Still Making Changes

With our house on the market, we've been cleaning, finishing up projects and trying to get used to living in a depersonalized house. At least this is only temporary whether we end up moving or staying.

The other day we decided that the black dishwasher amidst the white appliances and cabinetry in the kitchen was a huge eye sore. It only took us 2 years to change things! So, I picked up a white dishwasher (Craig's List!) and Daniel installed it a couple of days ago. I think it made a big difference and we now have a better dishwasher to use!


BEFORE


AFTER

As you can see, the white dishwasher doesn't quite match the color of our kitchen cabinets, and because I love to paint and our cabinets needed a little refreshing anyway...I decided to paint them!

I first painted the trim Benjamin Moore's White Dove. Then I painted the cabinets Dover White by Pratt & Lambert, which I got it at Pleasant's Hardware.


AFTER


AFTER

I don't like the way the second picture turned out-- it's really dark-- but you get the idea!

I almost went with different paint colors for the uppers and lowers, but since we're trying to depersonalize the house I ended up going with a look most people would like. Because I had to take off all the hardware to paint the cabinets, doors, and drawers, I took the opportunity to replace the hinges (before they were an antique brass/bronze) so they matched the bin pulls. Along with that, I moved the bin pulls by using wood filler and then making new holes so that they would be perfectly centered in the middle. It was definitely extra work, but I'm glad I did it.

On the Move

We're moving...or at least attempting to move! The "for sale" sign is out in the yard, and we're waiting for that one special buyer (if he/she exists right now). Three weeks ago, we had no intention of moving from this home, but we found a house in the Fan area of Richmond that we love.

The Fan is an area within the city of Richmond just north of the James River. Nearly all the houses are row houses (including the one we're looking at) and built in the early 1900s. This Fan home is a great deal, but does need some work so there will be lots of blogging going on if we move! We're now just waiting to see what happens with our house as to how we should proceed.


The name "The Fan" comes from the the way the streets "fan" off one another (off Park Avenue). The house we're looking at is close to the corner of Strawberry Street and Park Avenue.

If you know anyone looking for a home, please send them our way!

We'll keep you updated!

Progress in the Attic

So, I've decided I'm not the best blogger. I tend to completely finish a project before I post instead of giving you the daily/weekly update as we're working. Regardless, we've finished the attic and we're ready to show you the finished product!

New window seat


Ready to paint...


There's a new coat of paint on the window seat, but now we've made a mess on the floor.


We decided that the bathroom floor looked pretty bad, so we started by moving the claw foot tub to pull the tiles up behind it...


And when we did, we realized that the 3 boards closest to the wall were rotted. We pulled them up (with our bare hands-- that's how rotted they were) and replaced them.


Pulling the old vinyl tiles up was a mess. They were laid in the 60s when there was no such thing as adhesive vinyl tile, so the folks put down tar paper and stuck them to that! This is a picture of the floor after the tile was pulled up. Any remaining tar had to be scraped up in order to put new tile down. Yuck!

So...here it is! We'll start from the bottom of the stairs and go up...


AFTER



BEFORE


AFTER



BEFORE


AFTER



This is a little curtain I made to divide the living area from the storage since there's no door there currently.


BEFORE


AFTER; Finished window seat; newly painted ceiling, walls and floor; and a seating area to play games to the right.



BEFORE


AFTER; My sewing machine and shelving are on the other side of the room.



BEFORE


AFTER; New flooring in the bathroom!