still green.  For me, it was important to keep part of my life "normal" during the remodel.  I still decorated for the holidays even though many friends advised me not to.  There is so much chaos, it was nice to maintain some semblance of our usual life.

 Rear view of the remodel.  The second level is an extension of our bedroom, the first floor is a garage storage room.  We left the stucco and stone in that room to save on the expense of demolition.  I am grateful we did too, because our budget ran over by about $35,000.00.  So stressful!!

 Cheesy me presenting my pretty good looking turkey amid all the construction chaos.

 These next pictures are the before pictures, before demolition that is.  The above and below pictures show my old closet that has since become part of our master bathroom.

 This is a before photo of the bathroom.  This tub became a shower.  We kept the same paint color, Benjamin Moore's Shenandoah Taupe.

 This is a view from our bedroom into the bath/closet area.  We kept the same mantel, but painted it white and replaced the marble with brick.  There are openings on both sides of the fireplace into the addition, a sitting room with a double side fireplace.  My master bedroom is heaven!!  I feel very lucky to have it and grateful to my husband for putting up with me when he doesn't always see my vision.

 Demolition of the shower begins.  The boards (below) were put up to keep some of the cold at bay, since this part of construction happened the day after Thanksgiving.  Since this remodel mainly took place in our bedroom, we initially took over our son's room in the basement.  When the project ran much longer than we had anticipated, he got his room back and we moved into our daughter's bedroom upstairs.  That was one of the difficulties of remodeling--the displacement for the kids.  Thankfully this remodel did not prevent us from using the kitchen.  I think kitchens are the hardest remodels to live through, only seconded by bathrooms.

That's all for now.  I need to challenge my husband to a late night game of Scrabble.

This Week's Projects . . .

 Two or three years ago, we redid most of the landscaping in our yard.  Most of the change was necessitated by our addition and the ensuing destruction it reeked on our existing yard.  My neighbor had a tree, a Tri-Coloured Birch I believe is the name, that I loved and I really wanted to plant one in our yard. We already had beautiful big pine trees, I just wanted some spring and fall color.  The landscaper found a great tree and planted it in our front yard.  Unfortunately, the tree has not liked this past cold winter and extremely hot summer, especially since our front yard faces directly west.  The tree hasn't died, but it's definitely not thriving either.  I decided this week to plant another tree nearby to see if it would provide more protection from the sun.  Home Depot had several trees for sale for $24.99, so I felt like it was an investment that I can afford to fail if it doesn't prove to be a good decision.  So here's my little $25 dollar tree I planted.  I also love how beautiful the mums are out front.  Apparently, they don't mind the western exposure.

My second project I completed this week was my curtain project.  I bought this yellow and red toile on sale several years ago, and about 10 yards of the ticking stripe for $19.99 at Down East Home around the same time.  I finally decided it was time to put them to use.

It's a rainy day, so the picture doesn't show the curtains very well, but I think they will help protect the table from sun exposure and provide privacy in the evenings.  My husband and I watched the remake of "The Grudge" recently and I have wanted to put up curtains ever since.  (Yes, I know it isn't real, but still, a little disconcerting to feel like you're living in a fishbowl.)  I didn't use a pattern, so it was a bit tricky figuring them out.  Hopefully the two side panels will go more smoothly.  I broke two sewing machine needles in the past week trying to sew through these thick fabrics.  I also hope my inexpensive Target curtain rod will hold up to the weight of the curtains.  The things you learn, right?  I like the creative aspect of design much better than the actual work of it.  Oh well, I think they turned out all right.  After I finish the two side curtain panels, I'd like to recover the seats of the black chairs and make a bench cushion.  Time to work on these projects is the upside to all of my children being in full day school.

Another year, another furniture arrangement!

