Tulane Rehab

Long time, no see!

2010-11-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we have officially been bad bloggers. Our last update was 6 months ago!! We have a couple good excuses though - a trip to Germany, a month long visit from family and our wedding! We haven't done too many big renovations, but we have been cleaning/purging and making our family room a place where we actually like to relax!

Before family room....

After! New lamps and tv! Still need a grey sectional and a new rug, but it's a start! We are going for a grey/yellow theme.

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A couple pics from the wedding :)

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We are starting to get the house ready for the holidays. Still need some wreaths - decided we should wait until Dec. 1st to hang those ;)

The Great Outdoors (a.k.a - Our Front Yard)

2010-05-26T20:25:00.001-07:00

Summer is here and it's hotter than hell again - which means we've put all those miscellaneous interior tasks on the backburner and moved outside to work on the yard again!

Like many of the projects we have completed over the past two years, conceptualizing and implementing what we wanted to do in our front flower bed came together REALLY quickly once we made up our minds that we were going to do it.

First, a big shout out and thanks to our friend Tim Tolle, who not only helped with the design of both the front and back yard, but also put together a thorough list of recommended plants to use. (NOTE: The first line of Tim's plant list literally reads: "Let’s Talk Plants Dude…")

On Saturday, we did a little "ghetto gardening" - which involved digging up plants that we haphazardly planted around our backyard last summer and moving them to the front yard. There were a couple of tall ornamental grasses that we felt would look good flanking the stairs leading up to the porch, so we started there. Next we dug up a handful of coralbells that our friend Stacey (who found the house for us as well) gave to us last summer and moved them to the front.

On Sunday morning, we took a look at our budget, grabbed a couple coupons, and decided to head over to Oakland Nursery (just across I-71 from our house) to buy the bulk of our plants. For those Columbus residents who have never been there, do yourself a favor and go. I'm about the farthest thing from a true "gardener," but walking through Oakland's campus definitely made me consider taking up the hobby more seriously. Their 10-acre campus is an oasis set in the middle of an urban neighborhood, and their selection is unbelievable. Their staff is ridiculously knowledgeable and helpful, but not overbearing. And their prices were pretty reasonable.

Here are a few shots of the finished front bed:

Completed front bed and porch - Hostas and climbing roses (existing) with new gooseneck ground cover, coralbells, white astilbe (2), Jack Frost brunnera (2), Cunningham white rhododendron, and Irish moss (6).

New tree - Petite Blue Indigo Butterfly Bush.

New tree - Close-up of the butterfly bush's flowers.

The front yard came a long way over a short weekend, but it took a lot of hard-work and effort and patience to get things just the way we wanted. So we thought the best way to reward ourselves and enjoy the fruits of our labors would be to install a porch swing.

We actually bought the swing off of Craigslist for $40 two years ago when we first moved into the house, but it was a little hard to justify "relaxing on the front porch" when there were so many other projects to finish first. So we saved it for a special occasion.

Porch Swing - It's actually pretty beat up but photographed really well. We'll be tossing a coat of paint on it sometime later this summer.

Installation - Contrary to popular belief, the trim on a house is NOT solid. Use a stud finder and make sure you tap into something structural.

Success - Swing properly installed and leveled.

The View - Where we'll be spending many evenings this summer.

Days 4, 5 and 6

2010-04-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

The last couple days we have been priming and painting. We decided to paint the ceiling a dark grey and the walls a later shade of grey. The woodwork will be white. We still need to finish out the closet before we move furniture back in. The closet will be a "built in" bookshelf. Looking forward to finally unpacking all our books!

Spring Break - Day 2 and 3

2010-03-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

The last couple days have been filled with lots of vinyl spackle and sanding! These are my two least favorite things to do, but I am pushing through since Matt is usually the one doing this messy job. I just hope it turns out as smooth as his work!

No good pics except me and Hudson taking a break! He got his hair cut today - he even let the people at Petsmart trim his nails and brush his teeth. That's what his report card said....

Spring Break - Day 1

2010-03-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

Project: tear down wallpaper and paint office
Time frame: 1 week

So, we've decided to buckle down and knock out the office before summer so we can focus our efforts on landscaping and painting the rest of the exterior. While Matt was busy doing what normal people do (go to work), I took down all three layers of wallpaper in the office since I'm on spring break.

The walls aren't in too bad of shape. Matt is currently spackling the cracks in the corners of the wall. He is such a perfectionist and detailed-oriented person that the walls come out looking like new when he's finished. There was a big hole in the whole from where an old wall lamp used to be, so he had to fill that in tonight as well.

Tomorrow I am going to get to sanding and smoothing and hopefully painting by Wednesday afternoon! We are going to go with a light grey with charcoal and orange accents. More to come!

Couple pics of the office before we bought the house.

Today's work - no more wallpaper!!

Before and After: The Best of

2009-12-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

Slow and steady wins the race, but even I'm a sucker for the shock and awe of before and after photos. Here are a few of our favorites:

Which one is your favorite?

Kitchen: The Grand Reveal

2009-12-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

It has been a long, long time coming - but the kitchen is officially complete. Blair's dad came over yesterday afternoon to hang the cabinet and microwave above the stove, and everything worked out perfectly.

In an effort to reuse as many pieces from the original steel set as possible, the only cabinet we had left was not as wide as the microwave. So we improvised and create an asymmetrical shelving area using one of West Elm's white "Chunky Wall Shelves" (we used the same shelves in our bathroom and bedroom as well, only in different finishes). We were afraid it was going to look awkward or contrived, but the effect couldn't have been better. I really think it fits in with the quirky, playfulness of the rest of the kitchen.

(The shelf is a great spot to keep things off our limited counter space. With the addition of some framed art or magnetic knife holder, this nook will be complete.)

My mom also stopped by with the custom-made curtains she put together for us using the leftover material from our dining room chairs. They are exactly what we were looking for and really help to unify the kitchen with the dining room.

(Custom cafe curtains made from the leftover fabric from our dining room chairs.)

(A second set of dual curtains on the back door gives us a little more privacy, and the draft stopper from Stacey is a life saver during the winter.)

Next, we got moving on all of the detail work. Outlet covers and switch plates were reinstalled, the tile and countertops were wiped down again, we installed the kick-plates under the cabinets and handles on all the doors. And after all that was complete, we cleaned the entire kitchen.

