Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Gray, purple, and gold
At the risk of channeling Lakers... I'd like to accent the gray bedroom with yellows and purples... wouldn't a cute yellow end table like this one look cute in my reading corner? 
Would need some functional lighting...like a reading lamp on the yellow table, but one that wouldn't clash with the decals I plan on having on the wall.
To add to the "reading corner" a couple chairs... I'd like to try reupholstering the chair in the garage (which I think may be similar to a parsons chair...except there is a box under the seat instead of legs). And maybe I could incorporate the "texture" that I've been reading about as giving the room depth/dimension/pop.
Maybe something like:
To add to the "reading corner" a couple chairs... I'd like to try reupholstering the chair in the garage (which I think may be similar to a parsons chair...except there is a box under the seat instead of legs). And maybe I could incorporate the "texture" that I've been reading about as giving the room depth/dimension/pop.
Maybe something like:
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
A Study...in Study Design...
So... not sure what kind of room the gray room will be. If Eddie's using the green room as a bedroom, I think we should have a study of sorts in the gray room. I'd like to keep all my arts/crafts/etc stuff in that room, have a space to work, and maybe a space to relax (i.e. a few comfy chairs in a corner).
The only space that I'm envisioning at this moment is the corner by the window...what you see from the doorway across the room. This is where I would like to have the chandelier decals. Originally I was thinking that they would hang above a bed...however if we're not buying a bed for this room, I could see it hanging over a couple of chairs and small side table to act as a reading corner.
Now if I had a reading corner, would I need bookcases? I would like to avoid the thousands and thousands of towering bookcases that we have in the Moreno Valley house, but I would like to experiment with dressing up some bookshelves...
I also don't know what to put along the wall since the door is situated on the left side of the room, almost in line with the wall... I'm worried if we put things there, the view and the room may seem blocked or cut off or hindered in some way.
The only space that I'm envisioning at this moment is the corner by the window...what you see from the doorway across the room. This is where I would like to have the chandelier decals. Originally I was thinking that they would hang above a bed...however if we're not buying a bed for this room, I could see it hanging over a couple of chairs and small side table to act as a reading corner.
Now if I had a reading corner, would I need bookcases? I would like to avoid the thousands and thousands of towering bookcases that we have in the Moreno Valley house, but I would like to experiment with dressing up some bookshelves...
I also don't know what to put along the wall since the door is situated on the left side of the room, almost in line with the wall... I'm worried if we put things there, the view and the room may seem blocked or cut off or hindered in some way.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tropical Green Room
So Eddie's looking for a bed to sleep on while he lives in the green room before I move in.
Here are some possibilities we saw:
Here are some possibilities we saw:
Another catch up
Friday night we had a little date night to Lowes where we checked out some carpet.
Saturday morning I went to the house to wait for the refrigerator repair man to repair our refrigerator, unfortunately they sent out a set up technician and not someone who could actually work on the refrigerator, so I had to get that rescheduled. I mopped the walls for the brown paint and touched up some cabinets before going to my hs reunion (10 years!)
Sunday Mum, Dad, and Andrew came to the house to help paint. We knocked out the rolling of the brown (Dad did at least), Mum and I started some trim. Andrew rolled the doors and swept the pool. Everyone was suitably impressed by my water fountains over the pool. Eddie has taken to calling them my show stoppers. :)
On Monday, Eddie's Grandpa Mario, Grandma Esther, and Dru came over to finish all the painting. Dru rolled the closets. Grandpa Mario did touch ups in all the rooms and cutting of the brown. Grandma Esther, Dru and I did baseboards. The carpet guy came to measure and said that all the facts and figures would be in by this evening. The refrigerator repairman came, fixed the refrigerator (woot), and chatted for a bit.
Jeff and his mom Pam came to check the house out. Eddie's eliciting Pam's decorating advice. I want to elicit Jeff's crazy bargaining skills! Pam also offered to come over and weed on her off days, an offer I am more than willing to take her up on.
Today was a non house day. Tomorrow starts with a trip to the dealership and then cleaning: dusting the fans, scrubbing the bathroom, sweeping/mopping the floors. Minor painting: white touch up the cabinets, brown on the trim in the door jambs, spackle then paint the new wooden piece to the linen cabinet, MAYBE some ceiling paint if it's not too high up... Then furniture shopping with Eduardo.
