Robin Hood's Hideaway

Retrospective on 2011

2012-01-04T22:19:00.003-06:00

With 2011 over, we thought we would review our punch list from last January, and see what we were able to cross off.

~~Finish installing baseboards~~
~~Install vent grills~~
~~Refinish built in cabinets in family room to match kitchen cabinets~~
Transform sunroom into a home gym (partially)
~~Continue working on landscaping~~
~~Paint bathroom windows~~
~~Purchase and install vanity in hall bathroom~~
~~Repaint our home office and family room~~
~~Restore 4 Eames shell chairs we purchased last winter~~
~~Find a table top for the Eames table base we purchased last month~~
Maybe get started on Black Dog Bar

We got started early last year with a couple of items that were actually not in our punch list.

Fixed the pressure relief valve in our water heater

Organized utility room (doors were donated to Habitat for Humanity)

Those two minor projects, motivated us to tackle a couple of projects that were actually in our list:

Refinished built-ins in the living room and had new countertops installed.

Repainted the family room, and even managed to get a couple of trees to grow.

LD volunteered our house to host the neighborhood's winter social. Nothing like a party to motivate us into completing more projects.

Had vents sandblasted, and sprayed on a new coat of paint

We were so pleased with how the vents turned out, that we also got our big UFO light sand blasted to remove the multiple layers of paint that were covering up the beautiful brushed aluminum finish.

We got creative with some chalkboard paint and chalk. We love it, not sure that the KU alumni in our neighborhood appreciate it as much as we do.

Our hall bathroom became more functional with the installation of our new vanity by StudioBuild.

We took a short break from remodeling at the end of May, while LD and Katy responded to the F5 tornado that hit Joplin.

Hall bathroom was still being worked on:

Our new vanity top got installed, and we tiled the backsplash

We had our new faucet hooked up, no more dirty hands!

Took a break from the bathroom and finally restored the Eames Shell Chairs.

Then took a really long break, and completely fenced the back yard:

We had vinyl coated chain link installed on the majority of the yard.

With the help of friend Rollin and our "burro", we installed the privacy fence.

In September, we got crafty with a mirror for our hallway bathroom and finally put the finishing touch on the hallway bathroom.

Our upcoming Halloween Party motivated us to:

Finally complete all the baseboards

and repainted our office.

We found a table top at Room and Board for our table base, and LD gave me a pretty cool chair for my birthday.

After all that hard work, we celebrated by having a Halloween bash.

We slowed down after Halloween, but I am itching to start planning our next project. Maybe this year we will finally get around to working on Black Dog Bar, and finish converting our sunroom into a home gym.

Here's hoping that 2012 brings you happiness and prosperity!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Us to You!!!

2011-12-23T21:04:00.003-06:00

Midcentury Modern Butterfly Roof House for Sale- 6355 Robinhood Dr.

2011-11-14T20:11:00.001-06:00

Let me begin by stating that I am not a real estate agent nor am I getting a commission from the sale of this house. This is a post from one midcentury aficionado to another about a unique midcentury modern house for sale. We want to see this house be loved by someone just like the owners who once lived there (and we want decent neighbors in the neighborhood!)

Ever since we moved into this neighborhood, we have been curious about the "butterfly" house at the entrance. A few weeks ago I finally got a chance to satisfy my curiosity during an estate sale (and I was just a minute late from scoring a sweet cado wall unit). My curiosity was satisfied, and I was impressed with what I saw. It was very obvious to us that the homeowners really cared about their home.

So unless a philanthropist comes out of the woodwork to purchase this house and donate it to our neighborhood association, we are hoping that the right person who appreciates this home for what it is will purchase it.

Here is a link to the real estate listing, but be forewarned that the pictures do not do it justice. You really need to go into the house to appreciate it for what it is.

6355 Robinhood Dr. Merriam, KS

Haunted Happenings

2011-11-01T19:33:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween, with more treats than tricks! At Robin Hood's Hideaway we celebrated Halloween a couple of days early. After foregoing our Halloween party last year due to our bathroom remodel, we were not about to let this year go by without celebrating one of our favorite holidays with friends.

In preparation for our party, however, we were busy trying to get some projects completed. Here are the much overdue updates:

We are happy to report that after having settled on a new paint color for our office over a year ago, we finally got around to painting our office. I am glad that Benjamin Moore still carried the color! Unfortunately, the walls looked nicer and they made my desk and bookshelves stick out like a sore thumb.

My World Market Konrad desk and Riley bookcases did not really go with the style of the house (they had been a perfect fit for our other house). So we ended up going to Minnesota and LD talked me into purchasing a walnut table top from the Room and Board Outlet. We bought legs and a drawer kit from Ikea, and we ended up assembling a one of a kind desk that fits the room much better. We also bought some Gallery bookshelves from the Room and Board Outlet.

I celebrated my birthday in September, and LD bought me the chair that I fell in love with the first time I saw it at Room and Board.

Hmmm, something about my birthday and chairs (last year she bought me an Eames shell rocker).

We also picked up a glass table top for the Herman Miller table base we had purchased a while back. The round table looks much better in our dining area. It has a few scratches that we will have to address, but for $9.99 it was too good of a deal to pass up.

To top it all off, we finally installed baseboards upstairs! It was tedious work, but it sure finishes up the rooms. I can't believe we lived without baseboards for three years!

LD also managed to purchase ALOT more decorations while I was away on travel. We really need to build a storage shed, unfortunately that will probably have to wait till Spring.

The house looked quite festive, and it really set the mood for the party.

It might have been a little too festive, since it actually attracted a "mystery" guest.

One of our friends called me over and brought to my attention a phantom/grim reaper who was standing by himself/herself in a corner. I walked over to welcome them to the party and to figure out who it was. I really could not tell who it was, so I asked. The only response I got were growling sounds and a husky voice that said he/she was hungry. So I told him/her to help himself/herself to some food and drinks. A few minutes later Mark asked me if I had figured out who it was because he/she had walked outside and left. At that point I got a little worried and went to ask LD if she had interacted with the mystery guest. She pretty much had the same interaction, and he/she never did identify himself/herself. We felt it was quite creepy and we had Katy search the house to make sure that our mystery guest was not hanging around.

Nothing like a party to motivate us to get things checked off our 2011 to do list. This party helped us accomplish three of our goals!

Estate Sale Finds! C. Jere!

2011-09-25T21:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend there was an estate sale in our neighborhood. Some of the homes are still in their original condition (like ours) with wonderful surprises. So we were excited to go the sale.

Usually when we go to estate sales, it is on the last day when there is nothing left. Since this one was in our neighborhood, we got there a few minutes before they opened.

People had already lined up at 6 am. The sale did not open until 9 am! As they opened the door, a woman bumped into me as she rushed to get to the jewelry table. And I saw another one running from one room to the next. Who knew that estate sale shopping was such a competitive sport! Since becoming a newfound fan of Storage Wars, I figured that those people probably own resale shops, and were looking for merchandise to fill their shelves.

While everybody was busy fighting over the jewelry and records collection, I made my way into the garage and LD went into the basement.

While I picked up a pitch fork and three sprinklers in the garage, LD found a C. Jere metal artwork!

Leave it to her find such a piece. I wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't signed. It has three biplanes and a mini-runway. Given that several of the original homeowners in our neighborhood had been pilots for TWA, I thought we might want to hold on to some of our neighborhood history.

She tried searching the web for a similar one, but could not find one. If anyone knows about this piece, please let us know!

Hall Bathroom Finally Done-Mirror and All!

2011-09-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

It has been so long since our mirror drama started that thought I would give you a quick refresher:

I really wanted this mirror from West Elm, but it was no longer being sold.

So we ended up buying this one online (arrived broken the first time, wish it had been broken the second time) We both hated this mirror.

So we decided to build our own.

However, our efforts to use the Dremel Trio as a router were not successful. The maple was just too hard. John and Sam from Our First House were kind enough to lend us their router and router table. (Many, many thanks!-it certainly made the job much easier!)

Initially we were just going to keep the mirror pretty simple, but our mitered corners were not as tight as we had expected. (Later learned that we are supposed to use the sawdust from the saw to fill that in!)

So we decided to try our own version of the West Elm mirror. I tried looking for branch cross sections in Etsy, but they were too expensive. LD found some branches from an elm tree in the park that lost one of it's large branches during the last storms. She cleaned the branches and sliced them into quarter inch segments with the miter saw. We let them dry for about two weeks, then started glueing them onto the frame.

After letting it dry for a few hours, and giving it two coats of poly, we finally hung it in the bathroom.

So our hallway bathroom is finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sister, My Hero

2011-09-04T23:08:00.002-05:00

Friday, September 2nd, was a weird day. We were supposed to go to Minneapolis to go shopping at Ikea, but decided to leave on Saturday instead. Just didn't feel like the right day to leave. Now I know why. Dad visited me and tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen. I was depressed, and couldn't shake it. Even Morgan tried to tell me. When my brother called me that night, I didn't want to pick it up. I knew it deep down, but I didn't want to hear it or accept. I thought that if I didn't answer the phone, it wouldn't happen. My sister, Estela, had passed away. She was fondly known as Sister.

Sister. I gave her that name when I could barely speak because I couldn't say her full name, so I improvised, and it stuck with her this whole time. She was always stronger, smarter, and more stubborn than I! But I needed someone like her to get it through my thick skull that our lives can be changed in an instant. And I thank her for that.

I remember when we would go to the farm field, and move the hay bales around to create forts and mazes. And the fact that she had a crush on my good friend Tony! (But he already knew.) We loved going into that field and playing in the creek. We would catch pollywogs and fish all day long. We had all the fruit we could eat-blackberries, apples, and cherries. OMG they were so fresh and good. And the best swimming hole ever! It was our secret. She hated the fact that we had to move from there. We moved so many times when we were young, but at least we had each other. She was 1 yr and 10 months younger than I, but it felt like we were joined at the hip when we were little.

Growing up she always found ways to get into fights at school. I either had to bail her out, fight right next to her, or protect her! And it was always with more than one girl! Big ones too! She never did things the easy way, and I never knew what those fights were about. Probably best to be kept in the dark!

I'll never forget when I went away to college, she told me she loved me and would miss me. I never knew that before. She was always so stubborn, and had to learn things the hard way. But it was her stubbornness and tenacity that pulled her through the tough times. After she had kids, she went back to school and just blew me away. I don't know how she managed a family, a life, and went to school at the same time. She amazed me then, and still does now. It took her a long time to find her passion, but she did. And when she did, she bulldozed through, letting nothing stop her from her goal.

She never gave up even when the doctors gave her the news that would change her (and her family's) life forever-brain cancer. Instead, she persevered through the chemo, radiation, and all those surgeries-and did it all during school breaks!!! And she still got straight A's and didn't complain. I was awed by her, and her strength to move forward, despite what she'd been through.

That was four years ago. I thought I was going to lose her last year, but she kicked Death in the a$$ again. I always knew she wouldn't go down without a fight. She finished her bachelor's in speech pathology last year, and got into grad school. She gave me the best birthday present ever in December last year-she was cancer free (then it came back in 2011). This was going to be her second year in grad school. She will always be my Hero.

(Hey Sis! I'll be looking and waiting for you in my dreams, and I'll be waiting to feel your presence around me. Now you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. And when it's my time to go, your lovely, smiling face is the first one I want to see. I love you so very much. P.S.-say hi to Dad for me.)

Privacy Fence - DONE!

2011-08-21T05:52:00.001-05:00

We took leave from work last Thursday to work on our fence. LD optimistically thought we would get it all done, but I knew better. We did manage to finish installing the rest of our railings, and got some of the pickets nailed in.

Tired of taking millions of trips up and down the slope to carry supplies, LD came up with the brilliant idea of finding a little wagon that we could load up with supplies and pull down our narrow pathway. I went online and found a couple of candidates at Home Depot and Lowe's. The one from Lowe's won out (it was bigger and it was assembled). It was just under $100, but it was one of the best $100 we ever spent. LD's little "burro" saved us a lot of time and exhaustion by carrying our tools and lumber up and down the slope.

