The Before & The For Now...My Diningroom

About a year after I moved into my house my Dad came to help me with a little garage shingling project.  It was so great of him to drive the 4 hours to mend a little leak…in my garage roof.  Nothing critical but it sure is nice to be able to leave my sunroof open inside now.  My dad is retired but spent the majority of his working life as a carpenter so he really knows how things are supposed to go when it comes to DIY projects.

I am a bit more of a I want it done and I want it all done now kind of project manager.  This leads me to often have a few too many projects started at once.  And yes, I got the what for from my Dad about not starting something new until I finish my current project.  At the time it was the kitchen cabinets, dining room walls, new stairs, bathroom wainscoting , and a couple of other small projects I can’t exactly remember at the moment.

So it’s been a few years since that visit and I am still working on many of these projects including my dining room.  I’m a bit of a perfectionist so have been reluctant to share it until it was totally complete & perfect.  I’m not there but in an effort to embrace imperfection I have decided to share :).

There are so many things I still want to do but I just haven’t decided on fabrics, colors or themes.  So in the interim I’ll give you the before and the “for now” photos.

Apologies for the absolute horrible photo - this is from the listing from
before I purchased.

When I moved in the floors were beautiful….but that was about it.

There was this pineapple wallpaper….EVERYWHERE…it covered the diningroom, the kitchen, the hall, the back entry, the stairway and even the basement stairwell….I’m not kidding.

Phone photo from the walk through with my agent.  This is the view into my livingroom - you can see the now
on my livingroom here

I get the desire to create a unified flow but this was ridiculous.

The old fashioned shades & window a/c certainly make a design statement don't they?

So down it came…and luckily for me it was a really thick vinyl paper that was not well adhered to the wall so it literally peeled right off in sheets.

And the other side of the room looks into the kitchen and behind that lovely door
are stairs to the 2nd floor.  You can see in the first photo that the stairs were covered
in a lovely neon green low pile carpet.

I had painted my livingroom in a taupe-y brown color (Benjamin Moore’s Truffle) and thought that maybe a nice light aqua-y blue would be lovely since there is an open archway between the rooms.  Blue and brown are complimenting colors right?

First try...not quite.  Apparently I was in the middle of hanging the sheers when I took this pic.

Well, once I got the blue up I liked it alright but was stuck in what color to paint my kitchen (the next room).  I didn’t want rainbow brite’s house and my bedroom was pink at the time so what to do…

The door is now gone as is the neon green carpet.  Stairs still need to be finished
but they sure do look better already

Within a month of getting the blue up I repainted a more neutral color – Benjamin Moore’s Handmade.  It’s a really warm golden beige (think manila folders with a gold tint) and just makes the white woodwork pop.

The chandelier has been replaced and the window a/c unit is long gone

Turned out just the perfect neutral for my little 1929 bungalow.

Looking through from my kitchen all the way into my livingroom.  The colors make sense to
me here.  You can also still spy a little bit of that pineapple wallpaper behind my china
cabinet...for now

I have 3 windows in this room but it’s not a particularly bright room so while I love, love, love drapes I’m worried adding them to the room will darken the room too much so I’ve stuck with white sheers for now.

I’m still contemplating the drape thing but for now it’s just the sheers.

The kitchen is going to get a major makeover (probably not this year) but you can see a little peak here...you like that flooring don't you?

I also am still vacillating on wall art..the space over the desk needs a little something but I haven’t hit on the right thing…yet.  I love all of the plate walls I am seeing these days and there are so many inspiration pics on Pinterest….maybe that’s the answer.

Will keep contemplating for now and keep you all updated as I experiment.

sharing this week on:
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House
Savvy Southern Style
Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House
The Cottage Market
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Mod Vintage Life
Jennifer Rizzo
Elizabeth & Co

Summer Project Update - Finished!!!

So it’s been months (and months…and months) in the works but finally my summer project is FINISHED!  If I knew then what I know now….yeah, not sure I would have taken this project on. 

Side view - this was taken on inspection day

Side view - this was taken today

 

Back Steps..sad

 

Back Steps...now.  Long term plan is to move this door to the back of
the house and put a window here instead

It wasn’t hard….really.  But it definitely took more time than I had anticipated…that darn trim work…

Garage before...bonus room on the side is a future project

Garage now...what you can't see is the addition of a garage door opener...
very important for New England winters

There are several more exterior projects that just didn't get done this year but this was a huge step forward.

Front Door...before

Front door now...still needs a major reno (i.e. new door,
new steps & portico) but a little paint will make do till
spring

With all of the challenges (like me getting on the roof to paint the dormers?) and the frustration of it taking far longer than I wanted, it was so worth it.  I am very pleased with how it came out and definitely house proud these days. 

