Week 1. Unexpectedly received access to the house a day early and with ALL ACCESS. Originally, I had negotiated with the estate to get access to the first floor (minus garage) only, and no access to the basement area until 7/31. Unexpectedly, I received FULL ACCESS on Monday, July 11. Everything (mostly) cleaned out. As such, on Monday, 7/11, I met with the electrician (JD) and the flooring folks (AF) to look over the house. Had two bits of good news -- one, the electrician and crew would be able to start on 7/18 & the second was that the cork floors in the house could be sanded and resealed.
I was not able to do anything on the 11th, as I had jury duty all day (thankfully, no need for my services). So seeing the house, cleared out and mostly clean, on the 11th was a delightful surprise.
I spent Tuesday gathering supplies, hauling stuff to the house for painting. Picked paint colors, bought samples, put them on the walls to determine which ones made sense.
Wed-Thurs I spent making sure the house was ready for the arrival of Mom & Cousin B, who were coming on Friday to work on the house. I bought paint, organized supplies, took off switch and outlet plates, and generally got ready for their arrival. I painted the master bathroom ceiling and walls. I also painted the master bedroom closets white.
Friday, Mom & Cousin B arrived & worked on removing the wallpaper in the main bathroom. It was peach tulips on a light blue background and decidely unattractive. I was painting ceilings in the bedrooms, getting them ready to paint on Saturday morning.
Saturday was painting day -- with Mom and I painting ceilings, while Cousin B focused on painting the master bedroom. We painted bedroom 2. My friend JS came over to help paint the ceilings, and GT came by with pie. It was a big day, with lots done.
Sunday -- Mom & B headed home. S and I headed to the house. He began work on assembling the master closet shelving and racks, while I finished the ceilings in the dining room and TV room. JS came over and helped paint the closet in Bedroom 2, while GT was kind enough to edge primer around Bedroom 3.
Monday at 8 a.m. -- electricians and contractors arrive. Replacement of switches, outlets, ceiling fans commences, with the demolition of the kitchen starting. I spent the day painting wherever the electricians were not, getting primer on the walls and starting edging Bedroom 3 with the yellow paint. Bedrooms 2, 3, and 4 will be a pale yellow. GT came over to primer Bedroom 4.
This coming week: Kitchen reconstruction, Electrical Work Continues/finishes, New flooring for TV room, living room, Master Bedroom and Bedroom 4 arrives, and more painting. Stay tuned!
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| My new garage. Oscar fits nicely. |
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| Mudroom/entry off garage into kitchen and/or front porch area. Has a dutch door! |
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| Laundry right off the kitchen. |
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| View of (L-R) dining room,laundry, mudroom |
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| Kitchen into dining room |
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| Kitchen. Midcentury modern All Day Long. |
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| TV Room w/So Many Bookcases *swoon* |
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| View of dining room into TV room. Note built-in china cupboard. |
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| Dining Room. |
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| View from dining room into living room. More built-in bookcases. |
 | | TV room from dining room. |
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| View of living room from entry. |
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| View of living room from entry. Front coat closet pictured to right. Slate floors in entry. |
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| View of kitchen from entry, looking towards mud room & laundry. |
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| Hallway leading to bedrooms. Open door is main bathroom. Cork floors in two of four bedrooms & hall. |
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| Main bathroom. |
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| Hallway looking toward entry. |
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| Master bathroom. |
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| Future office. Bedroom 2. |
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| Future guest room. Bedroom 3. |
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| Future guest room. Bedroom 4. |
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| Hallway linen closet. I do not own this many linens. |
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| Traditional dinner of champions, first night in the house. Alison B. brought Subway to me in my first house on Maple Lane, and since that time, I have always eaten Subway in my house the first night I owned it. Traditions can be weird and deeply gratifying. |
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| Dining room hardwoods. |
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| Satan's spit, found in the bathroom medicine cabinet. Pretty sure this is a biohazard these days. Winced when I touched the bottles. |
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| Testing house colors. |
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| Removal of all switch & outlet plates prior to painting. Electrician starts on 7/18. |
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| Prep for master bath painting. |
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| Hooray! Painting! |
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| Just doing the ceiling in the bathroom made a huge difference. |
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| Look at that beautiful ceiling. |
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| My contributions (among many) to the Bezos Yacht Fund. |
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| Testing paint colors, and decision made. |
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| Bathroom goes green (literally). |
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| Master bedroom closets going from pink to white. |
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| Much better in white. |
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| Cousin B (left) & Mom (right) were kind enough to come strip wallpaper in the main bath & paint (and paint and paint ...) this weekend. |
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New master bedroom color (and ceiling fan going up). Cousin B spent most of Saturday painting this room. It is beautiful.
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| Bedroom 3 goes yellow. Thanks to G for edging the walls with primer! |
