Week-and-a-Half Wrap Up

I overheard a student the other day explain what the SCAD acronym stands for -- sleep comes after death. And while I recognize that there is a common tendency among students to glorify the struggle in order to make it all worth it, I have to admit that there is some truth in what they said. For instance, the above shot has nothing to do with home-repair (tricked you); it's actually a moment from our adventures in building a kiosk in our dining room.

This is how we celebrated our five year anniversary -- in the dining room, drinking coffee and stapeling shingles to a piece of plywood. Below is an iPhone shot of our labor of love. Nothing says "happy anniversary, sweetheart" like a scaled model of an interactive-touch-screen-kiosk about the Georgia State parks.

Notice I said "our" labor of love -- I fully intend to request that Jeff's name also be put on my diploma.  I've estimated that about a month has gone by without any work being done on the house, and yesterday marked SIX MONTHS since we signed. Time really has flown by, and we are anxious to get started again; but in the mean time, here are a few shots from the last week-and-a-half.

 

Oh, and apparently all of the madness rubbed off on the littlest member of our family, Chance. He was at the vet for four days last week with a stomach virus. I'm happy to report, however, that he is healthy and back to his usual tricks.

We leave for Parris Island tomorrow night to see Jeff's brother graduate from basic training. He's officially a Marine, and we can't wait to celebrate with him. We'll be back this weekend -- with photos.

Love,

Ryan

Weekend Wrap Up

Another weekend has come and gone without a single thought of remodeling. I spent most of the week photographing state parks for a project, and the last two days were consumed with designing and building a kiosk and other aspects of said project. For those of you hankering for some home-improvement-shots, your time will come. In the mean time, here are some moments from yet another day spent in a Georgia park.

And for those of you curious about what Jeff has been up to:

It is almost ready for water -- and I can't believe I'm about to say this -- but I can't wait to buy our first frag.

Ryan

The Mothership

The mothership arrived last week, and Leo and I are in iHeaven -- just thought you should know. 

Happy Wednesday, all.

Ryan

Weekend Wrap Up

This lovely-three-day-weekend was something of a circus at our house. Not surprisingly, we worked on a myriad of random projects and didn't finish a-one-of-'em. Apparently, we are just not a "one-room-at-a-time" type of couple. I've decided that we work in phases, and that we are in the process of finishing Phase One; a metaphorical [and somewhat literal] sweep of the entire house.

Since I have no final reveals to share, I thought I would just give an overview of some of the projects we worked on over the last three days. The one I'm most excited about is my office; Jeff painted the ceiling "Persimmon Red" -- it's not finished, but here's a sneak peek:

Jeff also gave an extra coat of "Powered Brick" to the formal room, and I continued to work on the trim-that-never-ends:

I also painted the front door gray one night when Jeff was at work. It's just a first coat, but I kind of love it. In the coming weeks, I'll take the door off of the hinges, paint the final coat, add new hardware, and photograph it properly -- but for now, here's a shot to give you an idea of where we're at:

Oh, and perhaps my favorite project from this weekend is the guest bedroom curtains. We found them in the attic when we moved in, and I was this close to throwing them out -- but Mom encourage me to save them. They look to be from the late 50s or early 60s, and I'm pretty sure they were custom made for the guest bedroom windows specifically. Mom and Dad surprised us by having them dry cleaned as a Christmas gift, and I finally got around to finding some hardware that would allow them to hang properly. The only problem is, I underestimated how much hardware I would need - so, er, I was only able to complete one window this weekend. Here's a peek at the fabric and the rigged hardware: 

Custom curtains are no joke, people.

In other-more-nerdier-news, Jeff is knee deep into his aquarium adventure. This weekend, he started the process of cleaning and assembling the tank:

Oh, what is that you say, you didn't know Jeff was into this sort of thing? Well, he is, and we are about to have a 90-gallon-salt-water-reef-tank in the man-cave to prove it.

To be fair, underneath all of my eye rolling, I am super impressed that Jeff even knows what any of this stuff is; no less, how to make an entire ecosystem grow inside of it. 

Random fact: Jeff also served as my muse for a project that I'm working on for school:

So yeah, on top of painting and hanging curtains and cleaning out a pump system in our carport, Jeff also did some hand modeling this weekend. What a trooper. 

