Category: Current House

You Light Up My Life

Published on by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Over the weekend, we enjoyed windy, gloomy weather.  No work on the roof, but Ben did some work inside.  On Saturday, we ran our usual errands, Ben washed windows, and cut the left over slab of Bubinga to fit the entertainment center.  Sunday, we had high temps in the 60’s, so we took a trip to Home Depot to get various electrical supplies.  Cooler days are better for attic work and we took advantage of it.  First, Ben ran wires for the theater speakers.

Speakers will flank the front living room window for a true theater-like experience.  The wires run from the outside wall, through the attic, and down the wall behind the entertainment center.

While he was up there, he moved the cable from the temporary place to the same box behind the tv.

Though unfinished, that is better than this:

You may have noticed the sconces are gone, too.  Ben pulled the wires completely out because we’ll never have sconces there.  Now we’ve got patching to do.

That’s all great, but I was most excited for the pendants in the main bathroom.  While painting the small linen closet, I realized just how dark that bathroom was.

Step out of the dark ages, we have created light!  Finding lights Ben and I could agree on wasn’t the easiest part of this bathroom reno.

We knew we wanted chrome pendants with hidden bulbs.  Of course the options are nearly limitless, but we also wanted something around the $50 or less price point.  One of our original choices were industrial chrome pendants for $48 each from Lowes.  Currently, the bathroom doesn’t have a ray of natural light.  We will add a Sky Tube, but Ben and I worried the downward direction of the lights wouldn’t fill up the bathroom.

Luckily, using only one rod kept the pendants high enough, giving off more light than I thought.

And we love the look.

The style of this pendant is very similar to this one from Home Depot.  Twenty dollars less each, and I like the style of the Lowes option better.

We’ve got some trim installed, but more to do.  Then filling, sanding, priming, and painting.  And grouting the tub, installing the toilet, getting the sink functional, adding functional items like hooks and such.  But we’re getting there.  I’m getting some of the finishing touches ready.  And you caught a peek at the shower curtain that inspired my revised plan.  Mood board to come soon.

What did you do over the weekend?  Have you found a cheaper version of something that you liked more than the expensive option?  That’s always fun for me.  Usually I gravitate toward the more expensive items.

The Guests Are Coming!

Published on by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

In a few weeks.  But I got in a mood to clear things out, so I focused on the basement.  Last time you saw it, we literally had dropped unnecessary crap stuff down there.

I’d like to say it got better, but it didn’t.  We just added more to the room.  Like 45 sheets of foam insulation.

I can’t move the insulation, but I can organize things and put some of it in a better place.  Like the trash, er, under the stairs.  Yes, the stairs sound much better.  I’d hate to have to part with any of my junk.  Shuffling things around, condensing like items to a single box, and moving it under the stairs took about an hour.  And we have room to flop the two king mattresses on the floor for our guests.  Lap of luxury, I tell ya.

Bulky and heavy items are around the corner because I could barely drag them on my own, let alone across the basement.

Fueled by my desire to condense boxes, I pulled a few boxes of frames up to the main level to get some art on the wall.  First on my list, add some art to the boys’ bedroom.  This big blank wall needed some attention.  Because I can’t paint yet (we’ve got to remove the popcorn ceiling and install new trim first) I decided to hang some art.

Having several boxes of art to choose from, I picked my favorites and started hanging.  I didn’t put too much thought into the placement, just held things up and nailed it in place if I liked it.  It’s not necessarily the best way, but I can always fill the holes when we decide to paint, so I had nothing to lose.  Because this was a ‘slap something on the wall to get it out of a box and make it look like we live here’ effort, I used an easy hanging method.  First, hold the picture up to the wall.

Use a pencil to mark a small line across the top of the frame, and another small tick mark to show the rough center.

Measure the distance from the top of the frame to the hook.  I found it easiest to use a ruler for this part.

Make another mark on the wall, measuring down from your original set.

Erase your top set, pound a nail in the lower mark, and hang your picture.

The less measuring I have to do, the better.  And I didn’t have to make templates, which is nice, too.  Keeping the frames up helped me figure out what I wanted where, while seeing it in relation to the other frames in the group.

And here it is now.

I’ve got to get a pack of Command adhesive strips to prevent Everett from pulling the frames closest to his crib down.  I did strategically place the non glass fronted frames closest to him for safety.

I didn’t stop there.  Armed with another box ‘o frames, I moved down the hall to work on our family gallery wall.  Same process, but I couldn’t hang two frames because we’ll have to take down the ugly sconce.

Sconces are abundant in this house and I’d be happy if we got rid of 90% of them.  A few larger pieces of art adorn the walls, too.  The Savannah cut out map is temporarily in the living room.

I’m working on our city map right now for a matching set.  Of course I’ll have to get a set of frames to go with, but I think the pair will make a nice addition to the empty dining room on either side of the French door.  My sense of size must be off in this house, because all the ‘big’ art from our first house looks tiny here.  Looks like I’ve got plenty of crafting and painting to do.

Have you added art to your walls recently?  A gallery wall maybe?  Large pieces?  Maybe you’ve cleaned out your basement, too?  Let’s share our successes.

Roof in the Rough

Published on by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

Ben and Handy Sammy started one of the biggest projects we’ll have to do to this house.  Re-roofing the entire house and pool room.  Not only is it a hot job, it’s rough.  They started with the hardest part, the pool room.  Eight sky lights to work around and a system of solar panels (the crazy blue thing on top of the roof) to tear off.

