Summers gone :(

I didn't do a whole lot to the pit over the summer. I promised Dave a season without living in chaos and stayed true to my word. I've been cleaning up loose ends, but nothing major.

Latest undertaking has to be the windows. We've got these great old windows, and I just can't get myself to give them up. They are 5 light on top and 1 light on the bottom sash. The cords are all shot and there are several panes that are broken. SO... I've started in Matt's room and am going to work my way down to the main floor. So far its going well, but the glazing is a slower process than I thought since it needs to cure for a week or 2 before painting. They are going to be great in the end. We have really nice storm windows on the exterior so now that the insides will be all redone they should actually be pretty energy efficient. I figure too that this is my way of reusing the old stuff and being green. One down, 22 to go.

Dave pulled off the old fireplace window setup today and we painted it flat black. I was sceptical but it looks awesome! No more icky brass shiny stuff. Tomorrow the dude comes to clean the fireplace so we'll see it in action soon.

If I win the lottery we'll have the pit done in 10 years. Still love it though.

What to do???

Summer is here. I'm off work for 2 months and although I promised Dave no big projects for now, I've got many going through my head. I'm going to finish some little stuff then work my way into it.

Some of the things I think I'll try to tackle soon are-----

Jazzing up Matt's room a bit, he's got nothing on his walls yet and its just really blah for a kids room. I think I'll give him some shelves and bulletin boards. Nothing crazy just stuff that's functional.

The bar, it needs some love. I actually love it the way it is, but it needs just a tweak to feel a little higher end. I'm thinking of facing the front with wood to match the stools and then a cool foot rail, almost so its kind of pub like.

The gates to the backyard are going to be toast by fall. Pure wood rot. I'm trying to figure out something that matches the age of the house, yet is really durable and attractive. Not as easy as it sounds.

I'd still love to reface the living room fireplace with natural stone veneer and do a custom built in for the tv. Its a project that's really going to need to be done well. Any crappy gaps in moulding and stuff and it will look like garbage. I've got a doodle all made, but I've got to find someone who knows what they are doing to help me. I'd love to get like an HGTV crew in here for a few days.. lol.

Not much else new with the pit. The yard is coming along nicely. We did some edging and stuff but now that we got the dog we have kind of stalled on the quest for perfect grass. (at least in the backyard) We are already seeing drops in our gas bill. This time of year that would be normal anyway, but that new water heater really seems to be saving us some money. I can't wait to see how well the furnace does next winter.

Later.

New Furnace

Well, gas for the truck may bankrupt us, but the costs to heat the house sure won't!

Today we got our new super efficient gas furnace and water heater installed. It should be a HUGE savings compared to the old one. I almost wish is was still colder so we could really see the difference in the next few months. Its a good feeling to know that we aren't being wasteful anymore too.

Here are the contracors we used.. http://www.greenhomesamerica.com/

I need to win the Lottery.

Two things came back WAY over what I want to spend today. I got the first bid on the patio.. 3700.00 EEK! Well, I guess we move on down through the yellow pages because that contractor is on crack. Then I priced a cushion for the window seat.. 175.00! Damn, I own the seat, I just need to pad my butt. Its foam wrapped in some fabric, its not spun gold fleece! I guess I was feeling rich and hoping to do both these things with as little work for me as possible. Wrong... I'm back to sweat equity and breaking out the sewing machine.

Time for a new patio!

I've got guys coming this weeks for bids. We weren't really planning on doing this for a while, but its falling apart. Its actually to the point that its dangerous because some of the big chunks are loose. We also have concerns that its not draining the right way and we definitely don't need any future foundation damage.
Right now its 29 x 8, but I think we'll take it out a little farther to make it 29 x 12. 8 feet is a little tight, and we'd like to get get a table for 6 out there. I don't know if we'll stamp it or just pour a new slab... opinions????
If you look on the driveway side out neighbors put up a killer fence. I'd like to redo our gates to kind of coordinate. Might as well take advantage right? I don't think we'll go 6 ft though, 4 is probably fine. Wow... looking at this picture gives me MAJOR spring fever.

Window Bench Seat Insanity

In our dining room I have this window and its making me insane. I am now on my 4th set of window treatments and have hated them all. The ones in the picture are the ones that were in the house when we moved in minus the fru fru satin eyebrow that went over the top. YUCK. I took those down and went to a different valance, hated that. Then I spent 2 weeks making a sweet cornice and drapes only to get the dog and come to the realization that she likes to sit up there and watch the world go by when we are gone. Bad Dog. This has also forced me to realize that it's time to sew a cushion and lose the blanket that's been there since we moved in. I guess the dog is motivating me not only to go for more walks, but to spend millions at the fabric store as well.

Finding the right thing to go on these windows is making me crazy. With this style of house they really should be drapes, but with the seat it just doesn't work. Anything else just doesn't go with the character of the house!!! To make it even more difficult it also has to look just as good from the outside as in because that's the window you walk past to the front door on the porch. At this point I'm ready for good old fashioned roll down shades. Grrrr.. Who knew that window treatments could make one so mental. Its so bad we were even out to dinner and I was trying to figure out if the blinds in the restaurant would work in our house.

I need Mom, she rocks at this stuff.

My new office

Ahhh, my space. I've wanted an office all mine for a long time. This was done on the cheap, but its my favorite place in the house. I tore out the old carpet, painted the walls and ceiling and redid the lighting. The desks are 2 hollow core doors with a base that I made (thanks google) I've got tons of room now to spread out and work on whatever I want. Or just to hide and plan on how to redo the rest of the pit. If you ever can't find me.. I'll be in that chair.

Stairs DONE

This is on the bottom landing, and was a pain in the butt.

I think it was worth the work. I did all the new trim myself!

Not what I envisioned at first, but for now I like them...

We may do a runner later. For now I'm happy they are presentable.

Coming Along

Now I'm just slacking on the photos, but the projects are coming along nicely. Stairs and landing are DONE. I must say they turned out better than I thought they would. I quickly moved into the office.

Green lawn like carpet, GONE.

Primed unpainted walls, PAINTED.

Ceiling, PAINTED.

New light fixture, and....

I finally built the L-desk that I've wanted forever. Now I have a place to leave the computer up, and still have room to scrapbook or whatever on the other side. I used the pattern from Lowes, modified it and it turned out well. I just did 2 desks and put them together, just in case I ever want to move them.

Next project, who knows??

I've been slacking.

The holidays have come and gone, now its time to get after the house again. It was great to spend our first Christmas in the house, but now that things are back in the attic I'm ready to attack things. I need to take pictures too.

I was kind of forced to cut some corners on the stair project. We were hosting a party and there was NO way I was going to get the stain on in time so I painted. Uggg I know, normally I'd curse at someone for painting good wood, but the further down I got the more I came to realize that they were in a lot worse shape than we originally thought. I can't bring myself to carpet them either so the risers were painted white and the stairs are a dark brown. They actually could pass for a dark stain at a quick glance. They aren't the stairs of my dreams but they did turn out nice. I also finished the landing. That I did stain and poly so it matches up with the hardwood in the living room. A quick coat of spray paint on the grate and it looks really, really nice. I still have to finish the trim and then pictures will be up!

Next project??? My office I think.