I just needed to get my hands dirty!

S0 when you get to a point with house projects, where you are tired and need to take a break what do you do?  I think most normal people probably just do that - take a break, relax - rest. 

 I am clearly not normal.

You'd think that I could at least give it a rest while I was visiting my parents in NY, but ...no. 

For years now the 2nd floor bathroom in their beautiful 1940's home has bothered me. When my parents bought the home in the early 70's, they converted the unfinished attic space into 4 bedrooms for their 4 kids ( me included) 

There was a bathroom up there, but other than that it was one open space with one closet. 

While they were putting up walls and adding wiring, my Dad had the contractors tile over the asbestos tiles on the floor and wallpaper the cardboard (never meant to be permanent - just there to hold in insulation) walls. 

This bathroom always bothered me. 

I don't think that my Dad thought about the color of the tile. In fact - I know that he didn't because he is color blind. So the fleshy - taupe color that he allowed them to attach with mortar on to our floor , permanently- to be stared at for decades - was probably a pleasant soft gray through his eyes. 

It had to go. 

I knew better than to take on a major project right above their bedroom - so I decided to go with a quick fix. 

Bathroom renovation :

1940's house - bad 1970's upgrade - 2014 last ditch effort to see if it can possibly be cute. 

I should note...I forgot to take a true "before" shot. Once I had the go ahead from my Dad, I had to run with it, before he changed his mind. But, just so that you can get a good visual. The most recent wallpaper was a hunter green floral  - very Ralph Lauren 1985. Which was probably right around when it was last redone. 

This is the bathroom right after I had the green light to go ahead with the project. I could not wait to get that dark paper off the walls! They are so thin that just the removal process was hard on them. I had to layer on the primer to make them ready for paint. 

Another view - just after the paper came down. I love this old wall sink. 

Painted the ceiling, trim & top of the walls with this fun blue 

This shows a close up of the flesh colored tile that no one in their right mind would choose if they could see it. It's a terrible color to try to match. 

I decided to put up these 4" sheets of bead board to reinforce the cardboard walls.

It got a little bit tricky around the sink and behind the pipes! 

Trim to top the bead board 

Then it was time to tackle the floor! I found a primer that allows you to tile right on top of old tile. 

This stuff is like gritty thick paint. You have to let it dry for an hour, but no more than 24 - or you have to reapply, 

Not the neatest piece job on the panel here, but my plan was to get it all in place, and them caulk as needed before painting. 

Made my chalk lines & started in the center

adding grout

Almost done - missing about 1 cup of grout 

I found this glass shelf @ IKEA for $10. I think it adds just the right character for the age of the house

I have touch up and the finish grout to do on my next trip. Now maybe I can focus on my house again and get to work on some of my unfinished spaces! 

f

New house - Old charm

After neglecting my little house for months - I'm taking an hour to work on the garage. What could make my new house look more old & dated than good ol' peg board! 

This stuff soaks up primer like a sponge. Too bad for me that I didn't know about the pre-primed option - even worse for me that my husband did, so of course he now feels the need to harass me about my wasted effort for the $2 savings! 

Oh well.

It's been a while since I had primer in my hair - it was time. 

I'll let you know how it goes.

B

Baby steps - wipe your feet!

Back in July, at the end of a post about the driveway, I said...

"The walkway should be in by tomorrow" 

Well - had I known then what I know now, that would have read...

"The walkway should be in by 2014"

To be clear - I am not knocking my landscape designers & stone guys, they are awesome!

Julio Mojica with TerraForma has been wonderful to work with, and his design work is done by Brian, another great guy.  
These guys were referred to me by Meg Turner who has drawn up the whole long term plan for the yard for me. 

Check out her work - pretty incredible! 

mturnerlandscapes.com

I am a firm believer in a landscape plan. I love to plant and add variety here and there, but you have to have an idea of the over all scheme of what you are trying to accomplish with the plantings, or else it can be a lot of wasted effort. ( This coming from years of wasted effort experience!) 
The great thing about a master plan is that it is just a plan. 
I have not planted a single thing from the plan yet. 
Without the long term planting plan, I would not have known where to put the driveway, or the irrigation.  

This project took so long because at the last minute ( back in July) I decided that I wanted to add something of interest to the walkway. Originally I had thought brick, then later I was thinking slate. Neither of those seemed to have any character, and the exterior of the house is crying for some character! 

So I went on a hunt for a Mill stone. It took a while, and all of my searches were fruitless.
In the end it was Julio that found one for me. 

