It's In The Closet!

After priming everything the night before and allowing it to cure overnight, it was finally time for a fresh coat of paint!

There is very little a fresh coat of paint cannot fix. Seriously, it's addictive once you see how much of a difference just a fresh coat of color can make. It's one of the most inexpensive and rewarding little projects you can throw into your DIY project schedule.

The closet was no different!

After several coats of Benjamin Moore's Ultra Pure White and Valspar's 'Homestead Resort Sunwashed' for the walls, our dusty, musty, dingy, catch-all dump turned into a beautiful clean light and airy hall closet.

I'm also a real sucker for the contrast between shiny dark heart pine floors and bright white trim. It's straight out lick-able!

The shelves need some cute baskets, of course, but so far they have proven to be a very clever addition to the closet that was clearly needed. Much needed, of course, was also the decluttering, and the husband came and seeing the nice new inside of the closet, decided to straighten out how brewing equipment on the top shelf. LOVE!
Of course we finished this project at the end of jacket season here in North East Florida but come winter, we are actually going to have a closet for our guests to hang their coats without shame burning our cheeks. Ha!

Shelf Life

In order to facilitate more organized cramming, I decided the closet needed shelves. One third of the closet extends to the left side of its door forming a nook that would be just perfect for some quick shelves.

Luckily, we also have plenty of pieces of wood kicking around the house and finding two pieces to fit the space was a piece of cake.

I decided to take my new toy - a Kregg jig Jr. -for a spin and use pocket holes to secure the shelves to the walls. What can I say - I LOVE that thing!

Pocket holes are no longer a fantasy. You know, like unicorns and garden gnomes!

I used drywall anchors for my screws and then screwed the shelf boards into the nook on the left side of the closet.

Then it was time for primer on door, shelves and trim. I love how even the splotchy coat of primer gives you an idea of beautiful crisp, clean things to come!

Coming Out Of The Closet

One of the not original to the house features we deliberately kept was the big hulk of a closet in the bedroom turned downstair's entrance hall/vestibule. Storage space in an old house is limited - people back then just didn't keep that much stuff as we do today - and I was loathe to loose it.

Instead I painted the door and trim white, labeled it so nobody would accidentally try this door in their search for the bathroom and called it a day.

Well, we didn't really call it a day. We stuffed it every day. Our beautiful big hallway closet became a catch-all including the last unpacked box from our move two years ago. Now I'm coming clean and out of the closet (well, there's really no way you could go -into- the closet, it's just that stuffed!).

Sorry, Mom! Camping gear, coats, costumes, sports gear, mail, boxes, bags over bags (empty), helmets, shoes, the husband's brewing equipment - everything was just crammed into it.

So, the first order of business was pulling EVERY.THING. out of the closet and sorting it into the three famous categories "For Keeps", "Donate", and "Trash." For a while the entry hall looked mighty exploded but ... it always looks worse, before it gets better.

Trying It On For Size

Back into the kitchen for a quick peek:

The other day, on a trip to the orange box, I was browsing the tile selection checking out possible options for a backsplash tile that would meet our odd requirement of being less than average tile thickness to work with the reduced relief of our window trim (I shared my backsplash blues with you here) when I was approached by a helpful employee.

I explained my dilemma to him, told him I'd looked at a few glass chip tiles, and after some nodding and chin rubbing, he suggested I looked at those new ekbinnovation stick'n peel tiles they just added to their inventory.

Stick'n peel? Gaaaah ...I had to suppress an involuntary shudder at the sound of that (there are some gel stick'n peel tiles on the market that are touted as the quick cheap fix). He was clearly amused by my reluctance but suggested I gave them a quick look after all.

I'm glad I did!

They had two different types on display: stainless steel tiles (no need for grout) and clear glass tiles (need to be grouted). No cheap gel! And I actually liked the glass mosaic tile quite a bit, so I brought one sheet home.

They are sold just like mosaic tiles in 12x12 inch sheets and cost around $10/sheet. They are mounted to a sticky backing which eliminates the need for thinset which would save us a few precious millimeters in the installation.

 

We lined it up with the window to see how it would fit , and this could actually work!

