New look for Area House

Here's the changing front of our house from summer to fall 2012.

First we got new roofing.  Then, as the stucco was a mess due to the removal of 3 layers of old roofing and several inches of caulk used by previous owners as roof flashing, we had the front stucco taken out and re-done with the addition of some tudor half-timber style trim.  We are half way through the change in paint color, but all the windows and the lower half of the house still need to be painted.  Until the weather gets warmer, we're going to have to live with the mishmash of two color schemes.

Kendra's mystery project

While I'm uploading photos from the past couple years' projects, here's a picture of my current mystery house project:

It has taken FOREVER and I should find out whether or not it worked just after the start of the new year...

Area Built-ins Recreated!

Holy cow! Yesterday our front room looked like this:



and today it looks like this:


Even though this project has been planned for years, I still can't believe the transformation!

When we first moved in, we knew there should probably be built-in cabinets between the living & dining rooms, and once we started stripping away the ubiquitous white paint, we discovered there had once been cabinets, and got an idea of what they had probably looked like.

We based the design on our neighbor's wonderful built-ins, and after years of watching the local craigslist and ebay, we finally found antique cabinet doors of the right size to use as a starting point.


We handed them off to Rick at Shadowhill Custom Wood, and I set out to sand and refinish the existing posts and beam, (and agonized over how to hide all the damaged wood on the left hand post-- ugh!!) so they would look ok with the new cabinets attached.

Here's the post with the worst damage and discoloration (just after I got it sanded):


Oh, and once I got the wood stained and varnished, it became apparent that it wasn't oak after all! So far the best guess is that it's all chestnut! (I'll someday get a slice under the microscope to tell for sure).



Meanwhile, Rick created the posts and cabinets in his shop, and yesterday Team Shadowhill got everything installed and made it look like it has been part of the house since the 1920's!

Here are a few photos of the installation process:








and a couple closeups of the finished cabinets, which let a lot of light through, and open to either side.




Here's the view from the dining room-- now a separate space from the living room & entranceway!


I have been informed that these cabinets have now upstaged our fireplace as the centerpiece of our house. :D

Area House gets New (Old) Chandelier

The generic brass-looking chandelier that came with our house has finally been replaced



I found this funky older one on craigslist for $35, cleaned it up and painted it...


... bought some mica shades from Rejuvenation...


...and I love it!


We're getting close to being able to install the re-created built-in-cabinets between the living & dining rooms, and I'm really relieved to have found a more suitable fixture to help set them off. :)

Progress made on area backyard

Here are a few photos of the small improvements we've made to the back yard this year-- bamboo screening, a new compost bin and stepping stones.

It might not look like much in the photos-- the green doesn't show up and it's hard to tell that there is a tree canopy above-- but we really enjoy watching birds in our tiny backyard woodland-garden, and fixing some of the more unsightly bits makes it a little easier on the eyes and more peaceful.

Before:


After this year's improvements:

FANCY NEW COMPOST BIN: I tried for 4 years to grow enough holly to hide the compost pile, but since that hasn't worked (and it was so difficult to turn the pile that we'd get behind and tree roots would grow up through it), I gave up and installed a better looking and MUCH more functional compost bin that I won't even try to hide. It should weather to the same color as the fence.

The old compost pile:

New double-bin with removable cedar slats in front:

BAMBOO SCREEN: I'm really excited to have the neighbor's ugly privacy-screen covered up with a more natural-looking material! We used a roll of tiki-bar-looking bamboo fencing and attached it to the neighbor's chain link fence with tiny zip ties. It should weather to the same color as the fence, as well.

Area husband helping to install bamboo screen:

Stay tuned for photos of our next big project-- attempting to re-create the missing built-in cabinets between our living and dining room...

Area Floors Finally Repaired!

Here's a quick picture post of the hardwood floors in our main rooms-- we intended to have this part done before we moved in 3 1/2 years ago, but better late than never!

Even after herculean efforts stripping off green paint, the living room floor was such a patchwork of previous owner asshattery that it couldn't be salvaged in situ.


Flooring torn out of living room, biggest holes in subflooring patched


Professionals laying new white oak flooring in living room (so Area Wife won't have the house taken apart for a year)




New living room floor abutting original dining room floor


A piece of the original white oak flooring from 1925


Fun pulling the nails out of all the old floorboards...


Some sanding, fruitwood stain and 3 coats of oil based polyurethane later, and the new living room floor is finished along with the original flooring in the dining room and hallway.

Quite a change from what it looked like when we first moved in, with laminate glued over the old painted flooring in the hallway, and cheap white carpeting hiding the rest of the mangled floors...


So the new wood doesn't take stain exactly like the 85 year old wood, but we're very pleased with the results. (Not to mention relieved to have it finally done!!!)




Closeup of transition to dining room floor-- the multi-clored boards at the top are the results of my feathering in old boards salvaged from the living room to patch a big hole from old ductwork in the dining room.


Here's the living room/hall transition


And here's all our furniture crammed into the office for 2 weeks!


Area kitty enjoying the new floor


Gratuitous picture of preying mantis eggsac affixed to a shrub in the back yard


Mom counting cross-stitches


Mom & dad trying out our favorite neighborhood walking trails

Area half-bath finally finished

Area house projects are finally getting some attention again now that I'm down to just one lab job. We just put the finishing touches on the half bath. We had to tear this room apart as part of a larger effort to get rid of a very bad smell, and decided along the way to give it a new look for all our troubles. Here are some photos:

THE NEW HALF BATH!


CLOSUP OF WALLPAPER MURAL-- FAKE WINDOW WITH VIEW OF THE NORTH WOODS


NEW SINK & SCONCES

AND HERE IT WAS BEFORE WE STARTED:

WITH FIXTURES TORN OUT

CHISELING OFF LAYERS OF PET-URINE-SOAKED FLOORING

REPLACING URINE-SOAKED ROTTEN SUBFLOORING

INSTALLING NEW OAK FLOORING

COBBLING TOGETHER WAINSCOTING

SANDING PAINT-STRIPPED DOOR


HANGING REFINISHED DOOR

I'm so relieved we have one room done!
...goes back to pulling furniture out of main rooms in preparation for the next big phase of floor refinishing...