New York Renovator

Yessss! I have FINALLY entered the stage in our renovation where we are decorating! It’s like the icing on the cake. The kids and I are hashing through what we really want for design. I never really had any kind of concrete plan until about two weeks ago! I was so caught up in the “bones” of the renovation, that– even though I did have a general feel for basic architectural style– I really hadn’t formed a color scheme or design plan.

It helps very much to visit decor websites to get inspiration. It’s even better to visit decor websites and discover gorgeous styles for affordable prices. Look at this style, isn’t it heavenly? It looks like Scarlett O’Hara is going to walk by any moment.

These are also very beautiful. They are a tad too contemporary for my Greek Revival home, but would look beautiful in a modern home, or perhaps a cabin.

These are just a smidgen of the exquisite styles I found at CurtainWorks.com. Not only do they sell curtains, they offer advice on curtains, too– there’s step-by-step instructions on how to measure your curtains *just right* (I had no idea– no wonder mine always turned out rather funky); there’s a nice FAQ, and a curtain glossary, too. Curtainworks.com attempts to appeal to the DIY’er like me, and design professionals, too. They have an affiliate program for accredited design professionals (20% off all purchases). For us DIY’ers, CurtainWorks.com helps us make the best choices– they offer five free fabric swatches at a time so we can see, feel, and choose the best curtain. They aim to please, definitely. The site is very high class, and CurtainWorks.com obviously places premium on customer service. I nearly swooned over some of the curtains. What on earth will I choose?!?

So this is a much more exciting time than I thought it would be. I was kind of dreading the decor stage of the renovation, just because I didn’t have a vision. But now that it is starting to form, I am SO STOKED!! Pictures of my selection of CurtainWorks.com curtains to come. Just wait until you see!!!

While we have moved in to the kitchen, the dining room still has no floor, and we are eating meals at the coffee table in the living room. I still have a good amount of work to do, especially the trim work. I have to have all the trim installed and painted before I install the flooring. What a job! The dining room has more trim than all the other rooms, combined. There are FOUR big windows and SIX doorways. Yahhhhhh! All need new jambs, pediments, and side trim. Plus, there’s the crown moulding and the baseboard moulding. Plus, there’s the restoration of some broken areas: the window sill broke off during demolition; the sub floor has huge gaps to be filled; etc etc.

Moreover, the kitchen is not completely done, either. I have a half dozen shelf systems to build and install yet. The trim work is not done in there, either, and I have yet to finish the window seat/bench, install another cabinet, install baseboard moulding, and build a cabinet system under the stairwell. It’s enough to keep me busy, full time, until Christmas. Lord, help me to get this all done…..

So we aren’t DONE just yet. I am waiting for the crowning moment– the moment that tells the family that WE ARE DONE with the project. It is the hanging of The Clock. [trumpets blast]

My husband got me The Clock for my birthday, months ago. All my life, I have wanted a huge clock in my new kitchen. And- thank You, Lord– I got one! But I cannot hang this clock until the kitchen is DONE, to mark this historic moment. That, and I don’t want it to drop off the wall if we’re still banging nails on it! It’s been difficult to restrain from hanging it, but I must!

I am a clock freak. I love clocks! I am going to indulge my love of them, and start collecting them. I only have a few paltry plain ones right now. I am going to hang them in the dining room and the family room (when I build it). I love all sorts of clocks, even cuckoo clocks and clocks that tick noisily. I find them very soothing. Buy.com has a smashing collection of the quirkiest clocks!! I have made a little wish list (after all, I expect to have many more birthdays yet). Aren’t they deliciously whimsical? I love them!

I totally, totally love this Math Class Wall Clock! And the Kirsch New Haven “Melting” Clock! LOL

Aren’t they cool? That’s only a smidgen of the clocks on sale that I saw. Wow. A girl could go cuckoo over so many! Buy.com is mostly known for their superior deals on electronics, but they really have everything under the sun. They allow vendors to list their products, which offers consumers a very wide variety of products. On many things, there is free shipping. And I think Buy.com’s customer service and fast shipping is superb.

So it isn’t OVER until it’s OVER. When you see a photo of a clock hanging on the wall, THEN you’ll know.