More on all of these projects to come. Happy MLK Day, all!

Ryan

Sneak Peek: Wainscoting

Over the last several evenings, Jeff has been installing wainscoting in the dining room. He completed the chair rail earlier this week, and has been tirelessly measuring and cutting and making loud noise in the front of the house ever since. Seriously, do you know how painfully loud a miter saw and a nail gun can be in a big empty space with hardwood floors, bare walls, and no furniture? 

Here's a sneak peek at his progress, because I'm just so darn impressed:

One wall down, three more to go -- and then... rinse and repeat in the hallway.

A man-with-a-miter-saw's job is never done.

Ryan

A new year, a new list.

I promised that I would post a monthly update on our [ever growing and constantly changing] to-do list. Well, here we are -- one month later, and what better way to start off the new year than by keeping a promise.

Our list has certainly evolved since I posted about it last month; and in retrospect, most of the things we accomplished over the last four weeks were never on the to-do list to begin with; for instance, the louvered doors, wall prep, holiday festivities, etc., etc.. However, here's the list as it stands today:

Kitchen
Strip remaining wallpaper
Paint
Re-finish cabinets
New hardware for cabinets
Back splash
Window treatments
Light fixtures
Install new dishwasher
Electrical
Air vents
Refinish floors

Mud Room
New layout 
New shelving units
Finish wainscoting
Flooring solution
New washer/dryer (being delivered on Saturday!)
Organize / Clean
Paint
Electrical
Air vents

Breakfast Room
Paint
Window treatments
Hang new light fixtures
Rug
Electrical
Air vents
Table and chairs

Dining Room
Strip wallpaper -- almost finished
Paint -- this weekend
Wainscoting
Window treatments -- purchased
New dining room table
Rug
Clean chandelier
Electrical -- this weekend
Air vents -- this weekend

Formal Living Room
Paint -- this weekend!
Window treatments -- this weekend
Book shelves
Rug
Lighting
Electrical -- this weekend
Air vents -- this weekend

Foyer
Paint -- this weekend
Rug
Floor runner
Clean Chandelier
Electrical -- this weekend
Air vents -- this weekend

Family Room
Window treatments
TV
Clean carpet
Electrical
Air vents

Hallway
Clean floors
Finish stripping wallpaper -- this weekend
Floor runners
Paint -- this weekend
Wainscoting
Electrical -- this weekend
Air vents -- this weekend

Master Bedroom
Clean floors
Rug
Molding
Window treatments
Hang fan
Fix holes around fan
Repaint ceiling
Finish painting trim work
Electrical
Air vents

Master Bath
Strip wallpaper
Flooring solution
Paint
Storage
Window treatments
Electrical
Air vents

Guest Bath
Strip wallpaper
Paint
Window treatments
Electrical
Air vents

Guest Bedroom

Fix crossbars on bed

Paint closet
Window Treatments -- this weekend

Electrical
Air vents

Man Cave
Remove old furniture -- this weekend
Electrical
Air vents
Desk for Jeff
Decorate (shhh... don't tell Jeff)

Office
Paint closet

Quarter Round

Rug

Front Yard 
Summer 2013

Back Yard / Pool / Shed
Summer 2013

___________________

Did you notice that we have a lot on the agenda for this coming weekend? Well, it's because - ummm -  I decided to throw a painting party.

We invited a handful of our [most kind and generous] friends to the house on Sunday to help us tackle what would otherwise take us an entire month. I am a little nervous about getting all of the prep work finished; however, I think it will be worth it.

I will be back in class on Monday, so this coming weekend will be our final push on the house before I crawl into a hole for ten weeks. Our primary goal for the month of January is to have the front rooms functional. (By "front rooms" I mean the foyer, the formal living room, and the dining room.)

In case you're curious, Jeff and I also have normal-people-resolutions for the New Year. I resolve to (1) devote every ounce of creative energy I have to school, (2) take Toby on a long walk at least three times a week, and (3) I want to slowly cut wheat out of my diet. Jeff resolves to (1) to save and track each of his receipts, and (2) go to the gym at least three times a week.

I think we can do it.

Good riddance 2012 -- here's to never seeing you again!

Ryan and Jeff