Paint Colors!

My last post was a post of GREAT lamentation, so I thought I would post only of happy things here today!
For example, my favorite sub-contractor:

Now, the house is still a mess, but floors are being added and walls are being painted and, plumbing is being installed. For all of this to happen, you need to have a very large workbench:

Back to paint colors! We had a good bit of leftover paint from our old kitchen wall color, so we reused it! The color scheme we will the same in this kitchen. No marble counter tops, but you can't have it all!


We'll change out the light fixture in the dining area to the one in my current art studio. It's an antique crystal one. My dad gave it to me. I love it!
The window below is in the kitchen and has a very wide sill, like a window seat. I plan to put a birdbath and feeder on this tree so that Scout and Henri can watch the birds for hours.

This is the main room of the house, minus the paneling and crazy colors - doesn't it look SO much better?!

I really like the light that streams in from this window. We will be able to sit and watch the sunset over the barn from it as well. I can't wait!
Here's the master bath - it has a LONG way to go, but it is getting there.

I told some of you about the paint color controversy in the master rooms... turns out the yellowy-orange cast was from the light hitting the orange-brown deck and reflecting back into the room. It looks much better now! :o) Everyone is happy.

We chose very light colors for our house because the rooms are so much smaller than what we are used to (and the ceilings), so we knew we would need that light look to help create the feelig of more space.

I know I've shown you the two guest rooms before, but here they are again!

See how the light can create different hues out of one color?

Here's the guest bath - purple of course! I have to have some purple!

And last, but not least... my art studio with the beginnings of a floor!

Yay!!!!!! Once the tile is grouted those dark lines will be much less visible. The room is purple, too. :o)
It is starting to come together - can we get it done in less than a week?!

House Tetris

You know how in Tetris you start off doing really well, enjoying the game and getting rid of those little lines one by one and quickly advancing to the next level? Then, at the next level, the tetri (plural?) start coming faster and faster and you have those long, skinny pieces that go anywhere less and less? Things start piling up. The space between the pieced tetri and where they drop becomes much smaller. Now the shapes are coming way too fast - crunch crunch crunch - they begin to slam into each other before you can get them placed. Then - GAME OVER . I think that's about where I am right now. Close to game over...

It's been a tough week at home (old house) this week. The process of moving and selling the house has had a few train wrecks. Add to all of that coordinating renovation, selling furniture, cutting pastures, moving horses, packing things up, saying goodbye, working this job and that job, day to day life stuff...... and we are a little worn out at the end of the day. I've been feeling guilty about been tried and short tempered when SO MANY that I know have it much more difficult than I do, but it is what it is.
I am very grateful for the new adventure and excited to see what life is like on a small farm, but I forget about that when I am frustrated. Forgive me if I've hurt your feelings or seemed distant. I am hoping to be a better friend and/or relative soon.
I almost reached the breaking point last night. I told Sam that I was overwhelmed and felt I had no one to help me... even he couldn't because he is so busy (and rightfully so). He gently reminded me that I haven't asked anyone for help (SO hard to do and quite humbling). So, here's my cry for help:

HELP!

I need it in the form of packing, cleaning and reassuring, mostly. The barn needs to be cleaned and ready for my sweet ponies, the pasture needs to be cut, the farm house needs to be cleaned, what the heck am I going to do with that kitchen and so on and so on. Most of these things are projects that I need to be working on, but I need buddies to come hang out and keep me focused and motivated while I pack and clean and plan. I need someone to bounce ideas off of. I need a friend!
It would most likely just be an hour here or there. It's hard to ask because it is something I know no one wants to spend time doing. I'm also afraid that no one will want to help. Plus, three out of my four readers live out of state... and the other reader is my husband. :o) I guess what you could do for me is pray that God will send me some friends to help. or give me superhuman powers for a few days!
On a happy note (a much needed happy note!), we have some new floors and they look GREAT!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY FLOORS! YAY YAY YAY floors!!!!!!!!!!



These are the two guest rooms - don't you like the floors?! I do! Both rooms look similar because they have the same paint color, but they are DONE!
I'm so excited! They are beginning on the tile for the living area tomorrow! :o) Hooray!

Sheet Rocking Updates

I know that what you all REALLY want are updates with pictures, so I thought I'd deliver!
Sheet rocking and demo are still the words of the week in our school of remodleing, but I am so pleased with the changes! Take a look!


Here's the big family room without carpet, the brick planter or cedar planks. It really, really opens it up (forgive me for the ladder in the picture. I had been cleaning up debris and was too tired to move it)!

Yay for sheet rock! Hooray!

I can't wait to see the house painted in the soft colors we picked out. It is going to make everything seem so much lighter and brighter!


Here's a wider angle.... you can also see all of the dust from sanding sheet rock mud!

It's the crazy room! Much better already!