Saturday morning I went to the house to wait for the refrigerator repair man to repair our refrigerator, unfortunately they sent out a set up technician and not someone who could actually work on the refrigerator, so I had to get that rescheduled. I mopped the walls for the brown paint and touched up some cabinets before going to my hs reunion (10 years!)
Sunday Mum, Dad, and Andrew came to the house to help paint. We knocked out the rolling of the brown (Dad did at least), Mum and I started some trim. Andrew rolled the doors and swept the pool. Everyone was suitably impressed by my water fountains over the pool. Eddie has taken to calling them my show stoppers. :)
On Monday, Eddie's Grandpa Mario, Grandma Esther, and Dru came over to finish all the painting. Dru rolled the closets. Grandpa Mario did touch ups in all the rooms and cutting of the brown. Grandma Esther, Dru and I did baseboards. The carpet guy came to measure and said that all the facts and figures would be in by this evening. The refrigerator repairman came, fixed the refrigerator (woot), and chatted for a bit.
Jeff and his mom Pam came to check the house out. Eddie's eliciting Pam's decorating advice. I want to elicit Jeff's crazy bargaining skills! Pam also offered to come over and weed on her off days, an offer I am more than willing to take her up on.
Today was a non house day. Tomorrow starts with a trip to the dealership and then cleaning: dusting the fans, scrubbing the bathroom, sweeping/mopping the floors. Minor painting: white touch up the cabinets, brown on the trim in the door jambs, spackle then paint the new wooden piece to the linen cabinet, MAYBE some ceiling paint if it's not too high up... Then furniture shopping with Eduardo.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
DIY of the Day (Yesterday)
Went yesterday to Lowe's (my new favorite store!...) to find caulk and a gun to caulk the baseboards and walls. One girl came to help me choose the right caulk and a gun to use. After she left, I found myself trying to figure out how to load the gun. Luckily two other guys happened by and I was able to ask them. I felt really silly not knowing how to load the gun...but then neither did one of the workers...so I felt a little better. My caulk lines were pretty straight and looked clean, it wasn't until I smoothed the caulk with my finger that it got onto the wall, and then stuck in funny patterns because of the surface of the wall. I learned that if I didn't release the tension, caulk would continue to shoot out of the gun with reckless abandon for any floor surface nearby! I also learned that I didn't have to pull on the trigger the whole time, but could pull the trigger, move the gun, and then release the trigger and tension and continue moving the gun until it stopped which would make it a little (lot) cleaner.
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| Tools of the day |
What matches tropical green?
Eddie found this comforter set on the Kohl's website and sent it to me as a match for the green bedroom...
Is it just me or does this look blue?
Is it just me or does this look blue?
For Sale!
Our next door neighbors are selling their house! Well, at least, Eddie and I think so because they have the yellow hanging post erected in their front yard... There was no sign there yet, so maybe they're using it for Halloween decorations?... But if not, they'll be the fourth or fifth house that has be put up for sale on Wisteria Ct!
New Old Neighbors
I had dinner last night at Sushi Mac (they have all-you-can-eat sushi...) with my former next door classroom neighbor! She actually lives a few streets over and up. It was nice catching up. Hopefully we'll see more of each other being so close! Maybe even regular evening walks?...
The BRIGHT Blue Room
So the color of the master bedroom is this BRIGHT BRIGHT blue. I found it in an example used in a ducky bathroom!!.. It's a bright blue that matches the tropical kind of theme of the green...it's the Caribbean water.
Grandpa Mario and Grandma Esther knocked out the master bedroom on Tuesday! I can now add painting machines to the extensive list of skills in their repetoire.
Our house has no overall theme...we've got two rooms that are very...tropical... one room that is a dark color, and a neutral taupe in the hall/living/dining/kitchen areas. Here are some shots of the colors visible from the hallway:
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| The tropical colored rooms |
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| The contrasting dark and light rooms across the hall from each other |
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| The green was not Rainforest Mist as previously posted, but actually this BRIGHT Aqua Quartz |
DIY Disaster!
