| Author |
Message |
    
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2715
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, July 3, 2005 - 11:16 pm: |     |
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Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1017
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 10:16 am: | |
it took you 4 hours to just do the post??
wow.
what about the rest of the railing?
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shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2716
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 10:30 am: | |
No silly, I did the railing too, just not all those pesky spindles.
See...
Plus, I decided to change the color scheme. Can't...do...beige...
Because of the wood, I think a soft grayish blue green will work nicely. Not too bright or dark. I am thinking of doing the ceiling with a little more blue and the walls a little more green. At least that's the thought for now. And you know damn well it might change.
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Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1018
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 12:15 pm: | |
did you photoshop out the bronze or have you primed the walls already too???
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shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2717
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 12:29 pm: | |
I primed them already. That was last week. |
Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1019
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 12:40 pm: | |
but I was just there last tuesday ! wow, you did a lot. Can you come to my house? we can't seem to get much done....
<sigh>
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shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2718
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 - 12:55 pm: | |
I'm trying to take advantage of my "free" time.
Not too much done today...just some laundry & straightening up... |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2736
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2005 - 7:46 am: | |
This week was not too productive. I'm still cleaning up the mess I made from Step 1, and cleaning up is NOT my strong point. Does somebody wanna come over and give me a little kick in my arse?
Also, due to drips from the stripper, the spindles now reall need to be cleaned up. I guess I could have taped them off, but they needed to be cleaned up anyway. Now that's tedious.
I ordered a new light fixture for the entryway. I'm really excited about it. Maybe seeing it will inspire me to get moving on the painting. Also, I am looking into doing a mosaic tile medallion and tiles for the hall. Is that cheesy? I think it would look nice, but I thought the bronze would be nice too. Sometimes I tend to go too far.
Yesterday I got counter stools for the kitchen. I ordered them weeks ago and thought they'd never get here! I spent some time putting them together and they look nice and are comfy, but they do make it difficult to get into the cabinets below the counter. Oh well. There's only so much you can do when space is at a premium. So we have to move one to get the cereal. No biggie. The two older girls like sitting on them, the 3 yo, not so much yet.
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mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 5123
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2005 - 10:17 am: | |
Shhh - I have a hallway that's similar to yours and I just had it painted in the nicest shade of green that took me forever to pick out (I had it painted more than once til I was happy), I get tons of compliments and sounds like a color you may be interested in. I'll look for the swatch if you want. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2737
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2005 - 10:39 am: | |
Hi Mem,
Thanks! If you can dig it up, that would be great.
I'm going to MaSH later to get a red phone from Pottery Barn for the kitchen (to tie in the stools—have had a gift certifcate sitting around for over a year), so I will run in to Restoration Hardware and get a swatch of their Silver sage and a few others that I had considered for the dining room.
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mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 5126
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2005 - 10:41 am: | |
Shhh - better yet- you can stop over anytime, I have had several MOLers come by to see my kitchen, etc. And - my living room is beige! But my friend faux painted it to look like soft suede - it may inspire you. PM me if you're interested. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2738
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 9, 2005 - 10:58 am: | |
Thanks, That's sweet. I'll bring the girls by in a few minutes & we'll pick them up tomorrow.
Kidding of course. We'll be at Maplewoodstock later with Pippi and friends. Perhaps our paths will cross if you're there. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2744
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 7:34 am: | |
So, this weekend while my kids were at their grandparents we made some progress in the hall.
We decided instead of even waste time cleaning the carpet to just remove it. It was a lot of hard work! We're going to give the steps a light sanding and finish. Actually I just saw a floor in the latest BHG that I admired and can easily replicate—a distressed black painted finish. I'm going to try and do it on the entry floor too, instead of the tile (which was very ambitious) and if it doesn't work out, no big deal.
Today I'm going to try and remove the carpet from the upstairs hall too. The final few steps will be difficult and I'll need my husband's help.
I also dealt with the banister further and got all the paint off that I need to. Now to stain and paint that as well.
Went to Restoration Hardware for swatches, which they did not have out due to store reno. I sorted through a basket and found silver sage which will be perfect in the hall, but there was also a blue I was interested in seeing the swatch for and they didn't have it. I'm not right at that point yet, so I can wait it out a little.
My new light fixture should be here in a few days.
Exhaustedly yours,
SHH
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shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2812
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, July 22, 2005 - 8:00 pm: | |
This week has been a complete wash. Last weekend I painted my parents' circa 1969 dark brown kitchen cabinets a nice creamy beige and it knocked me out! This week with all the crazy bad things happening in and outside my house I could barely keep up with straightening up—bad excuse because I can never keep up with it.
