Uptown: Saying Goodbye to Vinyl

| 2 Commentaries

…and a whole bunch of other things around the house!

Things have progressed chez moi. Things are also slow going. While I can do without the mess and chaos, I’m loving the reno. It’s so satisfying to see things getting done the way that I want them. My dad has been helping out a lot and my mom will soon be joining the efforts (I’m putting their retirement to good use).

Here’s what’s been happening…

1. My dad removed the vanity and toilet from the powder room. The nice people at the Home Depot taught us about compression valves and we gave them a try. They’re great so far. I may not have a working faucet in this bathroom but the valves are shiny and clean.

White-Cabana-Uptown-2

2. On Friday night I decided to rip out the vinyl in the powder room. Took the baseboards right out as well using a spatula and a crowbar. I probably didn’t need the crowbar but it was awesome. I love tools!

White-Cabana-Uptown-5

3. Before I ripped out the floor, I visited a tile shop. The photo shows some of the tiles that I’m considering. But I think I decided to go for the 1″ white matte hex tiles. It’s going to look great! I’m going to try to tackle the floor in the next week or so. Wish me luck!

White-Cabana-Uptown-3

4. Dad has been doing a lot of electrical work around the house. In addition to moving ceiling and lights, he has started to replace the light switches. The square version instantly modernizes a room. The effect is really surprising (to me, at least).

White-Cabana-Uptown-1

5. I finished painting my bedroom a couple of weeks ago. At the moment, the ironing board is a feature in the room – I’m working on changing that! I am very happy with Chantilly Lace.

White-Cabana-Uptown-4

And that’s about it for now. More to come soon. Happy Friday!

*Due to a computer server issue, the original post vanished. I have rewritten this post.

Uptown: Scenes from My Weekend

| 1 Commentary

Well – the long weekend brought with it a visit from my dad and a whole lot of progress on my home renos. There was a wall that needed to come down, furniture to be moved, plants to be planted, electrical work to be tackled, and a lot of heavy duty cleaning to be done.

IMG_5676

In preparation for the weekend o’ work (and beyond), I made two lists: one for dad and one for me. His list includes a lot of my electrical wishes (and some of his too) and my list includes a lot of “buy major piece of furniture/lighting/vanities/things” and “make a decision about paint/furniture/lighting/vanities/things”. Needless to say, his list now has more crossed off of it than mine.

I learned how to remove a wall this weekend. My dad did most of the work but in between scrubbing everything in my kitchen, I watched what he did. What a big job that was. But now it’s done! I have full access to my dining room from living room and kitchen and the flow in the house is so much better. Awesome.

IMG_5707_2

 breaking the wall

My dad and I took down the two large mirrors that were in the upstairs bath. (Gosh those things were heavy.) Doing this meant that I could take down the last of the wallpaper (hiding behind the mirrors) in this bathroom. I felt like I needed to pop open some champagne to mark the occasion. What a task that was. And, yes, I still hate wallpaper. I will never put wallpaper up. Ever.

IMG_5751

upstairs bath – progress; mirror removed, wallpaper almost removed

IMG_5775

upstairs bath – all patched up; light to be removed soon; vanity to be replaced soon

I cleaned the heck out of my kitchen. As in – it took me 2 hours (or more?) to clean my fridge. Another 2 hours to clean my stove. And no, I don’t think I’m exaggerating. While the kitchen cleaning tasks were time consuming, they were also extremely satisfying. My fridge is especially beautiful.

IMG_5704

deep cleaning of the fridge

While I’m talking about the fridge – I would like to share my satisfaction with my fridge. It’s a Samsung. That’s all I know about the make of it. The fridge is on top and the freezer drawers pull out. So convenient and such a step above anything I’ve had in my previous rentals.

IMG_5761using power tools

I grabbed my dad’s electric screwdriver (with a little light at the end of it!) to put a cabinet back together. His screwdriver was awesome. I want one but it’s not in my  budget. Glad to have been able to borrow his. He loves it and is definitely not ready to donate it to me.

IMG_5783

You may remember that I took down the wallpaper (and the enormous amount of leftover wallpaper paste) in the powder room. I patched up a lot of the wall damage but there’s still a bit more to deal with. But never mind that. This weekend dad removed the vanity wall light and created a new light box outlet thing in the middle of the ceiling. I haven’t settled on the light fixture yet (remember all the decisions I still have to make?) but at the moment I’m thinking either a plain globe light or a small crystal chandy. There is still a lot to be done in this small room. I will replace the vanity, prime and paint the room, install a new light, and hang a new mirror (maybe this one).

What a satisfying weekend of home repairs and organization. I’m thrilled with how things are shaping up around the house.

***

Interested in reading more about my reno? Keep your eye out for posts titled “Uptown”.