Have any new project going? Planning on starting any? Let's share them when we take a break.
Holly and I are cleaning the bedroom that has been deemed as Jr's (he stays over the most). We have a new interlock oak floor to put down in there. She got a great deal on it while working at Lowes. Marked down and discounted it was like 40-50% off. We also plan to repaint the ceiling and portions of the wall that are not papered. We'd like to save the paper and with a little TLC, I believe we can. I also need to rebuild the light fixture on the ceiling fan, hopefully with LEDs or Halogens. Ric
New Projects in the Mid-Atlantic almost spring 2013
Here are a couple of before pics. The carpet was a short nap sand colored with darker colored flecks in it sort of like a beach, but over time has become stained beyond redemption. The oak and area rugs should be much more forgiving. Ric
I have a never ending project list LOL. My neighbor Mark joked one time that my list is so big, it had to be broken down in quandrants. Hmmmph....
Mike and I were talking on the drive home from Clarksville about motivating on the outstanding kitchen renovation projects. The first thing to tackle is getting the decorative ceiling panels up, so we can then put up the light fixtures. Only light in the kitchen right now is from the overhead fan hood and a floor lamp. Very dark at night - a lot of times I've resorted to a flashlight to see the microwave buttons!
Ceiling tile is meant to resemble old tin, but is made out of some kind of plastic. Here is a picture - bonus is one of the helleborus I got at the festival using the ceiling tile as a back drop.
I love those decorative metal ceilings, That should look grand in your kitchen, Ric
Actually got motivated YAY. Laying out the best positioning for this ceiling is the same as figuring out positioning for floor tile, just upside down. Doing the possible layout calculations is the most time consuming part of the the whole project. It is also the most frustrating because you just want to get started and see some progress. In our DIY efforts, the layouts are always my job. I spent about two hours measuring and calculating, and then we got started. Got the first row up from the room edge to the stove hood. Shouldn't be all that difficult from this point on. Taking a break for lunch and the start of the Daytona 500.
Here is a picture of the first row, and of the kitchen reno in general (featuring the island).
Wow, you go girl! Will check back at supper time for updates. Sometimes the hardest part is starting!
I have always been intriguedby those panels. Will you keep tours siver? I know they can be painted, too. I'd like to do a backsplash thing with them in my kitchen.
Aspen: It is going to look lovely!
I've been mulling about a good project for the spring -- some kind of hardscape thing for outside, but I haven't settled on what. I know I need to do some kind of irrigation system. One thing I definitely want to do at some point is an earth oven, like these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096798467X/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
Congratulations on the ceilling start. That is like another birthday present to have it underway! Such an awesome kitchen, and I know you put a huge amount of planning into each part of it. We've been fortunate enough to have seen it in person.
An earth oven sounds like a neat idea. What kind of things would you cook in it? The book cover mentions sourdough bread, but I bet there are many things that could be cooked in there.
Apparently it is good for pizza. I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, though! I hope we don't burn the place down with our efforts. Actually, it'll be "my" efforts, because no one else in the family is even remotely intrigued.
I do make sourdough, though, and have starter in the fridge....
Terri, Just love those counters. Looks like marble? Beautiful. I have seen those ceiling tiles that is going to look great when you get them up.
Happy, They were making wood fired pizzas at the Garden Expo and giving away samples. Boy they sure were good.
I love marble, but problematic for kitchen counters because of staining, etc... I found a granite that looks more like marble than what you think of when you think of classic granite. It is called White Fantasy (maybe a movie title for Tammy Park...)
Earth ovens and wood fired pizzas, sounds good to me!
Was told by a little birdie that there were some pictures here, so I had to come and take a look see. Ric, you and Holly put me to shame. I have commented to Holly on some other boards that the trips I have made to your house it is almost like paradise to me and most of it is due to the blood, sweat and tears that your efforts have produced. I am sure the finished bedroom will be to JR's liking for sure.
Terri, thanks for your pictures too. So glad that things are beginning to get done with your major project. I too have often eyed that tin looking covering and had the same thougt as Coleup about it making a nice backsplash.
