December 1, 2009

Under Construction...

I am living in a construction zone...literally!  I thought I would give you all a short update on what we are up to...or more like what many projects are going on.  I believe we have at least 5 projects at this moment.  You know how it goes, we have to take the base boards off to get to the flooring...insert *bright* idea, lets put bigger base boards back on.  Carpet comes up...well we might as well re-do the surround on the fireplace and I really don't like the mantel.  Do you see where I am going with this...one thing leads to the next...
 
I am very happy with the progress we are making and can't wait until I can finally start the real fun~Designing!!  I bought a mini-chandelier a week ago and just for fun took it out of the box to put all the bling of the many tiny little crystals on...I called my husband in to see the silly grin on my face, he thought I was a little wierd...I really was happy. I then hung it above me in front of the kitchen window and envisoned my little light of happiness above me while I looked out my window...*sigh*, so I then had to put it back away in a safe spot because at this very moment our home is..




I am debating if we should even pass out trick-or-treat candy tomorrow due to all the top kitchen cabinets that are sitting in the front room...hmm, thinking Mr. Wonderful can take our Ninja and Muscle Spiderman out and about in the
neighborhood, I will just keep the porch light off with all the good candy we have...what?...you know I was thinking of the kids, I don't want to scare those little goblins and ghosts at my house.  It doesn't quite resemble a home at the moment. They might think it is an abandoned haunted house.

As I said, "making some progress".  We still have yet to have the movers bring all of our things, we are literally still living out of our suitcases and thank goodness for air mattresses.  This is what DIY remodeling is all about...right? :)

So here are a couple of photos to show you what we have been up too.  I wasn't able to help the first week we were here due to me being sick...I do have Mr. Wonderful in action, so thankful for him! 

 I finally have been able to get my hands dirty and let me just say...I need a really good manicure after all of this!  I decided to tackle the kitchen while he is busy on the wall and fireplace in the livingroom/great room.

 Started taking off the tile, much harder than I had expected.  I tried to preserve the tile maybe to recycle it...but it did not want to come off in once piece!  So then got the hammer out and let me just say, something satisfying about smashing tile...anyways it took a couple of days for me to complete but I was happy to have done it mostly on my own.  Real women can do the hard work...remember we are no sissy girls, get in there and put some muscle to it.  Oh, did I mention my arms were sore the next day?

O.k. I said I was keeping this short so on to the photos...




Mr. Wonderful prepping for the ceiling to be scraped.


Using our paint sprayer he was able to wet the popcorn ceiling down to soften before he scraped it.


This is a tool designed for just this...it is a little harder to use.  Towards the end he used another tool that had a razor edge,
it worked better on the scraping.

Love this man!  Not only is his mind amazing, (he is a Computer Scientist)...he is a hard worker when it comes to manual labor!  I am sure he never dreamed he would be doing all this 10 yrs. ago before we married. He really loves me. ♥ ♥ ♥


We will have to rent some scaffalding to finish the top of the ceiling.  We will re-texturize the ceilings when we are all done scraping.




Had to share the first snow we had since we have been here.  I love having a deck to entertain on for the summer and can't wait to add a lot of love and work into our yard this spring.



This is part of the Living room that connects into the eat in kitchen.  When this was first built they made a cut out for the t.v. area.  I wanted to put my Armoire in this room but was worried that it wouldn't fit.  We decided to close the hole just big enough for built in shelves for our componets for the t.v. and will put a door over it with glass. Above the fireplace we are doing an insert that sits just inside the wall to mount our flat screen.  I then am going to make some kind of doors, art not sure exactly what yet to fit over it. 




Taking off the base boards.



Took the drywall mantel off. 
Will be adding a wood mantel and decorative surround.



Taking out the tile.



More popcorn ceiling removed...



So much better without it!


Framing added for the t.v. The surrounding drywall had to be sanded so when the new drywall is added it can adhere to the tape and mudding.
 
A peek at the travertine tile and glass accent tiles
that will be on the surround of the fireplace.



One of the wood accents that will be on the fireplace.



