Calvin's Room

What we have done:

• Ripped out the old carpet and replaced with new carpet. This was done before we bought the house. FYI, the room is about 90 square feet.
• Ripped out some of the dry wall in the closet and replaced it. There was some old leakage that left behind some black mold. That was fun...
• Painted the floor and the new wall in the closet with KILZ paint which helps protect against mold.
• Painted the closet white.
• Replaced all the carpet trim with white wood trim
• Painted the walls
• Replaced the carpet
• Replaced the old window with a new high efficiency window.
• Replaced the door knob.
• Painted a bookshelf for the room.
• Gave a fresh coat of paint to the dresser from my sister.
• Hung art and shelves
• Made curtains for the window

What we love:

• Honestly, we kinda like the size. Sure it would be nice if it is a bit bigger, but it is a cozy little bedroom. Perfect for a baby or a toddler.
• The nice window.
• All the things we have done to it. It turned out really well.

What we want to change/fix

• We have ordered black out blinds from my sister, Amy, who works at Hunter Douglas. Hopefully they will be here in the next couple of days and we can hang it. I am excited for this.
• Someday, way down the line, replace the light fixture (not pictured). It isn't our style.
• Someday this room will have ducts ran to it and we will no longer have to plug in a room heater or have a window AC unit.

I wish we had a before picture of this room so you could see all the changes. This is by far, the most completed room in the house. We made it a priority so that Calvin could have a nice nursery growing up.

The Laundry Room

What we have done:

• Replaced the dryer and washer

What we love:

• Convenient location
• Natural light
• Great place for coats
• Storage

What we want to change/fix:

• Paint the cabinets white like the kitchen
• Replace the counter tops to match the kitchen
• Paint the walls
• Paint the ceiling
• Replace the window
• Replace the floor with the same stuff as the kitchen/dining room
• Install trim in some places
• Replace the knobs
• Cover up the ugly electric cabinet with a picture
• Replace the light fixture

 

Washer and dryer story:

While we were still renting the house, the dryer was destroying our clothes. Things would get caught in the side and rip. Including Calvin's baby blessing shirt. So we went half in on a new dryer. Happy day! Now fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and our washing machine decided it was just going to fill and fill with water. Without ever stopping. Now this is a really bad plan when you  are not paying attention. Insert me. Not paying attention. So I walk in to a small lake on my floor. Yeah. It ran through the floor boards and was soaking the downstairs as well. So after doing some research, it was possibly going to cost $75.00 to replace a certain part (if that was even the problem), so we just bought a washer off of KSL for $75.00. So here's hoping it will last awhile.

The "lake":

Speaking of water leaking, we have had quite the number of water issues since we have moved in. Our new faucet leaked water in the handle, so we replaced the cartridge inside. Our main water line burst and flooded one of our basement rooms, so Stew spent Easter morning with my dad and brother climbing into a teeny area and fixing that. Our main line that drains the washer and the kitchen sink backed up and my kitchen sink over flooded as well as the washer pipe. I came into the kitchen singing a song not noticing until I was surrounded by water. I really need to start paying attention. One of the sprinkler pipes burst in the lawn, so we had to dig that up and replace some of the piping. One sprinkling box was leaking so Stew had to replace those parts not once, but twice, and messing with it once more until it finally worked. Last week during irrigation, water came pouring in our basement through a mysterious pipe. Plus our water heater keeps turning off, so sometimes we get cold showers.

Yeah....I think we are tired with water issues.

OK, I'm done now.

Update on the good ole kitchen

Kitchen update: We are done painting the cabinets!

About a month ago, we finished painting all of the cabinets. It has been a long process. We have had to cut more wood than I prefer and I am glad it is over. As is my dad, I'm sure.

Here are some before and after pics:

Before:

This shot was taken in January of 2012. There is cute Maddie!

This was taken before we painted the cabinets but after we got a new stove.

 The finished product!

Before:

Right after we moved in:

 During the painting:

After:

 

As a review, here is what we did:

• Tore out half of the lath and plaster and insulated.
• Tore out all the contact paper. Man, there was a lot of this. I think I counted 5 different kinds. My fingers were bleeding at the end.
• Replaced all the backs of the cabinets with new boards.
• Replaced all the knobs
• Replaced the kitchen faucet
• Replaced the light above the sink
• Wired a switch for the light above the sink
• Installed under cabinet lighting
• Wired a switch for the under cabinet lighting
• Tore out the paneling on the bottom cabinet behind the stove and replaced with new boards.
• Tore out the carpet trim underneath the cabinets
• Replaced the stove
• Painted all the cabinets and trim

 Crossed some things off on our master list. We still have a long ways to go:

 

Replace the floor. It will be the same floor as in the front room and dining room. Either dark hardwood floors or laminate floors.

