The Latest Project: Garage

The old garage was taken down and a new one put up in 

about the same time as this slideshow. We're ready to landscape!

Kitchen floor installation

The goal was to never see this again...

In the end, based on durability, cost and looks, we opted for the Roppe rubber floor in 12" square tiles. The pattern we wanted was anti-pattern and we laid them out, switched stuff around, and switched them around again... you get the idea.

There were two layers of glue on the sub-floor making for hours and hours of chipping away at the stinky crud. We lived with the bare wood for quite a while.

And now for the island, under cab lighting, quarter round trim...

Some before and after shots

We've been gone for so long! A 28" tall addition to our family has been running the show here since April. We've just managed to get a few more things done as of this winter. For a little inspiration/ motivation here are some long overdue before and after shots. I'll return shortly to show more detailed shots of the rooms.

Dining Room

The bar is open, if only the ice maker in the fridge still worked. I guess only "neat" drinks will be served until I go to Menard's for a new water line. The dining room is just about done. The walls are painted in a pretty dark gray that changes from green to blue tones as the light changes. The ceiling is a minty color that reads as white next to the gray walls. Notice the floors, which have been refinished way back in September, are finally uncovered and cleaned.

Until we get a larger dining table we are using our old kitchen table. We do not have enough furniture to fill the house. Notice the various artworks that are out and hung. Very happy to see old friends and some new pieces that were never hung before. We've got quite a collection.

Looking towards the front door. The ceiling at the upper right was where the water damage was, It looks good now. Behind the curtains is a niche that holds two bookcases full of our ceramics and dishes. Everything is unpacked and ready for entertaining. To the left is towards the kitchen, bathroom, and library.

We also finished painting the hallway and foyer on the first floor. Heather picked out a lemon lime color that blends real nice with the room colors. This is our favorite vantage spot for now. As long as we look forward the house looks like a home, complete. There are more completed rooms to shoot; office/clean studio, our bedroom, and nursery. Soon, I promise.

Library/Guest Room

Finally, here is some "after" shots. This room is the spare bedroom on the first floor, which we are using as a library and guest room.

The wall of books give the room a nice vertical feeling. In lieu of real furniture, we have an air mattress for our first guest. This is the first time all of our books made it into one room. Art books meet literature and reference books.

Another wall of books shot. The door leads directly onto our deck in the back. I know the colors in these photos suck, but we've been so busy to even load up photo let alone color correct them.

What do you mean it's not a two flat?

If you remember, we almost didn't get this place because it was listed as a two flat when in fact it was zoned as a single family home. This second upstairs kitchen was a thorn in our side when it came to switching our mortgage to a single family. The lender was worried about us renting the upstairs when it was illegal so they insisted that the sellers remove the appliances and cap the water and gas lines in the wall. Above is the photo for craigslist. We were able to sell the cabinets to a young Mexican family for $25. A pretty good deal for both of us. We avoided dumping in a land fill and they get some sturdy solid wood cabinets.

What is left behind is old 50s plastic tile. The tile came off pretty easy but the mastic was a pain in the ass to remove. The mastic smelled like 50 dead horses were used to make it. I was able to save about half of the tiles. (Anybody need faux white marble tiles?) We spent a good two weeks in December knocking off the old tiles and mastic. I know we could have ripped the walls out and installed drywall. However, the plaster is in good shape and drywall costs money. Our labor is cheap.

Here I am in my "uniform"; khaki pants, gross White Sox hat, and respirator (more comfortable than a dust mask). The walls have been skim-coated and are ready to be primed. Now if we just knew what we were going to do with this room. Another bedroom, giant walk in closet, sauna (now I'm dreaming).

Boy in the bubble

Time to tackle the dining room. The last room in the house to have that dank, moldy smell. This time we thought we would install a zipper door to "try" to keep the construction dust out of the rest of the house. It did work to some degree.

The previous owners had installed faux tin ceiling tiles made out of paper. Not quite the pretty patina tin ceiling that we used to have in the storefront. A few weeks ago, I had removed one tile near the bay window to reveal some old water damage in the plaster ceiling. Of course we have to do it right so down comes the ugly paper tiles.

The tiles came down fairly easy. Leaving behind 80 or so brackets that were screwed into the ceiling. Which then left behind some good size holes, oh about 80 or so. The front (to the left in the photo) had some old water damage that we were able to knock off. It came off so well that we knocked off the two layers of old plaster down to the concrete base. We then spent last week building up the losses and skim-coating the entire ceiling. Two coats of primer, two coats of paint and the ceiling is done! The walls will follow in a few days. No more stinky smell. "After" photos to come soon!

p.s. bonus..reflected in the mirror is Heather at 30 weeks, ten weeks to go.