Little "Burro"

This is the terrain in our backyard.

Last Sunday, we really put a dent on the fence. After working on it for almost 8 hours, we stopped with about 25 feet to go. LD wanted to get it all done, but I was exhausted!

We took showers and had dinner at the local Chinese buffet. I thought we were done for the day, but LD had other plans. She wanted to burn some of the brush that had been dumped on our property. Lucky for her (not for me), Sunday was a burn day. So we spent a couple of hours burning. It only put a small dent on the pile, but at least we managed to create some space between the brush pile and the fence. We were tired, but happy with all the progress we made.

It took us less than two hours Saturday morning to finish installing the rest of the pickets and the gate. It is far from perfect, but it is done! The dogs finally get to enjoy their yard, and so do we.

Last nail

View before

View after

This project would not have been possible without our friends Rollin and Jeannette. They were kind enough to lend us their trailer, nail gun, and extension cords. To top it all off, Rollin came to our rescue last Thursday when we could not figure out that we had a nail jammed in the gun, and assisted with the pickets that day.

Fences Make Good Neighbors (We Sure Hope So!)

2011-07-31T17:32:00.002-05:00

Despite the initial set backs and the extreme heat, our chain link fence was completed last Friday. LD is quite happy with the fence, and I must admit that despite my initial doubts about installing chain link fence I am too. It blends into the background much better than what I expected, and makes the backyard feel like a park.

We really love where we live, and wanted to maintain the open feel of the property which is why we decided to go with black vinyl chain link. Unfortunately, part of the southern property lines borders another subdivision and we have had issues with trespassing (ATV riding, teenagers shooting at birds, dumping of yard waste) in the wooded portion of our lot. We were not convinced that a 42" chain link fence would be enough to stop the issues we had been having, so we decided to build a privacy fence along that boundary. We paid our contractor to dig the holes, and decided to try and tackle the privacy fence on our own.

Brush Dumping

ATV Riding

Last Saturday we rented a trailer and loaded it up at the local Home Depot with twenty-five 4 x 4 posts. We also picked up approximately 200 lbs of gravel. After setting four posts, however, we decided it was way too hot and headed to the movies. Thinking we would continue in the evening once it cooled down. Well we came out of the movie and the thermometer had actually gone up!

We were fortunate to get a break from the oppressive heat this Saturday and we took full advantage of it. After three runs to Home Depot for concrete (our cars could only handle so much weight), we managed to set all twenty-five posts. It took 37 bags of 50 lb Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix = 1,850 lbs! Needless to say, we were both exhausted at the end of the day but very pleased with our work. We will have to rent a trailer to purchase the railings, and hope to get started on those next weekend.

Our dogs will have to wait a bit longer before they can finally have the freedom to roam around in the backyard. They have waited three years, so a few more weeks will not hurt.

Morgan celebrated her 13th birthday last week with her MOTF-1 USAR friends.

Morgan, Katy, Phoenix (first three on the right). BTW-each dog has a plate of birthday cake in front of them!!!

Can't Wait for July to be Over!

2011-07-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

July has been fraught with frustrations and setbacks. The first of which includes hiring a surveyor to determine and certify the property boundaries. It was supposed to be done back on June 24th. Well it was finally completed on July 13th. Apparently not only are our property boundaries old, but the City completed a stormwater project that moved the entire road out of its original alignment. So all the measures from the original platt map were no longer consistent. So it took multiple visits from the surveyor, and help from my neighbor with his property survey back in 1999.

Our AC unit decided to take a vacay for the second time this year. This time I decided to call A.B. May on the recommendation of a neighbor. Unfortunately, the storm that rolled through the area last Tuesday night knocked out our power. So A.B. May was not able to check our AC until the power was restored. Our power did not get restored until late on Wednesday, so we had to wait until Thursday. The food in our refrigerator, however, did not fare so well and most of it had to be thrown out. I was glad that I had been too busy to go grocery shopping.

Next-the utilities lines locator contractor. Well, the first time he came out, he didn't finish all the line locations because he claimed that the survey had to be completed, and there were too many bushes. The second time he came out, all the different colored spray paint made it look a little more complete until........today.

Today was supposed to be the first day of putting in our new fence. LD cleared all the vegetation, bushes, trees, etc along the property boundaries and was very ready to get started. So on the very first hole---BAM!! The auger ripped apart a gas line!!

A call to the Kansas Gas Service brought out a multitude of trucks and vehicles. Turns out the utilities lines locator neglected to search the area near the house! LD thought it was weird that there were no flags or spray paint near the house on the east side. Well KGS claims that they don't search for or locate minor gas lines! REALLY!!!! Which also meant they were not going to repair it either. KGS disconnected that particular gas line (which went out to the original gas lamp and a line to a grill), and capped off the pipe inside the house.

Not knowing how long the utility line locator would take to search for any additional lines they neglected to find the first time around, our fence contractor moved on to another job. He is supposed to come back tomorrow. Can anything else go wrong? My fingers are crossed. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a fence.

Eames Shell Chair Restoration, and Mirror Blues!

2011-06-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Our busy schedules have prevented us from posting as much as we would want, but just wanted to give you a quick update on my Eames shell chair restoration and the hall bathroom remodel status.

(Before)

After almost a year and a half of scoring some sweet Eames shell chairs, I can finally say that I am done with their restoration. The process itself did not take that long, it was just my procrastination in getting the project started. Now we just need to find a new dining room table.

(After)

The hall bathroom, however is a different matter. We have managed to seal the grout, finish caulking, paint the windows, do touch-up painting, install a tower rack, install a towel ring, and install a couple of hooks for extra towels. The mirror is still a work in progress. I fell in love with this cut twig mirror from West Elm, but unfortunately it was no longer being sold. I placed a wanted ad in Craigslist hoping that somebody would be willing to sell it, but did not have any luck.

So I turned to Etsy, and asked somebody that built mirrors if it would be possible for him to replicate this design. He replied that it would be too time consuming, and he could not guarantee that I would like the end result. So my search continued for the perfect mirror. After some extensive searching, LD found this mirror online. We both thought it would work, so LD ordered it. After a week of waiting, our mirror finally arrived.

Unfortunately, it arrived in multiple pieces. The UPS delivery man told us that it sounded broken and that it was best if they shipped it back to the company we bought it from (so we never did actually get to see it out of the box). The second mirror they shipped arrived safe and sound, but we were not thrilled once we actually opened the package. The frame itself was wider than what we were expecting, and it looked as though it would be just too heavy for the room. We decided that we were stuck with it, so proceeded to hang it. It was not on the wall for more than 10 minutes before we both decided that we could not really live with it. So it came down, and we decided to use the mirror but build our own frame. We decided to go simple, and purchased some maple at the local Home Depot. Everything was going fine until we got to the part were we needed a router.

Our Dremel Trio came with a router bit, but it was not powerful enough to cut through the wood. So our mirror project is on hold until we can either purchase or borrow a router. Anybody have a router we can borrow?

Not quite there yet!

2011-06-06T06:46:00.001-05:00

We had hoped to get our backsplash up and grouted before our sink and plumbing got hooked up on Friday, but it did not happen.

LD did manage to tile on Wednesday evening, but unfortunately the thinset was not completely dry on Thursday and we couldn't grout.

But the sink and faucet were fully functional on Friday!

We were out of town on Saturday, so did not get around to grouting until Sunday.

So we are almost done, but not completely. We still have to caulk, seal the grout, do some paint touch-ups, install the towel rack, finish painting the windows, and wait to get a mirror that isn't broken. Then we can finally call it done!

Week in Review - Vanity countertop and Eames Shell Chairs

2011-05-31T22:36:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Top Master came and took measurements for our new vanity countertop. Unfortunately I had to go into work and could not stick around. I was bummed, especially since there were lasers involved.

This past week, they came back with our new countertop! It was a perfect fit, and they said it was their easiest install all day.

Last year we purchased an undermount sink and a widespread faucet. However, when we placed them on the new vanity, they didn't fit! So our loss is your gain, if you could use a Kohler undermount sink or a Delta Lahara widespread faucet (in stainless steel finish) they are currently listed on Craigslist.

We had no choice but to go with the vessel sink ( in pic above), which LD had originally wanted anyways, and a new faucet (in pic below).

I could not talk LD into tiling the backsplash this weekend, so we will have to work on that this week (we get the plumbing hooked up on Friday).

Given that it was a 3-day weekend, and I really wanted to work on something I finally decided to tackle the Eames shell chair refinishing project (which we had purchased over a year ago).

I unscrewed the old legs, removed the old shock mounts, and sanded the remainder of the epoxy that was left on the chair. Even with an orbital sander, it took a while to get all of the epoxy removed! I had purchased two sets of shock mounts last year, so I was able to attach those to two of the chairs (I have already placed an order for two additional sets). Once the epoxy had a chance to cure I attached the legs on for size, they fit well.

Next step is to wet sand the chairs, let them dry, and apply Penetrol. I am hoping it will not take another year before tackling this next step. So stay tuned!

Tornadoes!

2011-05-25T22:27:00.004-05:00

I was upstairs talking to my mom on Sunday evening and LD's cell phone kept going off (she was downstairs and did not realize it was going off). When I finally picked it up, I noticed that one of her text messages stated that a tornado had just hit Joplin and destroyed a nursing home. I immediately took the phone to her and turned on the weather channel.

Normally she has to drive to Columbia and deploys with her team from there, but this time she was told to drive straight to Joplin and meet the team there. Shortly after she got there, she started working and they worked straight for approximately 36 hours before finally getting some rest and food.

Ever since LD and Katy deployed, I kept scouring the internet and television hoping to get a glimpse of them to know that they were alright (communication was very limited due to so many cell towers being down). I managed to see them here and there, but yesterday I finally got to see them on CNN being interviewed by Anderson Cooper. Here is the interview:

Anderson Cooper Joplin Coverage

They searched a lot of area: homes, apartments, duplexes, and businesses for live people. When Katy finds a person, she barks. Well, Katy had 2 alerts in Joplin! I am so proud of LD and Katy! It is not often that disaster dogs get the opportunity to find live victims. It all depends on the type and magnitude of the disaster. This disaster incident created many opportunities and hope for people to survive the tornado.

There were fourteen tornado touchdowns in the Kansas City Metro Area today, and I had to spend an hour in the basement at work until the tornado warning expired. I was afraid that LD and Katy might have to come searching for me! We were very lucky, but unfortunately the tornadoes caused some damage in Sedalia and other communities. We can't wait for this bad weather to go away!!!!!!!!

Vanity is Here!!!!

2011-04-30T14:18:00.005-05:00

Yay!!! The hall bathroom vanity is finally home! Nate Adolf and Jerad Foster of StudioBuild (www.studiobld.com) and their cabinet makers took the challenge of building my vanity. And we love it!!! Here are some pics of the vanity being built and installed.

Vanity being built at the shop.

Drawers at the shop.

Jerad trimming the sides.

Nate measuring holes for the hot & cold water. The K-State t-shirt?- I'll forgive that for now. :)

Jerad and Nate doing some heavy lifting!

A little leveling

Vanity and shelves are in! Nate and I had to put some pressure on the wall to slide in the vanity.

Right door open

Left door open

Simply beautiful!

We are thrilled!!!! Nate and Jerad were great to work with. They do beautiful work, and we can't wait to do more with them.

Stay tuned-the countertop will be installed on May 26th!

It's the Small Things that Make a Big Difference!

2011-03-13T22:03:00.001-05:00

We've been quite busy these last couple of weeks. LD decided to volunteer our house to host this year's winter social for our neighborhood, and of course it meant that there were a few things we needed to get done before the social. As you might be able to tell from our posts, we work best under pressure. We took care of a bunch of little things on our punchlist that make the house feel a little more complete than it did before.

