...thanks for asking, Kendra. I did start out this project as simply covering an air return between the bathroom and the playroom. One I got on the ladder and started checking things out, though, I realized we had some old water damage to the bathroom ceiling. I got to removing the damaged plaster, and soon my 12"x10" hole was now about 3'x2'. So, in all, your typical old house project that starts out small and gets bigger and bigger.
In any event, the hole has been patched with drywall, taped, and has a coat of joint compound on it. By the weekend, it should be ready to paint, which is the whole reason I was up on the ladder in the first place.
With the ceiling painted, we can move to the walls, then the trim. Except I'm pretty sure I'm going to pop all that trim off the wall, strip it, and repaint it. Stay tuned.
Showing posts with label playroom f/k/a jayhawk room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playroom f/k/a jayhawk room. Show all posts
1.10.2008
Sometimes, You Just Can't Do It Yourself
If there is anything Kendra and I know, it is that our home-improvement skills have limits. With the bulk of the painting done at the country estate, we are just about ready to enter phase 2 - the contractor phase. So Kendra met with our contractor at the house today to discuss the scope of our work. We will be starting the construction of our new master suite by borrowing some of the adjoining bedroom to create a new walk-in closet. In the long-term plans (but not necessarily to be done right away) is to turn the existing closet + some unfinished space into a master bath, and to add a laundry room off the upstairs hall.
We also have about 800 square feet of wood floors to refinish (remember all that carpet we pulled up?). This is going to make a huge difference and give us a very "finished" feel, as we will be refinishing the floors in the office, downstairs bath, stairs, upstairs hall, playroom f/k/a jayhawk room, and Max's room. Some of the trouble spots on the downstairs trim will also be touched up.
We are on a tight time frame, and I think Kendra may have freaked out our contractor a bit when she told him that we wanted it done by the end of the month. The good news is that we should be able to post some sweet before-and-after shots relatively soon.
We also have about 800 square feet of wood floors to refinish (remember all that carpet we pulled up?). This is going to make a huge difference and give us a very "finished" feel, as we will be refinishing the floors in the office, downstairs bath, stairs, upstairs hall, playroom f/k/a jayhawk room, and Max's room. Some of the trouble spots on the downstairs trim will also be touched up.
We are on a tight time frame, and I think Kendra may have freaked out our contractor a bit when she told him that we wanted it done by the end of the month. The good news is that we should be able to post some sweet before-and-after shots relatively soon.
11.20.2007
Watching Paint Dry
As Joe already mentioned, the last two weekends have been a little slow. Two weekends ago we traveled out of town for Mizzou football game, and last weekend we had an extra helper.
Max and Maggie
Our 3-month-old neice, Maggie, was with us for the day on Saturday. And we had her baptism to attend on Sunday. So the house went on the back burner for a bit, which is OK since it doesn't look like we're going to sell the city highrise and actually move to our country estate any time soon.
But I think Joe is too hard on us. We have gotten quite a bit of tedious painting (cutting in and trim work) done over the past couple of weekends. And one important task was complete when we left the house on Sunday. In fact, I would say this is THE most important task in light of the MU-KU showdown coming up on Saturday. The Jayhawk room is painted! Every trace of red and blue is gone! And from here on out we will refer that room as the playroom f/k/a the Jayhawk room. Unfortunately, the light was too low to get a good picture of the final paint job, but I took a picture of the room before I put on the last coat of trim paint. I think you'll get the idea, despite the bit of stubborn red that is still bleeding through in this pic.
Go Mizzou!
Max and MaggieBut I think Joe is too hard on us. We have gotten quite a bit of tedious painting (cutting in and trim work) done over the past couple of weekends. And one important task was complete when we left the house on Sunday. In fact, I would say this is THE most important task in light of the MU-KU showdown coming up on Saturday. The Jayhawk room is painted! Every trace of red and blue is gone! And from here on out we will refer that room as the playroom f/k/a the Jayhawk room. Unfortunately, the light was too low to get a good picture of the final paint job, but I took a picture of the room before I put on the last coat of trim paint. I think you'll get the idea, despite the bit of stubborn red that is still bleeding through in this pic.
Go Mizzou!I also think Joe is too modest. He has failed to mention that, although it is slow work, he is the ultimate cut-in expert.
Exhibit A:
This is a picture of the top of the trim in the parlor, which Joe painted last weekend. Notice the perfect line and the complete lack of paint on the trim? That's the kind of craftsmanship you get when Joe's cutting in. Here, you can see him cutting in the living room WITHOUT EVEN USING ANY TAPE! CRAZY!
The moral of the story of the last two weeks is this:
Even though it can be slow and sometimes the work isn't very entertaining or sexy, we're learning every day and creating a beautiful house--our home--together with the help of our families and friends. So, dear readers, stick with us and watch the paint dry. We promise the pace will pick up soon.
