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

Weekend Wrap-Up

Disclaimer: This guy gave me his head cold this weekend and I have been hopped up on cold medicine for approximately 24 hours -- I am a little loopy, and take no responsibility for any typos and bad jokes that may ensue. 

This weekend, Jeff brought out the big guns:

We began the ominous task of hanging a new chair rail and assembling our own wainscoting in the dining room on Saturday, and I have to admit -- we felt pretty legit.

Jeff got a miter saw for Christmas, and this was the first time he has used it. It even has a laser.

And yes, I am pretty sure we broke every rule that I ever learned in wood shop by putting this saw in the middle of the room with no eye protection, and me running around barefoot... but we're learning. Jeff is still working on this project, but here's a sneak peek:

I also started painting the trim work in the dining room, and finished taping off in the formal living room and the foyer. I know that doesn't sound like a major accomplishment, but I went through three roles of Frog Tape and it took me all weekend; so, I apologize for needing a moment of recognition.

I am pretty sure that I will be able to paint trim in my sleep by the time we finish this house. And you should get used to seeing photos of the process here, because it will likely be my only project for the next 2-3 weekends. 

In other news, I didn't quite get around to cooking a new recipe this week (like I mentioned here) -- so, one night I poured my butternut squash soup into the crock pot to make myself feel like I had tried something new, and I put my sandwich on a frying pan to heat up. In my book, that is cooking.

School started back on Monday [after a two-month-long winter break] so my system is in shock and slightly resistant to the idea of class and projects and studying; so, bare with me over the next few days as I adjust -- there may be more posts about what I'm eating than about remodeling projects, but I'll try to stay focused, I promised.

Here is a bit of iPhoneography from this week to put this cold-meds-induced post out of its misery:

A heavenly moment after Jeff set up the miter saw:

Jeff being asked to hang work at the pin-up show we went to last night:

The beginnings of my first project this quarter:

 Our date night on Thursday night to see Django Unchained:

 And Toby, on one of our walks this week:

Happy weekend, all.

Here's to hot tea ... and cold meds.

Love,

Ryan

Cabinet Fever

Before we had even closed on this house, Jeff and I purchased the above mid-century modern china cabinet off of Craigslist. I saw it, fell in love, and convinced Dad to drive us to the absolute-middle-of-no-where-Georgia to pick it up. She has been my remodeling-muse ever since.

Here she is on the day we moved in -- back right corner:

And for the last three months, that is where she has stayed; stuck in a corner, alone and empty -- sans china in those lovely cabinets.

I am happy to report, however, that we finally have movement.

Here she is from the back:

Ignore the ivory trim work as it will all be painted white (see window) this weekend. And yes, that is the current state of the formal living room -- a product of the painting party I mentioned here. 

Here is the wall that the beloved china cabinet will live on for the rest of her days:

Note: the dining room is currently awaiting wainscoting, white trim, clean floors, etc. Everyone should actually just pretend that they never saw this post as I plan to do a major before/after post once the rooms are finished. I suppose I'm ruining the surprise, but I'm pretty much dying for this particular shade of gray. Pun intended.

So, who wants to come over and clean that chandelier one crystal at a time?

In other Craigslist news, look what we bought for the foyer:

Apologies for the poor iphoneography, but this piece is currently disassembled in the family room. The top piece of the buffet is a liquor cabinet ... with a light feature. The 1950s were just so damn cool.  

Oh, and you want to see a peek into the current state of said foyer?

To quote my beautiful Mom on this one, "the color really is not as bad as it looks in photographs".

Here's to mid-century design, liquor cabinets with swag, and turquoise mermaid harbor walls.

Ryan

Prep Work

This weekend we hosted a painting party --  and made some substantial progress in the formal living room, dining room, and foyer. While I am anxious to show you some "progress" shots from the party, I thought I'd first share some moments leading up to the big day.

 

I'll be back soon with some before and after shots from the party, but in the mean time -- here is a sneak peek to keep you a'comin' back for more. 

Happy Monday, all.

Ryan