For those of you who might be wondering what we did with those two walls we mentioned in our last post, here is the first one. But first you must close your eyes. Okay go ahead and open them.

We wanted to paint some tree silhouettes, but did not want it to take too long or be too complex. So I searched the web and ended up doing my first purchase on Etsy, and bought tree silhouette decals. It took a while to figure out which branch belonged to which tree, but once LD figured it out she had the trees up in no time.

And the surprise on the chalk wall in the bar? We are both Mizzou graduates, and of course we drew the Mizzou Tiger logo! It didn't take very long to do, and we're hoping you all like it too. ROAR!!!

When we first bought the house, and started painting rooms we scratched our heads about what to do with our air conditioning/heat vents. They were pretty much disgusting. They must have had at least three layers of brushed on paint and 50+ years of dirt and grime. I tried stripping the paint off a couple of them, but was not very successful. So after living without covers for three years, we finally took them to Eagle Auto Stripping to sandblast off all the grime and paint.

After the sandblasting, I went through seven cans of spray paint, and now they are as good as new. I know it would have been cheaper to purchase new ones, but we liked these better than the ones currently being sold at the big box stores.

It is amazing how much better the house looks. LD and I still can't believe that we no longer have to stare at big holes in our walls.

And what about our big UFO/ Jetsons light? Well, I stripped the latex layers off without a problem, but unfortunately it had a resistant paint layer that was just too stubborn for our citrus-based stripper.

Not wanting to purchase anything more caustic, LD ended up taking it in to get sandblasted as well. It did not turn out quite as we expected because the sand blasting dulled up the finish some, but LD was able to bring some back by polishing it with steel wool. I was tempted to try some Bar Keepers Friend polishing compound, but we did not have the time to do that before our neighborhood winter social.

I painted the shelves that used to be above the built-in left of the fireplace, and reinstalled them. Those shelves along with the trees, really help balance out all the rust in the room. And to think that LD did not want to reinstall those shelves! Now they are one of her favorite elements in the room.

We finished all of our last minute touch-ups just in time for our neighborhood winter social, and we got multiple requests for tours of the house. We gave up on the idea that we would actually have a new vanity in the hall bathroom, but it turned out no one had to use it anyways!

Our neighbors love what we have done so far, and several suggested that we should do this for a living. I would be willing to, but LD is the creative one. And unfortunately, her time is limited and this house takes up most of it!

Cheers!

Built-In Countertops, Fireplace Status, and Holey Ceiling

2011-02-28T21:53:00.001-06:00

Hallmark Stone installed our countertops on Friday, and we installed the toe kicks on Saturday morning. So our built-ins are officially done!

I also finished painting the family room walls, including the wall to the right of the fireplace. I decided to go ahead and paint over the green paint in hopes of balancing out the fireplace (which is safe for now).

We have some additional plans for that wall, so stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Speaking of special surprises, I had this crazy idea to use chalkboard paint on the wall above the bar built-in. I need to let it cure for a week before I can do anything with it. So come back to see what I draw on it.

This hole in our ceiling is the start of our next project. Stripping the paint off our UFO style light. Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of the light before we decided to take it down. The only picture I could find was this picture that Delia took before we purchased the house.

The lower portion of our light fixture has a bare metal finish, but the recessed portion was completely painted over.

(Recessed portion of light)

We are hoping that once we are done stripping it, we will end up with the original metal finish.

So what's new?

2011-02-14T22:00:00.002-06:00

Well, we are officially done with our built-ins (with the exception of all the toekicks)!

And we replaced the brown coke-bottle plastic with rice paper glass.

(It looks more white than what appears in the picture.)

After searching all over the KC metro area for a good deal on countertops, we ended up purchasing Silestone's Bianco River from our local Home Depot.

Since we will not be refinishing the bar built-in, we ordered Silestone's Mountain Mist. Hallmark Stone was here on Friday to do the templates.

LD has also been working hard on repainting the family room downstairs. She decided it was time to replace the temporary brown on the walls and the rust on the soffit. She's been wanting to put a gray color down there, but in this house gray does not always equal gray! Our sofas can attest to that!

Well that has been quite a journey!

Gray color #1 = blue
Gray color #2 = lilac
Gray color #3 = gray? or lilac?
Gray color #4 = purple!
Fifth attempt, Gray #3 was actually gray with a second coat. Yay!!

Wow, we are only in February, and we have actually managed to cross out a few items off our punch list!

Refinish the family room built-ins = check!

Repaint the family room = check!

Countertops for the built-ins = check!

LD wants to paint the fireplace white, and I don't want to. It is a huge decision for us because undoing the paint job would be painful. Reasons why LD wants to paint the fireplace-1) the room is too monochromatic with the rust-brown on the walls, floor and the fireplace, and 2) the brick color makes it too heavy in the room. Reasons why I want to keep it natural-1) integrity, 2) it's Roman brick, and 3) I like it!

The fireplace is on the right.

We need help with this one. Any suggestions?

2011 Snowcapolypse!

2011-02-03T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well it has happened again, except worse! We got about 10"-12" of snow here. Fortunately, we worked at home on Monday and Tuesday, and the office actually closed on Wednesday. So we were basically stuck in our house (more like jailed).

So LD had this "awesome" idea to do a search in the blizzard! She said that it would be easy to see the wind direction, and good to get the girls out of the house. So what do I do? I grab my coveralls, boots, coat, hat, gloves, and balaklava and hide in the woods. The temperatures were around 16F with wind velocities between 30-40 mph.

LD sent Katy first, then Morgan. They both found me in like 2.5 minutes. Then she sent Phoenix. She is only 7 months, but did a great job! And she found me in about 3.5 minutes. She is growing up so fast, and doing so well in her disaster search and rescue training.

Watch her search in the blizzard!

Katy's Purina Dog Food Bags are on the Shelves!

2011-01-30T21:24:00.000-06:00

We learned that the Purina dog food bags with Katy's pictures on them are out in the stores now! We couldn't wait to get the flat bags in the mail, so we went out and bought one.

We donated the dog food to the Kansas City Animal Shelter, and were hoping to keep the bag. But Phoenix had her own plans! She tore the bag from the inside out! That's what we get for not keeping an eye on a 7 month old lab puppy.

The flat bag will be framed and hung in Black Dog Bar (once it's done!)

If you are interested in our original post on Katy's photo shoot, we posted it in May 2009.

Surprise! It's a Finn Juhl Teak Buffet

2011-01-24T21:18:00.001-06:00

Recently we received an email with from one of our blog readers, lifeartist, with some surprising information about our MCM teak buffet.

In August 2009, we posted about purchasing a teak MCM buffet built by the Mount Airy Chair Company. I didn't know much of anything about the piece or about the company, and trying to find information on the company was challenging. All I knew was that I loved the lines, and bought it at the estate sale from our neighbor.

Well lifeartist informed us that our buffet is actually a Finn Juhl designed piece of furniture. The Mount Airy Chair Company purchased the license for his designs, and built several of his pieces.

Here's a little info on Finn Juhl:

Finn Juhl (January 30, 1912 – May 17, 1989) was the first Danish furniture designer to be recognized internationally. He was a leading figure in the creation of "Danish design" in the 1940s, and he was the designer who introduced Danish Modern to America.

From 1930-1934, he attended the Architecture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Kay Fisker, a leading architect of his day and noted lecturer. After graduating, Juhl worked for ten years at Vilhelm Lauritzen's architectural firm, where he had also apprenticed as a student.

Finn Juhl’s first American assignment came in 1951 when he was asked to design the interior of the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York. This first experience in America and the contacts made in connection with it, later proved valuable for many Danish architects, because it paved the way for the notion of ‘Danish Modern’ to become internationally known and valued.

Juhl is best known for:

Chieftan Chair

Japan Chair

Pelican Chair

Egyptian Chair

If you like the style, Ideal Surroundings is selling a Finn Juhl 2-piece buffet and hutch in Illinois.

Hmmm-I just go with my gut, and I know what I like. Little did I know that I was a Finn Juhl fan. I learn something new everyday. Thanks lifeartist for sharing!

Project Bug - Utility Room and Family Room Built-ins

2011-01-18T20:26:00.000-06:00

Well it didn't take long before we got the project bug again. LD started about a week and a half ago with cleaning the soot on the fireplace as best she could. She's been wanting to paint the fireplace for awhile now, and the first step is to clean it. But we still need to get a liner installed.

Our next mini-project was to replace the leaking water heater pressure relief valve. I had noticed that the pressure relief valve had been leaking for the last couple of weeks, but LD thought it had been doing it since we purchased the house. If it had, it must have been so slow of a leak that I never noticed. This weekend we replaced the pressure relief valve (thanks to some helpful advice from Lee and Steve). The new pressure relief valve stopped the leak, but we were not thrilled to find sediment deposits on the old valve. This means we will probably be replacing the water heater in the very near future.

Well being in the messy utility room finally got us to organize it. Unfortunately, I didn't take any before pictures, but just imagine all the things in the shelving unit pretty much spread all over the floor. Our handyman, Steve, can sure attest to how bad it was. It only took us a couple of hours one evening to get the shelf assembled and get everything off the ground.

The mahogany doors in the photo will be going to Habitat ReStore as soon as the weather improves (assuming they can fit in my car).

The sense of accomplishment we felt after organizing the utility room, gave us a desire to get started on our list of 2011 projects. It was between painting the office, painting the family room, or refinishing the built-ins in the family room. Given how much I hate painting, I voted for the built-ins.

Here are some shots of what they looked like before we got started.

This is what they looked like after stripping and sanding them.

Our next steps will be to stain and seal them, and order new countertops.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T22:27:00.001-06:00

Hope you all had a great Christmas, and that the new year brings new hope and prosperity to your lives. All in all we had a pretty good year in 2010, but are pretty excited of what is yet to come in 2011. Now that 2010 is over with, we thought we would review our home remodeling accomplishments and create a punch list of what we are hoping to achieve in 2011.

We finally managed to install baseboards downstairs, and in a couple of spots upstairs.

The master bathroom got a new vanity sink, and we completely gutted the master bathroom.

We said good-bye to our pink Pepto Bismol bathtub.

And welcomed our new walk-in shower.

After months of searching for backsplash tile for the vanity, we finally found some and installed it.

We managed to clear the overgrown vegetation in our backyard, and create a gigantic brush pile.

After getting some ridiculous bids for the disposal of our brush pile, we ended up enjoying some pretty big bonfires.

Once we completed our first bathroom, we decided to go ahead and completely gut our hall bathroom.

Other than painting the windows, and installing the vanity we managed to remodel this bathroom faster than the master bath.

Now here is our punch list for 2011 (which includes a lot of the projects that we never got around to in 2010):

Finish installing baseboards
Install vent grills
Refinish built in cabinets in family room to match kitchen cabinets
Transform sunroom into a home gym
Continue working on landscaping
Paint bathroom windows
Purchase and install vanity in hall bathroom
Repaint our home office and family room
Restore 4 Eames shell chairs we purchased last winter
Find a table top for the Eames table base we purchased last month
Maybe get started on Black Dog Bar

I am exhausted just thinking about it, but very much looking forward to the new projects!

Herman Miller Eames' Table Base and Phoenix's First Christmas

2010-12-20T23:38:00.004-06:00

Well, since we are at a standstill with the hall bathroom, what else could we do but shop!!!!

We need a dining table, so last weekend we went shopping at some of our favorite spots looking for one. We have a list of several of our favorite table types: Saarinen tulip, Noguchi cyclone, Eames round, Platner, or a current model with to die for lines. We found a Noguchi cyclone table about 3 months ago, but it was too small! We were sooo disappointed.

So we continued to hunt for a table that we could bring home. Well we finally found one! It was an early Herman Miller Eames table base from the aluminum group line. Now all we have to do is find a top! And we know exactly where to find one, but it will have to wait until the snow melts up north.

