Kitchen Reno Construction Done - Finally! And - SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING!

Woop woop!  Hola everyone.

All the wood trim is up/completed, final layer of drywall mud sanded and the patches primed and ready to paint - done yesterday.

Now I have to get motivated to paint.  Sigh.  It's not fair, somehow -- when I had the energy to do all of this stuff I was working full-time plus running Goddesschess practically as a second full-time job after my day job, at night and on weekends.  Now that I'm retired and have the time, I don't have that energy.  LOL or cry.  I choose to laugh.

During all the frustration of the drywall patching/mudding/sanding/priming not cooperating and wood trim issues, I did a lot of online window shopping.  This wasn't part of the original plan but - oh well.  I bought a new table, four new chairs, a new area rug for underneath, and today I bought a new light fixture to go above the table.  Stop me now before I go bankrupt, please!

Actually, I scored amazing deals on everything, so I am very pleased.  I've no idea for the present what to do with my 56" monster round table that fit beautifully in the former Maison Newton but here it is too massive for the space.  Plus, I realized that I bought the set in 2001 - egoddess! - and while it is still in amazing condition, I've grown tired of the style and want something different, a little more modern/rustic-y mix, scaled down to better suit the size of this dining space and this home.

I managed to get the 4 chairs down to the basement rec room with rather surprising ease by sliding them backwards down the carpeted steps on their backs -- I know, sounds absolutely nutso but it WORKED!  They look gigantically large in the dropped ceiling room but at least they're out of the way until I figure out if I can sell them or give the set to one of my nieces or nephews, but the table is beyond me, too large and too heavy.  I am going to see if I can bribe my young neighbor's muscular hubby into getting he and one of his friends to take it apart and move it downstairs for me -- with baked goodies  Lots of baked goodies.  He's got a sweet-tooth :)

So, this is what things look like right now - a mess still but getting there!

Forgive the plastic sheeting stuffed under the table.  I need to shake it off outside and fold it - it's the heavy-duty kind and perfectly good and did not get too much drywall dust on it, so I'm saving it for painting projects.  Yes, I'm cheap frugal that way :)

Here is what is on the ceiling above the dining table at the moment:

It's humungous (nearly as large as the table!) and it's ugly.  This came out of my bedroom where it was either the fan or my campaign style canopy bed (the bed won) and was installed in the dinette in place of an even uglier but equally large fan when I moved in July two years ago.  I toyed with the idea of keeping a ceiling fan in the dinette for a long time, but in the end I decided nah, I just did not like anything I saw that combined a light with a ceiling fan.  And with central air, I don't really need it.

Now, let me warn you in advance.  I was thinking "buy something sleek and modern."  Something in chrome or polished nickel to go with the new hardware I bought for my cabinets (to be installed after cabinets are painted).  So, what did I do?  After days and days of looking and looking at dozens of different sites and dozens of websearches, TA DA!

Okay, take me out and shoot me now.  NOT MODERN, NOT CHROME OR POLISHED NICKEL.  NOT SLEEK.  It has CRYSTALS, for Pete's sake!  It is by Feiss and described as an "antique silver" candelabra chandelier, LOL!  The crystals are actually clear glass and smokey rock crystal - and only three arms.  It is 20" tall and 19" wide, so a little less wide than the up-to-22" that I was looking for.  But what can I say?  It was love at first sight.  Honestly.  One look and I was totally smitten.  And it could not be more different than the chandelier I had envisioned than how equally different it is from the clunky and too large ceiling fan light it will be replacing.

Cost (at DealYard): $59.95, no sales tax added and free shipping.  What's not to love about that?

New table:

This is by Powell, the Franklin dining table, 45" round with under-shelf, mixes oak wood veneer rustic finish and metal legs with nail-head trim around the table apron.  I won't have to hide an easily scratched MDF smooth table top with this baby and if I don't like the color I'll be able to easily whitewash the wood veneer.  Sort of rustic-chic/industrial.  Something I would never have considered back in 2001 for sure, LOL!  Maybe the style didn't even exist in 2001...

Cost (at Amazon): $213.30 (no sales tax added) and free shipping.  I'll still be able to comfortable seat 4.

New chairs:

This is the Redfield nailhead chair in "white rice paper" textured linen-look Poly blend in a sleek Parson's design, just under 41" tall, 20" seat height, 18.5" seat width.  Amazingly, these dimensions aren't that much different than my 2001 dining chairs, but they couldn't be more different in style and footprint.

Cost (from Wayfair):  $106.99 a pair (2 pair purchased) for a total of $213.98, no sales tax added and free shipping.

