Tag Archives: renovation

Hallway Update: I think I’m becoming a “pro”

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Time for a quick update.  And just so you know, the title is a bit sarcastic, but honestly I’m starting to feel like it’s only a matter of time before I put an ad in the paper for people to hire me to fix their sheetrock. I’m starting to like it that much. Is that weird?

After my last hallway post I casually mentioned to Richie that with the Thanksgiving holidays coming wouldn’t it be nice to get that paneling off the wall and some sheetrock up BEFORE his vacation starts.  It was a feeble attempt to coax him into doing ….

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Floating Away The Blues

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There’s this wall.  She’s kind of cool in an artsy, fun way.  Her maker had great ideas and good intentions.  She was well thought out and totally awesome in her day.  I love her but I had to let her go.  It’s okay, though… there’s a happy ending.

Finally a weekend to get back to work in the back “studio” of our house.  My goal was to work on this little corner of the hallway.  The picture above is what it looked like when we closed on the house.  I know it doesn’t look half bad but just trust me ….

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Office Party!

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I definitely think it’s true that “small” spaces are the hardest.  I know it seems like I’ve been working in the office for like FOR-EV-ER (gag me with a spoon). Honestly the truth is … I HAVE BEEN.  I’ve also been helping Richie with the staining of the outside siding.  Which is going fabulous by the way.

But lets wrap up this space before I stab myself with a pair of scissors.   I don’t know about you but when I’m done with a project I’m DONE with it.  Well, for a while at least.  Ha Ha!

The office is a tiny ….

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The Grass is Greener on the Sides

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Exterior House Stain - Cabot Foothill

The west and east sides of the house have been getting some much needed attention over the last two weeks and Richie continues to repair, caulk, sand, and paint the outside of the house.  He also managed to finish laying down the last of the sod needed to complete the yard.

Every do-it-yourselfer who is renovating their homes (or at least the ones I’ve had the privilege to meet) deals with time restraints, money issues, weather delays, and physical exhaustion.  All of which make doing projects in little blocks a necessity.  We got a great start to the outside of the ….

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Office Details – After Midnight

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Cork Board Circles

The work continues in our little office and I’m starting to see the finish line.   Although there are still many OFFICE posts to come and lots left to do… here’s some record keeping.

Over the weekend I decided to focus in on some little things that required some creativity.  Most of it I come up with around midnight when I’m trying to settle my brain down and get to sleep.  It rarely works because that’s usually the time I go crazy with thoughts regarding my next insane TIME SUCKING project.

So after many late night ideas this week I woke up ….

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Staying on Track

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WAC track head

We’re definitely staying on “track” in the back of the house as I continue to work on sheetrock, painting, and now installing the new track lighting that arrived recently.  The lighting in this space has been a long time coming… like so many things in this house.  Richie rewired this area allowing us to put lighting down the supporting beams of each room.  He also replaced all the outlets and switches.  I have a thing for white outlets.  They can’t be off white, or tan, or “ivory”.  They must be white.  It’s just a thing with me.  THANK ….

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A Workout

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It’s been so nice taking a much needed break from renovation work.  The holidays were very restful and Richie and I enjoyed our weeks off.  I’ve decided that I really would love to be a “stay-at-home” chick!  I won’t go into all of it because… well… it’s freakin’ OVER and without coming off as a grouch I’m happy it is.  The holidays stress us out and we are always happy to get through it.  (I know, I know.. cranky ass!)

With three weeks off during the holidays I found myself getting pretty bored near the end.  I’m use to going ….

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Architectural Pottery

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Architectural Pottery

It’s hard for me to envision a modern space without plants. When I think of the designs of famous architects like Neutra or Eichler, or modern day architects like Austin based Lake and Flato, it’s impossible to imagine these spaces without the beauty of architectural pottery.  Their simple, modern, clean lines, unspoiled by fluff or distractions make each plant that resides in them a little more spectacular.  An ornate or colorful pot just doesn’t seem to fit in a modern home.  These fit, these work, and it’s why I am so proud to have not one but three pieces of ….

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Lit Up!

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Just a quick post as I’ve been working … or rather “piddling” around the house… not really accomplishing too much. With school about to start it’s been pretty crazy for Richie as he switches gears from carpenter, painter, bed builder, and all around worker to “teacher”. It’s a bit of whiplash, but he accomplished a lot during the summer!

Work on the bedroom has been slow, as we’ve had to turn our attention to other things. When you’re working on a renovation and focused on getting things done, you tend to ignore things… so I had to address the “other” stuff. ….

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All this for a TV?

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Well, it’s still raining here in Texas, but at least not non-stop. We’re doing our best to work around the down pours.  It looks like the upcoming week shows some improvement and we’ll see the return of heat and humidity. Never thought I’d be so excited for the return of both!

I have been taking advantage of the fact that there is always an indoor project to do when the weather doesn’t cooperate. So LUCKY ME, I’ve been working on a portion of our media cabinet. Yes, aren’t you jealous?… I know you are. If dirty, messy, stinky, and sticky are ….

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“Who’ll Stop the Rain”

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mushrooms in yard

Credence Clearwater pondered it, Prince colored it purple, Adele set fire to it, Gene Kelly sang in it, Led Zepplin were fools in it, The Cure prayed for it, Husker Du stood in it, Willie Nelson saw blue eyes crying in it, The Jesus and Mary Chain were only happy when it happened, the Eurythmics let it fall on their heads, and Bob Dylan knew a hard rain’s gonna fall…….  but I’m just SICK OF IT!

My drive to work most days looks like this.

Every day for the last 12 days it has RAINED!  I know, I know, most of the country ….

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This, that, and a red arrow

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red sign arrow

Time to get back to business around here. Summer is in full swing and we’ve been a little crazy with house projects. With the heat so bad we try to have at least one outdoor project and one indoor project going so when it gets unbearable we can move inside to work. It’s going good but now we have crap scattered everywhere which tends to make me crazy. Oh well.. I’m just happy to be “doing”.

Our bedroom project is still going, but it’s mostly my fault for being slow and wanting everything just so. So this post is about the ….

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Autograph Doors

I believe our mid-century modern home is not only fun but also a little bit fun-ky. Which is one of the reasons we fought so hard to get this place. The Goode’s (previous owners and architect) were definitely a creative and very talented pair and they did some things to this house that made it really special. Some of the wonderful things about this house, for me, are the awesome door bell, the cool mail box, and the autograph doors as you enter the house.

Our mailbox is pretty fun, as it’s built into the fence that surrounds our house and ….

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Update: Bedroom Cabinet Refinishing

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Well there’s nothing like a quick little project to breeze through and spiff up your house is there? ….. unfortunately I know nothing about that idea.  Quick… NEVER, Easy… RARELY, Spiffed up… POSSIBLY!  Thank goodness for blogging because I had to go back to figure out when the heck I started this refinishing project…. turns out April 23rd! Good grief, I’m slow.  Okay so it only took me 6 weeks minus the two I couldn’t work … so 4 weeks!  It ain’t love but it ain’t bad!

I have a million pictures so please excuse all the visuals… ….

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She’s lovely… but she squeaks!

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Danze Parma

It’s always SOMETHING! I guess that comes with home ownership, doesn’t it? There’s always a “to do” list that seems to shrink and grow at the same time.
(add to list — Repair Shower Valve)

So here’s my lovely Danze shower valve with chrome trim. I love her. She batted her eyes at me online and said “buy me, I’m so simple and pretty, buy me”! I fell for it, she was mine. After glowing reviews and 5 stars a plenty… she arrived during our bathroom renovation and was installed end of 2010.

We really don’t use this bathroom much at all… so ….

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