We also cleared the central backyard once again. We also piled the leaves and burned them! That's always fun.

This is Phoenix's first Christmas. LD bought her our traditional Christmas stocking and placed it with the others on the fireplace. I can't wait to for Santa to put some nice smelly treats in there, and see if she picks up on it.

We were afraid to put up the Christmas tree(s) because she has been getting into everything. So last week, we finally put it up, but with no ornaments. Then we let the Phoenix out. She smelled it and walked under it several times, then left it alone. So we decided to put up some of the ornaments, but left the lower part of the tree empty. It's been 4 days, and so far so good!

Merry Christmas to All!

Bathroom Progress is Out of Our Hands at this Point

2010-11-30T22:06:00.000-06:00

Well the bathroom has gone as far as we can take it for now. After we got done grouting, we noticed that the grout had left some haze in our tile. I took a trip to Home Depot in search of a grout haze cleaner but the salesperson told me that cleaning the tile with the product they carried would require that I wait 10 days before sealing. He encouraged me to go home and just try scrubbing it down with a sponge. I tried it, but it only took care of a little bit of the haze. I then tried a tile and grout cleaner I had purchased for our other bathroom, and it took a little bit off but not enough. So I decided to go see what Lowes had to offer. I found a very low VOC grout haze cleaner that did a very good job of taking care of the remaining haze. After a couple of days, I finally sealed the grout!

I also installed the shower head, tub spout, and handle. We decided to go with fixtures with a detachable showerhead, so we can give the dogs a bath without having to re-attach the cheesy white sprayer we had been using prior to our remodel. So we ended up selecting Delta's In2ition Hand Held Shower Head (which we have nicknamed the Alien Head). Phoenix is certainly due for a bath.

LD and I tackled the baseboards, and after a few mistakes we finally got it right. Maybe that will inspire us to finally install baseboards in the rest of the house.

I managed to prime and give the windows a coat of paint. They definitely need a second coat of paint, but I am afraid that it will have to wait until Spring once the temperature goes up again. We have had some 60 degree days, but unfortunately I have either been working or we have been out of town.

LD and I also installed some shelves we purchased during our last IKEA trip. I was initially not too thrilled with the look, but they are growing on me.

We also reinstalled our toilet, and the install went way smoother than the first time. Our first install had been a nightmare, the instructions for attaching the tank to the bowl were really screwed up. This time around we decided to ignore the instructions, and attach the tank to the bowl based on instructions I saw on the internet. A few minutes after we had installed it, however, I noticed that there was a small puddle next to the supply valve. I was afraid that it might mean that the supply valve was faulty, but fortunately it turned out to be just our old supply line. We purchased a new one, and it took care of the problem.

Other than installing some towel bars, there is nothing much we can do at this point. We can't do anything until the vanity is done. But we haven't heard from the cabinet maker since October, and we are getting worried.

So we are stuck. We can't order our countertop until the vanity gets installed. For the countertop, we selected recycled glass Eco by Consentino in the white diamond color. We think it will complement the tile very nicely.

It's Starting to Look Like a Bathroom Again!

2010-11-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

Well we have been busy since our last post, and our efforts are starting to pay off.

I did not have any luck finding a seller with a small section of Kerdi locally, but I did find it online by the square foot. After I placed my order, however, the company told me it was back ordered. Not knowing how much of a wait that would be, I emailed the company and told them to cancel my order. I then started searching Craigslist, and found someone in Columbia who happened to be selling a Kerdi drain. Wishfully thinking, I contacted him and asked if he had any leftover Kerdi fabric that he would sell to me. Luckily he did, and I picked it up last Saturday. On Sunday we went to work and finished the last of our Kerdi install.

On Wednesday evening we installed the first two rows of tile.

On Veteran's Day we finished setting the tile, and we grouted today. In 3 days, we'll be ready to seal!

At first we were planning on painting the bathroom gray, but we could not find the right shade of gray and finally decided that we did not really want to walk into a gray bathroom. So we picked up a few more paint chips.

We finally decided on Home Depot's no VOC Freshaire's "Still Moment".

I have to wait for a warm day to finish priming and painting the windows. Our next immediate steps are to purchase and install baseboards, and reinstall the toilet.

Halloween = Orange Tub Surround

2010-10-31T22:07:00.000-05:00

Well we didn't meet our Oct. 30 deadline for our hall bathroom renovation. We had hoped to get the bathroom done in time to host a Halloween party, but it didn't quite work out. One of our neighbors hosted a Halloween party yesterday, so we celebrated a day early.

Today we went to work on waterproofing our walls. It went a lot faster and easier than the first time around. Unfortunately, we ran out of Kerdi before we could waterproof the third wall. If anyone has 6 linear feet of Kerdi laying around, shoot us an email.

Hope everybody had a safe and happy Halloween!

Hall Bathroom Status Update

2010-10-27T20:13:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to blog, but we've been pretty busy with work, the bathroom, the pups, and life in general!

All the walls have been primed, and the ceiling primed and painted. We are still trying to decide on a color for the walls. We are leaning towards gray (but have yet to select the right shade).

This weekend we installed the floor tile. It was not easy because not a single wall was square! We tried 2 different laser levels, but they did not work on the floor. So we had to lay them out in several rows first, then drew the lines.

Phoenix was trying to be a little to helpful and ended up with some thinset on her nose.

And today we finished grouting. The Shore Playela tiles came out really nice, and gives us the feeling of walking on the beach.

Shawn, the cabinet maker, came out today to take final measurements for the vanity. We are so excited to see the finished product. We're not sure yet if we want to stain the birch or leave it natural. We'll see.

Walls Up in the Hall Bathroom & Vanity Design

2010-10-10T10:54:00.001-05:00

The walls are up! (for the most part anyways.) Next-finishing the walls.

As far as the vanity goes, LD designed a vanity (birch with stainless steel legs from Ikea) that will fit really well into the house. She combined the lines from the kitchen cabinets and the buffet (August 2009 blog posts) to create the vanity. The door "mechanics" will be exactly like the buffet's-all wood. Originally LD was thinking walnut or teak with wooden legs, but change the legs and the type of wood and it becomes fresh.

The countertop? Well, we're not sure yet, we have some hopes and dreams of getting a recycled glass countertop, but we are realistic too.

Plumbing, Electrical, and Insulation

2010-10-03T22:05:00.000-05:00

This week things started to come together in our bathroom thanks to Steve's handy work.

Our new bathtub is in.

Our old electrical outlet got moved a little to the left and got replaced with a GFCI outlet. Steve also added a second outlet to the other end of the vanity area.

Our two old recessed light fixtures got replaced with eight 4" recessed lights. I thought it was overkill, but it does light up the bathroom pretty nicely. The good thing is that each switch controls half of the lights.

Once Steve got done with the electrical and plumbing, I got to work and re-insulated the ceiling and outer walls. I walked in there this morning and it stood up to the 38 degree temperature quite well.

Given that we could not find a stock vanity that we both liked, we asked the cabinet maker that built our infill kitchen cabinets to give us a quote on a couple of vanity designs. Once we decide on a design, I will post a rough sketch of what we are going for.

We are still trying to decided on a bathroom sink and faucet. Unfortunately the sink I had fallen in love with would be too big for the space. So we are pretty much back to the drawing board. Good thing is we have a little bit of time to decide.

Drywall is supposed to get started tomorrow, we are hoping that it will get done by next weekend. Once the drywall get done, we can start priming and working on the floor.

Here We Go Again!

2010-09-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

Demolition is something we have become pretty good at. Given that our master bathroom is 95% done (still need to paint windows, and install a shelf), we decided we could go ahead and start working on our hallway bathroom.

So LD called Deffenbaugh and arranged for a dumpster to be delivered. This one is half the size of the other.

Before we got started on our demolition, I thought I would capture the beauty of our bathroom. So without further ado I present to you our bathroom as it was right before we tore it apart. Peach tiled walls, yellow tub, paperclip tile accent wall, peach tiled floor, and a rust colored vanity with cultured marble yellow countertop. What were they thinking? The plastic sheeting over the accent wall was something we had to put up due to tiles popping off when we demolished the master bathroom tub (drywall was pretty much water damaged).

"Paperclip" tile on accent wall (behind plastic sheet).

I am not going to miss bending over this vanity in order to wash my hands.

We started our demo on Saturday and managed to demo the walls and ceiling.

After seeing the 1 inch mortar (almost like poured concrete) underneath the tile in the floor, we decided to leave that for Sunday.

Our neighbor was kind enough to let us borrow his hammer drill and a large crowbar. In less than two hours all of the floor tile and the mortar bed were in the dumpster. I suited up and took out all the old insulation from the outer wall and the ceiling (fiberglass makes LD very itchy, so that was a job I had to tackle on my own).

All we had left to remove was our "beautiful" yellow tub. So last night, our friends Rollin and Jeannette came over to help us remove the tub from that tight space. It wasn't too bad. Rollin did most of the heavy lifting. He practically lifted it up with his little pinky!! I exaggerate, but it was scary when he lifted it up on its side (the short side so that it was straight up into the air). We had craft paper on the floor and several pieces of plywood to protect the cork, and used 2 piano dollies to move the thing. But it's done!!! It took more planning than the time it actually took to move it. But we did it safely and the house didn't get hurt either!

RIP Yellow Banana Tub

4/11/55 to 9/20/10

We ordered our new tub, and we're hoping that it will come in by the end of this week. We need to purchase some can lights, maybe some sconces, and decide on a bathroom sink. Oh ya, we also need to buy a countertop and a cabinet! Stay tuned, we are hoping to get this bathroom done much faster than our previous one.

It has been a busy couple of weeks

2010-09-13T21:38:00.001-05:00

Our Toto Aquia toilet came in right on schedule, but given the limited space in our tiny bathroom we figured we would wait to install it after the shower glass wall was installed. Unfortunately, the installer called us a few days before our originally scheduled date to reschedule. The glass they had received had a huge scratch right down the middle, and he had to send it back. So Friday they finally installed it.

The tile we ordered for our backsplash arrived pretty quickly, and we installed it in less than a couple of hours on the Friday before Labor Day.

Since we had to delay the demolition work of our hall bathroom, we decided to take a trip to Ikea. Phoenix needed a new dog house, unfortunately Snoopy was not interested in selling.

The real reason for our trip was to check out their cabinets. We really liked their Solar Beech line, but they discontinued them! Unfortunately, their other cabinets wouldn't work for us. Unless we find something we both like, we might just have to go custom. It wasn't a total wasted trip, however, we did pick up some items at Ikea and a Saarinen side table top from the Room and Board Outlet. Phoenix also got to go on her first official long road trip (other than when we first picked her up in Ohio). While we were there, her big sisters gave her a tour of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

On Labor Day, we spent a couple of hours grouting the backsplash. And I sealed the grout yesterday.

Although our shower glass got installed last Friday, we had to allow 48 hours for the silicone to cure.

On Saturday LD and Katy commemorated September 11th by spending the afternoon and evening participating on a joint search scenario training (both Canine and Tech Search).

Yesterday, we finally got a chance to install the toilet. The hardest part of the install was drilling the holes in the slate. I could not locate the diamond drill bit we had purchased, so after spending nearly an hour looking for it I drove to Home Depot and bought another one. Once LD managed to tap the screw anchors into the holes, it was relatively easy.

We finally have a fully functioning bathroom, and now we can start with the demo of our hallway bathroom. Maybe we can get started this weekend.

Some Loose Ends and A New Addition

2010-08-30T20:39:00.001-05:00

Loose End #1: The Toilet!

Well it turned out to be even more complex than we thought! But our toilet is on the way!!! The only characteristic we couldn't get was chair height, and we made some compromises.

Loose End #2: Shower Glass Panel

We have ordered a clear 3 X 6 glass panel for the shower, and it gets installed on Sept. 6th. We can't wait. Right now we are temporarily using a shower curtain. The photo below is not our shower, but it gives you an idea of what the panel will look like.

