Monthly Archives: April 2012

Bathroom Remodel Part 1

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Although this house was technically “liveable” when we purchased it, the bathroom was one thing that I wanted to change before we moved in. And when I say change I mean completely overhaul! That room was Nasty with a capital “N”!

I made plans to remove and replace the toilet, remove the tub surround, install ceramic in shower area and add a new bathtub, paint the oak cabinetry, replace bathroom light and shower fan, add a contractor’s mirror with custom molding and shelving to cover the wall above the double sinks, and finally, remove the medicine cabinet and repair that alcove.

As always, once the demolition got under way we discovered tons of other little things that were added to my list.  I also learned that no matter how “fun” and “dynamic” the word demolition may sound, it is a slowwwwww job that can take all day. Especially if your tub surround is superglued and screwed into the wall.

Removing the ceiling wasn’t too hard. It only meant destroying most of the drywall behind the toilet in order to get it out. :/ The best part was removing the three wall pieces that created the surround.  I  have an awesomely hilarious video of my dad trying to pull the pieces out but alas, I am too cheap to upgragde to PRO wordpress so you won’t get the privilege of seeing it 😉 I wanted to donate the tub surround to Habitat for Humanity so removing all the pieces intact was really important to me. That meant that the demolition took a bit longer than usual.

Once we got all the fiberglass surround removed, the bathroom looked like this.

Raul wanted to keep the wall this way and go for the renovated New-York-City-warehouse-as-a-living-space vibe. Yeahhh..not so much.

The next part included removing the tub. And that’s when we realized just how un-square this bathroom was built. I say “built” because even settling issues can’t account for what we were dealing with here. Folks, please, PLEASE do us all a favor and for heaven’s sake GET OUT YOUR FREAKIN’ LEVEL!!  We ended up having to move an entire wall over to get the required 60″ for the new bathtub.  And in case you’re unaware 60″ is the bathroom gold standard. Not 58″. And especially not 58″ inches at the bottom and 61″ at the top! lol

Anyways, once we spent what felt like days moving everything around just to get another 2 inches of space, we were finally able to install my lovely new biscuit-colored tub on special at Menard’s!  I actually had a new, white bathtub before that which I had planned to use. I had got it free but it turned out to be the wrong side and so we made a trip to the big box store. I LOVE my new tub though. It is much more spacious and the color goes much better than white would have. As a bonus it has nice flowing lines that, I think, add to the vintage feel of the house as opposed to the straight, rigid lines of the white tub which would have given off a much more modern vibe.

After the tub was in we lined the walls with cement board (which is heavy as HELL for those of you who might wonder) to prepare for the installation of the ceramic tile.

The next step was picking out tile for the shower. I actually found the tile at Lowe’s and then happened upon a cool mosaic strip at Homessss Depot to break up the color. Here’s a picture to give you an idea of what kind of look we’re going for.

Check back next time to see us suffer putting these bad boys up!

HELP!!! Vote for the wallpaper that YOU like best!

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I think I am the world’s worst decision maker! No, but seriously. I have spent hours, days, WEEKS pouring over websites and wallpaper samples. Everything that I found was either the wrong color or ridiculously expensive (like $195.00 a roll expensive) Then, while purchasing some Benjamin Moore paint for the bathroom vanity today, I stumbled across some fabulous wallpaper books. First of all, let me preface this blog post by pointing out that this isn’t your grandma’s wallpaper. I am going for something textured and metallic. Something that will give the room a splash of style. Something that will bridge the gap between modern and vintage.  My plan is to find a great wallpaper to paste in the small nook wall behind the TV and also carry that wallpaper over to the dressing room.  Now, keep in mind that the bedroom walls are being painted dark gray, the furniture is cream colored, the woodwork is dark brown, there is reddish brown exposed brick to deal with, my accents are brushed nickel, and the flooring is long cream colored shag carpet. OH! and I also have to keep this room masculine enough so that Raul doesn’t run away screaming.  Friends, help me pick a wallpaper!!!!

Post your favorite in the comments section!! And  be quick about it, too! 20% off sale ends at Connolly’s on May 1st!

xo

It’s gettin’ hot in herrrrre

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Our house has one fireplace that originates in the livng room and extends all the way through the master bedroom, the 3rd floor attic space and out the roof.  The tiles on the fireplace are really cool. It is a purple and green marbled look that we used to establish the paint scheme for the whole downstairs. There is also a really cool covering on the fireplace which adds a unique vintage feel to the room.