(We raised the rack above the new curtains so that our cacti get the sun they need ;)

The result is what we consider "modern vintage." We wanted to create a space that was warm and inviting with authentic elements, but include high-end components and materials that you won't find anywhere else. From the travertine tile floors to the solid walnut countertops to the glass tile backsplash, I think we hit the nail on the head - and we are thrilled with the result.

P.S. - Come see it in person this Saturday!

Tile and a Tree

2009-12-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

You know there's a party coming when we go to a pottery sale, cut down a Douglas Fir, hang exterior lights, install curtains in the kitchen, decorate the entire Christmas tree, and install glass tile backsplash in the kitchen all in one weekend. Progress pics...

More photos will be uploaded tomorrow of the fully decorated tree and the grouted tile.

Holiday Par-tay

2009-12-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Chances are good that if you frequent this blog, you've already received a copy of this invite...

But in case you haven't, all of our friends (online and off) are more than welcome to join us for food, drink and dance next Saturday, December 19th starting at 8PM. So bring your holiday spirit and a friend, and celebrate the season with some of the best company in Columbus!

(Click to enlarge.)

The Wait is Over...

2009-12-06T08:18:00.001-08:00

Just 11 short months after buying the walnut for our counter tops, a friend who runs the wood department at work came over and helped me finally install them atop our cabinets. Here are the progress pics:

And the final product:

Now it's time to order the tempered glass and find someone to install the 1" clear glass tile along the backsplash...

Dining Room: The Grand Reveal

2009-12-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

As I look through the old photos of the dining room, I am overcome with a sense of nostalgia. I can actually remember the first time we walked through the house, and the musty scent of the wallpaper. I can remember how the walls felt and the way the sunlight had outlined the picture frames on them. And I can remember standing in the kitchen, talking to The Millers about purchasing the house.

Removing the wallpaper (three layers again).

The strange part is that there is really no reason for me to feel nostalgic or "attached" to these old photos. We had never lived there or created any of our own memories in its previous state. Yet there was something inherently familiar about the house as soon as we stepped through its doors. While the wallpaper was dated and worn, we could tell that the home was always well cared for. We could tell that it had been loved.

Now, eighteen months later, this house really feels like our home. We absolutely love it, and we hope you do to.

Full dining room table, with new chandelier, window coverings,
blinds (thanks Dad!), and reupholstered seats.

Votive candle holders from a shop in London, Ohio (thanks Mom!) and a bottle of celebratory bubbly from our neighbors (thanks Erin & Dave).

Turning Old into New

2009-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to look back through our blog entries today, and it's fun to see how far the house has come since we first bought it. Exactly one year ago, we were getting ready to re-install the then newly-refinished kitchen cabinets. Ironically, it has taken us nearly 11 months to have the counter tops officially installed (that happens tomorrow) - but we have obviously been working on other projects since then.

The tricky thing, we've found, about renovating a home is the "good enough" syndrome that sets in. It seemed much easier in the beginning to take on huge tasks because leaving them unfinished literally meant we had no where to shower or no kitchen to use. Nowadays, putting off a project usually means that a room or piece of furniture is functional even though it may not look exactly how we want it.

Lucky for us, we're hosting company and another holiday party at the end of this month which means we've got some motivation to tie up those pesky loose end projects. One of those projects was reupholstering our dining room chairs.

Last month, Joann Fabrics had a great 50%-off sale on their entire inventory of fabrics. As usual, we found something on the pricier side and that needed to be custom ordered. So we took our measurements, placed the order, bought some new 2" foam, and waited for our shipment to arrive.

This past weekend, we picked up the order and got to work. Below are some progress shots of the process:

Chair with the old 1980's pastel print and piping.

Old foam and wooden seat beneath the fabric.

All of the cushions stacked up together.

New "leaf" based fabric to soften up the room.

View of the entire pattern.

Laying the seat atop the foam upside-down.

Tracing the shape of the seat onto the foam with a permanent marker.

Making sure everything is aligned and oriented correctly.

Electric carving knife from Blair's dad. These things work incredibly well; we highly recommend using one if you plan on cutting your own foam.

The final seat cushion, trimmed to size.

After looking through our photos, we realized we didn't take any progress pictures of us wrapping the seats with the fabric. We did them ourselves (I promise!), but it was a two-person job and there wasn't anyone else to document while we worked. In case you are interest or want to reupholster your own chairs, here's a link to the video we used that showed us how to complete the project (thanks ReadyMade!).

Photos of the finished chairs will be included in the final dining room reveal (to be posted tomorrow!)...

Photo Updates

2009-09-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get the place in tip-top shape for our appraisal, we solicited the help of friends and family - particularly Brandon, who helped me pretty much all day last Thursday. By 4PM, the place looked AMAZING and it was apparent we couldn't have done it on our own.

I also realized we had accomplish more in 3 days than we did in the past 3 weeks. Here's a list of things we knocked out in under a week:

Primed and painted all of the trim in the family room
Primed and painted the fireplace tiles white
Repainted all of the walls to a new color (which is so much more comforting and inviting)
Scraped all of the individual panes on our front and veranda doors
Lots of yardwork (including planting mums, mulching, edging, mowing, weed wacking, and raking)
Hung artwork (big thanks to Aubs who let us borrow a few fantastic pieces)
Installed miscellaneous switch and outlet covers that we had ignored for months but took 2 minutes to complete
Mopped floors, cleaned windows, scrubbed sinks, etc....

It's funny how deadlines turn potential into productivity so quickly. Now on to the photos!

Front door with new fall wreath.

Porch with Adirondack chairs and new ceramic planters.

Shot of the front yard with new mums (thanks Mom!).

A few of our kitchen accessories.

Kitchenette area with IKEA table and Urban rug.

Yet another shot of the sink (but with countertops!).

We decided to paint the wall between the counters and the upper cabinets until we install the glass tile backsplash.

Looking from the dining room into the kitchen. (Hint: we'll have a new light fixture in the dining room very soon!)

Freshly painted fireplace, window frames, baseboards and walls.

Another shot of the family room.

The colors of our pillows don't exactly match the painting above the bed, so we're thinking about repurposing them in the office (the last room we need to redo).

Late, but Beautiful

2009-09-08T21:19:00.001-07:00

These roses grow up the vertical trellis on the right-hand side of our porch during the late Spring and early Summer. The photos were taken at the end of May (hence the white siding), but I just came across them on my computer and found them to be too colorful not to post. Enjoy!

