New York Renovator

Spring is faking us out. We had some snow last night, and it’s been chilly today. This after 80 degree temps and a yard full of blooming plants!

Oh well, such is New York State.

So I’m hunkering down again and replanning my summer activities. By now, I’d hoped we’d have the gardens ready but I think this realistically won’t be done until the end of April.

I am, Lord willing, finally going to finish the living room this year.

I gutted it and rebuilt it in 2007, but I never finished the final touches. We still have some molding to install here, paint to apply there…. and I have yet to build my biggest project– a wall-to-wall bookshelf unit. I want to convert the living room into a library. It will be my office and a place where I can retreat when I need to work or relax. Currently, it is the half schoolroom, half living room, half work office and half home office (that’s a lot of halves!). It’s a disaster, with books and boxes and papers piled everywhere. Since we have no storage space in the house (thanks to no attic and a basement that floods), I have to build all my own storage spaces. The bookshelf unit will store basically ALL my electronics, books, papers, parts, files, everything!

I ADORE these built-in units! And what beautiful furniture! Oo la la

Then I am going to get some new furniture for the FIRST time in my life. I may even get some fancy new Lexington furniture, really classy, traditional stuff! Lord willing, it will be beautiful and it will be my haven.

We also have to finish installing the windows. And we have to renovate the upstairs yet. The black mold is becoming a big problem up here. It’s because the interior of the house is so warm and the upstairs is uninsulated. When warm air meets cold air inside the walls, it creates condensation and mold. We wash it off but it always comes back. I’m looking forward to gutting the upstairs, believe me.

So there are many plans in the making. How about you? Got any projects coming up this year?

My daughter snapped this on her cell phone. Where could that skulking kitty be?! She’s doing it rite! LOL

Well, another year is winding down. I haven’t been thinking of any thoughts on renovation lately until about a month ago. It was about that time that I really “let” my desk “go.” I have always been a neatnick with a super-tidy desk, but I’ve been SO SO busy the past few months (since October, really) that my desk is a SHAME. A cryin’ shame. I even took a photo for you to see how bad it is. lol

Yes, everything but the kitchen sink and the diamond necklace. Yow.

The desk is actually one of the best ones I’ve ever had, The thing is solid wood, an old teacher’s desk from the 1940s. But it’s not exactly computer-compatible, as you can see. I just juggle way too much stuff on this desk, and with all the paperwork for the home business, I’ve run out of places to put things.

Which leads me back to thinking about renovation again. I’m going to create a built-in bookshelf and desk system in the living room. We have tons of books, most of them in boxes, still! I think my living room will look beautiful with some elegant shelves and a nice tidy area to work. I’ve ordered a few base cabinets and am waiting for them to arrive. Once they finally do, construction begins. I will have to reroute one wall sconce light and make a bit of a mess with the existing furniture, but we can handle it. I think I’ve finally got a vision for the room. It will probably take us about a year to or more to finish it, as it also involves removing an existing gas heater and installing a gas fireplace to a more central part of the room. Because a large portion of this room is my “home office,” I can deduct some of the expenses on my taxes. Thank God.

Anyway, I’ll have more updates about this later. I intend on building my own shelves from wood, so the project will certainly take some time. But when it’s done, it will look and function SO MUCH better. And the new shelves will give Livvy all sorts of amazing new places to hide!

Hee hee.

Doesn’t it look like a Cleopatra chair?

It’s actually called a “chaise lounge chair” *ahem*.

I am looking to replace the living room furniture in the near future. I’m tired of the cat-scratched sofa and the two funky, upholstered orange throwbacks from the 1970s that were found curbside…. :-p I don’t particularly like the straight-back chairs and I don’t like futons, bean bags, or Barca Loungers. I actually prefer to lounge on a long couch, but I can’t fit it into my small office very comfortably.

Lounge chairs seem to be very nice. There’s a lot of them at the Chaise Lounge Chair Store, with a variety of styles and colors. I prefer the more traditional styles (I’m not terribly find of contemporary anything), but the store has some pretty eccentric styles that are amazing! I may get one for my office some day, that and a papyrus fan and a slave who feeds me from a cluster of grapes….

I’ve got a tough one for you.

It was taken during the renovation, when the house was a disaster. Oh, she found such wonderful places to hide then!

Although, I can’t say the living room looks much better… it’s a room that’s half-office/school room, half living room. So it’s got a couch crammed in there with a whole bunch of desks and bookshelves, and it looks very disjointed. I am going to be converting our attached garage into a family room (either this year or next), so when that’s done I’ll have the living room entirely made into an office. I have such nice dreams— big bookshelves lined with all my books (many of which are still stored in boxes), furniture in exotic dark woods with lavish paisley prints, a nice deep red carpet… I love the dark hunting lodge look. Something like this:

Photo courtesy of HowStuffWorks.

Isn’t that gorgeous?! Of course, I’d skip the humidor and shiny chandeliers and opt for something less formal, but I love the design of the room. Yeah, that’s what I see when I close my eyes.

But when I open them again, I’m back in the messy living room. And two leaky bathroom sinks need attention. And I feel the drafts blowing out from the holes in the electric outlets upstairs. But I got the kitchen done! The hardest part is over.

Where could she be??

