Progress At Last

Well, we've got a foundation and footing for the new kitchen and porch.  Hooray!  In the next 10 days or so we'll have the floor joists and framing done and it will actually start to look like a room.   The HVAC work should start tomorrow.  They say it will take 2 weeks.  Yet again I'm reminded of "The Money Pit".  Then continuation of the plumbing and new electrical which will also take about 2 weeks.  I'm sensing a theme here.  

We weren't able to sell our house which is a HUGE bummer, but we've rented it to a couple with a son my daughter's age.   They're moving in September 15...gulp.   Hope the house is livable by then!  Still not able to cover the mortgage, but it will be a lot better than paying two whole mortgages.  

I also started working on my clawfoot tub project and let me just say that it has been a giant pain in the arse.  I may have bit off a bit more than I can chew but I've come this far and I'm not about to turn back now.  Seriously, I've spent hours in a house with no air conditioning or power in over 100 degree weather. This thing is getting done!  

Anyway, here's some pics of our latest progress.  Let's hope it continues.

A New Contractor, Hives, And A Birthday- How I Spent My Week

Well in the last week we said see-ya to our old contractor and hired a new, more experienced (and more expensive) contractor.    You know that saying about you get what you pay for?  Yes, it's true.  We're currently in the permit phase which is a time suck.  Every little step of the kitchen addition now has to be inspected.  There's progress but it's soooo sloooow.  I won't bore you with pictures of the trench that was just dug.  

Another highlight of the week was my daughter getting a raging case of hives.  I woke up last Thursday and noticed a couple of pinkish spots on my daughter's cheeks.  It didn't really phase me because she has really sensitive skin and always seems to have some sort of a blemish on her skin.  A couple of hours later her school called me to come pick her up.  From then on it only got worse.  I finally took her to the doctor's office to have them look at it since they're recommendation of Benadryl was not working.  I started looking up hives on the internet only to be scared sh!tless that this might actually last for weeks.  WTF!  Luckily by Monday everything had cleared up and my sanity was restored.  We still don't know what caused it, but she's going for allergy testing to hopefully find out.  

And the cherry on top, I turned 39.  Thirty frickin nine.  I never really fully comprehended my 30th birthday. I'm discovering new wrinkles every day which is awesome.  And, my uterus is shriveling as I'm writing this.  So my birthday is yet another reminder that I've got to make a decision about whether or not to take the plunge and give my little girl a baby brother or sister.  

So obviously last week was a blast.  On a happier note, I did see the last Harry Potter in IMAX 3-D which was magical...pun intended :)

Tales From The Mud Pit

I've been avoiding the house as of late because every time I go over there I just want to scream/cry/kill/run away.  I'm reminded of a scene from "The Money Pit" where someone dropping off Shelly Long asks her, "Are they testing missiles here?" to which she responds, "The house is going to be great".  I find myself saying that a lot lately.  My mouth has been programmed to say it, but my brain is secretly unsure.  Seriously, how would you feel if you came home to this?

It's been raining a lot here lately which is stalling our biggest project which is the kitchen.  A trench needs to be dug so that a footer and foundation can be laid.  Once that's done the framers will come in and then it will start to look like something.  We're still waiting for the sun to come back.

To add insult to injury, our contractor just dropped a bomb on us.  He's getting a divorce, his wife took the kids, and he may be homeless soon.  Great.  So he's completely unfocused.  He's been showing up sporadically, working for 10 minutes, taking a smoke/phone break, then working another 10 minutes and so on.  And, we've become his therapists.  It's a delicate situation.  We really feel for his situation, but he's been dumping a lot of his personal baggage on us and it's gotten to the point where it's downright uncomfortable.  We're going to have to let him go at some point because the projects are almost completely stalled and we're really trying to move in to this house.

The only new thing going on is that we hired a separate plumber and all the plumbing should be done in the next few days.  Phew!  They've put the bathtub back in my daughter's bathroom and another bathtub will be going into the new bathroom downstairs in the bonus room which is going to be split into a butler's pantry on this side

and a full bathroom on this side.

What do you think of this shade?

I'm not sure about it but I was thinking that maybe it would work in the laundry room if I gave it a little love.  I don't know, I'm trying to save some money and reuse as much as I can of what was left in the house (within reason).

Sigh.  Only one word seems to sum up the whole thing.  Nightmare.  But I will go on saying "The house is going to be great" with a question mark until one day in what seems like the unfathomable future it comes true.  

One Kings Lane- My Newest Obsession

I'm usually the last one to hear about all the cool websites out there, so if you've already heard of One Kings Lane, well, sorry to bore you.  If you haven't, be prepared to love me.  They have new sales on home decor, furnishings, and accessories everyday for up to 70% of retail cost.  Their sales only last 72 hours and things sell out pretty quickly so you have to be on the ball.  They do show you what's coming up for sale, however, so you can plan your attack.  Love.  You have to become a member which is super simple and then you're just a few clicks away to buying bliss.  Seriously a person can go broke on this site saving money but it's oh so fun.  I purchased this yesterday.

It's Surya's Fallon Rug in blue.  I bought the 8' x 11' which they say retails for a little over $1000.  I got it for $499.  Not bad eh?  Before I bought it I scoured the internet to make sure this was a deal.  The cheapest I found it for was around $650 so I feel like I did pretty well.  I mean rugs, especially that size, are super expensive.   I found a picture of it on Decorpad.

Daniel Pafford via Lonny mag via Decorpad

I can't wait to get it.  I pray that it looks like it does online.  I just love the richness of the blue.  