In my spare time (OK, stop laughing!), I am hunting around for home decor ideas and products. WHEW, why is home decor stuff so expensive?! I’d like some Roman Shades for the kitchen, but $100?! I think not. I’m opting for a simpler, more natural design (and easy care). Because the house is Greek Revival architecture, its got a little class to it. I want to bring out the more classical, traditional elements. I can’t get too rustic and I absolutely cannot get contemporary (which I dislike, anyway), but I do not want to exude a stuffy, overly-formal atmosphere. I want the house to have a relaxing, traditional feel to it. This limits my choices somewhat– avoid plastics (very difficult to do), and stick with natural materials and clear, pure colors. I spotted these curtains at DonnaKaranHome.com, and was instantly smitten. Aren’t they lovely? They would look beautiful in my new dining room.

I’ve seen the label Donna Karan on bedding before, but didn’t realize they had a website where you could place orders. The website has a wonderful selection of bath accessories and the classic Donna Karan Home bedding, too. All very romantic and totally classy. My next job is to remodel my downstairs bathroom- it’s very tiny, so small, classy details will be important. It doesn’t take much to create an “instant” makeover, either– just a few gorgeous curtains, a throw rug, a luscious coverlet and pillowcase… excuse me while I wipe my drool, LOL. :S I’m looking forward to the stage where I can lay the hammer and saw to rest, and turn my full attentions to home decor.

Well, the trim work is still not completed (geez Louise, this house has a TON of trim), and there’s no floor down in the Dining Room yet… but we’ve reached the point in this adventure where I am starting to think about decor for the kitchen, living room, and dining room. FINALLY. I really haven’t decorated the house at all in the 13 years we’ve been here. I knew we’d be renovating at some point, and the color schemes of the rooms were very disjointed until now. So, I’m hunting for decor, and trying to create a “theme” as I do.

Personally, I am (probably for the first time in my life) SICK and TIRED of shopping. Can you believe it?! Well, the reason is that for the past four months, that is all I have been doing, for the kitchen and dining room renovation: cabinets, lights, flooring, hardware, paint, etc etc….. but this kind of shopping is fun.

Because my house is so old, I’m trying to stay with the “Greco classical” style of architecture. You know: fluted trim, triangular pediments, acanthus leaves, colors red, green, and ivory…. but I don’t want the house design to be too stuffy and formal. We like our whimsy. And right now, we are REALLY into vintage tin signs. LOL. Buy.com has a bunch of them on sale, for really good prices! Click on the image to view them separately.

I really like the Hamburgers vintage sign best, but I also like the Take Off Shoes one (a much-needed sign here). I have another one that says “I’m sorry, you must be confusing me with the maid we don’t have” that is going to go right in the kitchen, LOL. So I think we are incorporating plenty of whimsy around here.

Besides funny vintage signs, Buy.com has a whole section devoted to home and garden stuff: posters, prints, lighting fixtures, furniture, rugs, garden accessories, and loads and loads more stuff. The shipping on many items is free or very affordable, and believe me– the shipping is fast! Definitely check them out for good prices. Let the decorating shopping begin!

The front entry of a home is REALLY important. I had written a post about curb appeal where I sliced and diced some of the basics. I am a house fanatic. When we travel, I don’t like to drive because I’d rather look at every house we pass by. I like to look at the architecture, soak in the details, figure out what makes a home and yard attractive to me, and etc.

The most important elements of curb appeal are the front yard landscaping and the front entrance. Little touches REALLY make the difference. You may have a meticulously trimmed front lawn, but if your front yard is barren of interest, or your front entry is plain, it degrades the curb appeal. Just like jewelery on a woman, a house needs little ornaments to make it shine.

One really nice accessory is a very pretty address sign. I once believed these to be only for the “rich” folks, because they were so expensive; but home address plaques are very affordable. And they are gorgeous!

You can get a very fancy engraved and stylish Whitehall address plaque, or get separate address plaques and numbers and do it yourself. The styles are varied, and very attractive.

Some towns require that the homeowners mark their home address numbers on their mailbox or home, to enable firefighters and emergency crews to easily locate your home. Why use cheesy number stickers from Walmart when you can do it all up with style, and improve the curb appeal of your home?

This tip on home address plaques was brought to you by your friends at justaddress.com. Thanks for reading!

Wow. This is a tough project.

The Hubs and I put wallpaper in the ceiling shortly after we moved here, 13 years ago. That was… well, 13 years ago. I was 13 years younger! Ugh, it’s a tough, tough project. My daughter and I are doing all the labor. After a very shaky start (the wallpaper wouldn’t stick to the ceiling), we finally got things going.

The seams are still wet. When it dries, they will be invisible. I'll be painting the ceiling, too!