They skim coated over the old polka dots - it almost looks like some sort of modern wall decor.


These pictures are from the guest bath. We took down the old mirrors and found this wall paper behind it. It came down (wallpaper) so easily. What do you think of the pattern?


Below are pictures of the master bedroom and bathroom. There was old wall paper on one wall and it did NOT come down easily. It was bringing the sheet rock with it, so we had to stop. Our wonderful paint crew is coming up with a solution for this dilemma.

Stacked in the middle of this room is the new flooring for the bedrooms.

Here's my favorite worker demo-ing the bathroom in the middle of a snow storm!

Here's how it looks with out the tub and dust particles. We will not put a new tub in just yet. We are going to save up for another claw-foot tub! We just love ours at the old house!
And the shower..... it had to be gutted. Any ideas for decor with this bathroom? I'm so excited to have a new BIG bathroom! I have had such a small one for so long!

So what do you think? Any suggestions? Where should I look for bathroom ideas?

Field Testing Flooring!

In the farm house we have some original 1987 carpet, complete with DNA from all previous owners. We are getting rid of it, but you historic preservationists can have it, if you like!
We are trying to decide on what type of flooring to put down. We dislike carpet since it holds dirt and is not easy to clean (a house with many feet has many messes!). We LOVE the look and feel of hardwood, but is SO expensive and would be difficult to put down. Tile would be great for dealing with messes, but it can get cold in the winter and is not cheap to put down. Bamboo flooring is super strong, water resistant, but is made using formaldehyde, which is NOT good for living creatures to be breathing in constantly. Plus, it is difficult to install. Laminate looks nice, is easy to install, but doesn't stand up to moisture. It is also FAKE wood and I don't like fake things. Linoleum is not something that we think would look good , though it does great with moisture. It can also lack durability. Sooooooooo..... we know that bamboo, linoleum and hardwood are out. Tile and laminate are left. We know that tile can handle 22 feet, but what about the laminate? How do you simulate 22+ feet over the years? Well, we called in the simulator experts and put them to the test! They arrived on time, weren't drunk or high and didn't charge us a thing! W were so excited to actually have lab technicians at our house to complete these tests!!!!


Meet our workers:

Ella and Hershey!

We gave them the samples,

They tried them out....

...and I think they really, really tried their hardest to find a weak spot.

The untrimmed chocolate lab nail simulation test had us worried...

But our lab technicians found the laminate flooring to be quite....

TASTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be Our Guest...

I was thinking the other day about things that we have and haven't done with the house and it occurred to me that I haven't posted any real "after" pictures of the things we worked on.

Remember the guest bathroom upstairs? Pepto walls, brown tile, nasty vanity and plastic baseboards? Yeah. Well, without further ado, here's the after pictures!

Gatsby "using" the new toilet in the guest bath as a place to take a bath...
The wonderful, wonderful old tub. I LOVE it. It is so awesome to soak in because it is deep, you can lay back and rest your head and because it is cast iron, it holds the heat in very well. Now, if anyone out there has experience in putting up those shower curtain thingies that hang from the ceiling and walls let me know. Our ceilings are 10 ft and the position of the tub is different than most, so it poses a huge problem in the shower unit department.
Wainscoting and a towel rack - with my lovely centennial tea towel!
Gatsby on the green toilet - it is not as efficient as you might think...

Lil' Henri shows off the tile floor. Not the original wood (which we wanted but was in too rough of shape) or the hexagonal tiles (WAY too expensive for our budget), but it looks slightly older and you can walk on it without fear of getting tetanus or some other strange disease!

Yay! Sideways shots! Here's the sink.
And a very bad picture of the washstand from the flea market my mom/Grams bought for us to put up here. I really love it though. I considered stealing it from the bathroom and putting it somewhere else, but it really does best in here and dresses things up nicely.
I think it came out great!!!!

Art You Glad?

As usual, things are as busy as they can be here at the house of many feet. We are really enjoying celebrating Christmas in the "new" house this year, and just in general. It's just a wonderful time!
We are also in the process of having the art studio floors refinished (YAY), which means one day I will actually be able to unpack the boxes of my supplies and create and teach again. I can't tell you how excited I am even though the floors are taking forever to dry due to the humidity and we are high on polyurethane. It is a blessing that the weather is warm for us because we can keep the windows and doors open to let the house air out and let the animals be out of doors.
I got a call yesterday about a possible commission as well - how cool is that?! (Yes, Mama, I know I am to do Aunt Shari's painting FIRST). And it doesn't even include an animal!
Here are progress pictures, because I know that's all you really want!
The Room Formerly Known as "The Humbling Room" :

The beautiful floors!

Sam helping to plan the layout of the studio under the careful supervision of Gatsby.
My fun project for reusing the glass jars our recycling program does not accept - Mint Mocha Drink Mix for presents! I made it myself!

The Big White Kitten Nod of Approval