New area rug:

I was looking for a round rug and, true to form, ended up purchasing a square rug instead. New rug:

This is from the Amherst collection by Safavieh, indoor/outdoor in cream and light grey, 7 foot square.  I prefer to use indoor/outdoor rugs in this room because I use the side entrance off the driveway into the basement landing that houses the basement stairs and doorless entrance into this room.  It also opens through the slider to the patio.  So I'm constantly tracking stuff into this room, especially from the patio for most of three seasons.  The present rug is also indoor/outdoor and I love it for it's ease of care and hard-wearing nature.  This will give me a chance to swap out the look.  The square rug has a more "elegant" feel to its pattern, I think.

Cost (from Amazon):  $142.89 (including sales tax) and free shipping.

Total cost for room decor:  $630.12.

The new chairs arrived Tuesday evening via UPS.  I will attempt to put them together today :)

That's it for now.  I want to get cracking on this room because I haven't begun to decorate for Christmas.  Normally my tree would be up and fully decorated by now, eek!

Kitchen Reno: Into Week Three and Still Not Done!

ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

Drywall patching is a word that starts with B and rhymes with WITCH.  It seems the painter/drywaller brought in by my contractor to mud and prime the drywall patches  thought his job was finished after 3 coats of mud, a sanding and priming.

Not.

Divets and dings in mud not caused by anything I did, areas that clearly to my untrained eye need more mudding and uneven sanding to smooth out transitions between the existing drywall and new patches, as well as unresolved "waves" in the mudding (not sure how else to describe them and they don't photograph so I can show you clearly what I'm seeing) --

The whole job should have been completed the Friday before Thanksgiving week.  All the guys took off for deer hunting up north, the opening of gun hunting season in Wisconsin.  Guess it was too much to think the job should have been finished right BEFOREthe crew took off for deer hunting.  But not in Wisconsin.  Maybe not anywhere, LOL.  It's like a sacred ritual or something.

ANYWAY.  The following Monday contractor guy appears to begin re-installing woodwork and also trouble-shoot the problematic transition between dining area flooring and the living room carpet, at about 3/4ths inch different heights.  He had to create his own transition threshold to fill the opening created between the two spaces by the removal of the wall because it's so wide and that was the fastest solution to solving the problem.  It works - sort of.

I showed contractor guy the relatively few issues with the drywall and he said he would call the painter/drywaller guy, who was supposed to call me to check on whether I was satisfied with the job (he did not call).  Contractor guy agreed more mudding and sanding needed to be done, possibly another 2 or 3 coats.  Another week of work, depending on how quickly the mud coats dry.

Contractor guy arrives the next day to install more woodwork and also the completed custom threshold.  Guess what -- the new woodwork doesn't marry correctly with the existing old woodwork because the old woodwork is thicker.  I have to laugh, I can't cry about it!  So.  contractor guy says no problem, I will replace the rest of this (a long stretch down the hallway wall to the bathroom door) with new woodwork so it all blends in.

He also told me that he had spoken with the painter/drywall guy and that he - contractor guy - would be finishing the mudding/sanding as needed to make sure the patches look as good as we can get them.

So - I had my Thanksgiving in a torn-apart house that is STILL not finished after more than 3 weeks to close up one simple doorway opening and open one simple doorway between two rooms.  Bloody Damn Hell.  I could have done it myself with my bare hands in this amount of time.  My hands, nails, and some spit.

My custom for many years has been to put up my Christmas tree and start Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving weekend.  Not this year.  Today - November 29th, contractor guy got tied up on another job and was not able to come to finish.  And frankly, I doubt he will be able to finish for at least 2 more days.  He has to still sand what I hope was a final coat of drywall mud he put on yesterday and also finish installing all of the new woodwork trim.  Prime the sanded drywall patched areas and stain the new woodwork.  Rutsa ruck.

I shopped online until I dropped to spend some of my frustration over the past few weeks.  More on that in post above this one.

Kitchen Reno: End of Work Day 1

Holy Hathor!  So noisy!  But -- the guys made wonderful progress. [Day 1: Before]

All the wood trim on baseboards was removed and saved for re-use/patching as needed.

The electrical outlets that were going to be relocated were disconnected and moved; some openings in the subfloor had to be made to route the wiring, as well as accommodate the new location of the cold air return.

Wall between the living room and dining area was cut to the floor; framing reinforced.

Original entrance framed in.  Drywall up!

Tomorrow the painter/drywaller will arrive to put a first coat of mud on the drywall, and be back in the afternoon to apply a second coat (assuming the first coat dries).  Now I understand why the work is going to take all week - the mudding/sanding that needs to be done.  Didn't think about that before, duh!

Third coat of mud and possibly final sanding will be done on Wednesday.  No work scheduled for  Thursday.  Everything finished up on Friday, including patching floor, adding transition between the dining area and living room, trimming out the baseboards, and priming the drywall (I have paint matched to existing colors and will do that myself).