Right before I took this photo, she was sneakily peering at me through the slats of the blinds. She looked hilarious, like Peter Lorre in Casablanca or something. But as soon as I got the camera, she turned away. Stinker.

The living room is in a bit of disarray these days. Heck, EVERY room is. We’re still not completely moved in (stuff is still in boxes in the garage), and my scads of shelves that I intended to build have still not materialized. Right now, the emphasis is getting the place buttoned up for winter. But it’s been TOO COLD to do anything outside. And looks like we’ll have rain until Monday or Tuesday. :-p I am so sick of rain that I could scream. I’ve been sick of rain now for about 10 years!

Good news is that, once I install the last baseboard heater and we have our other heaters in, and once I parge the holes in the basement and seal the open cracks, I can concentrate on our phone station area. Half the junk you see scattered in the living room here will finally be placed on shelves and in drawers, then. Yay!

The Hubs got called in to work for another week, though. Which means he will not be around to help out with anything. It also means that our gas pipeline installation will have to wait another week. We’ve been waiting for a break in his schedule since June… but it hasn’t happened. I think we’re going to have to call in a plumber to do the job. Winter is just about here and we still have no heat!! I don’t think we can wait any longer. Oh well, maybe it’s all for the best. Thank God, my husband has been working good hours! I’m grateful for that.

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!

My new curtains from CurtainWorks came in! They go marvelously with my living room, don’t you think?

I am ecstatic at how beautiful they are, and how very well made they are. The kind folks at CurtainWorks gave me three sets for my living room. I absolutely LOVE these curtains! They are the perfect color, the perfect style, the perfect size!

Well, they don’t go with that lousy pink/blue couch we have. I greatly dislike the color of the couch (we got it used). We are going to be replacing it with something more suitable for our room. I want the living room to have a beige and red color scheme, with maybe some green accents.

About these curtains– they are the Arlington Jacquard Wide Width. I LOVE THEM, and I will be buying more for the rest of the house. They are of excellent, durable material– thick but not so thick that they are ugly. These will be perfect as both summer and winter curtains. They come in several colors, and are VERY affordable. These 84-inch drapes are usually $25 per panel, which is very comparable. I had shopped and shopped around a great deal this summer, looking for proper window treatments; and I think CurtainWorks has the best selection for the best prices. The material is really exceptional, I’m just so happy with these curtains. I have been to dozens of stores both online and locally, and I just haven’t found anyone who can compare with CurtainWorks. I’m really, really impressed with them.

In the past, I have always sewn my own curtains, because curtains at the stores were always so expensive, and I had the time to sew my own. However, I am too busy to sew my own stuff now, and the price of bulk material has really gone up in price recently. In my local craft/material store, I spotted some curtain fabric for $50 a YARD! Whoa!

CurtainWorks also sells curtain accessories. They sent me this absolutely exquisite iron birdcage finial drapery rod. It’s so beautiful. As soon as I get the curtains for the other rooms, I will use this rod for my kitchen window.

So I’m very impressed with CurtainWorks. I recommend them heartily! The prices are good, the curtains are EXCELLENT. And they sometimes have sales. Currently, there is a summer clearance sale going on, so it’s a great time to nab some nice curtains for very low prices. Next time you’re looking for some beautiful curtains or curtain accessories, definitely check out CurtainWorks!

So you know: CurtainWorks sent me these curtains and the finial rod for free, in exchange for me writing about them. All opinions are absolutely mine! And I mean it when I say that I love CurtainWorks and these curtains! I personally recommend them!

Well, I rearranged the furniture in the living room again. Hee hee. I do it just about every four months or so. :S This time my husband was at work, so it was quite the surprise when he came home. His first reaction was, “Uh oh, she did it again” followed by, “Hey, this is much better.”

Whew.

The room has been renovated for over two years now, and I really haven’t done much for decor. I’m kind of baffled as what to do with it. Last year, the room was a combo classroom and living room, with desks, computers, and a couch. But three of the children have work stations elsewhere in the house, now.. so I have my living room back (and we’re down to two desks). Maybe my listlessness is the result have having been decor-less for so long…. but I have not the foggiest idea of what to do in here. It’s still so utilitarian. Any ideas, anyone? I know I have some very talented readers… feel free to offer suggestions!

I know the first thing is to get rid of that ugly brown carpet. :-p I added it to protect the laminate floor from heavy scuffing, but now that I no longer babysit, I think I can remove it. My main concern is the walls. They are just… empty, and bland. I need more artwork, more… something. I have some Norman Rockwell prints that need frames yet… and I saw this print at Buy.com (yes, they even have art!) and just love it! It’s the Native American Indian Old Tribe And Symbols Tribal Map and I love it! I think it would be cool to have prints of maps and other historical things hanging on the walls, especially since my living room serves as a partial office. Buy.com always has a good sale, and they have everything, even a decor department. I’ve been sifting through the pages of sales and am TRYING to control myself! lol. I also saw this Old World Map and it’s spectacular!

As far as decor, I’d like to have a “sepia” tone, old-fashioned, historic look about the decor here. But the placement of the furniture– with two desks, a couch, and three bookshelves— and the style of the room– with three huge windows and two doorways— boggles my mind. Not to mention that the heater vents are on the FLOOR in the middle of three of the walls! Gah! Whoever did the furnace system was a NUT.

Anyway, the place is cluttered, and I don’t know what to do….