I like the crisp white backdrop and the glossy glass finish. On top of that, glass is easy to clean and to keep clean, and I wouldn't have to worry about using a cleaner that ruins the mother of pearl finish/marble/natural stone of the backsplash. No stainless steel backsplash for us though - while it looks stunning in other kitchens and we do have all stainless steel appliances, we feel it clashes with the warm wood tones of our butcher block counter tops.

Not bad, not bad at all. We are not quite ready to pull the trigger yet (mainly because my head is all wrapped up in blue paint chips and paint decks right now) but this is a very strong contender.

Have you tried a stick'n peel product and really liked it? Would you try a peel'n stick tile? Thoughts? Comments? Buehler?

Coming Clean!

Taking a shower is such a modern convenience it's hard to imagine a time when all you did was wash up and every once in a while take a bath. Living in an older house you are, however, reminded of this time. Clawfoot tubs are great for taking a hot bath, especially the cast iron tubs that stay hot forever as soon as the water has heated up the cast iron. That taking an actual shower came as an after thought you can easily tell by the awkward curtain rigs and contraptions holding a handheld shower up or extensions to create a shower 'spout' -they are not the prettiest things to look at, especially if the tub is somewhat freestanding (it's not quite to out of place if the tub is tucked into a corner).

When we turned the upstair's kitchen into our master bath one of the must-haves was a clawfoot tub - you clearly can't have a historic home without one! - and we scored an amazing deal on a beautiful acrylic tub with gorgeous chrome feet (more about that here).
All the looks but none of the weight!

Except, no way to shower. After much hemming and hawing we finally discovered the Kvartal curtain track system at IKEA and decided that that might be the best "out of the way/sight" option to add some shower curtains to our bath tub.

The KVARTAL system offers two attachment options: wall-mounted and ceiling mounted. We bought all the pieces to create a 5'x 3.5' large rectangular track system to hang right above our tub. Little Man and husband had a great time putting it together!

We decided for a set-up that is much wider than our tub because after installing the curved shower rod in our hall bathroom we had learned to appreciate the extra elbow space.

No more cold shower curtains sticking to your wet skin!

You definitely need two people to hang the curtain track from the ceiling (one holding, the other marking and drilling and screwing) but in the end the whole project was rather straightforward and simple.

And we now have shower curtains! I picked these up at Wally World months ago because the color scheme matches the ongoing theme in bedroom, dressing room and bath room just perfectly. It really picks up on the seaglass colored ceiling and ties it all together.

I hope they are still selling them because while I bought two, having another one for more overlap would be even better.

[Binky photobombing]

My "Three of Three" for our master bathroom are coming along nicely:

1. Update ceiling light
2. Install shower curtain
3. Create shelving in closet

Now all that's left to do is tackle the closet, frame out a separation and install shelves and I get to check off this room! Woot!

I took me three rooms to notice a certain ...ahem, trend, though: As you can see, the third project on each room's list so far has been the one that is the most involved and will take the longest.So in order to keep this blog hopping, I'll have to continue my room hopping as well.

Let the madness continue!

Let There Be Light!

The husband is switching positions within the company, and thought it would be a good time to take a few days off between taking off one hat and putting on another.

I was being a good wife and did not prepare a "honey-do" list for him but instead let him enjoy sleeping in, a cup of coffee with the morning paper and all the oodling about he could possibly squeeze into the day while I was at work and Little Man at school.
Yes, it was hard.
Yes, I was twitching on the inside biting back 'helpful suggestions' regarding things I'd like to see done that week.
Man, it was hard!

On the other hand, it was all the more rewarding to come home from work to discover he had tackled a project while I wasn't supervising and ...ahem, delegating!

It's a ceiling light! In the master bathroom! I'd picked up another ALÄNG ceiling light fixture at IKEA during my weekend in Tampa a few weeks ago. We liked the look of the smaller fixture we installed in the dressing room so much and thought it would also go beautifully with the texture of our vanity light shades that we decided to replace the shiny brass nipple fixture in our master bath with the larger version (since the bathroom is also much larger; it's a whopping ~12'x13').

So, because Super-Husband installed it as a surprise, there are no 'Before' pictures - no biggie, nobody really needs to see the brassy nipple fixture that wasn't doing anything for our bathroom in regard to light or looks - only 'After'. It's so much prettier and so much brighter now, and we have a more cohesive look between the dressing room and the adjoining bathroom now.

