Why I Haven't Posted in a Very Long Time, Part I: Downstairs

I apologize for not posting in a long, long time. My daughter and I moved back into our house in early November. After a solid week of cleaning, the house was liveable, though not finished. I was waiting for things to look "done" before I posted pictures -- and silly me, I thought this would take just a few weeks or so. When you look at where we began, we have made A LOT of progress. It's just that there's still a ton of little things to be done -- putting up towel bars, mirrors, putting on doorknobs, etc. Oh, and we still need to decorate (not such a little thing).

However, rather than waiting another six months until things are looking a little more put together, here are some pictures. I'm starting with the downstairs (with a two year old, I am only able to keep one floor clean at a time).

First off is the kitchen. It is the room that is closest to completion. The walls still need to be painted (although we're going to paint them white -- not much different than the current primer hue). The trim on the window needs to be painted as well. The kick plate underneath the dishwasher and the register cover by the range both need to be installed. We're also going to get a roman shade to hang on the window. Eventually we will get a built-in microwave. After all that is finished, the kitchen will be complete. It's light years better than before.



Resources: Custom cabinets by Copley's Carpentry, farm sink by Whitehaus Collection, Faucet by Strom Plumbing, cabinet hardware and pendant light by Restoration Hardware, Jenn Air refrigerator and dishwasher, Viking range, mosaic tile from Mosaic Tile Supplies, subway tile from Dal-Tile.


Next stop, the dining room. We removed all the heinous wallpaper, painted the walls and trim, and got a new chandelier (Restoration Hardware). We also purchased a new dining table and buffet from Restoration Hardware. The chairs are from Craigslist ($50 for 5 -- so even though they need to be stained darker and could use some new upholstery, they were a pretty good deal). We want to get a couple of upholstered captain's chairs to complete the set, possibly like these. A rug, a mirror, and some pictures would be nice, too.




On to the entryway... There was wallpaper on every surface -- the wallpaper on the ceiling had mold growing under it. Yuck. Anyway, it's gone now. Really the only thing left is to paint the closet door and hang it back up. The pendant light is from Restoration Hardware (where else?).




There's a lot of work left to be done in the breakfast room. The bad wallpaper, fire hazard light fixture, and retro banquette seating are gone. But we haven't put much back in their place. There's the new light... from RESTORATION HARDWARE (tip: buy the 20% off entire purchase coupons on eBay when you're ready to purchase a bunch of stuff or buy the item through eBay). And the new floor, carried over from the kitchen. We're going to have a new banquette built -- probably something along these lines. We'll get new roller shades, too.

We replaced the toilet (Porcher), sink (Duravit), and faucet (Porcher) in the powder room (which is right off of the breakfast nook) and added a new light fixture. However, the door still needs to be painted and rehung -- so obviously this particular room isn't getting much use.



Oh yeah, all the register covers are being repainted, so they are all open like the one above.

Finally, the living room. There is a lot left to do here. Also, my daughter's Christmas booty has taken over the room. Eventually there will be a playroom in the basement, but currently the basement is completely uninhabitable (all the stuff we don't have a place to put yet, construction leftovers, dust, dust, dust). Her room is also full of toys -- I'll be posting proof of that soon -- so I can't move the mess up there. The biggies on our to do list for the living room are painting and reinstalling the mantle, paining and reinstalling the french doors (beside the fireplace -- the plywood is classy, no?), painting the nook bookshelves and cabinet doors and reinstalling them, reupholstering the wing chairs (that I found on a sidewalk sale for next to nothing), hanging the TV above the fireplace, and finding accent tables, a rug, and other decor items. Something tells me this is going to take awhile. Still, it's better than the yellow yuckiness that existed before.




Yes, that's my daughter playing with a ride on trainset in the middle of our living room. Are you sure that one couldn't have stayed in your basement for a little while longer, Grandma and Grandpa? The blinds are all from Smith and Noble. I'm pretty sure you can guess where the couch is from after reading the rest of this post. I have vowed not to buy anything else from there for awhile.

So there it is. If you are a friend or family member and I haven't invited you over yet, now you know why. I'm hoping things will be more presentable by spring. Try stopping by then. In the meantime, thanks for all your encouragement and support! I promise I'll try to get posting regularly again.