Anyway.....our next major project....after just a few weeks ago having some one else do all the work, but we supplying the payment for a whole house generator to be installed. We ordered it in August and the company was this far behind due to the area having the week long power outage last summer than had many homeowners thinking along the same lines as ourselves....we don't want to do that again.....
The next major undertaking will be repainting the inside of the thankfully small house. I am making things easy and will go with one color for all the walls....leaning towards a very, very light green which seems to be popping up every where I look these days on decorating sites. Before the painting can begin I have lots of work to do again in terms of packing up china cabinets contents so the pieces can be moved away from the walls. Seems like only yesterday did I unpack their contents after they were packed up in order to have carpeting installed throughout the house.....good grief.....finally decided today that something has to give with my lovelies....they are becoming more work than they are worth it seems.
Thanks for starting this thread Ric, I look forward to hearing about other projects folks have going on too.
Ruby
Ruby: So nice to hear from you -- you've been quiet, which had me worrying a bit....
Doing okay here Happy. Hate to admit it but a lot of my current computer time is being spent on Pinterest.....oh my gosh....very addictive to me....anyway.....I just stopped in on another thread that I usually try to keep up with and remembered that there is another project that has been promised to take place here soon. Being someone who loves reading money saving tips I realized that most articles I have ever read begin with stating that a large energy waster, and money consumer is improper home insulation.
I finally had a contractor friend take a look at ours only to find out that what we currently have is only one third of what is suggested for attic insulation. We have the ply that usually goes in the walls of a home. Anyway....the insulation is rated and a 33 is what is suggested for attics and ours is currently 11. DUH!!! John wasn't thrilled to hear this news because of course he will be the one having to do the work to install it. Not sure when this project will be done but I will definitely check in with any progress that is made. I do know that the past few weeks we have been emptying the contents of things we have stored up there.
I know that I will forever be thought of as stink bug queen with you folks, but believe me.....those things are up there. I have been doing another declutter and can't tell you how many live stink bugs I have flushed recently. They do not freeze.....I read that they have a built in antifreeze something that allows them to live, so between the attic and the bins I have been going through from our storage shed, I have seen quite a few of the nasties recently.
All reports here are good Happy......just busy, busy.
Ruby
Terri, LOL
My Daughter Julie, Used that tin ceiling tile for the back splash in her house. I forgot all about it till you said something, Ruby. It looks very nice used that way, although I think it would be a pain to clean. She is a much better housekeeper than I am. LOL
Daughter Jen has a huge mess at her house. Big masonry job. I will get some pics and tell you all about it later.
I like certain shades of green.
I found a stink bug in the bedroom the other day.
What a difference additional insulation will make in your attic! We were amazed years ago when we(meaning Jeff) added some to our former house. We felt a difference the next day.
Looking forward to all progress pictures!
Ric, Mark'll have to get your flooring tips- we've been wanting to do the living room and hallway. I think you can now swap out the light kits on the ceiling fans- maybe?? We are looking at replacing bulbs here and there to save wattage.
Terri- thats a very nice tile pattern, will be awesome, you have excellent taste. What a view from your island (continent) to the woods- ahhhhh
happy- do you build that outside? (duh?) bet it would be cool.
Ruby- hello!
Mark went through Insulation Heck last year, it is NOT Fun At All, but we also knew our attic insulation was crap. We actually bought it all off craigslist, and hauled it home in the little pickup truck, couple -3 loads. The buying and getting was Kinda of fun for him. Well, way more fun than "corporate life"-
I will love your new paint, green is my color
; ^)
Final caulking going on in my kitchen backsplash , then Mark will do under cabinet LEDs. Then I need to decide on curtain. valance? kicthen and dining room. if I buy a new sewing machine I can make what I want, and cover up the crappy miniblinds, except for that small portion of the year when I actually lower them when the sun hits my eyes at daybreak..