Monday we experienced a slight (major?) problem. The up side was the refrigerator was delivered. The down side was when we went to attach the hose from the refrigerator to the wall, it was the wrong size. The Sears guy said that you could just twist it off, but when Eddie tried, something was broken off from a pipe!! So we ended up calling Ray's neighbor Rudy, who came on Tuesday morning to install the part. Once it was installed, the water didn't seem to be working, so Eddie's dad played with it, and at least got the water dispensing from the fridge, but the ice wasn't being made. AND on Wednesday, the refrigerator/freezer still wasn't cold... So someone should be coming today.
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| Our ginormous refrigerator |
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| The hole in the wall I chiseled so we could get a better view of the pipe or whatever was back there. |
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| The piece we were supposed to be able to just twist off... not so much. Fail Sears man |
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| Replacement part we bought for the job |
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| Definitely not a DIY job with the soldering... |
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Catching up...
Wow, so I guess I've fallen behind a smidge with the daily updates with the house... to recap last week:
Eddie's Grandpa Mario worked his sprinkler magic and fixed our valves in the back yard. Now all the sprinklers work, yay!
In the same vein, and on one of our many trips to Lowes, Eddie bought new sprinkler heads to shoot water in the appropriate directions for the raised beds in the back. He also fiddled around until he got the right water flow for various sprinklers in the front and back.
While Grandpa Mario fixed sprinklers, Grandma Esther was a weeding machine! She cleared out the grass/weeds from around the palm tree and in one of the beds!
I started prepping the walls to be painted with this super cool putty stuff! It starts out pink, but then turns white to let you know when it's dry and able to be painted on. :) I'm super impressed!
After watching my painful attempts at painting the cabinets, Grandpa Mario informed me that I was using the wrong kind of brush, so the next time I saw him, he had bought us a "good" brush. :)
I've still been working on the cabinet doors, painting brown and white doors. Even with my labelling system, I mispainted a door, so we had to sand it down and start over again...at least it was only one door. We finished the brown doors and Eddie's dad reinstalled them for me (the first time upside down...which neither he nor I caught). I have two doors that need a couple more coats of white, and one long door that needs both sides painted, but other than that, I have all the other white doors ready to put their hardware back on and reinstall them.
With the weather being kind of funky, I took a break about halfway during the week and headed to Fullerton.
When I returned this weekend, we did some painting! These are the 3 color choices for the bedrooms:
The previously green room
The previously pink room
And finally, we've gotten to estimates about a custom closet in the master bedroom... one guy quoted $1895, the other lady quoted $1531, but the first guy said he'd beat competitor's prices and Eddie likes the hanging bar more in the first guy's closets...I like the price of the second lady. I guess we'll see what happens, as we're meeting with the first guy again tomorrow. In the mean time, we're also prepping the closet for any work to be done.
Tomorrow I'm picking up the mail key, waiting for the refrigerator to be delivered, finishing the white cabinet doors, putting the electrical socket plates back on, taping the master bedroom, double checking the spackle, and maybe taping the hall, entry, living rooms...
Ack. I want the kitchen cabinets DONE like yesterday!
Eddie's Grandpa Mario worked his sprinkler magic and fixed our valves in the back yard. Now all the sprinklers work, yay!
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| Look how beautiful the sprinkler valves are! |
In the same vein, and on one of our many trips to Lowes, Eddie bought new sprinkler heads to shoot water in the appropriate directions for the raised beds in the back. He also fiddled around until he got the right water flow for various sprinklers in the front and back.
While Grandpa Mario fixed sprinklers, Grandma Esther was a weeding machine! She cleared out the grass/weeds from around the palm tree and in one of the beds!
I started prepping the walls to be painted with this super cool putty stuff! It starts out pink, but then turns white to let you know when it's dry and able to be painted on. :) I'm super impressed!
After watching my painful attempts at painting the cabinets, Grandpa Mario informed me that I was using the wrong kind of brush, so the next time I saw him, he had bought us a "good" brush. :)
I've still been working on the cabinet doors, painting brown and white doors. Even with my labelling system, I mispainted a door, so we had to sand it down and start over again...at least it was only one door. We finished the brown doors and Eddie's dad reinstalled them for me (the first time upside down...which neither he nor I caught). I have two doors that need a couple more coats of white, and one long door that needs both sides painted, but other than that, I have all the other white doors ready to put their hardware back on and reinstall them.