As with any remodeling, a few surprises were discovered, including a hidden junction box (code no-no) that was then disconnected and removed, and the fact that the prior owner added approximately 1/2" of height to the kitchen and dining area floor by adding a new layer of plywood over the prior floor surface before putting down the current flooring!  So my contractor is going to custom mill a transition threshold to fit the space between the dining area and the carpeted living room. That will stay in place until I replace the kitchen/dinette flooring and have the carpeting removed and hardwood floors refinished in the living room and hallway, the only areas where it remains on the main floor.

The guys are cleaning up right now (1:42 p.m.); they worked straight-through from 8:00 a.m.

I will give everything a wipe-down after I eat something - I'm starving!  More pics:

Height difference between kitchen floor (dark)
and living room (carpeted): 1/2 inch.  New
threshold will be sandwiched between and tapered.

I didn't do a thing and I'm exhausted - what's up with that?  LOL!

Kitchen Reno!!!

Hola everyone!  It has been a little while since I last posted, and I have been uber-busy with the garden, the yard, the Shezebo, the new privacy fence along the north lot line, and now, fall clean-up, which will end about next May.  And now, I am undertaking a reno project, my first - ever!

Ever since I moved into my retirement Maison Newton in July 2014, I've been wanting to open up the "window" that exists between the living room and my dinette area of the kitchen, and close off the existing doorway to the hall that leads to the bedrooms and bathroom. Closing off the existing doorway will give me room in the kitchen proper to slide my fridge over next to the existing cabinets and free-up space across from the peninsula and the dining area, while also giving me a more open traffic flow.

In the current arrangement the fridge is sitting in space that normally would be considered part of the dining area of the kitchen, and even though my fridge is Euro-style sleek, narrow and counter-depth it has always looked out of place to me, sort of stuck in a no-man's land between the kitchen and the dining area.  Here are some photos which show the less-than-optimum arrangement of the space:

Two of the identical floor-plan homes that I looked at before I bought this home had been remodeled so that the wall between dining area and living room was opened up and the former doorway to the kitchen off the hallway closed up.  The result was a modern-looking open space and flow between the kitchen/dinette and living room areas.  Here are a couple of photos of one of the houses where the wall was opened and how that looks:

And so, after much thinking about it and hemming/hawing, I decided to go ahead with a phased kitchen re-do that will, eventually, include a new countertop, new blacksplash, painted cabinets, new flooring, new cabinet hardware, and new light fixtures.  Eventually also a new range, dishwasher and microwave to go from black to stainless steel.

Phase I is opening up the wall between the dining area and living room and closing off the existing doorway.  The current "window" that is cut into the dinette/living room wall will be opened all the way to the floor and widened about 12 to 15 inches, depending upon stud location.  Today is the FIRST DAY!

Three guys are here and taped off the living spaces to contain the construction dust as much as possible, covered the carpeting with plastic and dropcloths; electrical outlets have already been moved and an inconveniently placed cold air return removed; they have also removed the woodwork in the construction area and have already cut the wall down to the floor!  Now they are working on relocating the electrical outlets.

Not sure how long they will be here today; originally the contractor told me they would be here all week, so I don't imagine they will be working 8-hour days for 5 days, not when the work is already progressing so quickly!

I am presently holed up in my den, which I somewhat cleaned up yesterday, knowing I would be working in here all week :)  It is amazing what an impending eviction from my dinette table (where I normally sit, looking out over my backyard through the patio doors) can do to motivate me to attack my messy den. It is now, at least, livable.  Eventually I will get around to finishing the taping I started in January (yes, in January), and repaint these dark and dreary walls!

Yellow Outdoor Coffee Table/Side Table Done!

Hola everyone!

It has been very hot and steamy here in my neck of SE Wisconsin the past week and I can only stand to work outdoors for so long before I have to run back inside to central AC.  You know you're getting old(er) when you feel like you can no longer survive the summers without it, geez!

But I finished the table, woo woo!  It took several coats of paint applied over several days, but I'm proud to say patience and waiting for each coat to dry thoroughly in the high humidity air paid off, for I've no runs or drips, which has to be a first for moi.

Inspiration tables:

The subject, before.

Coating with primer inside hot garage.

Finished product!  Three plus coats (2 cans) yellow spray
paint over 2 coats of primer to give me the glossy look
I wanted (sheds water really well, tested out last night
in a rain storm).  I added the little wheels so I can roll
the table wherever I need it and they've stayed on!

Inexpensive Patio Decor Ideas

Hola!  I've been scouting around the internet recently looking for inexpensive ideas to add some pizzazz to my patio and Shezebo.  I've come across some creative and easy (love easy) ideas:

In My Own Style showed me How To Make Inexpensive Wall Art using weather-resistant outdoor table cloths, foam, frames and a staple gun.  Gave me plenty of inspiration to wrap some colorful material (non-dye running material after my experience with the effects of a rain storm on my Indian table runner) around some foam board to mount on the side of my house with Command strips.