Oh, today we ordered a set of carpet treads for the stairs inside- sisal fiber with black edging. Mark is concerned about slipping on the wood steps. They supply carpet tape, or you upgrade to stickier mesh, and stick them on.
Hall bath seriously in need of my new tile skills- or a complete overhaul. Also has a faucet waiting in the closet, to replace the cheapo drippy one on there now. Gawd if we ever lived in a house with not a single drippy finicky faucet...
Ruby--good to hear from you!
As a rule--I do not like green, except the shade that's called "sage". A mild sage
is very pretty. Painted my BR in pale sage--as well as my guest BR downstairs.
Green, like grass, UGH! of course--love it on my lawn! ...:o)
Look for "OOPS" paint at HD. Sometimes you can find a color that suits you.
Prices on "OOPS" paint: 1gal. $5--1 qt.--$2. All kinds of sample paints--the little jars--.50 cents.
Talking about my lawn--I need to put down the preemergent--as I had a lot of new crab grass
in the front last summer. Wherever that came from! However--the 5000 sq.ft. bag (Scotts) now costs $23.
The 15,000 is now $58. Good grief!
I may wait until it comes up and spray each clump with the weed killer that also kills crab grass....
Jan--I am sure I could use some more insulation in my attic--especially on the vertical, dividing studs.
it has all disintegrated and is dry and peeling away. It can be so hot up there--even with the all-house
exhaust fan running so much all summer. It is on a thermostat.
I wonder if I could just buy a couple of rolls and staple it to the studs? I have flooring up there--so that helps.
If money was no matter--there are many, many things that need to be done in my house.
And--not sure they will ever get done. Miss having a handyman around....too cheap to pay
all the prices contractors ask.
Not even going to get into what all needs help....Gita
You DO have to use caution on paint color. I usually have to go more grey or pale than I expect- because a tiny amount of pure color gets multiplied exponentially when its all over the walls. Hence, the sage green! My current kitchen is 'Baby sea turtle" bought as close match to the green that I did before- which was chosen after my 'first choice green' started going on the wall and looked gold to me!!!!
Sincerely,
She of the peachy pink (supposed to be terra cotta) bedroom
Ohhhh, the neverendingtodolist of homeowners. A sagey green is on the walls in this kitchen, too. It feels like a warm hug to me.
Holly changed our LR from pale blue to a pale green. The change was so subtle I think it still looks blue with the right light. Ric
We had always kept our house painted white white throughout.. until year before last when we had the hardwood flooring put in. Then we decided to go with something a bit "warmer", so we chose HD's "Natural Linen", which is an ever so pale pale beige. Just enough to look like there's colour there and give a bit of warmth, but not enough to make the small rooms look even smaller. I bet Gita knows of this "Natural Linen". ;)
Projects? Oh my yes!! Again, Gita is familiar with these as well.... I will not bore you with gory details, but we have done a few things lately, including finally cleaning up and organizing the basement. Pics 1 and 2 are "before", pics 3 and 4 are "after", respectively.
...then there's the kitchen, but that's another post. ;)
Wow, speedie, the shelves with the bins look super sensible -- and attractive!
and you can see what your looking for, Great job! Ric
All sensible and neat and organized credit goes to my beloved DH... 'cause quite frankly, I'm a slob! < =) (I will, however, take credit for being his Little Helper.) ;)
For now, we just have little note-pad sheets of paper taped to the front of each bin, with the contents written on them. (Copper Fittings, Batteries, Painting Supplies, etc), but when the new-fangled label maker gets here, it will be much prettier.
Next up, the kitchen.... ... the weather keeps working against us, and DH gets 'brilliant' last-minute ideas, so we have YET to get those cabinets... hopefully THIS weekend!!
We went from pics 1 and 2 (before), to pics 3 and 4 (after)...
So, where did those cabinets go? On the floor in the dining room, still holding some of their contents... neeeeed hutches for the dining room!!!
Speedie: I can tell how you got your name -- you and your DH can really move mountains!
Where did you get all those bins? The uniformity is terrific, but I know bins can get pricey.