With the weather being kind of funky, I took a break about halfway during the week and headed to Fullerton.
When I returned this weekend, we did some painting! These are the 3 color choices for the bedrooms:
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| for the master bedroom; I'm envisioning blue, brown/black, white... |
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| For "Alex's Room," formerly the pink room; chosen by Alex, channeling UFC gray... I'm thinking some combination with yellow and maybe purple?...:  |
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| A popping, energetic green for the green room; makes me think of islands... |
The previously green room
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Before |
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| Dru and Eddie's mom painting |
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| Doing the detailed painting |
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| Roller King |
And finally, we've gotten to estimates about a custom closet in the master bedroom... one guy quoted $1895, the other lady quoted $1531, but the first guy said he'd beat competitor's prices and Eddie likes the hanging bar more in the first guy's closets...I like the price of the second lady. I guess we'll see what happens, as we're meeting with the first guy again tomorrow. In the mean time, we're also prepping the closet for any work to be done.
Tomorrow I'm picking up the mail key, waiting for the refrigerator to be delivered, finishing the white cabinet doors, putting the electrical socket plates back on, taping the master bedroom, double checking the spackle, and maybe taping the hall, entry, living rooms...
Ack. I want the kitchen cabinets DONE like yesterday!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Cabinets Day 4
Painting for Day 4 started out a little slower than planned...
A little paint buying, or rather MISbuying, ... but here are the results!
Compared to:
A little paint buying, or rather MISbuying, ... but here are the results!
Compared to:
Sunday, October 3, 2010
*yawn*
I am so unbelievably tired! Probably because I was up by 5:45 to be ready for 6:30 Mass.
In any case, another busy, productive day. Another trip to Lowes (two actually).
We started the day off with a trip to the MoVal Lowes to pick up the brown paint (Chocolate Chunk...a special Valspar match to the Dunn Edwards color...) and another toilet valve. We headed to Eddie's parents house for the weed wacker and lawn mower. Then we headed to get started working at the house.
I finished off whatever contact papering I could do. Actually I ran out of contact paper so then I started painting the frames of the lower cabinets. Eddie found some white spray paint and tried it on a door. He liked what he saw, so we decided to hit up Lowes on our lunch break. While I contact papered and painted, Eddie worked in the yard, mowing the lawn, fixing the sprinklers, trimming back a tree, falling of the ladder...all that good stuff.
Our Subway lunch finished, we hit up Lowes yet again this time for a sample sized Swiss Coffee for the top cabinets. Eddie was pulling for a pure white, but I wasn't too keen on the idea, I think from something I had read somewhere or other. In any case, we decided on the Swiss Coffee because it was light enough for him, but not pure white for me.
I think our visions are different... I'm channeling "Old World" ...
I think he's channeling something more...contemporary?
In any case, another busy, productive day. Another trip to Lowes (two actually).
We started the day off with a trip to the MoVal Lowes to pick up the brown paint (Chocolate Chunk...a special Valspar match to the Dunn Edwards color...) and another toilet valve. We headed to Eddie's parents house for the weed wacker and lawn mower. Then we headed to get started working at the house.
I finished off whatever contact papering I could do. Actually I ran out of contact paper so then I started painting the frames of the lower cabinets. Eddie found some white spray paint and tried it on a door. He liked what he saw, so we decided to hit up Lowes on our lunch break. While I contact papered and painted, Eddie worked in the yard, mowing the lawn, fixing the sprinklers, trimming back a tree, falling of the ladder...all that good stuff.
Our Subway lunch finished, we hit up Lowes yet again this time for a sample sized Swiss Coffee for the top cabinets. Eddie was pulling for a pure white, but I wasn't too keen on the idea, I think from something I had read somewhere or other. In any case, we decided on the Swiss Coffee because it was light enough for him, but not pure white for me.
I think our visions are different... I'm channeling "Old World" ...
I think he's channeling something more...contemporary?
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