More Exterior

2009-08-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a couple recent exterior pics. Matt worked REALLY hard today as I wallowed around the house thinking of the 119 students that will be replacing my easy-going summer :)

We've decided were about 40% done. Found a house on our street that recently was painted and will most likely use them to help us finish the really high parts.

Thanks to Adam for helping us on Saturday!

Scraped and primed.

Bottom half on the side completely blue!!!

Back touched up with blue and primed at the top.

Latest Exterior Paint Pics

2009-08-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Matt and I hustled to get the front and some of the sides done. Here are the latest pics. Enjoy!

Front BEFORE!

Front AFTER!!!

Back before.

Back after.

I Love the Boomerang Room

2009-07-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

School really needs to start back or I'm going to start shopping way too much! I stopped by the Boomerang room today and found a great red kitchen cart. Matt and I were just discussing storage options since we want to turn our pantry into a half bath one day and this magically appeared.

Here are the pics of the cart in the kitchen. It's amazing how the red cart matches so well with the cabinets! It needs some cleaning up - but it was too cool to pass up! The owner of Boomerang room also threw in the cool veggie drawer for a nice price! Good place to store onions, etc.

Orange Door

2009-07-22T12:40:00.002-07:00

One door down, two to go. We really like how the color turned out! We still need to prime and paint the top part of the house.

White No More

2009-07-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Don't have much time to type a lengthy post, but here are some pictures of our most recent progress on the exterior. Enjoy!

Blue Skies

2009-07-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

We've been busy trying to get this house painted....it's a slow process but I know it's going to pay off. So far we have the lower level primed all around the house and the front porch ceiling painted sky blue! We liked the idea of a blue ceiling from traditional southern homes - they love their porches down south!

Still need to prime the overhang on the porch - but this is a good pic to see the blue porch ceiling!

Porch Ceiling

We decided to go with the top, lighter color. We are going to accent it with a coolish gray-white trim and bright orange doors.

Oops, how did this picture end up in here???

Tease

2009-07-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, we put up the countertops on the particle board a few weeks ago (just to kick our butts into gear). We had to take them down unfortunately - since they are not sealed yet and we don't technically know how to install them. Hopefully we will be getting some much needed help from one of Matt's coworkers who does really awesome woodwork!

Here's a taste of what it will look like. Try to imagine the clear glass tile backsplash that is sitting in our basement....whomp. Oh well, you can only do one thing at a time!

It was a really hot day...

2009-06-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

I finally started priming the house today!! I picked up primer at Sherwin Williams that would fill in all the cracks in the old paint job. There was a little more prep work to do on the front and back. After a few hours I started painting.

Bad news - It was super hot today.
Good news - I got a little bit of a tan and hopefully burned a few calories!

The primer looks good, although you can still see some of the "alligatoring" from the previous paint when up close. It looks great from the street though. I can't wait to see what it will look like with some color! We've been staring at the white for so long. We decided to go with a Valspar color from Lowes (Woodlawn Juniper). We will get the color matched at Sherwin Williams.

Tomorrow I will start priming again and hopefully get all the low parts of the house - I would rather not get on a 32 foot ladder like Matt and Adam!

I decided to save all detail work (windows, doors, etc) for last. Can you tell?

Top part is too far to reach on a "normal" ladder - therefore I won't be doing it.

Left side (primed) - right side (not primed) - obviously :)

Our adorable pup admiring the new paint job - door still crappy looking though!

"Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?"

2009-06-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

"(giggle) No, why?"

Alright, enough Tommy Boy references. Let's get down to business...

After a day of dry time, we got to work on the wood siding of the house again.

We had a friendly bet going about how much of the "alligatoring" paint the power washer would remove and how much additional hand-scraping would be required to get everything ready.

The East side of the house, post-power washing/pre-scraping.

The good news: I won the bet. Three-thousand PSI of water pressure isn't nearly enough to break away 40+ years of brittle oil-based paint.

The bad news: We need to scrape the entire exterior by hand.

One of the many trim boards being scraped with a 5-in-1 scraper.

It was easy to tell that the house was (at some point) painted with an oil-based paint and/or primer because the paint simply flakes off in bits and pieces. Had it been an acrylic-based paint, the chips would bend or flex before breaking. In some areas, the paint peels right down to the bare wood. In other spots, it still maintains a remarkably strong bond.

Exposure to the elements definitely makes a significant impact on certain areas of the house. The South (or back) side of the house receives the most sun throughout the days, and it shows. The only parts that didn't need too much attention were the areas directly under the soffit (roof line).

All of the trim around the windows and doors were in especially rough shape. I have a feeling this was due to a few factors:

the wood used on the trim had a smoother finish than the rough-cut siding, giving the paint less surface area to hold onto
these surfaces were not properly prepped/primed before the paint was applied

The side door after 30 minutes of sanding.

The East side of the house after scraping.

After spending most of the day Friday and Saturday scraping and sanding, our sore bodies begged us for a day off - and we complied. We did manage to remove the outer veranda doors from the front of the house that had been painted shut. Now we need to find a local refinisher to help us strip the paint off them so we can put a really nice finish coat on them before the end of the summer.

Exterior paint color reveal - COMING SOON...

Water + Pressure = Clean Siding

2009-06-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

This week we got a kick in the pants from my brother, Adam, who volunteered to help us with the exterior of the house. Adam used to run a painting business during the summer, so we were excited to get the extra help since he clearly knows what it takes to get the job done right.

So I made a few calls, lined up a 32' ladder and a moving van, rented a power washer, and we were off and running.

Thirty-two foot ladders are much longer than one might expect.

We didn't have a ladder rack to use, so we elevated the 32-footer using a step stool and a LOT of bungee cords.

Once the ladders and equipment were in place, the weather decided to take a turn for the worse. What had been a warm, dry start to the week quickly changed to cold, wet, and dreary. The cold water from the faucet mixed with the falling temperatures made for a long and difficult process.

Nevertheless, Adam got to work power washing all of the siding, soffits, and fascia. Because the house hadn't been washed in years (probably decades), loose dirt and paint poured off the walls in sheets. Here he is on the fully-extended ladder stretching into the neighbor's yard, and a home-made poncho fashioned from an over-sized trash bag.

And on to the exterior....

