Okay, okay...I know it's been a while...

Sorry...life got in the way there for a bit and I couldn't get around to blogging. The good news is that next week is spring break, so I should be able to catch up completely. In the meantime, let me show you around a bit more...

Work in the Kitchen...

Okay, the ceiling is up...you may or may not be able to see the pattern of the paper. Guess you'll just have to come and visit! By the way, the dark spots you may see are spots that are still wet. Should dry white...if not, they'll be painting!



Yesterday I stopped by the house and the beadboard was up. I am really excited about this! It's actually getting to where I can visualize the finished room!





On to the dining room....remember that bad spot I told you about earlier? Well, it's gone through some changes as well. The first is from last week, and the scond from yesterday...





And while we're here, look what's missing! That's right...the old wallpaper is gone...nothing more than a memory right now. The walls are yellowish...it's been prepped for the wallpaper, and it was tinted to complement the wallpaper. No, my wallpaper is not yellow, but a more honey, wheaty, tannish color. Yes, I know that's vague.

Look at all of the layers!



Little bad spot in ceiling being prepped...



By the way...here is a clearer picture of the ceiling paper.




That's it for now....I'm off to bed! More to follow!

Ooh, look! Work is starting!

On Sunday I signed a contract to have my ceilings redone, the kitchen completely renovated, and the closets redone (you've not seen pics of those yet...you'll understand). I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited that work is beginning....anyway, here is what is going on:

First, the kitchen:



Work started yesterday (Monday). Here you can see that some of the yellow tile stuff has been removed. None of the rest of it will...apparently it could have asbestos, or at the very least, fiberglass. It is being worked over, I suppose. The plaster you see will be used to fill in the wall and make it level from the tile stuff.

Sad happenings....the little table by the stove was taken down. Moment of silence, please. I'll replace it with some type of shelf. But for now, here it is...or was, rather.



And finally, some prep work being done on the kitchen ceiling, and in my bedroom (more on that room later):

Live From the Living Room!

Okay, the best picture I have of the living room is in the dining room blog, but as I am trying to document each room, I will add in what else I have.

This is standing right inside the door from the dining room, looking over to the front door and the doorway into the office.



This discoloration on the wallpaper is actually shown to a MUCH larger degree in this picture...when you are in the room, you don't notice it. Again, same wallpaper throughout, so this will eventually be covered as well. But while you are looking at this, possibly thinking "Niiiiiiiiiice," might I take this opportunity to point out the woodwork? It is absolutely gorgeous! Only the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom don't have it in its original condition any longer, but the rest of the house does. And it truly is beautiful. If you have a thing for old houses, it will take your breath away. It did mine.

Here is the front door, open. Would love someday to strip the paint off of it and return it to its natural color. This may not happen any time soon, or ever, for that matter. But a girl can dream. Still, love the door with its woodwork.

Oh yeah! The outside!!!

I actually meant to post these pics in the beginning. Anyway, here is the outside!



A view from the side of the house...yes, that is a window air unit. Yes, I know how hot it gets in the Ohio River Valley. Yes, I know that humidity is attached to it. Yes, I am starting up a fund to put in central air. I'm not stupid, for crying out loud.



And finally, a view of the back...that's my car's house behind mine.



Okay, that should take care of that one. What am I doing to the outside? Absolutely nothing except putting some flowers on the porch starting Derby Weekend.

Into the Dining Room

Okay, as you move from the kitchen into the core of the house, you first come into the dining room. Pretty much the first thing that you see is the wallpaper...



Dang. You might now see why I want to replace it. I think I could live with it, it's just that I don't want to. So, I'm not. Not sure what the time frame is on getting this replaced. There are a couple of tricky areas that need to be addressed.



This is the view from the kitchen into the dining room. The door on the left leads into the hallway, and the door on the right into the living room. There used to be French doors that led from the dining room into the living room...no trace of them now. Would love to have them though. If you look above the door into the living room, you can see the doorbell.



Not sure how old the thing is, but it still has a nice "ding" sound to it, and it is still functional, so it will be staying. To paint or not paint? I'm taking suggestions, although all signs are pointing to leave it as is. It has a nice patina to it, if you can overlook the discoloration.

The dining room opens up into the living room. Here is how it would look if you were standing right in front of those doors.



If you looked behind and off to the corner, you would see this...which also has the worst bit of wall in the house. Definitely not looking forward to tackling that one!



Plans for the dining room:
Fix the spot in the wall (there are actually two...don't have a pic of the second spot, but it isn't nearly as bad). Put up wallpaper and fix ceilings. Compared to the kitchen, minus the tricky wall spot, shouldn't be too hard. As with all windows except for the kitchen and bathroom, I will be putting up new blinds...sometime.

In the beginning...

Okay, so I bought a house. This is going to be my attempt to blog what is going on with the renovations for said house. While the house has its own charm right now, as is, it does require a bit of Micky-fication and a Mick-overhaul. So, to begin with, here is what I have. I will try to keep up with this as best as I can!

The Kitchen



View from the back door. I love that sink. It is definitely old school...some would call it retro, but it's not their house, is it?



If I was the refrigerator, this would be my view. That is my new, came with house, gas stove. Little worried about the gas stove. Not necessarily about the burners, but the oven intimidates me. It's a good thing I don't cook or I would really be worried.









Not sure, but this may be my favorite part of the kitchen...the built in china cabinet. I love this thing.




View from the dining room. The door leads to the garage (my car's house) and the driveway (that's where you'll be parking). The table and chairs came with the house, and I am happy about that! The table has a drop leaf on both sides and fits perfectly in that space. If I wanted to impress the poop out of people, I would call this my breakfast nook. I'll be replacing the tablecloth and the curtains above the sink.



The house came with all kinds of treasures, one of which is this frog. It is sitting on the sink, and it will be staying on the sink, because it's just cool, darn it! I kind of hate the fact that I threw the scouring pad inside away...kind of looks like a rolled up tongue, doesn't it? Anyway, when you come to visit, you can check out the frog and various other treasures...just ask! You'll want to take the LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson salt and pepper shakers home, but they're mine. Deal.

Plans for the Kitchen
First off, tear down that yellow tile stuff. I am going to be using the same wallpaper throughout the house, so it will be going up here. In another blog I will show a picture of the wallpaper sample. White beadboard is going to go up, about three feet from the top of the baseboard. It'll be topped with narrow molding. Then the wallpaper, then a border. I also have some painting to do...baseboard, cabinets, door, etc. The ceiling will be redone. Right now there is some consideration on using ceiling tiles that look like the old tin ceilings of the past. Should look good...can't wait to see it. There is a shelf that runs between the china cabinet and the basement door which haas to come down. I definitely want to replace that, but as it isn't a top priority, that is something to do down the road. I am also considering buying a refrigerator, as I think it might be useful.