Inset the fridge into the wall so that it doesn't stick out too much. Stew is excited for this project.

Replace the counter tops with either a concrete counter (depends on if we want to attack that challenge) or a Corian counter top (super expensive).

Replace the back splash with subway tile.

Finish painting all of the cabinets.

Install all the new knobs.

Buy a small round table to eat breakfast and lunch on. (Update: we have done this now)

Paint two chairs that we have to go with the table.

Change out the ceiling fan. I would love to have one on a remote.

Replace the sink when we replace the counter tops.

Install trim in some places.

Paint.

Paint the trim

Paint the ceiling.

Knock out the old heating vent once we install a new furnace.

Maybe someday install crown molding. That is a long ways down the line.

Replace the window above the sink.

The Master Bedroom

What we have done:

• Nada. Except for paint furniture for that room. Two nightstands and a dresser.

What we love:

• The big bay window. It lets in so much light.
• The size. It's perfect. I wish we had more closet space though.

What we plan on fixing/changing:

• Paint the walls (although Stew said he loves the pink...)
• Paint the trim
• Paint the closet and closet doors
• Replace the carpet
• Replace the fan
• Maybe some day down the road, replace the window. It isn't as old as the other windows in the house.
• Maybe do some sort of a built in shelving unit around the bed. Still thinking about that one.

Dining room table - Finished

We finished our dining room table! Yay!

Here is a before:

 

After:

 

Here is the breakdown:

• Table and six chairs purchased from my brother. They were in his house when he moved in: $40.00
• New cushions: $35.00
• Laminated cotton: $75.00

Grand total: $150.00

 

Not bad considering that our other dining room table that we bought when we were first married cost us $250.00. Plus, I like this one a whole lot more. It's a little less country feeling to me. Also, we sold our old table for $75.00, so that helped with the cost of our new table. It was crazy. We posted it on KSL and within two days, I had 14 inquiries for the table. The lucky person who bought it was number 2 in line.

 

Previous dining room table:

 

 

 

Some tips and suggestions from this project:

• Buy good paint and make sure you have some left over. That was the problem with our last table. We ran out of the black paint and let me tell you, black paint is not all the same. Every black we tried was almost gray against the table. It was a pain because we couldn't touch up any dings on the table.
• Use polyurethane to help minimize dings. It also gives the table a great shine and doesn't look so painted. It looks like it was supposed to come that way.
• Laminated cotton is the best. I spent hours and hours looking for a good solution to cover our chairs. I didn't want just plain fabric because of how dirty it would get. I didn't want to cover it in a clear vinyl because it makes them a little more bulky. I thought about using a vinyl table cloth, but I just was afraid it wouldn't hold up well. Then I stumbled upon the world of laminate cotton. It is waterproof and is flexible just like normal fabric. Sold! Now it is more expensive (like $25.00 a yard) but I think it was worth it. There is a lot of fun designs for laminate cotton, but I wanted something that was neutral in case my style changes in a couple of years.
• For those of you who may cross this road someday, yes you can iron laminate cotton. Just lay it face down with a dish cloth in between to protect it. My iron was set to medium high heat and it worked good. Not great, but enough to get out some of the wrinkles.



• If you can, buy your foam for your chairs from a re-upholstery company. Not only was it cheaper than buying it from some place like JoAnn's, but they cut it for free for me and it was nice high quality and density foam. Win! We bought ours from sofabiz. They were super nice and had it been up to me, I would have cut the foam exactly the same size as the bottom wood part. But being the experts that they are, they left a little extra that kind of wraps around the wood so your edge isn't sharp.

 

Conclusion: We love it! Although, it is a dust magnet...

The Family Room

What we have done:

• Nada. Besides add furniture. Mismatched furniture at that.

What we love:

• The natural light
• The fact that it is open to the kitchen. It is a nice family area. You can have toys out and a little bit of a mess but people who come over don't automatically see it all. It is definitely the most lived in room.