2009-05-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Now that most of the rooms in the house are complete (except the office), we have moved to the outside. Matt and I really enjoying being outside and so does the new pup, Hudson. The only thing Hudson dislikes is being tugged on a 20 foot leash when we are outside working. So, with some ideas from my dad (who is clearly doing this for the dog, not us :) ) we started building a fence. I'm posting some pics of the backyard and the new fence.

The backyard. Someone came by a picked up the junk behind the fence about an hour after we put it out. Gotta love trash collectors. They probably make more money than I do!

Future spot for the deck we plan on building this summer.

Working until dark!

Matt also put in four 6 ft. fence poles so we can build a gate on both sides of the house.

Our kitchen table doubling as a cutting station for the fence!

Luckily there were already existing poles to screw the 2 x 4's into.

Completed fence! We will most likely replace the existing chain link to the left of the new wood fence...but not this summer!

NOTE: Once things calm down a bit in our lives (summer!), we are going to start scraping and painting the house. Keep your calendars open for a "scraping" party in the near future - pizza and beer will be your payment :)

Another pic of Hudson, just because I am obsessed and he is the cutest accessory to the house so far!!!

More Wallpaper!

2009-04-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

We finally got the wallpaper up in the dining room and we are loving it! It took most of the day - mainly because Matt is a perfectionist...thank goodness. It turned out awesome. We found a pattern we liked in a wallpaper book at Lowe's and then ordered it online. Each roll cost 11 bucks and we needed 6. So, it was cheap!

Now we are looking for fabric to cover the seat cushions in the dining room. After that's finished the dining room will be basically finished...save the design details that we just don't have time for right now.

Getting the paper wet so the glue activates.

Me and Matt's mom lining up the pattern.

Cutting the edge of the paper.

Almost there....

The pattern up close.

Finished wall!

We've come along way....

2009-03-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

Second blog of the day....within minutes of each other. This is BIG for us :) I was just glancing through some old pics and realized we have done so much! I'm not trying to pat ourselves on the back, but it makes me realize that we have accomplished something, even though our "to-do" list seems to keep piling up. Here are some good before and after shots.

The lovely kitchen :)

The spare bedroom (before, during and after)

Second Official Visitor

2009-03-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Only 9 more days until my sister gets in from Germany! There are also 9 days until Spring Break, which makes me (and my students) VERY happy. The spare bedroom is finished for the most part. We still need to add details (drawer handles, artwork, decor), but it came together really nice. As my brother-in-law put it - cozy. Although we went with grey walls, it does in fact feel cozy! Here are the most recent pics.

We put a postcard from my sister from Koln (or Cologne) in a frame - makes it cozy :)

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The dining room is on its way as well. Matt put the finishing touches on the purple walls tonight and his mom is coming over on Saturday to put up wallpaper on one of the dining room walls. Yes, you did hear that correct. We decided to do ONE wall of wallpaper, despite the fact that we took THREE layers of the stuff off the wall :) Here are the most recent pics. It looks a lot more purply in the pictures - it's much darker in person.

Our First Official Visitor

2009-03-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

5 rooms down, 2 to go....we are currently working on the spare bedroom and the dining room. Our first official visitor is coming all the way from Germany! No, it's not my sister....it's my brother-in-law. I love saying "brother" since I always wanted one! Wasn't as lucky as Matt who has 2 brothers :) In the spare bedroom, we still need to paint the baseboards, doors and windows white. Matt is currently painting the bedroom a "drizzling mist." It's a Valspar color from Lowe's (thanks to his dad who got him a giftcard for his b-day).

Our inspiration for the room started with a poster we bought in San Francisco. I found some pillows at West Elm last summer and we just got a funky rug from Ikea last weekend.

"Drizzling Mist" on the walls.

We are also working on the dining room. The top color on the swatch below is the grayish/purple color we chose. We decided to paint the woodwork white in here as well, to match the kitchen baseboards.

Matt working hard.

Only thing left on the interior will be the office (and some final details in the other rooms). After the inside is finished, we are painting the exterior of the house and planting some shrubs, bushes, and flowers. The exterior has been seriously neglected and we both are excited to work outside when the weather warms up!

Hamburgers and DIF

2009-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a month since we've posted....and not too much has happened. We've been enjoying the half-finished kitchen - had an open house/holiday party (December 08) and have been cooking up a storm. Here are some pics from the party and the delicious hamburgers we made last weekend.

Ikea wine holder.

Name plate Matt's friend at work made.

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YUMMY hamburgers - notice we still need countertops and backsplash!

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Moving on to the dining room!

We decided to go with a dark purple in the dining room. We'll paint the woodwork white in here so the purple "pops" against the trim. We like the top swatch, middle purple. Of course the wall paper needs taken off. Matt and I started last Sunday and got about half of it off.

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And the spare bedroom - we are rushing to get this room done for when my brother in law comes to visit in March!

We are well acquainted with the DIF bottle!

Matt's mom came over a few weeks ago and helped strip the wallpaper. Thanks Ann!

More writing on the wall!

Priming the walls before we spackle. Can't wait to sand these walls....SIKE!

Hopefully we will be posting more often - which means the rooms will be getting done quicker! We have to get the inside done so we can work on the exterior of the house this summer!

So close we can TASTE it...

2008-12-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is so close to being completed, we can taste it (*pun intended*). The cabinets are officially painted and have been delivered to our house.

Newly painted cabinets, fresh off the delivery van.

I'm not sure that we'll wrap everything up by this Saturday as planned, but it will be - for the most part - a functional kitchen. One with running water, countertops (let's call them "work surfaces" for now), and appliances. You know - things you take for granted when you have them but desperately miss when you go without for a few months.

The first wall cabinet hung; two floor units awaiting installation.

We will (hopefully) finish the plumbing under the sink and install the last of the cabinets tonight. Blair's dad came over last night and helped us for a good 7 hours. I'd say we have another 3 to go.

The first three units and the sink in place. The garbage disposal installation has begun.

After that, we have to get our counter tops ready, install the trim atop the counters, and then install the backsplash. I don't want to give too much info away (the materials we are using are TOP SECRET) - so you'll have to check back to see the final product.

The whole shebang on our main wall. The dishwasher will go to the right of the sink, and an 18" cabinet that we repurposed will go on the opposite wall next to the stove.

Brand new faucet over our newly refinished vintage porcelain sink. Good stuff.

A long time coming...