The wallpaper is embossed. It simulates a tin ceiling (the original tin ceilings from the early 1900s are still in the garage, too– it was the old kitchen before it was the garage). I like it because it hides the wavy Sheetrock. It’s hard to Sheetrock and spackle the joints on these ceilings and walls. Nothing is straight or plumb. The wallpaper hides a lot of the flaws. And wallpaper adds a touch of whimsy and charm, I think.

I purchased the pre-pasted wallpaper, but after wetting the adhesive, it was BARELY tacky. It was like the insipid adhesive on an envelope. NO WAY was it going to hold the weight of such heavy paper, 9 feet up. And it didn’t. :S It all came crashing down.

So I went to my local local home improvement store (not the Big Box. but the “local” one, Jay-K), and the guy there was incredibly helpful. He gave me some paste, told me how to dilute it, and it WORKS! The stuff is amazing.

Moral of the story: skip the pre-pasted junk. Use wallpaper glue in the can.

So we’ve halfway done. I wanted to get more done, but I had tech problems (no Internet on a Friday night after 5pm, grrrreat) and had to solve that. An hour later, we didn’t have the heart to continue. We’re pooped. This is really strenuous work!

I made some scaffolding. How do you like it? It suits me fine– I like heights– but my daughter is a little uneasy.

It’s quite sturdy, but oh is it heavy to move. :S

I can’t wait until all this tough labor is done. I’m getting too old for this…

I have been wanting one of these for soooooooooooooo long. No, not a flat panel mount… well, I do want one of those someday, but I got something I have been wanting for years. And now that my kitchen is becoming a reality, I actually GOT ONE!!! Look what The Hubs got me for my birthday!

Isn’t is beautiful?? I love clocks. I am going to have my newly renovated house filled with them. Livvy seems to like it, too. We share the same birthday. I didn’t get her a present “yet.” She has to wait until we finish the room. We’re going to build shelves and a cat walk for her, at the top of the walls, lol!

My new clock is going to go up on the wall where the chimney is. Right HERE!

Well, um, use a little creativity and try to imagine it. Ummmmm. It will look beautiful, I promise!

I’m doing the sheetrock and building pantry closets this week, which is why posts on all my blogs are so scarce. That, and the fact that I am totally exhausted. This is hard, physical work. I’m a week behind schedule and am trying to keep up on things…. more on it all, later.

You can learn a lot from studying office design.

While we’re working on the kitchen and dining room of the house, we are also trying to keep a mind on the future. We have an attached garage that we do not use, so I have intentions of converting it into a Conservatory (a family room with lots of glass windows) for the musicians in the family to play and listen to music, where we can read and pray together, and basically relax. It will have big plants, lots of light, comfortable chairs, and a very sweet audio sound system. NO television, no computer, no radio. It will be our quiet room.

Of course, that leaves me the living room to then tool around with. i work at home, but I have no office. Since I am a writer, I really need a quiet, non-interrupted atmosphere to write. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to do this in the living room– the cat, the bird, the kids, the schoolwork, the phone, the road traffic… UGH! I often stay up very late to do my work because it’s the only time I can THINK.

So I’m planning on building a small home office– I’ll probably get rid of the living room concept all together. We don’t watch TV, we don’t have parties…. if the kids have guests, they can go in the Conservatory. I want the living room to be my office space.

Oooo lala, offices are IN, baby! Home offices, yes, but all kinds of offices. They are making offices more “homey,” more like full-fledged office suites. There are companies specifically hired to create offices, any kind. I think I would love that! It’s really great to see the cubicle disappearing, isn’t it? Skylights, soft chairs and couches, pretty decor, plants…. it’s all very inspiring.

So… while we restore the kitchen and dining room, here’s hoping the Conservatory and Office are not too far behind. Once we have the electrical and plumbing done, I think the rest of the house will be a breeze!

I want to publicly thank the Lord Jesus and all of you dear readers out there– I AM SO STOKED!!! God is providing everything for this kitchen, I tell ya. This morning, within a 4 hour span, I earned all my drywall. That’s $500!!!! That came from some terrific ventures in paid blogging!! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am to have one of my *big* ticket items covered. What a relief to me. I must thank you guys for reading my blog– it is a popular blog, and gets the attention of advertisers, who want me to mention them. So just by you reading and commenting and clicking a few advertiser links means the WORLD to me. Well, at least the KITCHEN to me. It’s all very symbiotic.