Exhibit A:
This is a picture of the top of the trim in the parlor, which Joe painted last weekend. Notice the perfect line and the complete lack of paint on the trim? That's the kind of craftsmanship you get when Joe's cutting in. Here, you can see him cutting in the living room WITHOUT EVEN USING ANY TAPE! CRAZY!
The moral of the story of the last two weeks is this:Even though it can be slow and sometimes the work isn't very entertaining or sexy, we're learning every day and creating a beautiful house--our home--together with the help of our families and friends. So, dear readers, stick with us and watch the paint dry. We promise the pace will pick up soon.
11.11.2007
No Pictures, No Problem
Short post tonight -- an out-of-town trip on Saturday prevented us from working on the house until Sunday morning. Even though we just had a few hours, we managed to get the parlor painted. Here is a picture of the parlor, before painting. This shot is from the living room, past the pocket doors, and into the parlor:
We didn't bring the camera today, so there is no post-painting picture. The changes aren't too dramatic--the new color is a neutral tan color. The new color takes a little bit of the harshness out of the (previously) white walls.
While I painted in the parlor, Kendra was painting the trim in Max's playroom (the old "Jayhawk" room) white. She got one coat on, with one still to go to cover up the red that was on the trim before.
Hopefully we can shake some more time free next weekend and knock out a few more projects, and hopefully we'll remember our camera next time.
We didn't bring the camera today, so there is no post-painting picture. The changes aren't too dramatic--the new color is a neutral tan color. The new color takes a little bit of the harshness out of the (previously) white walls.
While I painted in the parlor, Kendra was painting the trim in Max's playroom (the old "Jayhawk" room) white. She got one coat on, with one still to go to cover up the red that was on the trim before.
Hopefully we can shake some more time free next weekend and knock out a few more projects, and hopefully we'll remember our camera next time.
11.04.2007
Bye-Bye, Blue
It was another productive weekend at the country estate. Joe spent a large portion of the day Saturday pulling up bathroom floor (he'll be posting on that later) and Max and I were in charge of paint.
OK. We didn't actually let the 9-month-old near the paint and we tried our best to keep his developing brain away from the paint fumes. Luckily, Max's Grandma (my Mom) and Nanni (Joe's Mom) were there to help.
Back to the house...
Three of the four bedrooms in the house were various shades of blue, none of which we were very fond. Those happen to be the same three rooms that need floor refinishing. So we began painting those rooms first--before refinishing--so that any stray paint blobs can be swept away by the sander. We started with the downstairs bedroom, which will be our guest bedroom/office. It was a dark, dark shade of blue (think midnight blue or navy). A little heavy for a bedroom, so we decided to go with a light terra cotta (Sherwin Williams calls it Rustic Adobe) to open it up. The walls in the room are highly textured, so the effect, I think, is pretty good--earthy and kind of clay-like (see before and after pics below). Once the trim is repainted and the floors are refinished, I think we'll be in business.
The other room on the painting agenda this weekend, of course, was the Jayhawk room. It will be a playroom for Max, so we picked Gleeful Green. The trim will be white, but for now it is still red. Maybe we'll keep it in through the holiday season.
I know this is a super-long post, but I have to end by giving a shout-out to Joe's brother, Chris, and my brother, Kevin, for taking on painting and general clean-up duties this weekend. Thanks, bros!
OK. We didn't actually let the 9-month-old near the paint and we tried our best to keep his developing brain away from the paint fumes. Luckily, Max's Grandma (my Mom) and Nanni (Joe's Mom) were there to help.
Back to the house...Three of the four bedrooms in the house were various shades of blue, none of which we were very fond. Those happen to be the same three rooms that need floor refinishing. So we began painting those rooms first--before refinishing--so that any stray paint blobs can be swept away by the sander. We started with the downstairs bedroom, which will be our guest bedroom/office. It was a dark, dark shade of blue (think midnight blue or navy). A little heavy for a bedroom, so we decided to go with a light terra cotta (Sherwin Williams calls it Rustic Adobe) to open it up. The walls in the room are highly textured, so the effect, I think, is pretty good--earthy and kind of clay-like (see before and after pics below). Once the trim is repainted and the floors are refinished, I think we'll be in business.
The other room on the painting agenda this weekend, of course, was the Jayhawk room. It will be a playroom for Max, so we picked Gleeful Green. The trim will be white, but for now it is still red. Maybe we'll keep it in through the holiday season.
I know this is a super-long post, but I have to end by giving a shout-out to Joe's brother, Chris, and my brother, Kevin, for taking on painting and general clean-up duties this weekend. Thanks, bros!
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