Before and of the tear off could start, we had to get a 30 yard dumpster up the driveway, which sounds easier than it was.  You see, our driveway winds up, and getting a large truck up there wasn’t especially easy.

Careful maneuvering made it possible.  So now we’ve got this to come home to.

Having it close to the house is a must because we have no other way to get the shakes off the roof.  An empty dumpster meant Ben could get started.  Leaking solar panels, see ya later.

For a little while, they lived in the dumpster.  Then Ben and Sam tore the pieces apart to recycle.

Ready to go.

We knew the pool roof leaked before we made an offer on this house.  But the leaks damaged the plywood.  Ben had to replace a few sheets before doing anything else.

I guess the roof project isn’t all terrible.  Do you see the mountains over the roof line?  Not too shabby.  After planning his attack method, the boys got to work.

Sheets of tar paper under the shakes made removal quicker.  Ben pried up the pieces while Sam rolled it all up into a self-contained shingle burrito.

Time consuming, but they’re making progress.  Much more than I would, that’s for darn sure.  They’ve finished tear off and weather proofing the pool room.

Just the house left.  Oy, that’s still a lot.  And that’s why the bathroom is on the back burner.  Weatherman is predicting cooler temperatures through the end of the week.  I hope he’s right, because that would make this project all the more enjoyable.

May Acronym

Published on by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

Move outs, announcements, and pains:  We officially said good-bye to our first love house.  Share your new address with printable paint chip moving announcements.  While the mountain house is great, we’re feeling moving pains, especially in the closet department.

Adding design and function:  Design elements including a tile shower surround, tile on the floor, new lights, painted black out curtains, and considering decorative trim for the main bathroom.  Functional items include a sleek stainless dishwasher, a whole house fan, wireless fence to keep Jack safe, an open vanity topped by a DIY cut quartz counter top.

Yanking, yelling, yodeling:  Demolishing the old hot tub, chanting for a video tour, yodeling at the top of our mountainous yard.

June has already brought about a few blog changes, too.  Did you notice the new look?

I designed a new header, new background, and we’re officially official.  Finally we ditched the .wordpress.com suffix.

You know I can’t resist a pun, right?  Heck, the name of the blog is a pun on our last name.  Why not do it again?  Bowe is pronounced bow (silent e) as in bow and arrow.  Take a closer look at the background…

Little arrows.  Our Facebook page is different, too.

Having a hard time seeing the details?  Click the pictures to enlarge.

Center of Attention

Published on by Our Humble Abode19 Comments

We’re all over the house lately.  Last weekend we worked on the bathroom.  Ben took a few days off last week to start the slow process of tearing cedar shakes off the roof in preparation for new asphalt shingles.  Local weather forecasters gave an 80 percent chance of rain on Saturday morning, so Ben chose to work inside.  {Have you ever noticed weather forecasting is the only profession you can be wrong 90 percent of the time and not get fired?  It didn’t start raining until five in the afternoon.}  Not wanting him to get burned out with a single project, I told him to work on anything he wanted.  Of course, his man-stincts (man instincts) kicked in and he started our entertainment center.  In most American homes, the entertainment center is the center of attention.  Am I right?

After building a few bookshelves, entertainment centers, and cabinets, we’ve figured out the quickest, easiest, squarest (totally a word) way to build.  Following that same process, Ben and Handy Sammy cut pieces of cabinet plywood to size and assembled three 33 inch wide by 30 inch tall by 24 inch deep boxes.

Yes, that is one huge entertainment center.  We considered a smaller size, but the living room can handle it, and we spend plenty of time here.  For everything to look built-in and sit flush with the wall, Ben pried the baseboard off the wall.  Then he started with the toe kick frames.  Two by four boards on edge are strong and a perfect height.

Though built-in furniture lends itself to being permanent, we didn’t want to damage the floors if we decided to pull this out down the road.  Instead, Ben used long screws to hold the toe kick frames tightly against the wall, securing to studs.

Before going any further, Ben ran wiring from an outlet to add another behind the TV.  Just after this, he decided to add spacers between each box to beef up the frame he’ll add.

The spacers aren’t anything intricate, just pieces of 1/2 inch thick scrap MDF strips at the front and back.

Before attaching the cabinets to the base, Ben screwed the boxes together.  This helps keep the entire piece level, rather than adjusting the individual pieces.

My biggest concern with a large cabinet is walking space.  We’ve still got about 4 feet between the stairs and the edge of the cabinet.  Plenty of room to move.

That’s where we’re at now.  Bubinga left over from our kitchen remodel will go on top with open shelving above and on either side of the TV.  In the future, we might get a bigger TV, so we’re leaving a 64-ish inch opening.  Drawers below is a new thing for us.  But it seems just as functional as a cabinet.

While looking for paint color inspiration, I found this pretty media center; similar to our plan.

I mentioned before that this thing is a beast, but pictures can show that better.  The five foot wide bookshelf turned media cabinet looked tiny.

Now the TV looks little.  Ha.  And that red has to go.  One step at a time.

If only I could decide on a paint color.  White is always an option, but I don’t know if I’m sold on it.  We loved the wood paired with warm gray, but I’m fairly certain I’ve settled on Wood Smoke for the walls.  South facing windows let in a lot of natural light, but I don’t know I’d like a black entertainment center.  Wood is out of the question because we’re using MDF.  Then again, I could paint it white and paint the backs of the shelves a poppy color.  Yellow maybe?  Green?  We’ll carry the room crown molding over the top and I don’t want that to look strange against a color.

Do you have any color suggestions?  Have you painted the back of a shelf for color in a safer place?