The Dreaded Drywall

Well, FINALLY got the electric outlets in and working... special thanks to Mr. Wasdi for that. That meant it was time for drywall to go up... now remember, since ripping out the kitchen top cabinets, bottom cabinets, stove and dishwasher, there has basically been no kitchen and no walls for this kitchen for about 3 months now... that's a long time!

Arch was up for the challenge of working with drywall for the very first time and he did a spectacular job! Mudding wasn't really fun, either, but that got done as well...check out the work!

(Photos by Jan)

1/2 Bath Work

Started to work on the 1/2 bath a bit more steadily... cleaned-up the tile work (grouting still needs a bit of touch-up), painted a bit more and got the wainscoting up! Though it was a small room to work in, which took away much of fright, it was still challenging and at the same time rewarding. The work I did is not the most perfect looking, I'll admit, but it looks great and I learned a great deal. I'll be able to take what I learned with this project and apply it to projects to come... ahem! The kitchen...

The wainscoting I purchased from Lowes for, I believe, 9.99 a piece... the main part of it came in sheets about 40" or so long, already primed for paint. I then purchased wood pieces for the top and bottom moulding, which I had to prime myself. I then used extra bright white paint for the final coat and it turned out pretty nice.

The paint colors are both by Behr available through Home Depot.

Now, I'm working on smoothing out the "pot holes" in the drywall, with some mud and sanding... not fun, but necessary.

(Pics by Jan)

American Flag

Finally got the American flag hung-up, thanks to Arch... took a couple of tries and a few different screws, but we finally got it up there.

(Pic by Jan)

New Kitchen Window

I called Lowes on the 14th day exactly and it had been delivered to the store! Woo-hoo! Talk about a job... you think to change a window out: you remove the old, insert the new and enjoy! Not the case... it took a lot of care, thought, work, as well as multiple trips to Home Depot... thank goodness there's one literally down the street from the house.

A special thanks goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Haines who drove from their hometown of Staunton to help put in the new casement window. Thank you very much! This would not have happened without you guys... and of course, Arch.

(Photos by Jan)

1/2 Bath Project

With the floor pretty much cleaned up and level and since I'm waiting for the new kitchen window to be delivered, I thought it would be the perfect time to give a little TLC to the upstairs 1/2 bath. I don't know if I ever mentioned it in previous blogs, but I was thinking of putting a shower in the space by knocking out the wall into the closet in the nearby bedroom. I thought better of it though, thinking it might get too cramped. So, I'm going to keep it as a simple "powder room." I started off by vacuuming the floor, painting the window and door mouldings this beautiful "sea foam green" color by Behr (available at Home Depot :) ) and then began to lay the tile down... I can't really see it yet, but it's coming together...earlier today I ventured to the Restore in Alexandria and scored! I had been looking at some "Craftsman" style doors at Home Depot retailing at $350! I can't see myself paying that much for a front door (no matter how beautiful) in a home where I'm trying to incorporate "gently used" items, second hand items, etc. The door I snapped up was $25! All it's going to take is some sanding and some paint! Not a bad deal. Plus, I scored an 18" wide vanity for the upstairs 1/2 bath with sink... not a bad deal at a total of of $95!

(Photos by Jan)
Photos of the new front door and vanity to come in a later post.

Louvre Doors Learn a New Trick!

I was able to take my plain, previously painted white louvre doors to the pantry, sand them down, add some cool looking crystal knobs and turn them into something really special looking... "Look At Me!" is what the new color says...

(Photos by Jan)