Credit:  Website, above, In My Own Style, Diane Henkler, May 30, 2012.

I'm absolutely obsessed with this idea from Ciera Design Studio, Backyard Tin Can Fence Garden, as I have a large expanse of fence  facing the concrete patio that could use a little dressing up:

Credit, website above.   Ciera Design Studio, Ciera Holzenthal, June 1, 2014.  

Ciera screwed her painted tin can planters directly to her wood fence, the easiest and most stable way to hang them, I'm thinking.  But I can also envision, for the crafty (not me, I'm not crafty at all), a series of different lengths of macrome'd pockets looped over the top pickets (or otherwise fastened to the fence) to hold the colorful painted tin cans

And, how about this for totally "on" the wall decor to appreciate at night:

Great Explorations Glow-in-the-Dark Star Explosion (Kohls, about $23 for 725 pieces, including sticky putty).  When I moved into the present Maison Newton (my retirement home), the two kids' rooms had these on their ceilings.  I did NOT take them down and toss them out.  I kept some up on the ceiling in the guest room, but removed them from the ceiling in my would-be den/library; however, I used several to decorate around the crown of my campaign-style poster bed (they help lull me to sleep as I catch glimpses of them subtly glowing in the dark), and I saved the rest.  I just dug them out!  I'll clean off some spots on my Shezebo frame, stick them up, and try them out.  If they work, I'll buy a box and go to down.  What girl doesn't like a little Moonglow and Starlight in her life?

Working on Shezebo Decor

Hola everyone!

I just realized that I never switched out my header from Christmas 2015, geez.  Well, a lot happened in between then and now, and blogging, frankly, has been non-existent or low priority until fairly recently.

Things are starting to get back to what passes for normal around here, so I will fix that - but the outside is calling...

Here are some photos of how my Shezebo looked on Saturday July 30 (after install) and Sunday July 31, with some furniture and accessories in it:

These are not the new lounge/stationary rocker chairs I purchased from Home Depot a few weeks back, they have yet to be assembled, they are old patio chairs I had at the former Maison Newton before I downsized to this current home in July 2014.  The andirondack chair is wood and has a lovely shabby chic look, 100% natural due to the paint wearing off after several seasons out in the weather.  I love that chair!  The tall back chair is plastic and the back adjusts backward/forward.  The tall back allows you to rest your head comfortably and it is perfect when you put your feet up to take a snooze on a long hot summer afternoon, especially now since I won't have to worry about a bug flying into my mouth while I'm sleeping inside my Shezebo :)

The chairs are now adorned with the cushions I purchased on sale from Home Decorators online (prior post for pics/details).  Like so many other things in my life, I waited far too long to enjoy the luxury of such cushions.  They are sooooo comfortable I just melt whenever I sit in one of the chairs.  I alternate sitting between them :)

They sit upon the primarily yellow textured indoor/outdoor rug I also purchased on sale at Home Decorators (prior post, Wharf area rug, for pic details).

There is a small white plastic side table that I've had for years, I don't remember where I bought it (maybe Menards one summer), a taller burnished metal side table next to the andirondack chair (purchased as part of a duo of tables at Menards many moons ago), and a bright turquoise plant stand topped by a large squirrel-decorated planter, both birthday gifts over the years from my buddy Ann.  They sometimes made appearances on the rickety old floating deck at the former Maison Newton.  Now the colors blend perfectly with what I've got going on, so happy to be able to put them on prominent Shezebo display.

Well, I know I didn't take any close-ups or take photos inside the Shezebo, so you really can't appreciate the details, but these show the general idea.

The footstool (one of two) is part of my purchase from Home Depot and has peacock/brown colored slipcovered cushions.  You can see a closer view of the upholstery here.

Okay, so since then, I came across some curtains at the Family Dollar store that had great colors in them, but I only bought two panels ($10 each) and decided I need to add a third, so I haven't taken any pics yet.

I also put up, and after a rain storm and blue dye all over the place, took down, a beautiful hand-embroidered glitzy Indian runner that I'd had pinned up across the top of one side of the Shezebo, because of its brilliant turquoise color.  I let it hang long enough to dry out the next day and the blue dye hosed off, fortunately.  I'm not sure if I will re-hang it, but if I do I will be sure to take it down whenever rain is threatened.

So that's it for now.  I gave the coffee table I'm going to put on casters and use in the Shezebo two coats of primer on Thursday; yesterday she got a coat of yellow paint on the frame I can reach from the outside; this morning, she got a coat of yellow paint on the frame I can reach by flipping her upside down.  I see where I missed a number of spots despite having the lights on in the garage and despite wearing my glasses.  Damn!  So I will recoat later today and then apply a second and - I hope - final coat of yellow early tomorrow a.m. after flipping the table back to its upside.  Then the adventure will begin of installing the casters, LOL.