Front view before

Front view after - was going to paint the brown shutters but after taking them
down I decided it was a better plan just to replace them

Next up….guestroom redo.  Here’s the before:

This is the photo from the listing when Mrs Johnson still owned (and
decorated) the house.

2012 Summer Project Update - Dormers Done

Have you ever started part of a project and immediately had the thought….oh no this really wasn't a good idea?

Well, that was what was shouting in my head after I had decided that there was no good reason I couldn't or shouldn't get up on my roof to paint the dormers to my house.  I painted the sides up to the roofline without any issue what’s a few more feet right?  Well, knees shaking I quickly figured out what a few more feet were…my tipping point.

Two-toned house...not really what I had in mind...

So off the roof I came with only about 1/3 of one side of one dormer painted…fail.

At least I tried right?  And I learned my limitations without breaking my neck…it’s all good except my dormers were still peanut butter brown and my house was a pretty yellowy cream….crap.

So last week I got some help from my mother’s husband who drove 1 ½ hrs with his big kids ladder to spend the day finishing them up for me.  Holy cow they look so good.  Thanks Butch...appreciate it more than you know.

Butch up on the roof..he makes it look so easy

Roof acrobatics courtesy of Butch....no way are you catching me in this
pose.. oh and that's my 1/2 painted garage workshop to the right (a
future project that will be so wonderful to finish inside...maybe next year).

And one step closer to this project being done.

Dormers done...I think I lost the "ladder war" though...mine looks
so undersized next to Butch's.

Just the trim to finish now…

Scraping the trim...this week's goal is to finish
it...I think that's a doable goal.

2102 Summer Project - Update

It’s been several weeks now since I first told you about my “what was I thinking 2012 summer project” (you can see the beginnings of it here).  Progress is now reached that snail’s pace with Fall in New England bringing shorter days and so many other fun things to distract me.  Although slow,  progress is still progress, right?

Just a quick reminder of the before color - this is the side of my house
(the window air conditioner unit is long gone)

So most of the house is painted – just one more coat on the far side and I’m done with the “easy” part.  Next comes trim and I have finally accepted that as much as I think I can do anything getting, on that roof to finish the dormers just isn’t in my future.

My backdoor - long term plan is to move this door to the back of my house
but for now it's still on the side (and it's now black).

In the spirit of full disclosure though, on bright Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago I did get up on the roof and gave it the good old college try.  Started the painting but was a bit too distracted with my knees shaking to stay up and finish what I had barely started.  I might have been up on that roof maybe 3 minutes before I headed back down the ladder…at least I tried right?

Getting there..(take special notice of the little white cottage next to my house).
Weather permitting trim & shutters are on the agenda for this weekend

The good news is help is coming soon to take care of those pesky dormers.

Funny story:  My neighbors have all been very interested in what is going on at my house this summer as I’ve been outside working (in a very non-nosey non-intrusive kind of way of course – I have great neighbors!).  My neighbor Jay whose little cottage home is the white one right next to mine has been sharing with me his plans for all kinds of DIY projects for a while but hasn’t had a chance to really start anything since I’ve lived next to him (MBA + busy schedule can do that to you).

I hadn’t seen Jay much this summer but one day I was enjoying a quick cup of coffee before getting going on my painting and something flying past my window caught my eye – a piece of siding from his house.  I saw the siding but didn’t see Jay so all I could think was “crap is it that windy out that his siding is blowing off”?  I know, seems like such a blond thought…did I mention I had just started my morning coffee?

Well, it wasn’t the wind – it was Jay.  Apparently me spending days on end painting my house had “shamed” him into action and he decided to finally take the not so attractive vinyl siding off his house and put up the cedar shingles he had been planning since he bought the house 6 years ago.  Glad I could offer up the inspiration Jay :-)

And...Jay's "what was I thinking" project.

Well, I still have the “what was I thinking” mantra going through my head but I that light at the end of the tunnel is starting to appear (although admittedly it’s still a bit dim).  Will keep pushing toward it!

2012 Summer Project...Sneak Peak

Sometimes when I am in the middle of a HUGE project I wonder what I was thinking when I decided it was a good idea to take such project on.  

My peanut butter colored 1929 bungalow....before

This is the case at this time when I am in the middle of the project I decided to take on for this summer.  I am well over 2/3 done but with much of the detail work left to do it feels like it will never be completely done.

Here’s a sneak peak at my project midway in…

Paint glides right on the asbestos shingles

Scraping done, painting begun

 I'm still trying to figure out how to get to the dormers to get them painted (climbing on the roof didn't really work out so well for me).

What was I thinking?