What we plan on fixing/changing:

• Paint
• Paint the ceiling and trim
• Replace the window
• Add curtains
• Repair the hole in the wall by the heating vent
• Remove the heating vent
• Replace the carpet with new carpet
• Add a lot of pictures on the North wall
• Maybe reupholster the couch someday. I love the couch, but the cushions have shrunk (oops!) and it just looks silly. I had a estimate done. It will cost about $1200.00. That is not chump change!
• Replace the ceiling fan
• Create some sort of a toy storage area

 

The Kitchen

What we have done:

• Replaced the mustard stove with a white one. While we would love to have stainless steal appliances someday, the world does not make a stainless steel 27 inch drop in stove, and we don't feel like cutting into our cabinets to fit a standard 30 inch stove. So we will stick with white appliances. You win some, you lose some. We got it for a great deal though. They retail for about 600 dollars brand new and we bought ours for $150. It is practically brand new.
• Replaced the faucet thanks to my parents Christmas present. It's a funny story, I told them we would like a faucet and sent them a picture of one I liked. It of course was a 250 dollar faucet. Which I knew they couldn't afford that and that they were going to be looking on KSL for one, but I just wanted to give them ideas. What did they find? The exact faucet I wanted for $50. All it needed was a new $15 cartridge for the handle from Moen. Win!
• Painted some of the cabinets. This is a long process. The back of the cabinets is the actual wall which is cracked Lath & Plaster. On the right of the kitchen we put up board to cover up the decaying wall, then we got smart and decided to rip it out on the left side so that we could install some insulation.
• Replaced some of the knobs.
• Installed undercabinet lighting. I will have to take a picture of it later and show you. It is really cool. And thanks to Quinn's help, Stew was able to wire a switch to turn off and on those lights.
• Installed a new light above the kitchen sink. You can't tell in the before picture, but it was just a bare bulb.
• Stew wired me a switch for the new light above the kitchen sink so that you don't have to pull on a chain to turn it on and off.

What we love:

• The cabinets!!! Oh how I love them.
• The ability to cook and see people in the living room.

What we plan on fixing/changing:

Replace the floor. It will be the same floor as in the front room and dining room. Either dark hardwood floors or laminate floors.

Inset the fridge into the wall so that it doesn't stick out too much. Stew is excited for this project.

Replace the counter tops with either a concrete counter (depends on if we want to attack that challenge) or a Corian countertop (super expensive).

Replace the back splash with subway tile.

Finish painting all of the cabinets.

Install all the new knobs.

Buy a small round table to eat breakfast and lunch on. (Update: we have done this now)

Paint two chairs that we have to go with the table.

Change out the ceiling fan. I would love to have one on a remote.

Replace the sink when we replace the countertops.

Install trim in some places.

Paint.

Paint the trim

Paint the ceiling.

Knock out the old heating vent once we install a new furnace.

Maybe someday install crown molding. That is a long ways down the line.

Replace the window above the sink.

 

 

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The Upstairs Bathroom

What we have done so far:

• Replaced the door knob

What we love:

• The storage
• The large counter
• Large mirror

What we want to change/fix:

• Redo the floor in a white hexagon tile with grey grout.
• Paint the cabinets grey
• Replace the counter top with a white Corian counter top
• Replace the sink and faucet
• Frame the mirror
• Replace both lighting fixtures
• Raise the ceiling to the original height
• Install a fan
• Replace the tub
• Tile around the tub with white subway tile
• New toilet
• Paint the walls
• Tear down the wood paneling
• Install trim
• Add new knobs to the cabinets
• Replace the casters on the laundry cart inside the cabinet (by the way, I love the laundry cart!)

 

The front living room

 

What we have done:

• Put in a new stove pipe for the wood burning stove
• Removed two large gold knobs on the stove
• Removed the chandelier and placed it into the dining area

What we love:

• The built in shelves
• The crown molding
• The original window
• The wood burning stove

What we plan on fixing/changing:

• Paint the walls an approved white color for projecting on. This room will be come our movie watching room. We plan on having a small sectional and a projector will be placed on the ceiling that will show movies on the north wall (opposite of the window). The only color on the walls in this room will be where the mirrors are.
• Paint the ceiling
• Move the ceiling fan off of the center beam and move it to where the old chandelier was located
• Take down the old light fixtures on the sides of the rooms
• Take down or cover up the mirrors
• Put brick behind the fireplace. I think before we can afford that, we will just paint the existing faux rock.
• Paint the shelves white.
• Replace the floor with a neutral carpet
• Buy a new couch for this room
• Move the computer stuff downstairs
• Replace the base where the fireplace stands with concrete or a stone slab. Paint it until we can afford it.
• Install projector
• Paint trim