Current House – Page 58

Make it Bigger

Published on April 21, 2014April 21, 2014 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Some recent projects lately haven’t been of the super fun and exciting variety. Changing out the front door was a huge change that greatly impacts the look and feel of the space. Trimming it out didn’t take much time, but it’s the icing on the cake. That finishing touch.

Using a 12 inch tall header for stability, it was a funky space to trim. After discussing our options – decorative door trim with simple casement around the window, one straight trim piece across – we chose to make the window and door look like a set.

Craftsman style trim along the top (to match the other windows and doors) with casement around the door and window, all painted white. Leaving the gap between sheet rock looks more interesting than a solid, flat trim piece. Painting the door frame white lets it all flow together.

The warm wood door is in great shape, so we’re leaving it for contrast.

Only window on the front of the house finished. Ten more to go!

Living and dining gridded windows exempt, the windows were all original to the house. Most in poor shape so that’s this summer’s big task. We swapped the office window this weekend. Fogged between the two pieces of glass, it clearly had seen better days.

Since the new dining window and office nearly meet at the corner, we made the office window 8 inches closer to the floor to match height.

First a bigger hole:

Then the larger window to let in more light.

Projects that make a big difference (hey, we can open the window!) but isn’t exactly nice to look at yet. Gotta get out my white paint.

The Rachael

Published on April 16, 2014April 23, 2014 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Nope, not referring to the popular 90’s Jennifer Aniston hair style that took the country by storm. Meet our new sofa, Rachael by Flexsteel. She’s slim, clean lined, and slightly vintage styled to play nicely with the MCM bench.

We sold the old three-piece sectional and put that money toward the new girl. With nine button tufts along the back, there’s just enough interest on the tight back.

The fabric color, Earth, leans more beige in bright light, but gray in overcast conditions.

Ben really wanted leather, but I think this tweed like textured fabric adds a lot of comfort and warmth. I paired with a faux cow hide pillow for a dash of Western flare.

Flexsteel offers a lifetime warranty on the frame, springs, and cushions, which should hold up to the four Y chromosome people in this house.

Now to find chairs to place perpendicular to the couch. I’d love to add something leather here, assuming we find something we agree on. Much easier said than done.

While we were at the furniture store, we noticed another Flexsteel brand sofa, the Dana, in the clearance section. Priced at $600, we took Frank from American Picker’s trick and bundled to save over three hundred dollars, including a fabric warranty plan on the Rachael.

The fabric is slightly darker and more on the gray side, but a real upgrade from our old couch.

Slightly rolled arms are more traditional in style than I usually like, but still small enough to fit the space.

Taller legs on both couches make vacuuming under a breeze, too. So far, I’m pleased with the new additions. Fingers crossed we can say that years from now.

A Hole in the Wall

Published on April 14, 2014April 14, 2014 by Our Humble Abode28 Comments

Just a few days ago, our dining room had a large 8 foot tall door in a room with 8 foot ceilings. From day one, we didn’t like how it looked in the room. And the header-less wall wasn’t the most rigid.

This summer we have grand plans to replace the remaining windows and siding the house. It’s a big task, but we’re anxious for the change. Each big project is usually broken up into many smaller segments to make it more manageable. While the weather was warm last week, Ben and my dad pulled out the big door, leaving a slightly larger hole.

Together they built a sturdy header and a knee wall to build the space to fit the replacement window.

So, why a window instead of the door? Well, we will replace the bay window with a sliding door and extend the deck over. We’re 95% sure this was the layout when the house was built.

See that little brown rectangle on the bump out? That’s where the deck railing was attached and painted around. Right around four feet wide, this will become a perfect walkway. Which allows us to better use the covered section of the deck. Instead of a grilling/smoking station, we’ll have shaded seating. The area behind the grill will become the deck extension.

Back inside, my recent paint job isn’t looking so hot.

Rather than adding small pieces of sheet rock to fill in, we plan to recover the entire wall. Some outlets and switches will move, and the texture is terribly mismatched from the door install. Small seams are more likely to crack, too, so we’d prefer to avoid that situation.

That big, expensive door didn’t go to waste. At 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall, proportionately it is better suited for the 12 foot tall entry. Ben pulled out the old door and picture window.

Replacing it with a thick header for stability, leaving room for a smaller, transom style window above.

Voila, new front door. Most exciting to me is the amount of light this door lets in. Several times, while walking past, the light catches my eye and my first reaction is, “Who left the door open?”

Clearly we still have work to finish it up. Exposed header and yellow foam insulation isn’t going to cut it.

Big, exciting changes, though.

Keeping It Simple

Published on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

I have a tendency to over complicate my life and the things in it. I’m slightly OCD and a perfectionist by nature, so laundry must be folded just so. The dishwasher loaded the correct way. And I don’t do well with messes. Of course none of these things really matter, I understand that. Trying to get the crazy side of me to recognize it however, is a different story. Another area I’m trying to simplify is my decor. Too often, I feel the more, the better. Look at the old entry for instance:

Statement-type mirror, frames, necessities (the light, key tray and bench), and knickknacks. Wiping the slate clean after the tongue and groove wall really made me realize how nice the simplicity is. I propped a black mirror up, but didn’t like the added visual weight. And the reflection looked cluttered.

Instead, I replaced it with a white frame, large white mat, and a sweet little painting from Painting Well.

Balanced by the large expanse of white, the small rectangle of cheery colors don’t over power the space.

Nor does it compete with the horns.

Keeping the art lower to the console means the art ‘interacts’ more with that scene than the higher horns.

As for the console decor, we’ve got the basics. The small bench for putting on or taking off shoes. A lamp to leave on at night, the mitten/hat drying rack, a key tray, and small bowl of stamps. More than enough room to set things like mail or sunglasses, but they’re not permanent.

Goodness Gray-cious

Published on April 8, 2014April 8, 2014 by Our Humble Abode19 Comments

My quest to repaint the entry, living, and dining rooms took a lot longer than I expected. First painting the new crown and waiting for it to thoroughly dry. Next, a last coat on the tongue and groove wall.

Followed up with a first coat of paint on the walls. Then tackling the ceiling where my shoulder and neck started cramping. I ran out of wall paint and went back to get a third gallon, but we had issues matching the color, so the walls are slightly different from my original color. But, now these dingy peach walls:

Are no more. Totally worth the days of plowing through. Instead we’ve got fresh light gray walls to bounce the light around. Make no mistake, the room is still one thousand miles from done, but much improved.

And hey, we’ve got a solid color. No more patched sheet rock or paint swatches.

Unfortunately, I can’t say they’ll stay that way forever. The too tall French door will become a standard window and the bay window a sliding door. After replacing the windows, we’ll update the window trim to match the rest of the house. If I nail down my stair railing plan soon enough, we might be able to replace it soon, too. Say it with me, no more orange stained oak!

For now, I’m just happy to have baseboard (and the entertainment center toe kick!) and blank walls.

This was unfinished far, far too long.

Whenever I paint, I pull out every nail, patch it, and then start anew. Which is why I have only a few frames on the walls. Still deciding on the rest.