I am dreaming up a paint scheme for the hall floor. Initially I was thinking a distressed black, then I thought of doing a medallion too, now I'm thinking of a pattern...I'm not sure. RH still does not have their paint swatches in. We still have a few patches to deal with in the plaster walls then perhaps I'll go ahead and paint the walls. I guess the floor should be the last thing I do.
I read good things about Benjamin Moore's porch and floor paint.
My light fixture is really nice, but it has a plug and has to be hard wired into the ceiling. Mr. Shh was not too happy about this little side job, though I don't think it's too difficult to do. Luckily that will wait 'til the painting is done, maybe I should learn and just do it on my own.
Yesterday, I decided to install my red wall phone from Pottery Barn. Mr. Shh was not too thrilled about drilling holes in the new cabinets, but I was sick of waiting. oooh, Power tools. I used the largest drill bit he had, but needed to do it twice so the phone jack could fit. It came out ok, but the top screw to hold the phone got stripped from the bit. Oops. It works fine, probably should have used larger screws so it doesn't wobble. Hey, I'm not perfect. At least I cleaned up all the saw dust.
Mr. Shh has not been too thrilled about many of my little projects I suppose. There's always something to do, somethng is always half done. Nature of the beast...
Gonna go google hard wiring a light fixture now... |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2820
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 10:43 pm: | |
Greenetree, you were 100% right. I should have listened.
How could I even THINK of starting something new? What a stupid fool I have become!
I guess after a job is supposedly over is the true test of the work. Now that we've unfortunately had to deal with a few problems, we can see who cares about their reputation and who does not. Miscommunication is the great evil of any big project.
My husband says never again will we do a thing with the house that we cannot do ourselves. Or at least very closely monitor the work. So, I suppose the attic is out for now. 
At least I have made progress in my hall. I painted the walls and they look great. I *think* I am going to just go a shade lighter on the ceiling, but we still have some spackling to finish up. Today I stained the banister and it really looks great. There is a tiny bit of paint still in the crevices, but I think it looks good. (Ok, there are a few small patches of paint at the bottom of the newel post that for the life of me I could not remove, I'll pretend I don't see them.)
If I finish this by the end of the summer, I'm not doing so bad. (The walls were the easy part, it's the trim I am not thrilled about doing.) |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2821
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 10:50 pm: | |
I have not had much success dealing with the light. It's a shade that I need to find a hard-wired light kit to go into so I can hang it on the ceiling from the existing box, basically like a bulb that hangs from a chain from the ceiling. I already disconntected the other light though, so I better get with it.
I like doing my own stuff. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2835
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 6:41 pm: | |
Hopefully that negative phase of my life is over and done with. (Yes, from earlier today.) I am confident things will be taken care of.
Today I waxed the banister with an amber paste wax. The finish looks really nice.
I also looked into the light fixture. Went to Expo and HD and was told the cord that came with the light can be successfully hard-wired. Now to test it and see if they're correct! I will still need to find a canopy for the ceiling to accommodate the wire and chain. They had something there but it was the wrong color. I will try to find it online or find an electrical supply place.
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Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1062
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 11:07 pm: | |
love the color! It looks very "cool" and open....
keep on truckin'.
glad you're feeling better
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Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2954
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:18 am: | |
I am in love...
Over the weekend (after mojitos at Mem's) we painted the ceiling. It's the same color as the walls.
Yesterday my husband got the canopy for the fixture. All of $4, so the grand total was $98 including shipping.
Love, love, love it. Now onto the trim and floors (in due time). |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 2022
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:03 am: | |
That fixture rocks. |
SoOrLady
Citizen
Username: Soorlady
Post Number: 2476
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:21 am: | |
Kinda Stardust Ballroom-y .... ooops wrong thread.  |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2957
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:21 am: | |
Thanks Wendy. Now entering my house seems a lot more welcoming than ever before. |
Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1116
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 9:52 am: | |
I love the light! |
jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 1366
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:12 am: | |
Love it, too.
Yesterday in the latest (I think) issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I saw two great chairs and a large sort of star-shaped matching hassock that looked like they'd be great in your living room. The color was sort of an apple green, but I can imagine them in red. It wasn't my magazine, so I wrote down what I thought was the right website info for the furniture, but turns out it wasn't.
I'll see if I can find the magazine again and get the right info. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2962
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:18 am: | |
Hmmm, I had that issue. I do remember seeing that home, and I loved the floor treatment (painted &distressed wood). At the time I wasn't thinking of the living room though...
Of course I think I threw it away already. (Trying to eliminate clutter and all!) If you can find it, that would be great Jem. |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 2026
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:25 am: | |
VIG, didn't know you went to school for ID. Where did you go? Did you ever do it professionally?