The bins came from Costco, and they were perfectly strategically placed along the same aisle as the shelving units. (there's a smart person working somewhere at that store!) They were really not that expensive at all, though now I can't remember exactly what we paid for them. I think those smaller ones came in 10-packs (I think ) and were only like $16 per pack, the medium ones came in 6-packs and were the around the same price per pack, and the large ones came in 3-packs and were about $12 or so per pack. Somewhere right around there. We were prepared to spend some, so we weren't 'sticker-shocked'.
The nicest thing that we like about them is just what you said, the uniformity. =)
Speddie, Wow that all looks so good. Basement looks really nice, doesn't it feel good to have a neatly organized space? Wait till you get that label maker, I just love mine.
Kitchen looks wonderful. I noticed you lost the small cabinet between the fridge and stove with the larger fridge. Are you going to put something smaller in that space? I have a small thing that I picked up, stacked bins on wheels. All kinds of cute wooden shelves that could fit in that space. Really with your handy hubby, he could probably build you something.
I already suggested this to speedie--we have a L-O-N-G D-mail thread going.
I thought it would be a perfect place to build a narrow cabinet with vertical
supports and keep all the cookie sheets, big lids, cutting boards and the like there.
I think I got nixed.....G.
They do make a narrow cabinet for cookie sheets, and with only a foot or so you can't fit much else. A narrow cabinet will allow a smidge of counter on that side of the stove.
I really like that your storage area is so organized, and I agree that with the uniformity of the storage bins it looks so neat and tidy to boot.
I too am very impressed Speedie. Last year I purchased loads of bins but can't brag of their uniformity because I never bought enough originally and had to make return visits to the store where I was at the mercy of whatever they had on a particular day. I definitely have a mish mash of colors and designs. Problem currently is that the bins I feel I need to go through in order to see what items can leave the premises....such as in de-cluttering once again.....are packed behind bins that have been taken out recently. A girl friend is supposed to come at some point and help me work in storage shed so I can see what still needs to be gone through. John bowed out of working along side me for it because he said he knows we will have two dogs under foot, since they are both basically my shadows.....and he doesn't want to deal with them.
During my recent de-clutter I have been forced to organize most indoor spaces. You have to go through all the closets and cabinets in order to what things stored can go. I have done fairly well in terms of filling boxes for donation....and really haven't begun the storage shed where I feel there will be lots to go.
Gita, I love the sage too and that is in the running....or nearly the same color as our rooms will be. Ric, how funny.....we are changing out blue for green too. It won't be long before us gardeners are chatting about what we have going on outdoors....remember those days? hahaha One day last week John spent most of one day cutting back the dead stalks of two or three enormous Zebra plants. It filled the back of his pick up. He finally was able to also attack a nasty thorny sucker of some sort of honesuckle or something which had taken over one corner of our yard. I noticed it last year and fought it with all my might, but the vine won. Hopefully what he did will prevent it from getting in such a mess again.
I haven't ventured to our front beds yet but believe I will be having some Hardy Geraniums and maybe some Heucheras to share at the swap. We have an area with some things that will need to come up in order for us to battle a stand of sedge grass which has taken over. It requires some good old poisoning, so the current plants and bulbs will all need to come up temporarily.
Sally, you and Mark have really put in a lot of effort on the house the past little while too. I loved what I saw when there, so good work you two.
Keep up the good work everyone.
Ruby
Gita, I am ALL for your idea of the cabinet for vertical storage of my baking sheets etc.. will just have to try really hard to make The Boss see reason. < =D (reason = MY reason.. 'cause I am the one in there using the stuff!) < =D
Much to my surprise, our friend and neighbor came up last evening to install the back panel he made for the area of the kitchen that has the dishwasher and sink cabinet. The dishwasher is at the end of the counter, then a 45 degree angle for the sink, and then another 45 degree angle for the line of cabinets between the sink and the fridge. The dishwasher and sink jut out into the conservatory (i.e. no wall behind them). This back panel needed to be done before I could order the counter tops, and the counter tops need to be done before the sink can be installed LOL... Every step makes such a difference in the way the kitchen cosmetically looks too. PROGRESS YAY!!!