It's been all about area rugs for me lately.  I also bought this which I'm going to put in my someday craft room.

 I know, it's super funky.  I first saw it on Color Splash a couple of years ago and I really liked it.  I forgot about it though until recently when I was looking at the Home Decorators website.  They were selling the 5' x 8' for $499.  I looked on Overstock and found the same rug and size for (wait for it) $199.  I was beyond excited.  I have to confess, however, that I've never purchased a rug sight unseen and am a little nervous, but optimistic.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Anyone out there purchased a rug online?  Was it yay or nay?

The Things They Left Behind

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July holiday as much as I did.  

Delving back into the house....

These are the goodies that came with the house.  When I say goodies, I mean they will be.  One day.   Hopefully sooner than later.  Or not.  One day I'm going to surprise my few cherished readers with something I've finished (or started for that matter).  Hell, I'll surprise myself!

The Jewel Box

I could talk about the giant hole in the side of my house which isn't completely closed and is exposed to all the elements and critters in the neighborhood.  Or I could talk about the two tractors that encompass my entire backyard and the silt sludge they created which has traveled down the driveway, into the street and down the street to which the neighbors complained.   Or I could talk about how a million projects have been started in the house and not one completed.

But...I won't.  Instead I'm going to go to my happy place and look at pretty pictures of powder rooms.

Lori Graham via Decorpad

Nest Interior Design via Decorpad

Niche Interiors

Artistic Designs For Living

Rules for small spaces:  Keep things light, simple and avoid anything with bold patterns.

Rules for a powder room:  Ignore all rules of small spaces.

This is the room where you're allowed to go crazy and have fun with design.  I've already started to think about what I want to do in our teeny tiny powder room.  Right now it's an utter and complete dump of a room, but one day it will be an inviting little jewel box.  That is, after everything in the room is removed and I finish removing the old hideous wallpaper.   It's been super hot these past few weeks and there is no air conditioning in the house.  Needless to say that I can only stand to be in that hole for short periods of time.  The top layer of the wallpaper came off so easily I was thinking that I was gonna  be home free.  I was wrong.  I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, cross my fingers.

I've picked out the wallpaper I'm going to replace it with.  It's Flavor Paper's "City Park" design.

  It's so fun and whimsical with the parking meters, fire hydrants, rats and pigeons.   I love that from afar it looks like a damask but up close...well you can see for yourself.   I'm going to get it in a custom color though since I'm not keen on the ones they have.  The only problem is that I'm not sure what color it should be.   Whatever the color,  I think I'm going to break it up with either beadboard or board and batten since I think the pattern might be a little overwhelming.  Next I'm going to have to find a smaller toilet and a tiny vanity to replace the corner one that was in the room.  And, I need to find a cool pendant light. Oh, and a mirror.  Exhale. Ok.  Now to recap, this is what we've started with:

In all it's glory.  

I love the multilayered window treatments.  The shutters are literally resting against the window

Floor tile ideas

Seriously, check out the floor.  It's taped with masking tape.  Classy.

And what is it going to look like?  Not sure yet, but stay tuned.

The Laundry List

Shouldn't the laundry room get the same attention as the rest of the house?  I mean I know I need inspiration to get up off my butt and fold the clothes.  It might as well be a pretty room since I'm going to be spending a fair bit of time in there.  Here's some rooms that have inspired the look that I want in my laundry room.

Via Southern Living

I love love love the color of the cabinets.  Don't be shocked if I steal this idea.

Via Hooked on Houses

After seeing this I decided that a backsplash is a must.

Via House & Home

This room looks so clean and fresh.  Appropriate.

Via The Container Store

Can you tell that I'm a wee bit partial to the color blue?

Via Decorology

I think this would look right at home in my home.

Via Little Green Notebook

This laundry room looks so elegant with that wallpaper.

Last but not least is Sarah Richardson's design from Sarah's House.  I don't care what anyone says, I love her.  This industrial look would not work in my house however.

Ok, enough of that.  Now on to my laundry room.

I couldn't really open the door too much more than this because of the shower immediately to the right.

That, by the way is a giant slab of marble.  All the walls were marble.  I'm hoping to reuse some of it somewhere else in the house.  It has a few rust stains but I think I can work around them.  

And here's what it looks like now.  I really need to invest in a wide angle lens.

This is the utility sink we're using.  We got it off of Craigslist and had it reglazed.  Doesn't it look amazing?

We're going to use the old kitchen cabinets in the laundry room.  Do you think I should paint them or leave them the way they are?  Kidding!  Those are getting painted.  I'm going to have to watch Miss Mustard Seed's video tutorial on how to paint kitchen cabinets ASAP.

As you can see it's a work in progress.  Can I just tell you that the tiles that were in the bathroom were hideous, in bad shape, and 5 inches thick.  Don't ask me why, just believe me when I say it took a while to remove them.  

So here's what I'm thinking...washing machine, dryer, and utility sink on the right wall with a countertop and upper cabinets.  On the left wall, drying racks, ironing board and some kind of fold down utility table.  I haven't quite figured the table out yet (project!).  I also want curtains and some type of chandelier since the ceiling is high.  I'm not talking crystal, but something.  Again, not sure what.  This is what I've picked out so far.

Ceramic tile for the floor, quartz countertop, mosaic tile for the backsplash and fabric.  If I go with these I'll tell you where I got them and how much.  Nothing is set in stone (yet), but washing machine and dryer are going in July 28 so we'd best get crackin'.