The mantle definitely needs some work though.  There is a huge gap (about 1″) between the wall and the fireplace which needs covered by…something!

The chimney runs through what was originally a closet in the master bedroom.  We knocked out the walls of the closet to create a nook space for the TV and also for a built in dresser. Originally we had plans to create an “exposed chimney” look.  The chimney, however, had been covered with cement and plaster so it wasn’t looking too naked 😉

I had the brilliant idea to create the exposed look by covering the chimney with thin brick or z-brick and then adding mortar.  Alas, my plan was doomed from the start. I think I searched every home improvement and tile store in the city but no one had exactly what I was looking for.  Either the product didn’t exist or it was the wrong color or it was too..fake looking for fake bricks. I found dozens of sites online but the total cost was ridiculous, especially when I would request pricing for a mere 22 ft².

While sanding the inside of the nook on Saturday I noticed that a bit of the cement and plaster had chipped away from the bottom of the chimney. I thought I might just try to remove a bit of the material covering my chimney.  A few (hundred) hammer strokes later and I had myself an original, turn of the century, genuine exposed chimney in the master bedroom! The process was extremely messy, not to mention painful (I walked away with at least 4 blisters on my hands and a nose full of gray gook), but I did save myself a few hundred bucks so it was well worth it!

We cleaned the bricks with water and soap to get the dust off of them but it looks like we may need to apply a mild acid to restore them to their original color.

I love the finished look. It really will provide the inspiration for the design of the master bedroom. Check it out below!

It’s a great day for landscaping!

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Luckily, we are the kind of people that have friends in high places…and when I say high places I mean we know where to get a good landscaper….and lots of Mexicans to help 😉 We are SO thankful for Raul’s uncle, Francisco.  He has been the biggest help when it came to grading our front and back lawns and removing severals bushes, trees, and stumps.  He brought over a small dump truck and a Bobcat to assist with the job.  Here’s what we had to start with.

The front yard consisted of one dead tree, two tree stumps, and several clumps of ivy that seemed to invade everything! We also had to deal with several bricks and concrete blocks buried in the front yard and that awful looking bush by the front porch.  Luckily, we did manage to salvage several plants from the tangle of weeds along the front walk.

 

In the backyard my number one complaint is the lumpy…lack of grass. These two huge pine trees are preventing anything but vines from growing.  And these vines are atrocious! My mom and I spent a good afternoon yanking them off the garage, out of the ground, and down from the tree. They are everywhere! Also, some genius decided at some point it would be a good idea to pour concrete directly over the roots of these pine trees. Obviously he forgot to read Landscaping for Dummies.  Breaking up all that concrete and hauling it away was all the workout that we needed for one day!…make that one week! 😉

I honestly didn’t even know where to start to make this yard somewhere I could enjoy being outside. So I did what I always do when I don’t have a plan- I forgot about it entirely! I passed the job on to Raul. He gets to create something cool, I get to create something even cooler (inside) and we have one less fight! Yay! Winners all around!

He came up with a really cool design concept one day at work (ahem!).

Francisco came over the next weekend to help turn the design into a reality. The first step was to take out that awful bush and the dead tree. Then he had to dig out the two tree stumps and level out the yard to make it flat and the same height as our neighbor’s lawn.

Francisco used all the extra dirt to fill in on the side of the house (where we had water running into the basement due to a negative grade) and in the backyard.  Unfortunately one of the stumps was so big (about 6 ft in diameter) that it was impossible to dig it all out with the Bobcat.  Francisco suggested that instead of paying to have the whole stump removed we should build the area up and create a raised flower bed. Pretty colors and less money?! Sign me up!

So now we have a cool little rock and flower bed.  The crew transplanted a bunch of hosta plants to create a little background foliage for the flowers that we will eventually have…like next Spring.

Raul’s stepdad got to tilling the front yard and raking it to prepare for new grass seed and straw.  The best part of watching Beto run the tiller was seeing how much his cheeks jiggled with the movement of that machine. Raul’s mom and I stood for a long time at the living room window and observed. Learning through osmosis, you know 😉

The next, day Franciso tackled the back yard. He started by placing the dirt in a way to create a backyard with two levels.  Then he used the Bobcat to sort of cut out the circular shape that we wanted.