Speedie, talk him in to it - grin - I now have a cabinet with vertical slots above the microwave/wall oven/warming drawer combo cabinet. SO much easier getting to those things than when they were stacked on top of each other in a drawer.
Speedie, A narrow cabinet that rolls out can really make the most of a space esp. for canned goods, and would it be worthwhile to replace the overfridge cabinet? Ric
Speedie, I love that your kitchen upgrade matches your coffee maker!
I currently am on hold with many projects of my own here at home so hope no one minds if I add in to you alls! In that spirit...
Speedie,
1) I have found a vertical storage space as others have advocated to be very useful (My pots and pans no longer fit in my stove replacement either!) Like loading a dishwasher it takes a while to figure out the most workable fit.
2)My replacement fridge and replacement stove fit in my existing kitchen in the same arrangement as yours, with the same non-stock space to work with above and below. Also, my new to me fridge is out of scale ie 'sticks out' and if it were a shrub I would prune it back! So, you have a fume hood, some matching cabinets, some space to make workable and visually appealing and lots of creativity and a talented partner in crime with organized tools! hahaha
3)I've tried temporarily "installing" my assortment of undesignated placement matching cabinets and even used cardboard representations of cabinets to get a feel for the right combo. (I feel a bit like Happy's quest for the right plant for those irksome spots in her challenging landscape!)
4)My latest design extends the range hood from cabinet on right to fridge on left with a stainless steel faced panel that conceals the existing hood which I now don't need to relpace (yet). This did the most to scale in the fridge than any arrangement of cabinets. Since it made the stve area 'larger' than actual stove, my between stove and fridge counter top mimics stove surface or at present is a butcher block cut down from another project.
4)The back splash area, now 'larger' than the stove will (I am hoping) be the focal point and not my out of scale fridge!
Haven't found any pics exactly like I'm 'seeing' but here are two. I'll reserve my comments about over the fridge cabinets for another time, but a wine cooler or mini seed starting/plant space might be better choices! Just sayin...
second image won't load may try later
Coleup -- I'm sure your results will be better than mine on my awful front hill!
Terri, what a cool surprise for you! Got pictures!? < ;) We wanna seeeee!!! Isn't it amazing (and sometimes frustrating) how one step requires another, which requires another.. and so on? Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I just feel like we're taking steps backwards in order to move forward.
Ruby, HI!!! ((HUGGG!!)) If I had my drothers, my shelving would look just like yours... as it is, I'm sure it's MUCH worse. =) I have a tendency to NOT buy enough, then have to go back and buy more to supplement what I have... and they don't match. I just don't like to spend money. < =/ These ones tho... we had a clear idea that there should be ONE row of bins across the front, and that's IT. None "hiding" behind the front row, so nothing could get lost. If ya don't see it in the front row, it's not there, 'cause there ain't no more! =)
Judy, Hahahahaaa, that is so funny, I hadn't even noticed that the appliances match the coffee maker! < =D
I really really really do want a cabinet like that... or at the very least, one of those roll-out organizer-stand thingies for my baking sheets and slender items. (splatter screens included). The plan is to also get 2 hutches for the dining room, one for each corner of the far (exterior) wall. The trick, of course, is to find something to match the general decor, aka: NOT COUNTRY. (any ideas??) Behind the solid doors at the bottom of these imaginary hutches will be hidden my many larger cooking items, like crock pot and electric skillet et al. That will free up cabinet space that those things are currently inhabiting, so I'll have somewhere to put the pots and pans.
And the quest continues...
Tomorrow we will be putting in a dedicated outlet for the microwave to go above the range.
Ric, not bad ideas except we don't drink wine... or any other alcohol for that matter. < =/ (or, was it someone else who suggested the wine rack?)... But definitely it WILL be helpful to replace the cabinet above the fridge... gotta have somewhere for ... something.. ;) Maybe it can be just for stuff for Extra-Tall DH. < =)