2008-12-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

After working through a few scheduling conflicts, the painting is finally under way. Hold ups in my company's production schedule and a sick friend in the painting department pushed our project back about a week and a half. Luckily Chris has agreed to stay after work the next few nights to help me wrap them up before the weekend. It's a little hard to tell how the finished product will turn out at this point, but I'm LOVING the color so far.

The final coat won't be quite as glossy as the photos below (we went with the "Satin" finish as opposed to the "High Gloss" - which were our only two choices). These photos were taken mid-process before everything had a chance to dry.

We've got three gallons of lacquer paint called DuraLac that we picked up from Benjamin Moore to do the entire job. Total cost: about $97 bucks. I don't know the name or number of the color off hand (so don't ask ;)). I basically walked up to the color swatches, saw it and told the guy behind the counter, "THAT'S THE ONE!"

NOTE: A little birdie told me that the wood shop is working on a little "somethin' somethin' " for the counter tops. Keep an eye open for progress pics on that. Also, custom tiles for the backsplash come in this Friday. BIG weekend ahead of us!

Our lovely cabinets, pre-prime and paint. (Don't you just LOVE the color? Ha.)

First coat on the bottom-side of the drawers. All red and sexy.

Backside of the doors, looking a little glossy in the gleam of the flourescent paint booth lights.

NEW! Custom Cabinet Emblem

2008-12-02T13:09:00.000-08:00

Big thanks to our friend Ray who runs the router here at my company. I showed him the design I created a couple weeks ago, and he ran with it. He created the paths in his spare time and used some scrap materials he had laying around.

Ray watching over the delicate mirrored acrylic.

One of the three routers our company uses.

Closeup of the tiny router bit doing it's job.

Computer programs used to create the paths.

All of the white you see was plowed from a single piece of 1/4" "Pure White" acrylic. The metallic border and letters were routed from 1/8" mirrored acrylic and inset into the white piece.

Individual pieces of the puzzle.

The pictures don't do it justice (taken with my camera phone) - this thing is SEXY in real life. Can't wait to see it installed on the newly painted cabinets. Thanks Ray.

The new piece fully assembled = *BLING*

Merry Christmas to Us

2008-11-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

There has been some talk of replacing the plumbing in our basement "somewhere down the road," but we were pleased when Blair's dad showed up with tools and supplies in hand the day after Thanksgiving to do it for free. Well, not "free" free (it's our joint Christmas present) - but it's one less item we have to pay for out of our pocket.

Granted, new plumbing isn't exactly a gift either of us would think to ask for, but based on the condition of the old galvanized pipes (see photo below) - we were EXTREMELY excited. Thanks Rodney!

The water supply pipes in our basement were made of galvanized steel (which is very susceptible to corrosion and build-up). This is what nearly 50 linear feet of pipe looked like in our basement. Gross.

Old galvanized pipe running into the house past the water meter. We eventually placed a shutoff valve here to control the water source of the entire home.

The old cold water pipes (which were all replaced) were wrapped in areas with an insulated tape to keep them from "sweating" over the pool table.

More tape-covered pipes...

Rodney always comes prepared. He did his homework (as usual), mapping out all of the routes and pieces necessary to complete the job.

Meter box with the new shutoff valve and beginning of the CPVC installed.

Some excellent handy-work: T-joints, valves and 45 degree angles installed perfectly.

Good stuff. "M&R Plumbing" just might have a future!

New copper piping leading up to the kitchen for our new faucet (which we purchased this weekend).

Needless to say, our water pressure is much improved, and it even tastes better! Keep an eye open for updates on the kitchen cabinets, counter tops, and sink this week...

Signs of Normalcy

2008-11-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend we were able to tackle a number of projects that have been sitting on our "to-do" list for a while. The main source of motivation is our upcoming holiday party (T-minus four weeks!).

The kitchen gets the majority of our attention these days, primarily because it would be nearly impossible to host a party without a way to cook and refrigerate things. While the cabinets are awaiting final assembly and finish, we tackled a few smaller projects at home.

We put plastic sheeting over our antique pool table and set up our paint station for doors and shelves.

The shelves for our pantry were cut from 1x12" pine, and then painted the same white as the trim in our kitchen. We also cut the bottom off all the doors in (and adjacent to) the kitchen since the new tile raised the floor level by a good three-quarters of an inch.

Inside the pantry, we cut and painted some 1x1" to 12" lengths to give our shelves something to sit on.

Here are the shelves - level and installed. We are really pleased with the yellow walls inside the pantry. (And how much does the Threadless "Cookie and Milk" print rock?)

The top shelf is a little close to the top of the doorway, but I think we'll still be able to put a good amount of food up there (as the ceiling in the closet is 9' tall!).

It's pretty sad that unpacking food and cooking utensils from boxes and placing it onto shelves can provide such a sense of accomplishment. Finishing this job made us realize how much we take the little things (like not having to dig through boxes to find a shaker of salt) for granted.

Old vs. New - You Vote!

2008-11-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

We have been debating whether or not to use the original "Republic Steel" emblem from the front of our kitchen cabinets, or replace it with our own custom piece. As much as I love reusing original pieces, there's something nice about putting your own artistic touch into every little project throughout the house.

A friend of ours from work offered to route us a shiny, new custom piece to replace the old, dingy, original Republic Steel piece (below).

Don't worry - if we decide to go with the new routed emblem (design below), we still plan on incorporating the original piece somewhere. It just won't be front and center under the newly re-finished sink. Thoughts?

Bathroom: The Grand Reveal

2008-11-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce that the bathroom is officially the first room in our home to be considered "finished" (well, as finished as it needs to be for digital photos). Thanks to all who contributed to this gorgeous room (see below for credits)!

Big thanks to Budget Blinds for hooking us up with the great natural-fiber roller shade and valance for the window.

These beautiful prints are by local artist Aline Yamada (a fellow Gahanna-Lincoln grad). Check out her work and/or buy these prints here and here.

The drawer pulls are mix and match glass knobs from Anthropologie, and the cabinet itself is an inexpensive Home Goods find.

Yellow Walls and Tile Floors

2008-11-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

Wanted to post the latest pics of the hallway and kitchen floors. We have one more coat of yellow to do on the hallway walls. We are getting excited to do a really good cleaning of the wood and floors. It's been tough living with so much dust and mess! We also grouted the tile in the kitchen this weekend. Last week we took our kitchen sink to my dad's neighbors (Porcelain Professionals) to have it refinished. So, the kitchen is coming along.

Enjoy!

