New House Pictures

Replacing the basement windows
Kim thought she might want to replace the windows in her basement, so she helped us replace the first of our four basement windows. The remaining three were replaced in the following week. The first window was the most difficult, because Michael had forgotten to borrow the crowbar from my father, so they pulled the window out with two hammers, one of which broke. That's Kim proudly holding the pieces of broken hammer. Michael then framed the windows, and after the caulk dried and everyting had settled, I painted the windows white, but of course the sills are now dirty with little kitty footprints.

Replacing the basement windows

Kim thought she might want to replace the windows in her basement, so she helped us replace the first of our four basement windows. The remaining three were replaced in the following week. The first window was the most difficult, because Michael had forgotten to borrow the crowbar from my father, so they pulled the window out with two hammers, one of which broke. That's Kim proudly holding the pieces of broken hammer. Michael then framed the windows, and after the caulk dried and everyting had settled, I painted the windows white, but of course the sills are now dirty with little kitty footprints.

Refinishing the inside doors
As you may or may not be able to tell from the picture to the right, the doors inside our house had been painted, and were an off white color when we moved in. I am not a huge fan of painted wood, if natural is a possibility, and since I had already refinished several pieces of furniture, I decided to strip the paint from the doors, and then if the doors were in okay shape, stain and polyurethane them. The stripping and sanding were an long, smelly and arduous process, although I was eventually about to enlist Michael's help with the sanding. Once we had the doors cleaned up, I stained them as close to the color of the floors as I could make them. That done we had to clean the brass and door knobs which had, of course, also been painted. I discovered that cooking the hardware in a TSP solution over low heat for several hours took the paint right off, and cleaned up the brass and glass very nicely, especially with a quick polishing. I think that the doors turned out rather nicely, even if I do say so myself.

Refinishing the inside doors

As you may or may not be able to tell from the picture to the right, the doors inside our house had been painted, and were an off white color when we moved in. I am not a huge fan of painted wood, if natural is a possibility, and since I had already refinished several pieces of furniture, I decided to strip the paint from the doors, and then if the doors were in okay shape, stain and polyurethane them. The stripping and sanding were an long, smelly and arduous process, although I was eventually about to enlist Michael's help with the sanding. Once we had the doors cleaned up, I stained them as close to the color of the floors as I could make them. That done we had to clean the brass and door knobs which had, of course, also been painted. I discovered that cooking the hardware in a TSP solution over low heat for several hours took the paint right off, and cleaned up the brass and glass very nicely, especially with a quick polishing. I think that the doors turned out rather nicely, even if I do say so myself.

The Outside of the House

Michael decided he could not put it off any longer, and finally removed all the stumps of the weed trees that were removed from behind the house last fall. Luckily our neighbor who is trying to sell his house, helped Michael pull out the stumps with his truck, otherwise he might be there still. Other work on the outside included painting the lower cinder block portion of the house. We used a block primer and then painted it a color that matched the house. Michael also put in a post light, which you can see in the pictures to the right. We also reseeded the lawn (hence the straw) which was little but mud, because the trees in the front of the house had been so overgrown. You can also see the the bulbs came up, which provided a pleasant distraction from the straw covered lawn. You can see that the three holly plants are doing well, and we also later added shrubs and decorative grasses at the bottom of the hill (along University Avenue, the road in the background).

Redoing the Bedroom
Because there was so much to do when we moved in, we put off doing anything to the bedroom, in favor of repainting the living room and hall and other work that needed more immediate attention. So we spent almost a year living with ugly blue and white stripped wallpaper, and spackle that needed sanded filling all the nail holes. But the time finally arrived, and it was time to redo the bedroom. The first order of business was, of course, to remove the awful wallpaper that went halfway up the walls. I really do not like wallpaper, and if I ever mention that I am considering putting up wallpaper, please smack me. Once that was over, I painted the bedroom. I painted one wall dark green (as you can see) and the three remaining walls a very pale green. I had picked out a trim that was in between for the trim, but once I saw it on a window, I decided it was awful, and so the windows are dark green against a light green wall, while the door frame is light green against a dark green wall. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the way things turned out, and have by now finished the curtains. (Not the curtains in the picture. Other curtains.)

Redoing the Bedroom

Because there was so much to do when we moved in, we put off doing anything to the bedroom, in favor of repainting the living room and hall and other work that needed more immediate attention. So we spent almost a year living with ugly blue and white stripped wallpaper, and spackle that needed sanded filling all the nail holes. But the time finally arrived, and it was time to redo the bedroom. The first order of business was, of course, to remove the awful wallpaper that went halfway up the walls. I really do not like wallpaper, and if I ever mention that I am considering putting up wallpaper, please smack me. Once that was over, I painted the bedroom. I painted one wall dark green (as you can see) and the three remaining walls a very pale green. I had picked out a trim that was in between for the trim, but once I saw it on a window, I decided it was awful, and so the windows are dark green against a light green wall, while the door frame is light green against a dark green wall. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the way things turned out, and have by now finished the curtains. (Not the curtains in the picture. Other curtains.)

New Curtains!
Oh the excitement! New curtains! The kitchen curtains match the chairs (I had material left over from when we refinished the table and chairs) and the living room curtains, I just liked the color. I realize this may be a surprise to those who expected me to decorate my house in black, white and greys, but that's just the way I dress.

Although we do not have pictures, we have also painted the basement walls and floor, making a tremendous improvement in the entire basement, and cutting down on how dirty things looked. I also made curtains for the basement windows, and so once the woodstove is installed, we will be able to work in the basement at night, in warmth, without having people watching is through the windows. We also replaced the light on the front porch, with one that matches the light post Michael put up. My flowers bloomed very little, although my plants are flourishing. And that's about it for the house.

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