Phase 3 - Sheet Rockin'

Phase 3 - Sheet Rockin'
We are moving along, slowly but getting there

This is about half of the sheet rock load we had

Phase 2 - Framing - First load of Studs

Phase 2 - Framing - First load of Studs

We have one wall framed out!  It's so nice to finally see progress.
Stay tuned for more pictures

Basement - Phase 1 - Destruction

Basement Remodel - Phase 1
We have been working very slowly on this basement remodel.  So far we have knocked down the few walls we had down there, leading to the endless amounts of contractor bags now sit on my back porch and my beautifully remodeled dining room now holds all the big and expensive things from the basement.  (ie. TV, pool table, couches, etc).  That in itself gives me major anxiety.

We already replaced the three windows, which brings in so much light.  Never realized how much light can get in down there because the prior windows were boarded up, not sure why, so there was NO natural light down there. 

I am hoping to get some framing started this weekend, but we will see if the time is in the cards. 

Stay Tuned for Phase 2 - Framing!!

Our Basement Challenges, Ideas and Inspirations......
As I would love to take full credit for all my renovation ideas and designs, but I can't. I find myself taking inspirations from all around; tv, online, home improvements stores, houses that my husband does work at, etc. 

One of our first thoughts were "what are we going to do with the floors down there?" 
As much as I would love to put gorgeous hardwood floors down there, (especially since we have an overstock of beautiful real hardwood floors sitting in our attic right now.) we decided that might not be a good idea - for water purposes.  If we get water down there we are screwed.
Next thought - tile.... Yeah that could be nice but we want something different.  Something nice but different.  
Hubby suggests: Why not just stain and seal the concrete floors?  Hmmmm, that could be nice.

After searching online for pictures so I had a better idea of what they would look like, I came across this one, and fell in love!!!!


Yup!!!  Let's stain the floors.  




After that was pretty much decided, It was time for me to move onto what to do with the playroom.  The playroom is a big deal for me because I want to make sure my kids have a space to call theirs (besides their bedrooms).  I needed a space that was going to grown with them...


 

Built-In Bookshelves is a must especially since we have probably more books than our public library.  

Next was paint colors. 
It must be bright, they say bright colors promotes creativity.  But can not be too bright as I don't want to give my little monsters a headache.

and you can't forget the chalkboard!

Every child should be able to put his/her art all over the walls, without ruining the paint that is.

Now lets move onto the main living area

Built-in around the TV is a must. I hate seeing clutter.  Dvd's, cd, video games, etc... All must not be seen. 


This is pretty much as far as I have gotten.  I have spent alot of time on the kids area, now its time for me to plan the "adult" area.  

I can say there will be a pool table, and hopefully a bar.  I really hope a bar...  But we'll see.  




Stay tuned for more pics once we get a little further in the project!!!  Check back soon....

2013 Renovation! It's Basement Time

Let me introduce you to "the basement"..

We've always see the potential this basement has to add some useable
living space to our home.
But getting there isn't going to be easy.

We plan on creating a few "zones". 
A playroom for the kids, a living room, workshop, laundry room, and game area.

 We have just started cleaning all the junk out... So this is definitely a loonnngg work in progress.

Make sure you check back often for updates!!

Our Past Projects

Here's a quick look at our past renovation projects over the past three years.

Our Dining Room Remodel

This is our amazing dining room.  I cropped the picture small because I don't think anyone can handle that wallpaper in a large dose.  That wallpaper covered every wall, floor to ceiling and even had a wonderful floral border on top of the wallpaper. kinda like a Hunter green with Pink flowers everywhere!

Ripping down that wallpaper was horrible.  The layers of wallpaper seemed to never end. and the amount of glue was insane. The process of removing the wallpaper and cleaning the walls took about a week of working everyday.

 

We let our children sign the walls before we start the wainscoting.
Great way to keep our names on our hard work.

The next step was the stripes.  OMG the stripes.  I didn't take any pictures of the stripes layed out, and that's only because I wanted no memory of that process. It was mind numbing, measuring the entire room, figuring out the best size stripes to fit the room the best, then with ruler, laser level and blue tape, taping off all the stripes.

The first picture is the start of the wainscoting.  the second obviously is when it was all in place and primed.  and Crown molding is all installed.


Completed painted wainscoting and crown.

Bye Bye to that ugly 80's gold/glass thing of a chandelier.  Our New Chandelier Took us a while to pick the right one, but once we did, we knew it was perfect!

Completed Room

Our Upstairs Bathroom Remodel

Bathroom Gutted.  I didn't have any before pictures, and that is only because I was in such a rush to demo it, once I got the OK from my husband I went to work.   The photos were an after-thought, obviously.

           Tub and Shower                                    Floor                                             Shower

Shower Tiles: Tan with glass tile accent
Floor Tiles: Same tan tile just larger.  12 x 12 tiles
All Fixtures are Oil Rubbed Bronze

                                                                          Vanity

I absolutely love the color scheme we went with.  Its Sage Green and Chocolate Brown.
Picking a wall color is one of the hardest parts of a remodel, I think.
The Sage Green was a color I picked from the glass tile accents in the shower.

 Our Downstairs Bathroom Remodel

This bathroom was very interesting.  Very!

I am not sure what the previous owners were thinking, drinking or smoking when they designed this bathroom.  There was a tiny pink tiled floor, a pink cast iron bath tub accented with Teal and Black shower tiles.  There was even a towel bar in the shower.
Wallpaper Again! The walls were covered in a brown textured wallpaper that was also accented with a bored, but unfortunately I did not get a picture of that before I ripped it into pieces.  It was like a rainforest designs, large green leaves with pink and teal accents.

Right behind the door was a linen closet with glass doors.  If you didn't know the glass doors were there you would scare the crap outta yourself once you closed the bathroom door behind you. 

IT'S DEMO TIME
This demo was not an easy one.  The walls came down pretty good, but the floor did not. 
Holy Concrete!

 LET'S BUILD IT BACK UP!
Since I am the Tile Queen, the process goes pretty well, I measure, Husband cuts, I lay tile.
As simple as that. 
Various greyish tiles 6 x 12, accented with burgundy/tan/chrome glass tiles.
Same fixtures as our upstairs bathroom.  Oil Rubbed Bronze.

 Floor tiles are the same as the shower tiles but we threw in some of the shower tiles to mix it up a bit.  So its 12 x 12 & 6 x 12 tiles pattern!  Was hesitant at first, but loved our choice.

This vanity is the same style we have downstairs just a cream color, with again oil rubbed bronze fixtures. 

 

 Let's Refinish Some Hardwood Floors!

 Something I will NEVER do again, unless it's someone else doing it.

BEFORE.

 4 coats of Ebony stain & 2 coats of Clean Satin Polyurethane

Just to add a little more work to my plate and pain to my aching body.
Once our floors were done I built this Built-In Storage Cabinet in our living to fill in some dead space we had. This has to be my favorite addition to our house thus far.  This was a lot of work but was exactly what our living room was missing without us even knowing it was missing something.

Thanks for checking out our work so far.  Our next project is beginning very VERY soon.  

Basement Remodel!!! 

Pictures will follow soon.