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: 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!

Fiddling & Tweaking

Slowly, work on our Master bathroom continues, mainly because I'm a little stumped when it comes to finalizing the design. Right now I'm not sure how exactly to pull everything together and make our bedroom, dressing room and bath a cohesive and sweet master suite.

So I turned to Pinterest for a little help in the inspiration department and searched for "black and white bathroom" and "vintage bathroom."

Oh, the lovelies!

Here are two of my favorites that came up during one of those searches. Vintage touches all around + crisp contrast = LOVE!

[source: via pinterest from here]

[source: via pinterest from here ]

What really stood out and captured my interest were the black window frames. How sharp does that look? Would that work for our bathroom? Not like that would immediately pull everything together, but hey, all is fair in the fiddling and tweaking of home decor, right?

It's not like a bit of black paint would ruin these fabulous blah industrial-looking windows circa 1980s, right?

[Before: Plain ... boring ... blah]

So naked and - I don't know - insubstantial. I'm thinking they need window casings, something to beef them up.

Armed with a brush, tape and paint I set to work. I taped off the glass to make sure I got nice crisp lines and wouldn't have to deal with black paint smudges and runs on frosted glass, roughed up the metal a bit and gave it a quick coat of primer.

[In Progress: First coat on - things are starting to look interesting]

Then I held my breath, through caution to the wind and brushed on some nice deep rich black paint.

I couldn't wait to see what it'd look like all done, tape removed and with the usual zink container with towels back in its place on the window sill keeping fresh towels within an arm's reach of the tub.

[After: Me likey!]

I actually like it! A lot! I'm not sure I'd go as far as painting any window casings black as well, but then again, looking at my first inspiration picture I just might. It's paint after all and changed easily enough. Maybe even tape out some faux mullions to create the look of an 8 over 8 or 6 over 6 window? Ooooohh, the possibilities ....

Peekaboo window

Now that our Master Bathroom is complete as far as typical bathroom fixtures are concerned - you know, like a sink, a toilet and a bath tub - we have slowly and rather gingerly begun to use it. No, the bath tub is as of yet still unchristened (can't have my brain go on its usual "Here're the things that I need to finish" spree while taking a bubble bath in my glorious clawfoot tub) but sink and toilet are being subjected to ..ahem, light use.

You know, we seem to forget that there is now an extra bathroom.

Like it's not on our inner house map yet, we gravitate toward the hall bathroom in the mornings and if that's in use, the first step is always toward the stairs to head down to the half bath.

We're hoping this will change once the Master Bath receives its final and homey-fying touches. I've just ordered towel rings, for example, I scored a nifty mirror that needs a few tender loving and caring touch-ups, we need a bath mat and of course, window treatments for a softer, less stark white atmosphere.

And that brings us - finally - to a whole other problem: Privacy.

While I enjoy living in the urban core and don't mind my neighbors up close and personal (and we have sweet neighbors all around us, and in general, the Springfield people rock my boat balancing the line between privacy and neighborly love with perfection), there're two windows that are even in my world of laid-back exhibitionism a bit ...let's say, "iffy". Especially after sunset.

You see, I was using the brand new installed toilet, musing about our DIY to-do list and dangling my legs, when I noticed that at night our brightly lit bathroom would provide an excellent entertainment of the scantily clad sort for the neighbors whose backyards border ours.

So not good.

Some privacy would be nice, especially when using the toilet. Toilet time is not off-limits in my family, but I'd like to keep it in the family and not include my neighbors. I'm sure they appreciate the thought too.

Anyways, on one of our regular trips to the orange box (or was it the blue one?), I picked up a can of this stuff

I've tried window film before and while it does do the job, it's always a big hassle, wrangling those sheets into submission and keeping them from rolling up on you while you're trying to measure and to cut. This sounded much easier (C'mon, it's 'spray' frost - woot!) and since it's removable, it gave me enough freedom to try it without having to commit permanently like with etching cream. If I don't like it or find something better, some nail polish and a razor blade will do the trick!

I wish I could show you a 'Before' picture of that window but it was dark when I decided to do this and I forgot to snap it. It's just a very basic 80s chicken coop window (and it'll be replaced with a proper and much nicer sash window at some point)

[After: Ahh, sweet privacy ....]

No more unwanted flashing the neighbors and I still get a peek of the sky and the tree tops in front of the window. Mission accomplished!

Feeling greatly encouraged I might proceed with my secret plans for a certain window downstairs.