And I didn't have to nag once!
Awesome!

Three of Three: Master Bathroom Madness

Well, we're still stewing on our back splash for the kitchen, and covering up the utilities in the laundry room has begun, but in order to keep this blog going with more than one post per week and even more so to keep the current momentum (you never know when that'll fizzle out), we're pressing on here at the Little Old House!

After tackling (or starting on) two rooms downstairs, it's about time we make a big jump and hop on upstairs! On my trip to Tampa a few weeks ago I managed to sneak in some quality time at IKEA and picked up a few things for the house. Since one of those things was something for our Master bathroom, what better room to choose that one next?

So, here we go!

Our upstair's master bathroom began life at closing as the upstair's kitchen of our duplex. Then we tore into it, ripped everything out and have been putting it back together ever since.

Miraculously it went from this ...

 ....to this

It's come a really long way. Since this last picture we have also finally added a vanity light fixture

and we also changed the wall color from just bright white to a pale beige for some much needed warmth. Our master bath is -huge- and we felt the bright white walls which looks so pretty in other bathrooms made our bathroom feel just like a cold, empty, open aircraft hangar. The very light, but warmer color on the walls makes the trim and tile pop and adds much needed warmth to our bath room, making it feel cozy and comfortable.

Of course, there are still things I would like to add to it, and change about it. From the long list of projects and flourishes I picked the following projects for my "Three of Three" list:

1. replace ceiling light
2. install a shower rig and curtain
3. set up the linen closet with shelves

Let the madness begin!

Three of Three: First Recap

On my quest to "Get'er Done" and finish some of the projects we started weeks or months or even a year or two ago and inspired by Apartment Therapy's January event "The Cure," I created the infamous Little Old House "Three of Three" List. You can read more about that list in this post.

I simply took our mega "Master List" of projects in and around our little old house and prioritized the projects in each room, choosing the top three for my "Three of Three" list. The idea is that these three projects would finish their respective room allowing me to move most of our tools and equipment and paint buckets into the storage shed and concentrate on creating a home that doesn't look like a partially exploded construction site.


So far I have tackled two rooms: our laundry/mudroom and our kitchen.In each case I am still missing one project out of the "Three of Three" but, boy, did finishing two top priority projects make a difference already!

Laundry Room
1. paint (cabinets, tabletop and part wall) (read about it here, here, here, here and here)
2. install door knobs (read about it here)
3. cover the utilities

Kitchen
1. paint window (read about it here, here and here)
2. add lighting (read about it here)
3. add backsplash (learn more about my musings here)

It's amazing to see how much of a difference finishing these few projects has made (and how painless they were, really. Unlike a certain staircase project ...ahem). We still need to come up with a clever way to cover up the utilities in the laundry room (hopefully this weekend will see some progress) and, of course, we haven't had the time/funds/chutzpah to install a backsplash yet but at least we have begun the decision making process in earnest and that's at least a mini step into the right direction!

Have you tackled any "Get'er Done" projects lately? Which little project made the biggest difference in (almost) finishing a room?

Backsplash Blues

The remaining task on my "Three of Three" list for the kitchen at our little old house is "install backsplash." For the past two years our backsplash was merely painted, in part because we allocated the funds for that project to more important areas such as plumbing, electric and more. Another reason was I was completely 'shopped out' and just couldn't make up my mind what I wanted (or whether what I thought what I wanted was really what I wanted to live with for the next umpteen years).

So far, the painted backsplash hasn't worked out too bad. We picked a quality paint that can be scrubbed down and if all else fails, paint touch ups are easy-peasy and done in moments. No wonder the whole backsplash project got pushed even further to the bottom of the to-do list.

There is something really nice and pretty and finished about a 'real' backsplash though, and I caught myself browsing tile sections both online and at the store lately, so it got moved up on the list.

Penny tile is darling and one of my favorites. Since I didn't get to use it in the master bathroom, I've been oogling it for a kitchen backsplash.

Ohh, fancy! Marble is just sooo pretty and classy and would add a nice bit of bling to our more country chic kitchen. I like the nod to our beekeeping adventure in the hexagonal shape of the tiles, too, but wouldn't complain too much if they came in little squares or pennies either.