Loose End #3: Tile Backsplash

We even selected a backsplash for the concrete trough sink, and ordered it. That should be easy to install. Once it's installed, we can actually use the sink and our faucets.

It feels nice to accomplish some things!

Hall Bathroom

We bought the tile for the floor. It's called Shore Playela, and it has a nice feel too.

We will have to rent another dumpster and start tearing down the hall bathroom this weekend. We will not be able to completely tear it down because we need to use the shower while the silicone in the master shower cures. However, our goal for the hall bathroom is October 30th! I will keep my fingers crossed.

New Addition
Well Delia finally got the chair she wanted, a Herman Miller fiberglass shell rocker. She found it on Craigslist in Columbia! Talk about perfect. And we love the color. It's the navy blue possibly made around 1962. She also bought 2 eiffel tower legs for her side chairs from the seller. Did I say this couldn't be more perfect? Now, where to put it?

Phoenix

2010-08-19T08:59:00.003-05:00

Well, we finished grouting the shower last week, but we have some minor touch ups to do before we can seal. I managed to get the first coat of paint on last night, and hope to get the second one rolled out tonight. Things are going slower than I had hoped, and what we brought back from our trip to Ohio this past weekend is going to slow us down even more.

We came back with a little fireball, an 8 week old lab puppy that we named Phoenix! She is Katy's search and rescue Padawan. Katy is tolerating her very well, and even tried to play with her once (those baby teeth hurt!) We figure it will take Katy a few weeks to get used to the idea that she is not the youngest pup anymore. Morgan has already warmed up to her and tried tugging with her. But then again Morgan is used to being a big sister and protector.

Master Shower Tile Set!

2010-08-08T22:47:00.001-05:00

We worked almost every evening this week, but we finally finished setting the tile in the shower. On Saturday, I went training, and Delia caught up on errands and shopping. This evening she finally got around to sealing the tile. It feels so good to be done with tile work. I thought we would never get done. Whew!

This week we plan to grout the shower, and seal it all (shower walls, shower floor, bathroom floor) with two more coats.

Our biggest challenge so far, however, has been to find a toilet for the small space. Our criteria were:

1. WaterSense

2. Chair Height

3. Dual Flush

4. Antimicrobial gloss

5. Single Unit

6. Sleek modern lines
7. Good flushing power

However, we learned quickly that the limiting factor was the toilet depth/length! Anything greater than 27" was too long. Do you know how many toilets fit all those 7 criteria that are affordable?! Well, after all the research we have done - none. So we had to make some sacrifices like the chair height, antimicrobial gloss and possibly the dual flush options.

At this point the Toto Eco UltraMax is the front runner. It fits 3 out of our 7 criteria, but we are still on the hunt for the right toilet. However, if you have any suggestions please let us know of a nice toilet that is less than 27" long.

So our next steps after grouting and sealing are:

1. Paint

2. Purchase and install toilet

3. Purchase and install shower glass panel

4. Install baseboards, shelf, towel racks

5. Install faucets

6. Paint window trim

You know I thought the list was smaller than that!!!

The Bathroom is Crawling Along

2010-07-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

Our bathroom is still a work in progress. Granite, slate, and marble are beautiful materials, but it takes longer to complete your tiling job because of the extra steps. It also doesn't help that we can't work on the wall tile until we get all the black grout done because we don't want the white marble to stain.

Last week we tiled the floor, sealed it, and applied black grout.

We tiled the curb on Monday, and sealed it on Tuesday. We couldn't grout it today because I had to buy more grout and pick up some groceries. So our plan is to grout it tomorrow.

On Friday, we will work on the wall tile layout, and hopefully get a chance to work on it this weekend.

Shower is Waterproofed (or at least we hope so)!

2010-07-18T22:04:00.000-05:00

There were several different ways of installing the Kerdi membrane, so we decided to start with installing the larger wall panels. Lets just say there was a learning curve. The videos made it look so easy, but we learned otherwise. I hope that once we start tiling the wall, the thinset will allow us to even out all the imperfections.

After waterproofing the last wall, we cut the shower pan and curb to size and installed it.

On Saturday we waterproofed the shower pan, and installed the first half of the drain. The only thing left was to wait 24 hours to finally start tiling.

The original plan was to tile the entire floor with slate, but we quickly learned that the 12 X 12 tiles would not work with the shower slopes! So we purchased a 2 X 2 flamed granite mosaic to fit the pan. Fortunately tiling the shower floor went much faster than we expected.

Because it's a small space, we thought that the bathroom floor would go just as fast and easy. Wrong!! The cuts around the toilet flange really slowed us down, so we only got the first row installed.

However, LD managed to lay out the remaining tiles, and made several customized cuts. So next time we get a chance to work on the bathroom, the floor should go pretty quickly (famous last words?).

Bathroom Update-Part 3?

2010-07-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

The drywall is complete! This weekend we painted 2 coats of primer, and finished painting the ceiling. For the time being we don't know what the final paint color will be. But we'll start with white and see how it feels.

Next LD and I fitted and installed the HardieBacker on the floor. Our plan was to get the shower tray and the waterproof membrane installed today, but spent more than half the day running errands like buying a couple of new power tools.

Trying to cut the holes in the 1/2" HardieBacker did not go smoothly, and we needed a new tool. LD saw the Dremel Trio which was perfect for the work we are doing right now! It worked like a dream on the Backer and the subfloor.

Unfortunately our drill's cord was getting quite frayed, and this is after trying to salvage it with electrical tape for 5+ years. So during our shopping spree, we finally ditched the cord and bought a new 18V DeWalt Drill. It was so easy to use on the floor. I don't know how we lived without one for so long!

The new plan is to install the shower pan and membrane this week, and get everything ready for tiling hopefully this weekend.

All the spackling finally inspired me to take care of the hole in the laundry room, which used to house an "outlet safe". It actually fooled me, I didn't discover it was a fake outlet until I tried plugging in an iron! The first thing LD asked me "Was anything in it?" It was empty.

Insulation, Drywall, and Lucky Find

2010-07-04T20:34:00.001-05:00

In preparation for the drywall going up this week, we spent last weekend stuffing as much insulation as we could into the outer wall and the ceiling. Working in 95 degree weather while wearing a long sleeve t-shirt was not my idea of fun. Nothing a nice shower and a movie afterward couldn't cure though.

On Monday, Ken the drywall guy, showed up and got about half of the drywall and HardieBacker up. I had to leave work early because LD was not very happy with the quality of his work. I was ready to call his company up and ask that they send somebody else, but we decided to give him a second chance.

His attitude had definitely improved by Tuesday, and he managed to get all of the drywall hung and the part of the first mud coat on.

He came by the rest of the week to continue the mudding, and he told us that he thought he might be done tomorrow. We certainly hope so, because we are hoping to get started on installing the Kerdi membrane next weekend.

On another note, we took a trip to the Tile and Stone Warehouse and came across some beautiful tile for the tub surround in our other bathroom. We've been looking for the right tile for a while, but as soon as LD laid her eyes on this tile, she knew it was the right one. So we purchased tile for the bathtub and backsplash. We have to get our master bathroom done before we can move to the hallway bath.

Catching Up

2010-06-20T15:03:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a whole month since I last posted! I attribute that to three reasons: 1) not much has been happening in terms of home improvement other than our materials coming in, 2) we have actually been getting a taste of what life is like outside of home remodeling, and 3) LD and I have been pretending that the gutted bathroom does not exist. We are realizing that all the home remodeling we did last year just burned us out.

After much deliberation, we finally decided on white marble tile for the shower walls and black slate for the shower and bathroom floor. We placed an order through Home Depot, and it actually came in faster than expected.

Our Kerdi Shower System finally arrived in two shipments, after almost two months of waiting. We received the first box about two weeks ago, but I freaked out when all we received was the shower pan. I left a couple of messages with the company, but they did not return my calls. Finally on the third day they actually picked up the phone, and told me that the second box had just been shipped. I was relieved when it finally got delivered a few days later. But we are going to have to custom fit the shower pan, and add some studs for the shower wall.

Last weekend we managed to replace the rotted subfloor in the bathroom, but it took several dry fittings before we finally got it right. We decided to wait for the shower drain to be installed before we nail it down. Our plumber is scheduled to come in on Monday to do the drain work.

This week we spent half a day renting a trailer, and picking up paperless drywall from a supplier in Grandview.

So now that all of our main supplies are here, what are we waiting for? We are going to get a couple of estimates from drywall professionals to see if we can fit it into our budget. We will be getting our first estimate on Monday, wish us luck.

New England Adventures and FEMA K-9 Test

2010-05-19T20:31:00.000-05:00

Since LD and Katy were going to Massachusetts to recertify as a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue K9 team, we decided to turn it into a mini vacation.

We got into Buffalo, NY on the second night, and decided to check out Niagara Falls. It was late, but we had read in one of the brochures that they lit up the falls at night with different colored spotlights. It was amazing to witness the raw power of the roaring water. All that power made LD nervous, given that Katy was very interested in getting closer to the water. If she had not been on a leash, she would have jumped in. Katy loves the water, any water, even if it is one of the largest, most powerful running water in the Nation.

We wanted to go back the next day and get on a boat that takes you closer to the falls, but the overnight low was going to be close to freezing! We decided it would not be the best day to get soaking wet. So we continued our journey and arrived in Massachusetts on Monday evening.

Tuesday we spent the day in Maine to talk dogs and see the Atlantic Ocean. We got an excellent recommendation to eat at DiMillo’s Seafood Restaurant in Portland, Maine. Both LD and I both figured that it would be just plain un-American to leave Maine without eating lobster and New England Clam Chowder. Their chowder was a meal in and of itself, and it was to die for!! I ordered the twin lobster (broiled, stuffed and baked) dish, and LD ordered everything else in the sea (haddock, clams, shrimp, scallops). There was way too much food, but it was all delicious and something that we couldn't get anywhere else.

After lunch we wanted to take the dogs to the Atlantic Ocean. Morgan has been to the Pacific Ocean, but Katy has never been to any ocean. Fortunately for us it turned out that dogs were allowed on the beach before Memorial Day.

It was chilly, but that did not keep Katy from heading straight into the water and getting a taste of the salty sea.

Morgan, who normally ignores other dogs was running around and actually tried to play with the other dogs. Morgan took a liking to a pointer named Annie, which looked a lot like Baine. We didn't realize she was selecting one dog until we watched the video. LD thinks the Pointer reminded her of Baine.

The next day we were supposed to go to a Red Sox game, but we had sticker shock when they told us that parking around the stadium was around $40.00. So we found a dog wash/store to wash the sea salt off the dogs, and headed to Ikea. Our only intent was to return a few items, and buy some handles for our bathroom vanity. But we spent some time looking at the cabinets, and I think we have decided on the cabinets and countertop for our hall bathroom (once we get around to it). Nevertheless, I managed to browse for over three hours before LD told me she was done.

On Thursday, we went into Salem to learn more about the Salem witch trials. We walked around the Salem witch memorial, and checked out the burying ground next door. It was sad to see the lack of maintenance in the memorial, and the lack of interpretive signs around town.

We expected to see historical markers and signage on such things like where the trials took place, where the "witches" were hung, why they were murdered, etc, but we did not find that kind of information. You would think that given the historical significance of the events that took place, and the number of people it draws into Salem, they would make more of an effort to maintain and mark the sites.

On Friday we took the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour. Nick, our tour guide, was excellent, but the best part of the tour was the FREE beer.

We were given three beer flavors (well I got to sample three of their beers, LD does not drink). The first beer was their Boston Lager, the second one was their seasonal Summer Ale, and the third one was their Brick Red. Of those three, I preferred the Brick Red, unfortunately it is only sold as draft beer in the Boston Area (it is the brewery’s way of thanking Boston for their 25 years of support).