It has been another year, almost, and I am once again posting photos, this time of my fall decorating.  It strikes me as humorous that from year to year, the furniture is in different rooms.  No wonder I drive my poor husband crazy.  This set of pictures comes after our last and FINAL remodel (I hope), but does not include photos from our addition.  I will do that eventually.  I included so "get real" photos of the current state of my kitchen, because if I have to wait to do the dishes, I may never get around to posting.  So here goes, my fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations.  Yes, its only September 11th, but I couldn't resist!

 This first photo is in honor of September 11th.  My children's middle school had an impressive array of flags lining the road into school.  My children weren't clear on what 9/11 referred to, and I made the connection that the slogan "Never Forget" does not apply to them, because they were born in a post 9 /11 world.  That event has become history, something we cannot fail to teach to younger generations.  A very striking realization for me, because I remember that day so vividly.

 This room is caught in the middle of my summer decorating (Americana) and fall (background shelves).  I clearly have not gotten around to organizing my shelves, but that's what they actually look like right now.

 The mantel, done up with metallic pumpkins and rustic lanterns and clock.  The clock is one of my favorite finds from the Sundance store.  The lanterns are from Pier One.

 These two photos are details from my disorganized dining room and kitchen.  The "Eat" sign was a Sundance outlet store find, the colorful rug is from Pier One.  The dishes are left over from this morning!!  I decided to use a multi-color scheme for my dishes this fall.  I also recently refinished my copper sink using metallic spray paint and I think it worked out well.

View of the family room.  I am currently working on a curtain project for this room and the kitchen nook, but have not yet completed them.

When you walk through the door, Halloween is the definite theme.  The bench and mirror are from Pottery Barn.  The coatrack has become my favorite wreath hanger--I switch it up every season.

 The mantel in the living room (two-sided fireplace with our study).  Yes, that's a record player to the left.  The kids broke the lid so it won't close correctly, but listening to vinyl while playing a game of Scrabble is one of my favorite simple pleasures.

A favorite resource for inexpensive holiday dishes, for any holiday is Home Goods.  The space to the right is empty, waiting for my steal of a deal $20 wing back chair to come back from the reupholster.  My sister gave me fabric about 15 years ago that I have contemplated using to recover chairs, but I finally found the right piece.  I hope it works out.  I was pleased when the upholsterer said the springs were the "cadillac's of springs."  I bought the chair 7 or 8 years ago when a shop was going out of business for $20.  The fabric was not cute, but I'm so glad I kept it.  I hope it turns out well.

I should have turned some lights on for the photo, but you can see the basic set-up.  The coffee table is from Ballard Design, rug from Pier One, striped chairs recovered from my husband's grandparent's, the red chairs are from Grandinroad, the black hutch from Dixboro General Store in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  I love this room--so cozy!  Makes me happy.

Another shot of the living room with the piano in the background.  The pumpkin soup tureens are from Pier One several years ago.

The Architecture platter is from Fish Eddy in NYC, one of my favorite gifts from my hubby.

This red hutch was from a going out of business sale at Wood We Ever.  Love the color and dentil molding.

My favorite hutch from Dixboro General store.

 



The two photos below, are details from my living room.  The rustic cubbyhole piece (what do you call that thing?) is from Pottery Barn, the hurricane lanterns are from Sundance (only one pictured), the table runner and funky turkey are from Pier One.  This room is where we have our piano, and then a round coffee table surrounded by four chairs.  It has become our favorite spot to play Scrabble or card games, or just sit and read.  I had my large black hutch in this room, until a week ago, when I got the crazy notion that I wanted to put that piece in my kitchen.  It's no wonder I have back and knee problems, hefting huge pieces of furniture around.  My favorite furniture moving trick is folded up towels under the legs and wood floors to slide the furniture on.

 I am by no means an interior decorator, but rearranging furniture and decorating for the holidays makes me happy.  Personally, that's what I think our homes should be . . . a comfortable, welcoming place where we can gather family and friends and do the things that bring us joy.  I think I drive my in-laws crazy with all of the changes I make in my home, but it works for me!!  I absolutely love fall and look forward to mild weather and cozy nights at home!