Beadboard (or even beadboard wallpaper) would fit rather nicely with the overall look of our country kitchen. It's probably the most economical choice so far.

And there is, of course, the classic subway tile that will most likely never go out of style.

The problem with all those choices?

They are too thick!

No kidding. How can they be too thick? I mean, they are standard size tiles. Everybody uses them. What could possibly be too thick about them?
That's where I come back with the old adage "It's not you, it's me."
Heh.
You see, a prior owner drywalled over the existing plaster (and lathe) walls, probably because they didn't want to deal with repairing plaster walls throughout the house. Plaster repairs can be a real pain and it's hard to find real professionals who know what they are doing. So, drywall went over those walls which added insulation to the house but in turn removed quite a chunk of the reveal of the trim. My kitchen window, for example, only sticks out from the wall by mere millimeters.

That really puts a crimp into your style, I'm telling you. The average tile is twice the thickness of the reveal I have available without making my window recede into the wall, and that's not accounting for the thickness of the thinset that needs to go behind the tile. Oy!

More googling and surfing the 'net, however, revealed that there are options even for tricky situations like ours.

I discovered this lovely lovely 'Mother of Pearl' penny tile that is just ...wow! It adds just such a beautiful sparkle to a wall, and comes in all shapes to boot, everything from mini bricks to hexagons to squares.

I think it would go nicely with our butcher block countertops and white cabinets. The price is a bit higher than what I'd like to pay though but, oh well, it is what it is (about $16.50/sqft) but it is very very thin which would be perfect for our awkward situation.

We also discovered that some of the glass mosaic tile at the blue and orange box come in thinner styles which would also work for our particular set up (*cue sigh of relief*).

In the end, we're still on the fence with which option to go. We are thinking along the lines of simple, white or clear, possibly glass for ease of maintenance and timeless appeal.

Thoughts?

All Done!

After stripping, prepping, sanding and priming, it was finally time for a fresh coat of bright white! We have been using Behr's Ultra Premium White for all our trim, moldings and interior doors, and love how crisp and clean it looks.

The exterior of the window is still in need some serious TLC (stripping, sanding, re-glazing and repainting are on the to-do list) but on the inside it's looking mighty nice.

Yep, it's not brand-new, in fact it has all the wrinkles of a 99 year old, but it's gotten a serious facelift and the new make-up ... err, paint looks so much nicer and cleaner and smoother.

Our breakfast station - coffee, tea cups, a toaster - missing in action are our cereal bowls.

And with that the kitchen window is D-O-N-E!

Looking at my "Three of Three" list for the kitchen at our little old house, the finishing line is near!

Three of Three - The Kitchen
1. paint window frame (Done!)
2. add lighting (Done!)
3. add a backsplash

I don't know if the budget will allow adding a back splash right away - it all depends on what we decide to install, so I might have to tide you over with a couple of musings, our decision making process and a "Three of Three" of another room before I have squirrel away enough money to sink into this project.

The Kitchen Edition: Mo' Window

On Day II of Project Window I gave the stripped window frame a quick sanding and a light coat of primer.
Nothing brings out imperfection as beautifully as a crisp coat of bright white and primer does the same. Once all the scratches, gouges, dings and divots were painfully obvious it was time for a bit of wood filler.

Yes, I use an old zoo membership card as my spatula - it's THE BEST to fill and smooth wood filler. You should try it. Any store/credit/membership card will do.

After drying, more sanding, more patching, more sanding, a dab of caulk, and finally, finally, the final coat of primer.

And tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring a fresh coat or two of beautiful semi-gloss white!

Kitchen Edition: Let There Be Light!

Hind sight is 20/20, and it's really true when it comes to your first ever renovation/remodel.

There are a couple of things I wish I'd known/thought about/done differently when we were tearing through our little old house two years ago trying to get it ready enough to move in.

One of them is the light situation in the kitchen. While we have enough electrical outlets to equip a small country, we missed out on the chance to add more lighting right at the beginning. For a while we've been musing about adding a pendant light to the area above the sink, and while squirreling away money, locking down project funds for "The Big Great Painting" and more projects on the list than you can shake a stick at, we thought we could start with a temporary solution.

You know, to see if it'd be a good thing to add a light fixture above the sink and without too much commitment (and holes in the drywall) before calling in the electrician.