We painted the pantry yellow.

The sink before it was refinished - picking up the finished product tomorrow!

Kitchen Update

2008-10-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we are getting closer and closer to chopping onions! (this has been my catch phrase when someone asks about the kitchen - "I just want to chop something!") We actually have a kitchen floor (that still needs grout) and hopefully the kitchen cabinets will get some work this week or this weekend - we are painting them red with a high-gloss finish.

Here are the latest pics! Enjoy.

Kitchen primed.

Finished paint job (notice the old windows)

NEW WINDOWS!!!

____________________________________________________________________

Floors....a 500 step process!

Reading the instructions on the "self-leveling" concrete we had to use on the kitchen floor - very important!

The reason we had to level the floors! When the addition was added to the kitchen, there was some settling that made the floor dip down.

Matt pouring the self-leveler - it looked so much like runny chocolate frosting it was hard to see Matt put it on the floor!

More self-leveling going on....

The subfloor that took 7 hours to do! Matt and his dad worked until 1am and then Matt finished it up at 3am! I owe him something for this...any suggestions?

TILE!!! The entrance to the kitchen.

Matt laying the last travertine tile! Matt had some help with the floors. A guy that his mom knew worked with him. While they finished the floors, I worked in the hallway, which is now ready to prime and paint!

Items left to do before I can chop...

1.) Grout and seal tile floors
2.) Get the old sink refinished
3.) Paint the cabinets
4.) Install cabinets and appliances
5.) Buy a fridge on Craiglist
6.) Order countertops

A long time coming...

2008-10-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

Yes, we understand it's been nearly a month since our last post.

Sorry about that.

But don't think for a second that we haven't been working on the house. In fact, quite the opposite is true - we've been doing so much work lately that we simply haven't had the time to post all the pictures we've taken.

The camera is at the house (and I'm at work), so I won't be able to do a long post - but I wanted to share something to let everyone know we haven't forgotten about you.

This is a photo of our brand-spankin' new windows that were installed in our kitchenette area yesterday (thanks Champion Windows!). The photo was taken mid-project from my camera-phone, so the quality isn't the best. But it should give you a general idea.

We will work to get some progress shots from the Canon up sometime this weekend. Enjoy!

(Yes, that is Sherwin-Williams "Aquatint" on the walls. Stay tuned for pics of ALL the walls!)

The Human Tornado

2008-09-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Human tornado...this is my dad's new nickname. He comes in with a fury, demolishes a job (in a good way) and is gone in the blink of an eye. His latest storm was in the back yard and the kitchen.

I get a call a week ago while I was running errands and it goes something like this:

Dad: I am going to start cutting some of these branches off your tree.

Me: Ok, I'll be home in an hour. DON'T get on the ladder by yourself.

Dad: Ok, see you in a bit.

Me: DON'T GET ON THE LADDER BY YOURSELF.

One hour later....

Now we just need to bundle these and get them to the side of the road.

Please note the LADDER! There used to be branches right above where my dad is standing!

The next tornado hit the kitchen. Yesterday before Matt got home from work, my dad and I took out the kitchen sink and sink cabinet so we could start laying the tile floors. Within an hour, we had quarter turn shut-offs on the water supply lines, a sink on the kitchen floor and a cabinet removed from the wall.

BEFORE

AFTER

Bedroom Reveal - Part II

2008-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

I finally got to buy some decorative items and not just things like paint brushes and spackle....although the hallway and kitchen are next which will require both items.

Below is the rug we bought at World Market along with some pillows and a chair my grandma gave me. The chair is comfy, but the stripes will have to go. Anyone know where to find a good chair cover?

After a lot of thought (arguments really) at Marshall's Home Goods Store, we decided on brown and orange for the bedroom. I happened to be wearing a dark teal color the day we made the bed and realized it would be a great accent color. The nightstands are temporary for now. The antique store down the street had some tall wood ones that we might go after. For now we are using my summer garage sale purchases!

We picked up the old Lane chest at a garage sale and need to re-upholster the top....whenever we get around to it!

The Master Bedroom Reveal

2008-09-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Remember the dirty, dingy, glue-covered walls of the master bedroom? We sure do. We've been looking at them for the past two months - and we were sick of them. So we hunkered down and made a big push to complete the bedroom by the end of the weekend. With a little help from our friends (thanks Stacey, and mom), we came pretty darn close. Our deadline bled into the week a little, but the job of piming and painting all the trim, windows, walls and ceiling is officially complete.

All of our tedious prep work definitely paid off - the walls look amazing and the ceiling is near flawless. Can't wait until we can start relaxing in this room!

Scroll down to see the progression...

Hi Stacey.

Trimming out the walls with primer.

First coat of wood paint on the windows and the front wall primed.

First coat of wood paint on the trim.

More primer on the front wall.

Only a small section of the ceiling left to prime.

The room fully primed in the morning.

Blair trimming out the ceiling with flat white paint.

Lookin' good.

Ready to paint.

Our main color* edged in along the ceiling and baseboard.
(Color is Sherwin William's Cashmere line of paint in "Latte")

Everything painted!

We obviously need to put the finishing touches on everything, but at least we moved the bed into its appropriate place.

Reading chair (sans seat cushion or slip cover), dresser and TV.

A Closet to Envy

2008-09-10T14:24:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since we've talked about the closet situation in the house, but I think it's worth noting. Apparently people from the 1920's didn't like/own lots of clothes. The closets in our two spare bedrooms are only 40 inches wide, and 18" deep at the most. Notice the small hooks coming off the wall. These are pretty common throughout the house since the closets lacked the depth to hang things sideways (like we are used to).

This is a shot of the closet in the master bedroom - before we did any work to it. Lucky for us, this closet is very deep and significantly wider than the closets in the other rooms. It is a true walk-in closet. As was expected, this room was covered with wallpaper and then painted a lovely shade of yellow-cream. So we had to scrape more wallpaper and prep the walls for paint.

Fans were crucial in the completion of this room for a few reasons. First, it provided ventilation for the small space and helped the plaster and paint dry quickly. Secondly, it replaced the "old, fishy" smell the hanging lamp produces with clean air. (Don't worry - we're removing the hanging lamp and replacing it with two mini-can lights.)

Mom having fun priming the walls.

And lastly, a couple shots of the finished product.

