Let There Be Light

"Let there be light!" <holds hands up in dramatic, Charlton Heston fashion>

Nick and the electrician have been busy bees this week! Outlets and switches are almost all replaced and light fixtures are going in everywhere. 

Here are a few of the additions:

Back bathroom

Front bedroom

Rear porch

Front bathroom

Juan Carlos, the A/C guy, came Monday evening to install my new 2-ton Ruud unit. He stayed until almost 9:30 pm to make sure it was done in one visit, by himself. He was so kind and FAST! Unbelievable and for only $2100 for everything, I'd say it was a mega value, too.

Ugly unit, but it's hard to photographically depict cool air...

Tiling started yesterday and the back bathroom is almost done--minus the specialty marble medallions that are on back order. <disappointed face>

I'm waiting to share those pics...

I picked out cabinetry hardware last night. Thoughts?

Knobs

 

Pulls

All the cabinetry has been determined--white shaker style with some glass front uppers and a few open shelves. It'll look great with the butcher block counters!

Everything is buzzing right along! Wish I could say the same for my packing...

Oh. My. Gawd. Becky...

Moving day is fast approaching!  I'm not even a tiny bit prepared at the rental house.

I spent last night touching up the sconces for the living room and the thrifted fixtures for the dining room and hallway.

I had to try something with these monsters.  Lime green seemed appropriate.

These sconces were a disaster.  They were two-tone faux bronze and the century of living in that house was not kind to them.  At least with a funky paint job they can have a kitschy story to tell of their history.  Right?

I scrubbed them with TSP solution and sanded a few rough spots before I sprayed them with Rust-Oleum Key Lime in gloss.  They still turned out sorta sketch, but I don't hate them.  Just don't examine them too closely.

This nod to mercury glass is pretty tame compared to my other light .

I bought this guy for $8 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  This got the same scrub down as the sconces and two coats of nickel semi-gloss with a final coat of Looking Glass paint.  It's supposed to look like mercury glass...I'm interested to see how this looks in the hallway when it gets wired.  Thoughts?

1 TSP scrub + 4 coats Mambo Pink + 2 coats high gloss poylurethane = Barbie Fixture

Remember the 1980's special?  Who can resist polished brass swoops with yellowed lampshades?!  I must have search five different stores looking for a good coral color spray paint.  Everything was too red or an orange-y puke mess.  Finally, at store number 782 six, Hobby Lobby, there were still no good coral contenders.  The Bobcat suggested...Mambo Pink???  Sure!  Who doesn't want a Barbie chandelier?

Nick text today to show me the finished back steps:

Way more substanial  than I thought they'd be.  Nick is da man!

Then he sent this.

No.  

Wait for it.  

It's a HOLY MACKEREL moment.

You're not very patient.

It's worth the wait.

Promise...

Hence: Oh. My. Gawd. Becky...

Houston, We Have Walls.

I've received plenty of flack for my lack of posting activity lately, but I've spent the last week facilitating for users, a new proprietary software we're rolling out at work. I'm pooped and haven't even been by the house to check progress!

Drywall, ceiling paint and all over primer are finished. 

 

Colors are picked from Sherwin Williams:



Left to right: Crystal Clear - front bedroom and bath, Swimming - dining room and hallway, Spa - living room, Reclining Green - back bedroom, Supreme Green - back bathroom, Lemon Chiffon - kitchen, Grizzle Gray - kitchen chalkboard accent wall

My hope is that these are happy, vibrant colors without being obnoxious. I want to be historically accurate with a twist--certainly don't think chalkboard walls were the hot thing in the 1920's scene. What do you think?

I'm here at the house right now, waiting to meet the A/C guy, Juan Carlos. Yay for central air!

I've been approached by three neighbors as I've attempted to write this post. They're so excited and supportive! And probably mostly curious. They all seemed to really love Bill, the elderly previous owner. 

What do I care? I love showing the progress of this place! I hope the work that's done here will honor not only Bill but this neighborhood. Cannot wait to be here forever!

Attacking the Basement

Nick asked when I was cleaning the basement up. Wha?!? That's not YOUR job??? Ugh. 

This place is a wreck (but not near as bad as that fridge)!

So we started our day off at Java Brewing Company, followed by a stop at the farmer's market...quinoa stuffed heirloom tomatoes and fresh cayenne peppers are going to be so delish!

Then, off to The Beauty! We scraped and shoveled and swept all morning with great success. 

Wheee! We're done! Off to Emser's Tile, per Nick's request...

I picked out wall and floor tile for the new bathroom (different from the first, cuz Nick's a turd). 

The Carrara marble floor tile is the biggest they have: 12x24".  Nick cannot possibly complain about that, right? The wall tile is still technically a subway, though it's 16x4"...the sterling grout ties the two together. I'll still do the shower floor to match the hall bath floor:

This is the best compromise. Really. It's a nod to the 1920's bungalow style in a modern interpretation. Right? Right! I knew you'd agree! :)

Back to the basement where the Bobcat decided he wanted to attack a crack with hydraulic cement--he's obsessed, but highly successful. 

Look at that determination! Don't worry. I walked across the street for cat litter, to soak up the fuel spots, and beer, so I could watch him work, like a real supervisor. 

The plumbing inspector comes Monday and the windows (and maybe the kitchen door) will be in Wednesday. 

We also made a run to the ReStore for this $17.50, to-be-repurposed, treasure:

Stay tuned for more!