After the tour, we made our way into downtown to follow the Freedom Trail. A couple of very nice Bostonians saw that we were struggling with our map, and pointed us in the right direction.

We started our journey at Fanueil Hall, unfortunately the second story was closed. LD was very disappointed that the Boston Massacre Site was literally a construction spot in the middle of 3 streets!!!

I was surprised to learn that all the historical sites were interspersed throughout the downtown area. We found ourselves wishing more than once, that we could travel back in time to actually see what the area looked like. Nevertheless, it was amazing to actually see the spots that built our Nation's foundation.

We had an early dinner that evening because LD had to drive into Boxborough for an orientation meeting. She found out that instead of testing at 1:40 the next day, she was going to take her test in the morning. It turned out to be good for her because her nerves had started creeping in on Thursday, and she was wishing she could just get the test over with. Despite my complete trust of their awesome skills, I still get nervous when they test.

Pile 1-had 2 "victims"

Pile 2-had 3 victims

It is dangerous work, even when it is not a real scenario. These dogs don’t know the difference between training and the real thing, and they give 110% of themselves every time they are out on the rubble.

Katy and LD did great. They found all of the “victims” in both rubble piles. LD was on Cloud 9. I am comforted by the fact that if I or one of my family members ever became entrapped in a real disaster I would completely trust Katy to find us.

We stuck around Saturday evening to celebrate with the other K9 teams, and we started our journey back on Sunday morning. New England was beautiful, but after spending ten days on the road, there is no place like home!

Feeding The Fire Monster!

2010-05-04T19:43:00.001-05:00

We are happy to report that our brush pile is finally gone! We spent nearly 6 hours yesterday feeding the fire monster. I was quite exhausted, but LD saw the end in sight and her energy gave me a second wind.

While LD and I were busy with the fire, our handyman was hard at work reconfiguring the plumbing to accommodate our new shower valve, hooking up the drain in our sink, installing new can lights, and replacing the toilet water supply line.

Our next step is to construct the shower pan. Instead of trying to build a mud pan from scratch, we have decided to use a Kerdi shower kit. I placed the order last Friday, but unfortunately I found out on Monday that the company is at least two weeks behind in shipping orders due to a supply issue. I tried buying the kit locally, but the price quote I got was $150 more. I am all about buying local, but not when there is such a huge price difference. So I will just have to wait patiently.

RIP Master Bathroom and its Pepto Bismol Tub

2010-04-26T17:24:00.002-05:00

Deffenbaugh delivered a 30 cu. yd. trash bin to our driveway Friday afternoon. I was quite excited about the delivery because I knew that things were about to get serious this weekend.

I was very impressed with the delivery guy's skill at unloading the bin. It only took him one try to place the bin precisely where we wanted it ( I can't even back up in a straight line).

Our big demolition started Saturday morning. We spent a few hours demolishing the walls, ceiling, and removing the old insulation.

By the time we were done, all we had left was the pink Pepto Bismol tub. I don't know what the original builders were thinking, maybe it was on sale, or maybe they were color blind. Whatever the reason for a pink tub (which used to have a 5-gal pink toilet for a partner), it was certainly not something we wanted to live with much longer.

We tried using a 4-lb sledgehammer to break it, but no cigar!!! So Saturday evening I went to Home Depot and picked up a 16-lb sledgehammer. I was quite shocked by the size, and I thought for sure we would have to ask one of our neighbors for assistance.

After procrastinating a few hours on Sunday morning, we started tackling the bathtub. We thought if we drilled a few holes through the tub, the holes would weaken the cast iron making it easier to break. LD managed to drill a hole and a half, but it took a long time. So I handed LD the big sledgehammer, the canvas tarp, and crossed my fingers. The first few blows only took some of the enamel off, but after a few more blows the cast iron actually cracked! Swinging that sledgehammer sure took its toll on us, so we traded back and forth to give each other a break. After a couple of hours we had managed to take out over 85% of the tub.

The remaining 15% was still there because we broke two tub drain wrenches trying to remove the tub drain. So we decided to take a break and go haul some of the brush from our backyard to the bin. Our neighbor came over to see why we had rented such a large bin, and LD explained that we were gutting our master bathroom. He went in to take a look, and told us that the brass drain had seized to the pipe, and we could disconnect the pipe further down. After about 15 minutes of looking for our pipe wrench, LD gave it a shot. Well there was not much room to maneuver the wrench, so I did what any self-respecting DIY person would do, I brought in the reciprocating saw! Within seconds (literally), LD managed to cut the pipe and free the rest of the tub. A few more blows later, and the Pepto Bismol tub was history.

We were lucky in that there was only minimal water damage to the studs, but we will have to replace some of the subfloor. Then we'll need some plumbing and electrical work done. I am hoping that the handyman can make it out tomorrow to give us a bid on those items.

With a sense of accomplishment and plenty of room in the dumpster, we turned our attention to the brush pile.

A cardinal decided to nest in our brush pile, so we tried to minimize our disturbance to the nest, and worked around the cardinal family. However, we still managed to fill the rest of the bin, and our pile has shrunk.

We will have to wait for the chicks to fledge, and a day when we can burn to get rid of what is left.

Weekend Fun

2010-04-18T20:41:00.000-05:00

In celebration of Spring and the 2nd Anniversary (April 15th-Tax Day) of our house, we had a Spring get together this weekend. We set up our new hammock on Saturday morning, and the kids had a blast breaking it in.

After picking up after the party this morning, we headed out to Home Depot and ordered the stone for our backsplash.

We are going with a 1 x 3 Grecian white marble. We were planning on using the marble in the shower, but then we saw some tile that had the look of concrete which we are seriously considering.

After our Home Depot fix, LD talked me into going to the River Market. We had a good time looking at all the interesting items up for sale. I was very glad that I was able to talk LD out of this chair with its barrelesque curves and stumpy legs.

She returned the favor, and talked me out of the polar bear baby painting.

I can't believe she didn't like it. Just look at that adorable face!

We bought a little table that caught my eye. It looks really nice as a bed side table.

I went back to Home Depot for the second time today to pick up some mulch and potting soil. Came back to find that LD put some holes in the master bathroom. Well, there's no turning back now!

Tree Clearing, Baseboard Progress, and Grace

2010-04-11T22:49:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we finally decided to cut down the tree that was growing outside our master bedroom. A branch had broken off during a storm, and had been hanging from the wires since we bought the house. We managed to cut most of it off, but the base of the tree was too big for our little electrical chainsaw. So we asked our neighbor Don if he could cut down the rest of the tree stump. He came by on Tuesday, and cut it down for us. We are very grateful for having such great neighbors in our neighborhood. LD made Don and his wife a berry-peach cobbler in return.

It took us a couple of weekends, but all the baseboards in our lower level are now done. It is so nice not staring at the bottom of the drywall anymore! It was not as easy as we thought. Walls in a 55 year old home are never square, and floors are not always level. It's a perfectionist's and amateur's nightmare.

Now it's time to start working on the baseboards on the top level. We're going to stain the baseboards, and we have finally selected a stain (Cabot's gunstock). But we need to decide on the type of wood. We bought pine, red oak, and ash; the pine is definitely out of the running. So that leaves the ash and the red oak. Who would have thought that picking baseboards and installing them would be so difficult?

It's been 8 years since we had a puppy in the house. Today, our friends, Jeannette and Rollin, came by to introduce us to the new addition in their family, a beautiful 6-week old black lab puppy named Grace. I was surprised at how energetic and confident she was at six weeks! Morgan and Katy did not know what to make of her. Grace was trying to be playful, but Katy and Morgan were not interested. When Katy was a puppy, Baine and Morgan pretended she did not exist for three weeks. They would literary ignore her, but once they decided to accept her into the pack, they became the best of friends and siblings. Grace tried jumping and biting on Katy, and Katy would run away. Katy was a holy terror as a puppy. Her nickname for a long time was Sharky. What goes around comes around!

Hello Spring! Hello New Projects! Hello Concrete Sink!

2010-03-29T21:35:00.001-05:00

Given the nasty winter we had this year, I wasn't too sure that spring would ever get here. Too add insult to injury, we got around eight inches of snow on the first day of spring! But spring finally did arrive, and so did our sink and our desire to take on new projects.

LD and I finally finished clearing all of the vegetation in the backyard last Thursday. And we have a humongous brush pile to prove it!

Now we are in the process of getting bids for its removal. It is amazing how much all that overgrown vegetation blocked our view.

Before

After

We can almost see all the way to Turkey Creek. The downside is that we have a lot of landscaping to do now. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until we are done with some of the interior projects we have planned for this year.

We got an email from Cretedog-the concrete sink for our master bathroom was finally done! Keith and Jeff came by this afternoon to install it.

I couldn't be happier, it was exactly what I wanted. We are waiting to hook up the plumbing until we install the backsplash.

I figured it will be a lot easier to tile without the faucets in the way. The tile we purchased earlier ended up going back to Home Depot because LD was not completely sold on it. The sooner LD and I can agree on tile, the sooner we can get the master sink done.

This weekend we also went shopping for some baseboards and cabinet toe kicks. LD stained and applied two coats of polyurethane to the toe kicks yesterday.

Before

This evening we installed most of it. We need to stain more toe kicks to finish the job, and get some smaller nails for the nail gun. The baseboards have to acclimate to the house, so we will probably start tackling those next weekend.

After

Backyard Battle-Day 4 and Counting

2010-03-14T16:14:00.003-05:00

Well, now that the snow has cleared, I thought it was time to start tackling the center area of the backyard jungle.

Day 1-I started with taking out the forsythias beneath the trees. Then began work on trimming the "smaller" Christmas tree. I cut all the lower branches to open up the canopy. I figured if it was going to stay for awhile, I might as well make it look a little nice.

Day 2- I cleared the area around the second Christmas tree, and trimmed those branches. It looks really nice, BUT now we have a clear view of our neighbor's hot tub in the neighborhood behind us!! I hope the vegetation along the fenceline grows in. Delia said she doesn't want to see someone's "bathtub"! I can't say that I blame her. If it doesn't grow in, I have a solution-that's where the storage shed will go!!

Day 3 & 4-I took out the juniper bushes on the west side. Even though I bought a new chain for the chainsaw, I actually haven't used it once so far. Turns out that the 55+ year old juniper bushes were already dying at the roots. I didn't know why before, but figured it out as I was working on them. There is quite a bit of this parasitic, viney groundcover everywhere. I'm sure it was nice at one point in time, but the stuff is horrific!!! It's killing the trees around the yard, and evidently the sturdy cockroach-like juniper bushes too!! I cut the vine on some of the trees, but I have to say that I'm glad it's killing the juniper bushes. I absolutely hate those juniper-type bushes. Hate is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings towards them. Loathe is a much better description.

I have a corner left to go, but the area is looking more open now. My goal is for the yard to look like a beautiful park with old trees.

However, what comes out must go somewhere. Which means that the bush pile is growing!!! Once I clear the last part of the yard and some thorny bushes, I'll have someone remove the brush pile.

Master Bathroom Sink is Starting to Take Shape

2010-03-04T22:21:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week, we got a sneak peak of the mold that Cretedog put together for our sink.

Hard to believe, but this mold will be giving shape to our new sink!

They also showed us the nifty flip drain in the satin nickel finish.

No, we are not going to change our concrete color selection. Cretedog gave us our choice of concrete sealers. The sealer on the left is a commercial sealer, and therefore more durable. We chose the commercial sealer on the left.

A couple more weeks, and our master bathroom will finally have a sink!

Master Bath Sink Begins

2010-02-22T22:31:00.001-06:00

Keith from Cretedog came over to make the template for the concrete trough sink. He also brought 2 color concrete samples (grey and white) and a pamphlet of concrete colors to choose from!

We purchased the faucets and a pop-up drain. But when Keith's partner brought a pedestal sink for viewing, I fell in love with the drain he had in there. The drain top rotates! It was way cool. Not only that but the diameter of the pop-up drain I bought was too big, so we decided to go with the rotating drain.