We didn't get any progress shots of us hanging the shelving system, but we think everything came out great. The shelving was the "4-8' Rubbermaid Closet" package. We had to buy a couple extra 13.75" verticals (and we splurged on the 'Belt and Tie Rack'), but everything else was straight out of the box and SUPER easy to install (thanks for helping, Dad). We went from four tiny hooks to two rows of short-hang, and a section of long-hang in a couple of hours.

More to come...

Kitchen Drawers and Bedroom Floors

2008-09-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

Even though we promised not to start any more projects until we finish the bathroom and bedroom, we just HAD to take a break from sanding the walls and ceiling.

Demolition is the greatest feeling - partly because you get to take things apart, but mostly because of the visual impact it has on a space (regardless of how little time/effort was required). Here are a couple shots of our kitchen after we removed another section of the floor and wall cabinets. These cabinets were removed in about 15 minutes and while it makes the room look "uglier," the illusion of progress is profound.

The eventual location of our fridge and dishwasher. The wall cabinets will eventually be painted and rehung in the same location.

The yellow tiles on the walls are the same cheap vinyl variety that were found in our bathroom.

Weeks of sanding plaster off the walls can really make you blind. No - not from the plaster dust falling into your eyes, but to "the way things are" in other areas of the house. Tools spread haphazardly about the spare bedroom, an array of wood trim and green board scraps on the kitchen floor, and a fine layer of plaster dust across everything.

We didn't really notice how bad it had gotten until white footprints started appearing in every room and hallway throughout the house. So Saturday night we decided to spend a half-hour and clean the floors in the master bedroom. We swept the majority of the dust into piles with a broom, and then wet-mopped the rest. The results were fantastic.

Two rooms painted, five to go...

2008-08-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

The fruits of our labors are finally starting to flower. Paint is officially on the walls in our living room, and the floors of the bathroom have been stained and are awaiting a finish coat of polyurethane.

We decided to go with a really light green on the living room walls (Sherwin-Williams' "Sprout" to be exact). Two coats of primer made covering the walls very easy. We'll still hit the walls with another coat of paint to be safe.

Tree Inspired Bathroom

2008-08-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight we were able to get the shower curtain up and stain the floors. Just waiting to get the baseboards up and complete the wainscoting.

Bathroom Update

2008-08-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - it's been a while since we've posted anything new. To be honest, we haven't had a ton of time to do a lot of work AND the work that we have been doing has been the tedious tasks that result in very little visual progress.

However, last night we were able to touch up the paint in the bathroom, install the trim around the new mirror, and install most of the chair rail (see below). The OLD Stanley miter box (borrowed from Blair's dad) snapped my longest and final cut of the night - which means we'll have to make yet another trip to Lowes to buy a final stick of chair rail.

The good news is that our bathroom is finally starting to feel like a bathroom. Our plumber was at the house this morning wrapping up his work - so by tonight we will have a fully functional bathroom (even if some of the finishing details aren't quite wrapped up). The last tasks we need to accomplish are: stain the floors; polyurethane the floors; install the baseboards; apply one last coat of white paint to the trim, windows and baseboards.

It's white!

2008-08-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my dad's neighbors, we have a white tub. They did an excellent job. If you are thinking about refinishing a tub, call Porcelain Professionals!

I am soooo happy!

An end in sight...

2008-08-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Everytime I work on the bathroom, I think it is going to be finished when I leave....but it's not. We are getting really close though. Last night my dad came to sweat it out in the no-air house and we finished the wainscoting, installed the medicine cabinet and bought new chair rail.

Here are some recent pics with my lovely new camera (thanks Matt).

We finally got the Ikea medicine cabinet in place. Yes, the light is a little off center because there was a stud in the way of the electrical box. You really can't notice it when you look at the whole room.

The sink looks a little more centered than the medicine cabinet and the light.

This picture does not do the lights justice. I think they look great, and they are really bright.

We are almost there! The tub is getting a transformation as we speak. Hopefully when I go to the house tonight it will be white and looking beautiful.

Bathroom Progress

2008-08-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

I know we took some earlier photos documenting the "deconstruction" phase of the shower surround, but we can't find them anywhere - so here are some more recent images.

Here we had to use 7/16" greenboard on the shower wall (thanks to the original drywall behind the tile), and 1/4" cement backer board on the other walls where plaster originally hung.

This wall was particularly uneven, thanks mostly to the heating vent that runs up the wall and into the shower area. Weird, I know (although I understand why they did it this way). We covered this area with 1/4" cement backer board and blended the transition areas.

Space for our new medicine cabinet. The greenboard on the right covers the gap where the old light fixture used to live. There is also an old gas line beneath this space, used to power gas wall lamps. This same feature was present under the wall sconces in all the bedrooms as well.

Here is our new IKEA sink, faucet and cabinet. A bit different than the custom cabinet we had originally planned, but it's clean and functional and fits well within the tight quarters.

When choosing a finish for the shower and tub area, we decided that we wanted:

1.) something clean and simple,
2.) an option that would compliment the character of the house (and the existing original tub that we decided to refinish), and
3.) a slight twist on a classic look that would make the finished product a little more contemporary.

Our solution: Vertically-oriented 3" x 6" white subway tiles installed side by side (no stagger).

Because none of the walls were level or plumb, this first row of tiles took a good 4 hours to put in.

Blair double-checking our work and planning out the tricky cuts around the faucet.

Our make-shift workbench in one of the spare bedrooms (rented wet-saw from Home Depot).

This picture was obviously taken early in the day, because we were too tired to smile when we finished the job at 2:30 AM.

The first three rows in place.

The finished product. This was taken on my camera phone at 2:30AM in very low light, but you get the idea. Sexy, high-quality photography to come.

A Dusty Mess

2008-08-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Certain tasks carry with them a great sense of accomplishment. Tearing down old wallpaper is one example. Both the physicality of tearing the paper from a wall and the visual impact it has on the space is extremely satisfying.

Sanding walls is NOT one of those tasks.

Prepping our walls for paint is a highly tedious, repetitive, messy and time-consuming process. In addition, you can't really see the progress you are making. It almost feels as if you are making more work for yourself.

So yesterday we sanded. And spackled. And sanded again. The walls, the ceiling, the walls again. And there are still a few small spots that need more spackling and sanding.

But the end is in sight: we are almost ready to prime the walls in the living room and master bedroom. The bonus is that these are two of the largest rooms in the house. In theory, the other smaller rooms (the dining room and spare bedrooms) should pale in comparison, and we should be able to knock those out relatively quickly.