Then, we had to haul in the landscaping blocks. There were seriously like 90 of these things. And they weigh a ton! Okay, not literally. But they do weigh enough to make bending my arms the next day very, very painful.  The blocks were placed to create a half moon shape and make sure that the dirt did not slide forward or shift at all. After a bit more tilling and raking it started to look like a backyard again (backyardigan? LOL)

Francisco crafted some stairs out of the cement blocks that used to comprise the firepit.  I dig it! We tilled the backyard and added some grass seed and straw here, too! I think the results are amazing! I can’t wait until the grass grows.

The last step was cutting the bottom branches out of the pine trees which really helped to open up the space and allow some much needed sunshine to come in.  And that was a job for SuperDad! Raul talked to the neighbors to let them know we might have to go in to their backyard to remove the fallen pine branches. They were more than happy to oblige and even let us know that they have big plans for the landscaping on their house. They even asked if Francisco would be able to help them out, too! Score 1 for Francisco! And Score 2 for our escalating house value! Raul’s mom, Margarita, and his sister, Ivette, helped us gather up all the branches and save them for firewood or haul them away to be burned over at my parents’ house.

The next step is to bring small sized gravel to fill in the dirt areas and natural mulch to put around the trees. Hopefully we’ll get some more nice weather soon so we can get that done!

For now, we’re hoping for lots of sunshine and plenty of rain so that we can get some green back into our yard!

Even though there was tons to do outside, there was plenty of work for others to do inside…including making a delicious lunch (because the men would be worthless without it!)

My mom, Margarita, and Raul’s little brother Pavel all helped get the inside prepped for the next big project. And Blanca was there, too! She was just behind the camera! 😉 Thanks for the pics, Blanca!

What a productive weekend! Thanks for the help everyone! Y en especial muchsimas gracias a Pancho!!!!

Gettin’ down and dirrrrrrty

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This house being over a century old and all, I had guarded some hope of finding hidden treasure. Maybe a rare coin. A forgotten savings bond. A suitcase full of cash. Whatever.  So naturally, breaking down old walls and digging holes tends to make me a little excited. I hardly thought that the biggest treasure we would uncover would be in the master bedroom closet.

The bedroom has a little alcove off it that has some built in closet shelving and drawers.  There is even a cool old guide with rotating piece that directs men on how to pair a suit, tie, and shirt and make sure all three are color coordinated! 😉  However they are really old…and ugly. So out they had to come.

Phil and Tyler stopped by to help again with the demolition and with the aid of a couple hammers and crowbar we got down to work. Pretty soon the mirror and shelves were gone and we were left with just one drawer.  Phil dug in…and that’s when we struck big.

HIDDEN TREASURE!

Take a look at the surprise that we found.

What theeee….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of all the possible things I could possibly find, I find this!!! And there’s not even a pack of batteries included?!

LOL

Tyler wanted to know what all the commotion was about so we told him it was just a toothbrush case (good one, phildo)…obviously.

But let’s just put this into perspective. Before we purchased the house, a woman lived here alone…with just her 5 kids for company. And good lovin’ ain’t cheap 😉

Don’t worry, I put on my hazmat suit before I picked that up and put it in the trash.

With all the shelving removed my Mom and I got to start my least favorite job- removing all the nasty wallpaper.

Luckily, after 2 billion years of being glued to the wall, it was relatively easy to remove.

Now the walls will have to be washed with bleach water (notice the mold?) and then filled with mud and sanded (ugh, more sanding?!).  Then, we can lay a few 2×6’s and a sheet of plywood down in order to make a platform and transform this alcove into my dressing area.  I’ve already got a great 6′ mirror with antique detail that will be the centerpiece for the space and I spotted a great little chandelier for a reasonable price at Menard’s last night during an emergency trip to purchase a new bathtub. But, that, my friends, is a story for another time!

Have  a great Easter/Passover! XOXO

 

How to enlist FREE help!

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With a house this size and tons of work to do, we quickly realized that we needed to reach out to friends and family..and fast.  So what’s the easiest way to enlist FREE  help you ask? Why a great movie and dinner before the work starts! Oh, and beer! Lots of beer!