We also decided to go with the grey (aka natural concrete). Not only did it look classier, but it looks like concrete. And it would be easier to select tile for the backsplash.

So with the concrete sample in hand, we went to the Tile and Stone Warehouse, The Tile Shop, Lowe's, and Home Depot. LD fell in LOVE with some tile from Vogue Bay, but it was toooooo expensive, even for a backsplash. So I told her we had to find something in our budget. We have looked at so many tiles in the past, but it helped to have the concrete sample in hand. Well, we finally found some tile that was perfect for the space.

We also purchased a couple of the Vega faucets by Price Pfister in the satin nickel finish. The style has been discontinued, but we found some on ebay.

It will take about 3 weeks to get the trough sink, so stay tuned for more of the process. We will be taking pics when Keith makes the forms.

Concrete Trough Sink Plans and Drawings

2010-02-14T07:28:00.002-06:00

Well, it's finally going to happen. We are going to get a concrete trough sink made for the master bathroom. We decided to go with Keith Mueller from Cretedog (www.cretedog.com). I stumbled across them on the web, and LD has been a fan of theirs on Facebook. They do some wonderful work, so we decided to go with them.

Keith came over and talked to us about what we wanted for the bathroom. He was very nice and easy to talk to, and took our ideas to heart. The very next day he sent us several schematics and a model of the sink. It is exactly what we wanted!

The drawing looks great! When Keith comes over to make the template, all we'll have to do is choose a concrete color. We'll post more on the process!

Score! Eames Shell and Thonet Attiva Chairs

2010-02-08T06:40:00.001-06:00

The New Orleans Saints are not the only ones that won big this weekend. Our hunt for some dining room and sitting chairs has finally been successful. We managed to score four vintage Eames shell chairs and a couple of Thonet Attiva stacking chairs for a steal.

The Eames shell chairs are a little rough and faded, but I am going to try to restore some color to them by following chairfag's restoration tutorial. However, that will have to wait for warmer weather because it involves wet sanding, and I don't really have any indoor space to do that. I'll post about that process when we can go outside again and the water doesn't freeze.

We would also like to replace the side chair legs to the Eiffel legs. So stay tuned for that!

The Thonet chairs just need a good cleaning, but they are not in too bad a shape. Each of the Thonets are going in the bedrooms as a sitting chair. The master bedroom still has space to fill, but it will take some time before we decide how to fill it.

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere!

2010-02-01T22:13:00.000-06:00

LD and three of her USAR teammates were supposed to be in College Station this weekend training at Disaster City. Unfortunately the winter storm that hit Oklahoma made travel conditions too dangerous for them, and their plans were cancelled.With her weekend plans cancelled, we had a free weekend. So we decided to head to St. Louis and do some shopping.

On our way to St. Louis we stopped to visit some friends. One of their Portuguese Water Dogs had a litter of puppies, and they asked LD to evaluate the puppies' temperament using a puppy aptitude test. I know it was very hard for LD to be objective, and evaluate them because she has been watching them grow online.

After spending a few hours assisting LD with her evaluation of some adorable, furry puppies, we went inside for some delicious spicy lentil soup. After pigging out on two bowls of soup, we were treated to some delicious bread pudding/custard dessert. I am jealous of our friends' culinary skills! I would sign up for some culinary classes if I thought it would help, but I am a firm believer that people are just born with talents (I am still trying to find mine).

OMG-Look at that adorable face!!

As if the gift of our friends' company and delicious cooking were not enough, our friends also surprised us with a beautiful Persian rug. It is a flat woven Kelim, wool on wool hand-woven rug, used by nomad tribes to protect them from the sand, and also used as windows and doorways. The rugs are woven with open spaces to allow the breeze to go through while keeping the heat out.

We actually managed to leave without taking a puppy with us, but it was very hard because they were adorable and intelligent.

We got into St. Louis and did a quick stop at REI. I was under the impression that I would be able to spend my dividend, but after speaking with one of the cashiers I learned that they would not be available until the third week of March. So the big shopping spree I had planned, will have to wait until my dividend is available. We headed to our hotel, and after unloading our stuff we headed out to Westport Pizza for dinner. The pizza was very good, it tasted like some pizza we had before, but we could not figure out where.

The next day after breakfast, we went shopping at Trader Joe's. It would be a crime to go to St. Louis and not pick up some groceries there. I am addicted to their chile spiced mango.

We missed a "sale" on contemporary furniture that had been advertised on Craigslist, but we went to the location (it wasn't really a store), and peeked through the windows to see what we had missed out. There were several nice pieces in there, so LD contacted the seller today. She found out the prices on some of the pieces that interested us. Let's just say that we know why there was so much furniture left; you had to have some very, deep pockets to afford a single piece! And the items were supposed to be 50-80% off!!

Estate Sale Shopping = New Bathroom Flooring

2010-01-25T21:13:00.028-06:00

Our original plans were to head to St. Louis this weekend, but we had to reschedule that trip. So we went with plan B instead - estate sale shopping!

I regularly check Craigslist with the hope that a great mid-century piece of furniture at a great price will pop-up. So earlier last week I was doing my usual Craigslist browsing when I came across a listing for an estate sale which claimed to be the estate sale to end all estate sales. They had quite a few impressive architectural pieces, but the one that really drew my attention was a molded chair they described as Herman Millerish. But the sale started on Thursday, and we had to work!

Saturday, we took the opportunity to go to the estate sale in hopes that the chair would still be there. Well the chair was there, but unfortunately it had already been sold and was awaiting pick-up.

It was quite an impressive sale, there were several interesting pieces, but they did not fit the aesthetic of our house. LD wondered into the garage and called me to look at some slate tile. It was approximately 32 square feet of a charcoal slate tile for the bargain price of $25.00. Even though we still have not made a final decision for a design to use in the bathroom, we bought it anyways. If we decide not to use it, then there is always Craigslist.

Funny thing is that when LD was paying for the slate, she inquired about the chair. They told her that the person had not paid for it yet, and if they did not do so by 2pm, they would sell the chair. So LD placed a bid on it and gave them her cell. In the mean time, we went to several other estates sales, then went back. I waited in the car while LD checked on the chair. She came back to the car empty handed and broken-hearted.

To make her feel better we decided to go the River Market Antique Mall to browse around. They had some chairs there, but we decided that purchasing one of those chairs would be more of a rebound chair. So we decided to wait and continue our hunt. The hunt is after all half the fun.

Goodbye 2009 - Hello 2010!

2009-12-31T21:40:00.012-06:00

Well, 2009 was a great year for home remodeling, and we are looking forward to all the new projects we plan to take on in 2010. We thought it would be fun to review some of our remodeling accomplishments of 2009.

Infill kitchen cabinets built
Kitchen cabinets refinished
Refinished pecky cypress wall
Installed new fixtures in half-bath
New pendant lights over breakfast bar
Installed cork floor in master bedroom

Installed walnut wall in master bedroom
Painted family room, kitchen, and half-bath
New kitchen countertops installed
Installed kitchen backsplash
Installed new dishwasher and wall oven
New drywall installed over acoustic ceiling
New master bedroom vanity
Stairs covered with Johnsonite rubber stair treads

I am exhausted just thinking about all the work we did in 2009, but ready to tackle the following projects in 2010:

Remodel master bathroom
New concrete sink for master bathroom vanity
Remodel hall bathroom
Continue cutting back the overgrown yard
Refinish built in cabinets in family room to match kitchen cabinets
Replace plastic in family room cabinet doors with glass
Install baseboards
Install vents
OHHHH and start working on Black Dog Bar!

It should be a challenging year, but we are looking forward to it (okay I am looking forward to it, LD not so much).

Happy New Year!

White Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T19:41:00.000-06:00

It has been nearly 50 years since Kansas City enjoyed a White Christmas. Fortunately, we were safe at home during the storm. To our family members in California who do not have the pleasure of enjoying snow on Christmas, these are for you!

Took the dogs out to play

Patio-outside the dining area

Celebrated LD's birthday today with a freshly baked cake!

Video of dogs enjoying the snow

Hope your Christmas was as fun as ours.

Shake & Bake in Time for Christmas!!!

2009-12-22T19:58:00.003-06:00

It took a little thinking and planning, but we figured out the best way to make the cutout smaller for the oven.

Trim & raised platforms

The oven actually had to be raised to better fit the opening. So we added a little platform on each side.

Staining trim

Stain and topcoat all done!

Delia flipped the switch at the electrical panel, and all the pretty lights came on!! There were so many lights and function buttons. I might have to read the manual!

DONE

To initiate the oven into our home, we baked wonderful Christmas cookies and a delicious frozen pizza.

Mmmmm, delicious reindeer sugar cookies.

I thought it would take us longer to get it installed, but it only took 2 days. Most of that time was spent waiting for stain and poly to dry.

Merry Christmas to Us!

Now we can enjoy our Christmas. Last year, I could only setup the tree. This year I was able to set up some decorations throughout the house.

Christmas Bar

Baine's stocking

Our stockings

My Christmas quilt-about 10 years old

Merry Christmas to All and To All a Goodnight!

After a 14 hour trek our oven is here!!!!

2009-12-19T21:09:00.003-06:00

We have been without an oven for more than 4 months. Well it would only work when it felt like it, which happened to be once or twice a month. But we were looking for the right one to come along at the perfect price.

Well, after waiting for a perfect deal on an Electrolux wall oven, our patience has paid off!! We got one for a steal at the Sears Outlet. I love that place-ahhhh. But here's the catch-we had to drive 14 hours roundtrip to get it. We figured since we went to Ikea for the same distance why not do the same thing for our dream oven. I wanted my oven, and I was not about to give up, especially with a sweet deal like that.

We checked the weather for the weekend and decided that Friday would be the best time to go. We left for Evansville mid-morning on Friday and ran into a blizzard from Columbia to St. Louis (okay it was just some light snow and flurries).

After checking into the hotel and eating dinner, we headed to Sears to pick up the oven. Turned out the oven was brand new, it only had a little crack in the fascia on the right side. At 70% off the original price, it was well worth it!!

After getting some rest, we headed back home this morning. Katy was quite comfortable, however, and was not ready to get up. Morgan on the other hand, was ready to go! Can you tell that Katy is not a morning dog?

I plan on working on the cabinet adjustments tomorrow, and hoping to have the oven installed just in time for Christmas.

Large Hole in Our Kitchen!

2009-12-13T21:09:00.001-06:00

There is a large hole in our kitchen, but don't be alarmed it was self-inflicted. We finally got tired of staring at the oven that worked only when it felt like it (happened to be once or twice a month), and decided to pull it out. We turned off the power at the breaker box, removed a few screws, and pulled it out. It was a relatively painless process.

We needed to pull out the oven to measure the cutout dimensions. LD just about had a cow when she learned that the cutout width was 1.5" larger than the maximum listed in the installation instructions for the Electrolux Oven she has been lusting over.

But she really had her heart set on that oven, and she was not about to give up. Once she calmed down and re-examined the cabinet cutout, she realized that the previous owner had cut the cabinet on the right side to fit the big old oven (Magic Chef oven that required a 30.5"cutout). She will be putting her carpentry skills to work to modify the cabinet, so stay tuned.

Chainsaw Massacre that Ends with Lights

2009-11-29T22:07:00.001-06:00

I took Friday off from work, and spent a few hours participating in the madness of Black Friday. After showing off my loot to LD (mostly DVD movies), I decided to finish clearing the vegetation on the east side of the house.

All nice and clean!

The northeast side of the yard is actually starting to look decent now.

This morning LD wanted to go for a run at Shawnee Mission Park, but I was too lazy and decided to go to Panera instead. After spending a couple of hours reading the Sunday paper, enjoying a hot cup of coffee and an orange scone (yummy), we came home and LD decided to tackle the 50+ year old bushes that were dwarfing the side of our garage.