I am paying for this kitchen redo in cash as much as possible. So far, I have been able to do it. All I have left to purchase is cabinets and countertops, flooring, insulation, and plumber’s fees for the gas lines for our new heaters (more on that later). I originally intended to make the budget under $3000 for the kitchen, but then the dining room got thrown into the mix, and then we decided that we really should redo the plumbing before we close up those walls. That more than doubled my original estimate. I’m really, really hoping to land a sponsorship with Kraftmaid cabinets… it’s not moving along like it should and I really do need to order something soon. But I’m praying something happens. I figure cabinets will cost me about $2500.

So that’s some really great news.

I also thought you’d like to see my stash of stuff that I’ve got stocked up here. Feel free to add your opinions or comments.

This is my sink. I love it.

I researched sinks for quite a long time before finally choosing a cast iron (which was my first choice, to begin with). I’ve had stainless steel here, and I find it very utilitarian and ugly. I looked into granite composite, but I am pretty rough on my sink– if I drained boiling hot pasta water in it and then accidentally ran the cold tap, the thing would crack. I finally opted for cast iron. This is a Kohler. It was SO HARD to find a sink with only three faucet holes! I spent hours searching. I love the scalloped design of the sink. It will look beautiful with my new Delta Touch H20 Technology faucet. The amazingly cool folks at Delta gave me this faucet for the kitchen renovation, in exchange for a review. I cannot wait to do a review on it!

This is the dishwasher I picked out. It’s a barebones, simple Hotpoint model. I do not like the dishwashers with all those buttons, doodads, electric panels, and such. All I want to do is wash my dishes, not bathe them in luxurious splendor. And I ain’t paying more than $300 to do it, either. In this case, I got a good deal on the Hotpoint: $200.

These are my lights. After hashing it over and over about what lights to get, I finally opted for chandeliers. I have two of the chandeliers (the kitchen is 12 x 23, and I like a lot of light), and a matching pendant light to go over my whopping 48-inch by 60-inch window. *sigh* I cannot wait to have it all done!

The paint scheme is difficult. I can’t make up my mind. This week, I’m liking the tan wall color (Dapper Tan, mind you) with burgundy and green trim. I know, I know, the red and green are SO 1990s….. but I LIKE them! Got any opinions?

My house is a Greek Revival, very elegant with pediments over the doors and windows, and fluted trim. I have sage and gold striped wallpaper with acanthus leaves in the front entry… and my dining room will be red with white trim, and acanthus leaves for decor…. I wanted to go with a red kitchen, but my daughters vetoed it. So I think I’ll go with a neutral wall color, and “do up” the accents.

So that’s what I have so far. Well, I also have a huge box filled with electrical boxes and wire nuts, and screws, and crow bars… but I figured I’d skip that this time.

Thanks again to all you who visit me and especially those of you who leave comments and encourage me. I think this thing MAY actually REALLY happen! After 13 years!!!!

The best thing about tearing apart the entire kitchen is getting to rebuild it EXACTLY as you want it. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.

I’m planning on wiring the entire house for ethernet, so that we don’t have to rely on wireless Internet so much. I have four teens, and I’m a computer geek, so we have a ton of devices on the Net. All that activity can slow things down a bit, especially via wireless. Plus, I like the security of wired stuff. Anyway, I’m planning on building at least one ethernet port into every room, and my eventual goal is to rig it all up to a control panel with switches and hubs. It’ll take some work (plus, getting the plumbing and electrical in is *kinda* a priority right now!). I’ll lay in the wires while the walls are open, and then I’ll hook it all up later.

I’m also planning on a multi-media center (next year I will build the room addition for that). But I do want to incorporate some media in the kitchen. We don’t have TV, I dislike TV, but I do like to have Internet capability and we definitely want music in the kitchen. So I’m looking at my options… I’ve always wanted an under-cabinet player, always. They are so efficient, s space-saving! This nice Sony Undercabinet Clock Radio and CD Player caught my eye. It doesn’t have an iPod dock, though…. but the price is really right- on sale right now for under $72. That’s a great price; my local Big Box retailer had something similar for $30 more. The Sony Undercabinet Player is, of course, at Buy.com. I’m going there more and more for our household needs, as well as our electronic gadget stuff. It is a superb store! The service is incredible, and I always get really good prices.

So…. my dream list is lengthening, lol. But I absolutely MUST incorporate music into the kitchen if I want the kids to help me out with kitchen chores! They’re getting a little tried of lugging out the big CD boom box to play their dish-washing music!