Kitchen Ceiling

When we started our kitchen remodel, there were large soffit boxes we knocked down. They left gaping holes in our ceiling. We thought we'd be smart and lay a new ceiling and texturize. Smarty pants. We sucked. There are ugly lines and I hate the texture. We decided to forget about it and come back when we learned a bit more about drywall.


Today it hit me!!! I was checking out this blog. I thought Oh WOW! Look at her ceilings!
What a perfect idea to cover up the hideous lines we've created! Here's a little inspiration while we think about it all.

Bathroom

This week we moved on to the main bathroom. Let's start with a before photo!

I especially loved taking this photo. I walked around the corner to find my hubby and dad tag teaming the sinks :)

Yes it's a mess, but boy what plumbers they are!

And, here's what it looks like now! This is the mirror from our bedroom set and is not permanent. We have the frames for the new matching mirrors, but have not cut the mirrors for them yet. I'm dying to finish the drywall and slap up a coat of paint!!! Tile should be in soon too!
Question of the Day. What color would you paint this bathroom? The back splash and floor tiles are all going to be a creamy variegated tile to match the counter tops.

And just to make him happy, I have to mention my awesome brother. He was interested in making a little cash, so I put him to work on the raised planters.
Before

After! Great job baby brother. I can't wait to fill them full of veggies... after a few repairs.

Oh, I forgot to mention... I did all the blackberry removal. I have all of the cuts and scrapes and scars to prove it!
This house has proved to be more work than I ever imagined. We could never have taken it all on without so much love, support, and back breaking labor from all of our friends and family.
Thanks guys.
Thanks to all of you, this house is starting to feel like a home.

A Hard Days Work

I worked a hard 8 hours today on the house. Ever muscle in my body aches. I have this advice for any of you out there looking for a great workout. Buy a crappy old house, tear down all of the walls and start from scratch. I've lost 20 pounds in 3 months. Just from remodeling.
Sooo without further ado. Guess what I finally committed on? A kitchen color!!!!! Sooo, I decided I'd just try the tiny wall the slider was on and just live with it for a couple of months. Yah, so, any of you out there who know me. You know that when I start something, I don't stop until it's sparkly and finished. That's right. I loved the paint so much I just kept going onto the next wall. I forced myself to pause until my husband came home to see it. He walked in with a giant armload from The Home Depot, and he squealed like a little school girl. Eeeee, I am a plaster GOD.
I said??? Hey buddy, it's my paint that made your plaster look so damn fine. He told me why did you stop? I love the color! So on I went.

I painted and painted.

And then I pulled out the new fridge and painted behind it. I heard my husband chuckle in the background, My wife the linebacker. Hahaha, I guess when I get started I do turn into some kind of She-Hulk.

And yes, I do know there will be cabinet's and tile covering every last bit of paint in this photo. But not for a few weeks. And until then I can marvel at my painting prowess.

Guess what I did then... Did anybody yell scrape nasty funky linoleum? Well, you were right. I decided that old linoleum had better hit the highway. I started out scraping and shoving and screaming, until I was red in the face and dripping sweat. My husband told me I was CRAZY. Certifiable. Out of my Damn mind. Then I realized that when I used a lower angle and pushed with my feet the scraper slid right under and ripped the linoleum up faster. I then got a better idea. Sit on my butt and push with both feet back and forth. Viola! The linoleum started coming up in patches!

At this point, my husband is sitting on a bucket laughing at me crawling on the floor covered in drywall dust, my pants sliding down because I didn't wear a belt.

But it worked. And that linoleum is almost toast.

During my 8 hour hardcore workout. My hubby played with the bathtub. We ended up having to buy some weird custom overflow that I've never seen before! See it? It's a weird rectangle. And then a matching drain because the overflow only came in stainless. And we have all matching antique bronze fixtures already purchased. Ah well, at least the drain will match the overflow. The rest will be in bronze.

Dad ran a new cable line into the office, finished changing out several light switches and outlets, and installed some new face plates.

I also patched up some holes around one of the old thermostat boxes so we can cap it off in case the next owners want to do something with them.

I do believe we are kicking bootay. I had so much fun today. I came straight home and soaked in a scalding bath. Every muscle in my body is screaming. And I'm in heaven.

Kitchen Demo

Saturday morning we arrived at the new house around 9am to meet our contractor Tim. He will be installing all of our new windows, and refinishing the hardwood floors. We ordered all of the windows and he said they would be installed within 2 weeks.

After he left we instantly went to work ripping out all of the cupboards. The original cabinets were in great condition, just outdated. We kept several in tact so we can later use them as extra storage in our garage. With the help of some very hardworking family members the demo went quickly and by 6pm we were done with most of the kitchen and even had time to rip out the tiles in the main bathroom, both sinks, and the toilet. I also had a great time shopping at one point with my mom for tools, paint, accesories, and of course nourishment for our hard workers. I also had a blast trying to knock out some drywall... only to get the hammer stuck and be laughed at by the manfolk.

Tomorrow we will remove the tub and cabinets in the bathroom. We will also knock out the old soffets that were built above the cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen to allow extra cabinet space and headroom. And will tackle the garrish linoleum to make way for some new tile flooring!

Here are some before, during and newly demo'd pictures.