Can you actually spot LD in there?

One trunk left. We need a new chain for the chainsaw to cut it down!

LD wanted to remove the vegetation so we can put up Christmas lights. So after all that hard work, LD talked me into going to Target to buy LED lights. I thought we were going to hang them the next time we had warm weather, but LD had other plans. We got home, and she immediately pulled the ladder out of the garage. I had no other option, but to help out. The lights look better than I expected, and they only use 2.4 watts per string of lights!

The War Against the "Jungle"

2009-11-23T16:45:00.002-06:00

LD/Delia - 2 Jungle - 0

Our first point was the cleanup of the vegetation outside of the bar windows (see October's blog post). After that we got the bug to do more, we just needed the right time.

We had a "scorching" weekend (for the end of November that is). With temperatures in the high 50's it was hard to pass up the temptation of tackling some of the overgrowth around our yard. We have a dead tree near the master bedroom whose branch fell, and was leaning on the cable and phone line (which we are having problems with). It had already lost one branch last week, and we feared that the big branch was going to fall as well.

Before

Next to the tree we have a ton of Forsythias. The overgrowth was so bad that the ATT technician commented that he was glad that the problem was the router and not the phone line.

Before-the air conditioner is in there somewhere! The compost bin is barely peaking out.

Several months ago LD started to remove the Forsythias that wrapped around the east side to the front, but she was only able to remove the front bushes. So we spent a couple of hours on Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday cutting them down. We managed to cut down over 85% of the "mass". I think one more hour and we would have gotten them all done.

After-the compost bin looks like it is sticking out now!

After-oh look, we do have an air conditioner.

The bad news is that our brush pile keeps growing! We once thought about having a bonfire, but it is so large that it might cause a forest fire!! At some point in time we are going to have to haul it away.

Brush pile

We are also trying to find "green" ways to remove 2 very old, large Christmas trees. The previous owner planted two Christmas trees about 40-50 years ago, and they are now 20-30 feet tall. So we came up with the idea of giving them away to a city, community or organization. They are free to anyone who is willing to cut them down and haul away. We advertised them on Craigslist. So if you know anyone who is interested in very large Christmas trees, let us know!

Tree #1

Tree #2

We have 1.25 acres, so this is only the beginning of our yard work! It is going to be a long journey.

Disaster K9 Training and a Midcentury House Tour in Indianapolis

2009-11-17T20:30:00.058-06:00

In order to keep Katy's searching skills sharp, LD travels to other training sites. So last month, we traveled to Indianapolis to train with the FEMA Indiana Task Force I canine team.

On our way to Indianapolis we decided to stop in St. Louis to check out the Design Within Reach store. With all the road construction taking place it was a pain to get there, but the eye candy was well worth it. I fell in love with several pieces of furniture that I will have to save up for.

I fell in love with this Eames Rocker Chair!

LD fell in love with the versatility of the Quad Expandable Coffee Table. To see how the table opens up, check out additional pictures on this link: Click here

Why can't my checkbook match my tastes? Oh well, I guess it just makes me appreciate them even more.

We spent Saturday morning and most of the afternoon training with the Indiana canine team. Katy had a really good time. I have never known a dog that loves to work as much as she does. Look at that smile in her face!

The Indiana Task Force K-9 handlers love training with LD. She is like doggie cocaine, because she does not hold back when she plays "victim". Dogs really respond to her enthusiasm. Here she is in a bark barrel rewarding one of the Indiana dogs after a good alert.

It was just coincidence that the same weekend we traveled to Indianapolis, Atomic Indy was hosting an Atomic Crash Party at an Evans Woollen midcentury house. So after training we stopped long enough to tour the house, chat with the homeowners, and take some pictures. Enjoy!

Impressive entryway

Patio on side of the house

I was jealous of this garage, three cars and plenty of room for a workshop!

This was the other side of the house. It had a small metal deck.

Nice bed

This house had terrazzo floors on the lower level.

They stripped and sanded the original kitchen cabinets. That sounds familiar!!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T19:11:00.000-06:00

Our Phase I / Halloween Party was a great success. I managed to snap a few photos right before the party, but completely forgot to take pictures during our party! So here a few photos of what the house looked like after several hours of vacuuming up dog hair and wiping up dog slobber.

Master bedroom with LD's wall art

Our friends fell in love with the walnut wall

New platform bed and fabric headboard

We were invaded by some nasty creatures, time to call the exterminator!

Or maybe ghost busters?

Happy Halloween!

Preparing for Phase 1 Housewarming/Halloween Party!

2009-10-28T22:45:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since we posted, and we are certainly due for one. We've been working on a few little projects trying to get the house ready for our long overdue housewarming party. The house is not anywhere near finished, but our friends kept asking about our party. Since Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, and the sofas were finally delivered last week, we decided to go ahead and have a combo Phase I Housewarming/Halloween party.

The sofas actually took 11 weeks to be delivered! So don't believe it when they tell you six weeks. We actually loathe the pillows that came with the sofas, so we are currently in search for new pillow covers. (Note: Ignore the cowhide rug; we were just trying it out for size.)

During our last trip to Ikea, I picked up the Mandal Bed, but I had not assembled it. Nothing like an upcoming party to motivate me to work on it. I finished putting it together last night, and LD upholstered the headboard with the Ikea fabric. I will post a picture of the bed and the headboard once we put it all together.

Funny story to this fabric wall art that LD put together. It was actually a canvas that LD planned to create a painting for the master bedroom. In my hurry to get the Mandal bed painted, I knocked it off the easel and put a nice hole in it. She managed to use the canvas frame to create some fabric art. But I still owe her a canvas!

Before

After

LD spent most of the weekend tearing out the 54 year old juniper bushes and some tree saplings from this area. We love our trees, but this area made us feel like the house was being swallowed up by the forest. We now have a huge brush pile that we have no idea what to do with. This is just the beginning of some of the clean up that we have to do around the yard.

Our stair railings and stringers have a fresh coat of paint!

We have several other things to work on in preparation for the party, but we will post more pictures after the party.

Minnesota or Bust Again

2009-09-28T23:17:00.001-05:00

After shopping at Ikea in May, we knew a return was inevitable. We started getting the itch about three weeks ago, and almost pulled the trigger a couple of times. But we decided that it would be best to plan ahead. During our hunt for sofas (which we still haven't received) we discovered Room and Board. We were even more excited to discover that they had a store 5 miles from Ikea! Then we busted our seams when we learned that they also had an Outlet 10 miles from Ikea!! Well, this past weekend was the Chosen One. So we decided to leave on Friday after work and spend the night in Des Moines. This gave us more time to shop on Saturday.

LD has this funny way of making things come true. The day before we left, she warned me that if she saw a white leather walnut Eames lounge chair and ottoman at a good price at the Outlet store, she would have to buy it. So guess what we saw, when we walked into the Outlet - a white leather walnut Eames lounge chair and ottoman. I couldn't believe it, and it was a great deal! However, we were really not planning to purchase one this weekend. So we decided that if it was still there on Sunday, it was meant to be. In the mean time we spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning shopping at Ikea and REI.

As luck would have it, REI was having a Members Only Scratch and Dent Sale that weekend. We picked up a few items at REI, and continued our shopping expedition at Ikea. At Ikea, we bought a media bench, end tables, cool table lamps for our buffet, and a few other things.

On Sunday morning we returned for a bed, some groovy print fabric (which LD promised to turn into a cool headboard), and a cowhide rug that LD had been wanting since last year. It took us awhile to figure out how to fit everything into the Element - we almost had to return the bed. And we had to leave room for the Eames chair (of course if it was still there).

The Outlet didn't open up until noon, so we drove to the Room and Board store. Our whole purpose to shop at Room and Board was to test out the Amos swivel chairs. A nice salesperson directed us to the chairs - of course not after walking us all around the store! Which is really dangerous because we found more things that we LOVE!!! I couldn't help it, the problem is I tend to have champagne taste, but a beer budget. The chairs, however, are something we will be ordering once we recover from this shopping spree.

Then we drove to the Outlet to see what Fate had decided for us. Well, the Eames chair was still there! But one more hurdle had to be overcome-would it fit into the car! After measuring the chair from all angles and some discussion with the staff, it would fit without disassembling it. The cashier told us that they had just put it out on the floor on Saturday. So the Eames chair that was in our 5-year plan ended up coming home with us this weekend. Is it possible that they read LD's mind?

You know, Minnesotans are very lucky. The have Ikea, REI, Room and Board, Room and Board Outlet, and to top it all off my newly discovered favorite chips, Dutch Crunch. They were so good that LD (who is not a big fan of of salt and vinegar chips) kept eating my chips! The chips alone are worth going back for.

Odds and Ends

2009-09-13T22:45:00.002-05:00

We have not blogged for a couple of weeks because we have not worked on any major projects, but have been tying some loose ends. Steve came back last week and added another coat of mud to our new ceiling drywall, and I primed the new areas. We followed that with a couple of coats of ceiling paint; the last of which we just rolled on Friday night. We reinstalled all of our ceiling fixtures after spray painting them with silver paint, the gold finish was just not working for us.

I purchased some new door knobs about a month ago, but they had been sitting in one of our cabinets waiting to be installed. Last weekend I finally got around to replacing them. All of the downstair knobs have been replaced, eventually we intend to replace all of the door knobs upstairs.

This morning we applied a coat of Tried & True Original Wood Finish to the walnut wall in the master bedroom. It is a mixture of polymerized linseed oil and beeswax. It is non-toxic and had very little odor. The finish gave the wall some real depth, and we are quite pleased with the results.

After taking some time to appreciate the beauty of the wall, we took our two labs to Porter Park in Prairie Village to attend "Amanda's Dog Festival". It was a benefit started by Amanda and some of her friends to raise funds for KSDS, which is a non-profit organization that assists disabled people by providing trained canine assistants. Katy and Morgan were lucky enough to have their photograph taken with Scooby Doo, Clifford, and Amanda herself!

One project always leads to another!

2009-08-30T20:39:00.006-05:00

We were watching a DIY show the other night, and had to laugh when they started talking about how one project always leads to another. This one homeowner remodeled his kitchen. When he looked around, he realized that the old windows and doors stuck out like a sore thumb compared to his brand new cabinets and countertops. So he ended up replacing his door and windows. We can certainly relate. When does it all end? So we found ourselves looking at the family room ceiling as the next project.

It has been a good two months since we finished our kitchen, and we are quite pleased with the results, but the acoustic tile in the family room stuck out like a sore thumb. The tile in the family room ceiling were dingy, and probably contained asbestos.

The other item that stuck out like a sore thumb were the nasty 1980's ceiling fans. Not only were the fans out of place, they also made the ceiling feel lower. Because the basement is already 10 degrees cooler than the upper level, the fans were not really needed. So we removed them.

We thought about painting the ceiling tile, but it has textured grooves, which would not be easy to tackle with a roller, and we did not want to tape and cover everything for spraying. We also considered covering it up with additional acoustic tile (with a smooth surface), or gluing faux tin tile to it (no, it's not what you think-there are actually flat, non-embossed faux tin tile available). I suggested a third option: 1/4 inch drywall. LD was not too thrilled about the dust or the out of pocket expense we would have to incur by hiring someone to install it.

In the mean time, we ordered a couple of sofas for the living room a few weeks ago, and we decided we should get the ceiling done before the furniture gets delivered. We priced out the cost of installing acoustic tile, faux tin tile, and called our handyman for a drywall estimate. Putting in drywall was certainly higher than what the acoustic or faux tin tile would have cost us, but it was within our budget. We decided to go with drywall because it would give the room a cleaner look.

We had to lightly sand the ceiling, vacuum and mop up all the dust, and paint the first coat of primer. Several areas will need some additional mud, then we get to put on two coats of ceiling paint on top of that. I hate painting, but I especially hate painting ceilings! We are exhausted.