I to majored in ID (environmental design, interiors actually) at Syracuse. I never did it professionally, probably because I made more money temping in an office and then got into computer programming. Now I'm looking for something that doesn't have me in a cubical and that I can do part time. Thinking about going back to my roots in ID but have no idea how to get started. Plus it would really suck to lose my steady salary and oodles of time to post on MOL. But I would have more time to yell at my kids. Ah, decisions decisions.
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Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2965
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:33 am: | |
Wendy, LOL. No, I never did it professionally either. I didn't get the best degree, got an AA in Design with a concentration in Interior Design from Pace in Pleasantville. (Before I went to NYU for Art.) I was going to go to FIT but then didn't want to live in SI so chose P'ville instead. But then I graduated, got a job in publishing, and lived in SI anyway.
I always think maybe when I "grow up' I could do it professionally, but at the time being an assistant offered so little pay, I couldn't see doing it. Also, so many so-called interior design jobs are really furniture sales in retail, which means weekends and I'm not into that now!
For the time being I guess I'll have to keep testing my ideas in my own home. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 4945
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:44 am: | |
VIG- I don't listen to myself, either. We're landscaping the back yard right now. But, at least that's outside.
I had the wall in the guest room repaired and painted two weekends ago (TS made me promise a year ago that we would always hire pros from now on). The guest room looks great, but I haven't gotten around to rehanging the window treatments. That's the easy part. I'm just not into it.
We still have the upstairs floors, stairs & foyer floor to do. I haven't been able to face that one yet. So, they continue with their "distressed" look. |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 2029
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:55 am: | |
Yeah, the money and weekend thing really sucks. I wish I could just jump into one of those HGTV type jobs where I swoop in and design a room for someone who has an unlimited budget. Sometimes I kick myself for not getting in on the ground floor when I had the chance. |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 9138
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 11:01 am: | |
Actually, VIG, your threads are a lot like HGTV or the Discovery Channel. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2966
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 11:10 am: | |
Thanks! Hopefully I've been a great "on-screen" host! |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2968
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 11:19 am: | |
Greenetree, a few weeks ago we decided against hiring any more professionals for stuff we could do ourselves. Then Monday night, we decided to separate the older girls' bunk bed. My husband looked at me and said "maybe we should do the attic after all."
I think before we attempt to do anything (and yes, we'd hire pros for that) big, we need to finish off the smaller projects like this hallway, my desk area in the family room, etc. Plus my husband wants to redo the driveway and part of the yard. This is always our problem, we go from one thing to the next. At least the bathrooms and the kitchen are done! The list of projects never ends.
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greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 4947
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 12:43 pm: | |
VIG - you & VIB must have a very strong marriage, a very good marriage counselor or both. 
My unrandom survey of most pros is that they are called in to save a marriage, somewhere in the 3rd or 4th week of a weekend DIY project.
We have to do our upstairs bathroom (major), our stairs/floors (not major, but a pain and the costs add up) and the wish list is the attic.
Things we know are coming & have no desire to do: new boiler, new roof, fix the garage, driveway.
In my fantasy world, we run out of house before we run out of money..... |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2971
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 1:06 pm: | |
G, I guess we have our ups and downs, but we work through it all together! (No counselor, though sometimes I wonder...)
We do many DIY projects, but they're not usually so big.
Leveling off the yard was a big, multi-step, multi-year project and I was against it. Now I see how much it improved the yard. Luckily, though we are both strong willed, we each know when to back off and say, "do what you want." I think those four words have saved my marriage many a time! |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2494
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 1:13 pm: | |
We (mainly my spouse) have been working on our upstairs bathroom for several years. (I've lost count, actually but at least three.) We got through the functional stage - now the floor is level and the plumbing properly connected and vented and we even got new bath/shower plumbing fixtures with a temperature control valve, etc. However, the aesthetic parts still remain, as well as a replacement for the shower wall system. The biggest problem that hasn't been solved (other than inertia in general) is that we have decided that we want a dark blue vanity top. It needs to match the "almost navy but a bit toward royal blue" color that is an accent color in our new floor tile. There is a lot of white in the room and we are planning on a white cabinet portion of the vanity so we really want the blue top. But we have not found anything the right color ... EXCEPT that we once saw a very nice countertop in the exact color we wanted in a shoe store in Livingston Mall. When the store was going out of business we even asked them if we could buy it and they took our number but we never heard anything.
So ... if anyone knows of a source for a wide range of countertop colors that might help, I'm interested.
shh/vig - sorry to hijack your thread and good luck with your projects! |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2972
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 1:23 pm: | |
Sac, check out silestone. I ordered my vanity tops through e-counters.com. Silestone comes in an amazing number of colors. |