Our friends Phil and Sarah and also Jason (who drove all the way from Indianapolis woo hoo!!!) answered the call to arms and we turned Saturday into a day of destruction.  And by destruction I mean that we completely demolished several large burritos at Cebolla’s (mucho buenoooo) and even managed to take down a wall or two! Before all that though, we did make a 3 hour pit stop at the Rave to watch the Hunger Games, which I highly recommend…though the book is way better. It always is.  After that, it was time for a quick bite to eat at Cebolla’s to satisfy our favorite out-of-towner’s Mexican cravings and then we were on our way to the house for the grand tour.

Sarah had little Maliah in tow who is just the most adorable baby you ever did see and Phil brought his #1 helper, his son Tyler.  Jason must have misread the memo because he only brought canine reinforcements but little Bentley stayed out of the way and sunned on the porch all afternoon.

I was a little nervous about showing my friends the house.  Whenever I give someone the tour for the first time I find myself saying “This is the bedroom. I know it needs this and this and this and can you believe that they put that over there?! But just wait til we buy this and that. Then it will be fabulous!” I feel like I have to schmooze over the ugly, dirty parts of the house and make everyone see “The Vision ” (cue organ music now). It turns out there was no need for worrying. Everyone responded with enthusiasm.  They all loved the house just like we did.

Introductions over (house meet friends, friends meet house), it was time to get to work.  Phil, Tyler, Raul and my dad all headed up to the master bedroom with several sheets of drywall to begin hanging the new ceiling while my mom, Jason, and I began to paint the living room and entry way.  I had been debating for months on what I would paint this house.  Luckily, I found this great color pallette site on Pinterest and it helped me realize what kind of color vibe I was going for. Check out some of the color combinations that I played around with.

We ended up going with a neutral tan color for the living room which really helped bring out the awesome purple and green marble fire place.  The entry way and staircase were done in a light jade green which went we with the dark woodwork and made a great combination with the living room and fireplace.  With Jason and I rolling and my mom using a brush to cut in we had the job done in a couple of hours.

After we were finished, we headed upstairs to inspect the handiwork of the boys.  They had finished the ceiling rather quickly. Let it be known here that a drywall lift makes hanging a ceiling muuucchh easier.  Next came the part that Tyler had been begging for all day- breaking down the wall under the staircase and opening up a closet to make space for a built in dresser and TV nook.  Check out the story in pictures.

and VOILA!

Taking down the wall really opened up the space.  We closed off the staircase with a couple of pieces of drywall and also created an archway with some 2×4’s.  The chimney on the left hand side was mudded and painted over so I have ordered some brick veneer stone blocks to create the “exposed” chimney that I want…you all can keep a secret, riiiigghhtt? 😉

Here’s where we’re at with the project now.

Next step- sanding all that horrible, awful, no good mud!

Until next time…

The Master Plan

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So, what to do? Where to begin?

My goal is to complete all of the repairs and remodeling in the master bedroom and upstairs bathroom first. These are the two rooms that we absolutely have to update before I’m willing to spend the night…or shower at this house.

Take a look at what we’re working with.

Master BedroomMaster Bedroom

This room needs a ton of work.  The windows and flooring are original and beautiful but they have been neglected.  First things first, we must remove part of the flooring by the main window because it is buckling, probably due to some settling issues from the front porch and/or chimney.  I can’t decide if we will refinish these floors or cover with carpet.  We need to skim the ceiling with new drywall because it was damaged by water before and just looks…bumpy. Also, I am planning to open up a space under a staircase leading to the third story which will create a TV nook for us with exposed brick chimney. And, but of course, that closet space is getting an update! I plan to add a step-up to make a level differentiation for a dressing area as well as install custom closets and lighting. Oh, and paint. Can’t forget paint!

BathroomBathroom

The bathroom also needs a lot of work.  Both the tub/shower and the toilet are pretty skanky so they are getting replaced.  Lighting needs updated and new ceramic tile will be laid as well.  Paint will be updated and I will be putting in a new mirror and storage space above the counter.  I will probably keep the counter but update the vanity as the oak color really clashes with the rest of the woodwork in the house.  My dad thinks that there will probably some plumbing rerouting so hopefully we don’t get into anything too serious there.

Also, we plan to paint the downstairs minus the kitchen.  Right now this house is BRIGHT! Too bright for me. I mean, I love teal, in various shades, but not this much! With the help we are gonna have this weekend we hope to get a lot done! New pics coming soon!

