Potential

Remember in that last post about a month ago when I talked about that big empty space under the mirror where the couch used to be? Well, we've been struggling with what to do about it. Then, about a week or two ago, Dave spotted an old piece of miscellaneous furniture something at this consignment/resale store in our neighborhood on his way home from the gym. Today we finally went back to a) make sure it was still there (it was), and b) to see if I liked it. I wasn't sure right away if I saw the same potential in it that Dave did, but I trust him, and I thought we could definitely figure out a way to make it work. There was enough about it that fit the basic gist of what we needed (length, height, width, storage...). It needs some sprucing up, but it definitely has some character, and we're excited to finally take on a new project and see what we do with it!

It'll soon be getting a new coat of paint (something in a dark wine-red type color, we're thinking...), and some new hardware at the very least. We'll see if anything else gets "refreshed" about it as we go. But here it is in "context" in the space:

We'll also be getting taller bookshelves to help fill the space up better around the mirror.

What do you think? Now that it's home I can see more of the potential Dave saw right away. Get ready for an update post in the next week or two!

Upgrades!

It has been an awfully long time since I last posted anything, and I am as dismayed and disappointed as some people have expressed to me that they are. Sorry. The truth is, on the home-improvement front, not a lot has really been going on since early November (when I last posted, though that was not a home improvement post). And on all other fronts, LOTS has been going on, and we've been busy. On top of that, the winter hours and lighting made it difficult to take photos, since it wasn't so bright and well-lit in the morning before work, nor was it light out at all by the time we got home at the end of the day. And our weekends have been busy. All of this is excuses, but also explanations. And that said, we have done some stuff, and it's all been in the upgrade department. So, here I am at long last with a little post regarding our recent upgrades.

First, in the fall we updated the second bedroom with a day bed, which serves as a couch during the day/when we have no guests, and which has a pull-out pop-up tucked below it so that two people can sleep comfortably when YOU visit!

(I also waited to photograph it until I'd done all my pillow shopping. I have one more pillow to buy - I have a pretty cover and just need the stuffer for it. It will go in the middle there, front row. It'll be worth it.)

Then we treated ourselves to a trip to the 21st century and got a new TV in our bedroom! Woot!

(It's a Bravo marathon kind of a day...)

So inspired by that purchase were we, that we also upgraded the TV in the living room. You can now enjoy a 55-inch movie experience thanks to the TV and new stereo system Dave installed:

(Millionaire Matchmaker Marathon Sunday. Forgive me. You can see two of the speakers for the stereo there in front of the screen - there are two more on the bookshelf on the back wall)

And then we rearranged the living room a bit, and moved the couch off the wall, pulling the living area closer together.

(cozy)

We're planning to get some taller bookshelves and to find a long console-like couch table (under which we'll have some storage something or other) to go on this back wall under the mirror where the couch used to be:

And finally, the most shocking upgrade of them all for anyone who's been in our home in the past five years... we have a microwave!

(what?!)

Look at us crazy folks go. We do have some more upgrading and actual work on the dock. Some more furniture updates are in the pipeline, and then a bathroom update (one, not both yet), and a balcony refresher are definitely lined up to go. And somehow we'll do all of that before our most dramatic HSS upgrade to date...

(I'll leave it at that for now!)

Edgewater: Orange

In the spirit of fall colors, and to warm us up on this very chilly night, I thought I'd do a Color Project post with a pop... so here's a bit of Edgewater in orange:

(view all Edgewater Color Project posts by clicking here)

Second Bedroom: Paint

Once again, I must first apologize for the delayed posting. We had us some Internet connectivity troubles (among other small fires--ha!), and as a result, were unable to get to this post until now. These issues appear to be resolved for now, so without further ado, I present to you the Second Bedroom Painting Process/Outcome:


We started out on a Friday night with prepping and priming. We had to bring a bunch of supplies up from our storage locker, move all the furniture, and tape off/tarp the room...

(gallery o' gifts brushes -- if you ever lived at 7 Red Fox Lane in Amherst, MA, that one was for you)

We also decided to prime and paint the baseboards... We had once considered replacing these, to match the new ones in the living/dining room and halls, but with the carpet installation happening out of order thanks to the floor situation over the summer, we just decided this would be easier for now.
 

On the morning of Day 2 (aka Saturday, aka-College-Football-dictates-painting-schedule-day), we got up bright and early and got to work. For Dave this meant checking the prime-job and adjusting any tape, etc. For me, this meant a first-thing-in-the-morning-trip to our favorite paint store.

This morning also brought to us the discovery of another curiosity left-over from the previous owner. Instead of painting the wooden frame around the sliding doors, our home's former tenant covered them... with duct tape. A lesson for those who like to decorate with duct tape: old duct tape leaves residue behind. Dealing with this requires sanding. Dave also had to sand the wooden door frame:

When I returned from the paint store we got to work on coat #1. Hard to see it, but it's there:

After the Michigan game, we finished coat #2, and then let it dry overnight. Here you have a shot of the finished product, complete with freshly-painted wooden door frame and freshly-hung curtains:
 

A second outcome of this project was the removal of the ugly old enormous ceiling fan (you can see a shot of it in this round-up post, in the photos of the new carpets), which also turned out to be somewhat of a danger, as it appears to have only been attached to the ceiling by those two tiny stud-screws you can see in the photo below. The search for new lighting starts... now!

Second Bedroom Paint Color Selection

And the winner is...

(Frosted Café)

 Here's a blurry close-up:

Stay tuned for more this weekend!
 

Paint Selection: A Process

We are in a saving-for-the-next-big-demo phase here (both bathrooms need re-doing), so all the updates/fixes/tweaks we have planned for the foreseeable future are smaller-scale. This includes (at least): changing light fixtures, stripping remaining wallpaper, scrubbing off wallpaper glue from walls, putting up art, maybe some furniture upgrades, curtains, and painting.

I don't remember paint selection for the three areas already painted (hallway, kitchen, living/dining room) being so stressful. But maybe I've just put it all out of my head because of the intensity of the trauma. Somehow I doubt that. But we can't settle on a color! We can't even come close to narrowing down a color group! Some people know that we've said we're painting the bedrooms several weekends in a row now, and yet somehow, neither bedroom is even taped off or primed at all. That changes this week! We are set and determined to paint at least the multipurpose second bedroom this coming weekend. SET AND DETERMINED! HELL-BENT! It's happening. As you can see, all that has to be done is the selection of a paint color. Here are the paint color chips we've "narrowed" to (for both bedrooms)... Note, we'd like to have the paint purchased before the weekend so we can just get started and finish as quickly as possible... we'll see how that goes:

(easy to narrow, as you can see)

Here are four general color ranges grouped off:
 

AAAAAH! Remember: SET AND DETERMINED! HELL-BENT! It's happening.

Our Cuticles Never Looked So Good!

It has been five years--FIVE YEARS!--of dish washing by hand at the Schwab home. Having lived without a dishwasher (among other things) for that long, we really didn't miss it. OR SO WE THOUGHT. At long last, our dishwasher is fully installed and functional! And our hands are audibly weeping with joy. It's true. Trust.

(now with stuff in it!)

(lights! lights that are on! indicating function!)

Just another reason to celebrate (which means special occasion, which means dessert! whee! see how I make that work!)