Here is part of the kitchen.  It is a little smaller than my old kitchen.  We are re-doing the flooring, change the island and cabinets will be painted.  I am doing beadboard for the backsplash and eventually will have stainless steel appliances.




The tile wasn't awful just not the look I wanted.  In our daughters room it had been a nursery.It has beadboard
around the whole room.  Luckily they didn't glue it to the
wall so I am recycling it and using it for the backsplash.




So happy that I can re-use this!


Because the drywall came out in pieces with the tile we had no choice but to cut out that area and will add new drywall here as well. I brought a piece of the beadboard down to give a little vision of how it will look in here...going to love it! 

So the deconstruction phase of a project is never the great part...it has to get bad before it get's better.  We are that much closer to having the shelving added in for the living room and should be able to start the drywall tomorrow.  I can't wait to eventually show you all the vision that is in my head for this home and seeing it come together is a great feeling!  Will post on progress as we get more done. 

I guess I can never do a very short post...


I am trying to get around and visit many of you.  Have tried not to spend too much time on the computer right now so work is getting done!  I think of you all often and am so grateful for all the love and support you give!  Thank you!  I hope your Halloween is filled with fun and saftey!


Hugs and love,

16 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness you have been so busy in your house. I was really thinking that the tile for the fireplace looked just fine until I saw your new alternative and wow oh wow I must say I am impressed. I feel inspired and cant wait to see your finished projects especially the fireplace. Have a blessed weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved seeing everything you guys are up to! We have a few popcorn ceilings too, and I LOATHE them. Your guy really must love you to do all the prep work and labor to get them down. (Love his shirt, btw...I come from an Air Force family) :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You and your husband are such hard workers! We have that popcorn on the ceiling and we're removing it a room at a time. What a mess!
    Can't wait to see the end result!
    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! I don't know if I could handle all those projects all at once. I can't wait to see your vision completed. Good luck getting through the demolition so you can get to the fun stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a lot of work! I can't wait to see it all finished, I bet it will be awesome.
    I want to redo our fireplace too and we have the built in's next to the fireplace as well...so, it needs some work! :)
    Good luck with all your projects, I look forward to seeing it all unfold.

    ReplyDelete
  6. looks fantastic! you need to be careful with the popcorn stuff some of it may contain toxins so he needs to wear a mask to not breath it in.

    LOVE the tile fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you everyone! It will be exciting to show the final result!

    G-Zell, good advice on the mask. He did actually have a respirator mask on for most of it, I just don't think I got a picture of him like that...he looked a little alien! lol. This house was built in 1998, so we are pretty sure there is no asbestos in the ceiling...but you can never be too sure of what other toxins are there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Girl, you ARE busy! The transformation is really coming along!! Kudos to your hubby for all the hard work he's doing!!

    Amy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yikes! You are going full steam ahead on all projects. I can't wait to see the transformation when everything is finished.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your house is looking
    MARVELOUS!!!! :)

    You are SO blessed!

    With Much Love & Hugs~ Miss Jen

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like you are making good progress. And it looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Victoria,
    Wow, I know scrapping popcorn from the ceilings is a lot of hard work, my husband and I have done this before, we had very sore necks and shoulders.
    Everything is coming along and soon you will be enjoying a cup of coco by the fireplace and looking all around your lovely home and smiling.
    Take care,
    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  13. ~WOW! You are so busy Victoria! It's going to be beautful.

    ~Blessings, ~Melissa :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks like you have a lot to do, but you've also gotten a lot done already! How exciting to be able to completely transform the space (and how nice that you and your husband are working as a team). Can't wait to see more of your progress!

    pk @ Room Remix

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Victoria--

    Haven't been here in awhile, and boy--look what I've missed! Looks like you've been really, really busy. I hope all goes well with your construction--it'll be fun to see what you do with all the wonderful materials you're showing us!

    Blessings on you. . . I hope all goes like you're hoping!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Trying to follow your blog again but the follower button won't take me anywhere.

    ReplyDelete

Hello Friends! I love to read your comments. Please share your sweet thoughts here...