Gettin’ all cleaned up!

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Before we could even begin to work on remodeling the house we had a lot of cleaning to do.  I mean like 20 years worth of cleaning.  This house has a way of accumulating possessions and not letting them go.  Besides months (maybe years?) of dust sitting in all the cracks of the woodwork (which literally fills EVERY room), there was also a huge basement AND a 3-car garage full to the brim with boxes, and furniture, and trash.  That’s a lot of stuff people!

It took us two whole days and a whole crew of family and friends to clean this place out.  Take a look at the garage.

And that was day 2!  Luckily, we found a lot of treasure amidst the trash. We were able to salvage some wood materials, three lawnmowers, an elliptical machine, tons of tools, and a sizeable scrap pile that we can use to offset some of our remodeling costs.

Cuz let me tell you people, remodeling is expen$ive!! Emphasis on the $$$!

And anyone who knows me, knows that I am a budget queen..well, let’s just call things by their real name. I am a 100% CONTROL FREAK! Especially when it comes to my pile of savings. lol

I budget down to the last penny. Really, you have to with a mortgage payment, utilities, food, gas and remodeling labor and materials on top of all that.

Luckily, we are using a reliable and affordable, not to mention extremely qualified contractor to help with the remodel- my DAD! 🙂  Check out his facebook page if you’re considering any kind of repair or remodel. The guy does it all, really.

Now that the house is cleared of all the clutter we can actually start to plan out how we are going to complete all of the repairs…and then after that…many, many, months away…comes the fun part- DECORATING!!!

Welcome to our World!!

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Writing a blog post really seems to fill your head with kitschy sayings, donchakno?! I’m trying to avoid all the overused one liners and catch phrases but I guess really I should just get on with it.

Meet…ME! Lyndsay, your fabulous blog hostess, writer extraordinaire, first time homeowner, and overall crazy woman (I mean, really, how could I not be to buy this hunking (honking?) piece of property that’s 101 years old!?).

Raul and I recently stepped into the world of home-owning. Hellloooooo stress (and goodbye money!). We are so totally in love with our home though, it’s disgusting.

We first found the house on a random drive through town that has only further reinforced by belief in destiny, fate, will of the Gods, whatever you wanna call it.  We had been admiring historic neighboorhoods for a couple of years and took time to bike through them during the warmer weekends so that we could admire them up close.  Last fall, on a whim, I asked Raul to drive through one of the neighboorhoods on the way home.  BAM! Open House 2-4! Jackpot, baby!

Me, being the timid little vixen that I am, chickened out and told Raul just to drive home (really, who gets intimidated by an open house!?) I quick googled the house when we got home and once I saw a couple photos of the inside I knew that we had to go back! In person, the house was breathtaking. Take a look at this entryway.

GAWGEOUS!!!!

The woodwork is so rich and suprisingly well cared for.

So anyways, we were basically sold from the moment our little feet crossed that threshold.  The house is about 2000 square feet, plenty of room for two people, especially two people who don’t always get along 😉

PLUS there was bonus space in a cool 3rd floor studio space with skylights and turret to boot! Our imaginations were fairly spinning!

I hem-hawed for a few weeks. That’s me. Trusty Taurus. Don’t ever rush me into any decision, especially when it means delving into my horde of money. 😉

Around Christmas time, this neighborhood puts on a Holiday Home Tour where the public can go check out about ten historic homes decked out in red and green splendor.  The residents were awesome and the vibe was just really cool. We knew we would fit right in.  I made an appointment with Greg Thomas of Ruoff Mortgage (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) the next week to have them assess my financial situation and see where I stood. It was the moment of truth.

Luckily the house was right in our price range. Having been pre-approved, we called Son Huynh, an absolutely AWESOME realtor with Coldwell Banker to help us navigate the purchasing of the home.  It was a long process with many steps, offers and counter-offers, and an interminable wait but Son got us the house, and for the right price, too!

Now, the remodeling process begins! Though the house is in sound condition there are a lot of repairs and updates that need to be done before we move in.  We are shooting for May 1st- but we’re willing to wait a little longer in order to complete the Master Bedroom repairs and Bathroom update before we move all of our belongings in.  Update on the remodeling process next time!

ADIOS! 🙂

-Lyndsay