Plug-in light fixture to the rescue! I went to Etsy.com to see what other crafty people had created, and found a couple of options that both, the husband and I, really liked.

 

[Source: Portman Workshop]

Those mason jar light fixtures are just sweet and very homey looking, and we both loved the funky Edison bulb!

 [Source: FleaMarketRX]

A colander! How cute is that? And those colors! So bright and cheerful - I love them all! The same etsy store also seems pretty cool tin pan light fixtures and other industrial designs so it's well worth swinging by!

[Source: OVERSPRAYkc]

We both like industrial design and so the wire cage light was just right down our alley and the pop of color from the teal bobbin really caught our eye.

After browsing many many pages of eye candy, we kind of tabled the whole idea and put it on the backburner. It's one of those not-so-important projects/ideas, and life kept us busy until my trip to IKEA when I hopped over to Tampa for the weekend to visit a friend. Before making the long trek back home I hopped into IKEA, and while there, grabbed one of their plug-in light fixture kits in a spur of the moment. Almost at the cash register I spied this cute flower pot, and that was when an idea started to form in my head.

What if ...

While waiting for the primer on the kitchen window frame to dry, I armed myself with drill, pliers and project ingredients.

I marked the center of the bottom of the flower pot with the circle hole I needed to cut to thread my light fixture. Using the drill with a metal tip I drilled lots of small holes along the perimeter of the circle essentially creating a perforated edge. I also gently bent the scalloped edge outward because I liked the way it looked.

It was pretty easy to cut the remaining ridges between the holes by using a screwdriver as a chisel and giving it quick tap with a hammer and finally I was able to pop out the circle shape.

Time to thread the light fixture on!

Voila! I made a light!

The light kit came with a pair of hooks and the light was hung up in no time! I picked up some coax staples and secured the cord along the edge of the ceiling and down one side of the refrigerator cabinet to tidy things up.

It makes a HUGE difference!

It's cute - I'm clearly channeling the shabby chic country girl right now - but it adds a sweet touch to our kitchen, and it provides a surprising amount of light to the sink area which is lovely, especially in the evenings.

The only problem? I wanna make more lights! This was fun!

Kitchen Edition: Strippin' it

Aaaand .... here we go again: stripping and prepping and priming and painting. Those are the steps you just won't get around when refinishing a window ...or a door ...or baseboards ...or any kind of molding, built-ins and yes, even stairs.

From a distance the kitchen window frame didn't look so bad (no, really, it's just my crappy photography and bad timing in regard to light) but up close you were always sorely reminded of generations of wannabe-painters: thick layering of paint, dried up drops, dings and divots. You name it, our window frame sported it like a zit on a debutante's pert little nose.

There were a few areas were I expected to unveil serious termite damage haphazardly 'fixed' by copious amounts of glompy wood filler (or caulk ...or tissue paper or ...something. If you talk to my neighbors, people in the past were awfully creative when it came to quick and cheap ...ahem, fixes).

Armed with my trusted heat gun and scraper I went to work. You know, I'm tempted to blame the fumes from cooking up that old paint but this time I actually enjoyed stripping off paint.

No kidding.

I mean, how could you not when your scraper slices through thick layers of dirty uneven paint to reveal glossy chocolate-colored pine wood with the most beautiful grain?
It also boost morale that the area was straight so zipping up and down with the heatgun and scraper was like flying down an empty highway with a sexy car.

Those areas I expected to be the remains of a termite's snack bar?
Just a bad paint built-up where people had painted over half-removed pitted layers of more paint.
Seriously ... ugh!

Sure, there are a few dings and divots, scratches and some holes from nails and curtain hardware and God knows what, but overall, the trim is in good enough shape to refinish it with a clean-up, some stain and a dash of poly.

I'm, however, not a dark wood trim kind of gal (and I'm not going down that road of refinishing all trim in the house to its original wood, nuh-uh) and love my trim all crisp and white and clean, but if any owners after us decide to go back to the original, all they'll have to remove on this window is one single layer of paint.

When I was done stripping off all of the old crusty paint, I had to call it a day. Dinner was calling - the dog had been reminding me for the past hour by sticking in his head, watching me scrape and oooh and ahhh over the window, and giving me a quick yip - and it was getting late.

More tomorrow!