Here are the photos of the new walkway. I hope that you like it. I do. 

Patience - it's not for the weak

The trouble with getting things almost done is... then you really can go for a long time without finishing. After a while, no one really notices that there are light fixtures missing, or that the bathroom mirror is just propped up instead of hung on the wall, or .....
that the kitchen cabinets are simply empty frames waiting to be filled with something....anything....
Fine with me - as long as I did not have to give in to the builder's suggestion of going with clear glass, or ( Heaven forbid) traditional cabinet doors. 
No, no , no !
I'd rather go almost a year with empty frames - and act as though that is completely normal as friends come and go through the house - rather than succumb to the last minute selections pressure! 

I think these were worth waiting for. It was not my original plan - that was chicken wire - but, I've decided to save that for the Butler's pantry cabinets only. I like the mix of materials - it keeps the house feeling more casual. 

excuse the finger prints - just one more detail that keeps the - comfortable/casual/might possibly live in a barn with some animals that never ever wipe their hands before opening the fridge -  feel :) 

Surprisingly - this did not make the room much darker. I was really worried that it would take away the benefit of the cabinet lights, but it's fine. 

Thank goodness John is such a patient soul!

Add that to the very, very, long list of things that I am so thankful for, this week - and always! 
Happy Thanksgiving to you! 

B

One mans trash

Time to add some character...
My friend Kathie had a client ask if she could get rid of some furniture & some french doors. Knowing that I struggle with just throwing things away - and that I would rather pick them up, and deliver them to the re-store myself than have them go to waste, she called me. 
I was happy to drop off the perfectly good desk to be donated - but asked if she would not mind if I kept the doors.  She didn't care at all - as long as I got them out of the house. 
As I looked at them - an idea started forming...
Ever since the porch roof went on, and the driveway was completed, I have been thinking of ways to separate the two areas. So I thought that we would use the french doors to help with that.

I also thought it would be nice to block my view a bit ...

So, I recruited some helpers.

Now all I need is a rectangular concrete planter to put between the two doors - and a lattice with some vines climbing ....
I think I can really make that into a nice wall without blocking out the light. 
It already feels more comfortable back there - a bit less exposed, and more cozy. 

Driveway Decisions

I've really struggled with this for a while - we have had zero progress while I've mulled it over.

Over the years I have made the mistake too often of getting impatient and rushing to get something done - just to have something done. When it comes to the big decisions, the ones that your going to have to live with...I say, take the extra time. Although it does not really apply - I always think of my husband saying... " measure twice, cut once" - same idea though. If I rush to make a quick decision, ultimately, I will only make more work for myself.

The driveway needed to be addressed. Initially we waited, to make sure that the drainage was all working properly ( which it was not, so good thing we waited) - but now it is time. Between the crush & run gravel and the dirt from the baseball field across the street, I have a layer of silt coating everything in the house each tome someone opens the front door on a windy day.

So...

Idea #1 

Skip Laurels across the front to block the baseball dust and most of the gravel dust. This picture shows them lined up, but...

oops! - didn't buy enough, so I had to go to Charlottesville to get more from the greenhouse to match. ( so much for the entire first paragraph! You knew that sounded a bit too preachy right? Of course I had made a mistake - and made my project harder - that's why I was giving myself that lecture !!) 

The trouble is- as soon as I started putting the laurels in, it exaggerated the fact that the driveway was off center - which is fine...so am I , but it really does look like it should be centered. This led me down a different route - literally!

When we had designed the driveway originally the plan had called for cobblestone, but then we had waited because we did not want to spend the money- and now with the drainage issues and layout problems, I'm so glad that we did. After living with it for the better part of a year, we have a much better idea about how we use the driveway, how our guests park when they visit, etc. 

( I know - I jump from I to we all of the time , but its necessary, and too time consuming t worry about) 

You'd be surprised ( if you've never priced it) how much this adds to the price of a driveway. Once you know- you'll never look at cobble lined streets the same way again!

Rather than risk any further mishaps - and blunders, at this point I solicited the professional help of a landscape designer.
 Although she could not fit us in for a landscape plan until later this Summer, she was free to discuss the driveway- and at least make sure I did not go in the wrong direction. 

This was huge - because I do not have the vision to see where the trees & plants will be- and they do play a part in the design. 

She definitely thought that we should center the driveway, and create more parking options. 

So - the project has begun, and so far the progress is pretty exciting! 

Hopefully the walkway will be in by tomorrow - and I can add another update. It's nice to have some progress after such a long stretch! 

Have a great day.