SketchUp Model

2008-08-01T08:46:00.001-07:00

I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to 3D modeling. While majoring in Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati, we were required to learn Alias (a high-end surface modeling program used to design products). Since I haven't used that program in 3 years now, I have retained about 4.3% of what I used to know. Learning Alias did, however, prepare me to use more basic programs such as Google Sketchup - which I use at work and at home for personal projects.

Google SketchUp is a bit finicky, but overall it serves as a great tool to build rough spaces quickly to use as underlays. It also has a decent "color blocking" feature that allows you to color walls and surfaces with paint colors or textures (brick, roof tiles, fencing, etc.). This has allowed us to visualize how different rooms would look with various color schemes.

If you're so inclined, download SketchUp for free and play around with it a bit. I found it really tricky to use until I switched all of the keyboard shortcuts to mirror those of the Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.). SketchUp certainly has its limitations, but for a free program - it's pretty darn useful.

Pretty accurate depiction of the front of the house.

A view of the 2nd floor layout (with ugly, random colors).

A view of the 1st floor layout.

POV from the front of the Living Room, looking through to the dining room. Don't you just love the sofa and painting above the fireplace?

Bird's eye view of the bathroom layout.

Exterior House Colors

2008-08-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Even though this step is a way off (we're thinking next Spring), I wanted to post some exterior color options for everyone to see and comment on. A couple are pretty crazy, but I just threw them together to cover the entire gamut and possible spark other ideas. The green with the deep purple door is our favorite so far, but there's plenty of time to change our mind before we get started.

Model was created in Google's (free) SketchUp program.

Our favorite combination thus far. Not too crazy, but not "just another beige house".

Beginning of the Bathroom

2008-07-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

OK, enough about wallpaper for a while. Here are some photos from the beginning of our bathroom renovation.

The bathroom: before.

A pile of the pink plastic tiles we pulled off the wall. The tiles left a substantial layer of hard, dry adhesive behind on the plaster walls.

I own you, floor. Literally.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the hardwood floors from the hallway continued into the bathroom. We didn't bother pulling up the blue linoleum tiles, so we went right at the sub-flooring (fiberboard) with the crowbar.

Here's a shot with a good chunk of the old flooring removed and the tiles off the wall. Notice the lovely blue sink still attached to the wall. This was after we removed the medicine cabinet and toilet paper holder as well.

Make It Rain

2008-07-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

When I tell friends and family that we have to remove wallpaper off every square inch of wall and ceiling space (except for the bathroom and kitchen), their response is usually, "Wow, that stinks. I had to take down a border in a bedroom once. It's a pain..."

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the amount of wallpaper that we have taken down thus far (about five 55-gallon trash bags full to be exact)...

We began the process on the first day with nothing more than a sponge, a bucket full of solution, and a metal scraper - but our wrinkled fingers were a good indication that there had to be a better way to get the same result. We soon wised up and made the best $7 purchase from Lowes in the history of the world. This hand-pump sprayer (typically used to spray pesticides and Weed-Be-Gone) sped the process up considerably.

Just add one capful of DIF Wallpaper Remover to a couple gallons of water and soak away. Luckily, the plaster walls are resistant to the moisture so we were able to spray the walls over and over again until the paper was literally soggy. The density of the plaster also allowed us to scrape with significant force without worrying too much about scuffing (and later repairing) the walls.

The Writing on the Walls

2008-07-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

The best part about remodeling an old home is never knowing what you might uncover. According to the Franklin County Auditor's website, our home was built in 1925. This previous homeowners seemed to concur with this information as well. However, what we found under three layers of old wallpaper told us otherwise.

This same name and date appears on the master bedroom walls as well. It is unclear whether C.R. Snapp was a "plaster master", or if he applied the original coat of wallpaper on that date. What is clear, though, is that the house was built before 1925 - at least 6 year prior. I wonder what was happening on November 12, 1919?... ((Prohibition was 2 weeks old and the 19th Amendment was under review which would eventually give women the right to vote.))

Other dates and names appear on the walls periodically, though they are more descriptive about the tasks that were performed. Some include panel and wall measurements scribbled in pencil, and others even included their business addresses. Talk about long tern marketing!

My favorite bit of information we extracted from the inscription above ("Steamed off 9-22-43 By Wm J Keglar, 476 Hanley St.") is that there was at least one more layer of wallpaper hung BEFORE the 3 layers that we took down. Insane. I wonder if people 70 years down the road will feel the same way about us and paint?

We are going to feel bad priming and painting over these little pieces of history, but at least we had the decency to document them and pass them on to the next home owners (if/when we move).

To Mitch Hedberg...

2008-07-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest - these pictures are not current. These were taken a couple weeks ago and now I'm just backtracking and scrambling to get as many photos up as possible. The reason? I think it is important to show the progression of the transformation. As Mitch Hedberg (a comedian) once said, "You always see the 'Before' and 'After' photos. Where are the 'During' photos? I'd like to see those..."

Here's to you Mitch:

The ceiling pieces peel off in large sections if you soak them long enough. It probably helped that there was only one layer on the ceiling.

(Note to self: Get the ceiling started and let gravity do the work.)

It's really not this fun - I promise.

Here's what the plaster walls look like after you get through three layers of wallpaper.

The yellow discoloration is mostly old paste. We eventually washed the walls to get rid of 80% of this.

Slowly, but surely.

Hi mom.

Finally making some noticeable progress...

Finding Our Home

2008-07-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and thanks for checking out our little piece of the web. This site will catalog the renovation of our new home on East Tulane Road in Clintonville (Columbus), Ohio.

First off, big thanks to our friend Stacey for finding us our first home. Stacey has lived in the Clintonville area for almost a year now and is an avid runner. Luckily, East Tulane Road is one of the streets she frequents. One morning at work, she mentioned that she ran by "a cute Cape-style house" the night before, that it was For Sale by Owner, and that we should check it out.

So we did.

We drove by the house to take a look, called the phone number on the sign, and set up an appointment to see the inside. Jim and Charlene (the previous homeowners) showed us through the property on a Friday, and we made an offer the following Tuesday. And the rest, they say, is history... [NOTE: There was a bit more that went into the eventual purchase of the property, but for the sake of time and space - we'll save that for another time.]

So we'll start our journey at the beginning... with the BEFORE PHOTOS. Click here to enjoy.