Demolition Days

So we've purchased the floors, now what? David and I have entered, yet again demolition days. We have been ripping, scraping, and sniffling our way through our layers of linoleum and carpet. First we were pretty excited and very eager to get it all done...here we are taking the linoleum out in the den on demolition day 1.

Here I am on day 3. David said my expression said it all. I was now wondering why we were still doing this. We even had a slight injury, David cut himself on some wood that was sticking out around the refrigerator.

Nasty right? But as days of work set in, we ended up beaten, broken and sick. A word of warning, please make sure that you wear masks when you are doing the work. It took us a little longer to get our floors prepped because we got sick due to all of the dust, maybe some fiber-glass and a little bit of asbestos. I'm a lot better but Dave still has the sniffles and a slight cough. Now we are done with the first part of our floor prep. We still need to lay the felt, get some of other stuff in order and then begin laying the actual floor down. After this part of the house is done, we get to start the entire process over again with the living room. Luckily we don't have to deal with linoleum! Take a look at all of our hard work.

Floors Galore!

Good afternoon! Its been a couple of weeks for me since I've said hello! But not much has been going on in the Simon house, until now. Dave and I went to Seagrove Beach for the 4th of July to see family and hang out with a few friends along the way. I am so thankful that we have family who get to live in paradise. It was a nice little getaway, we even got to bring the ol' dog down for some R and R. 

 

Here is our little king of the mountain. Tux absolutely loved the beach. This was much to our surprise but unfortunately he brought lots of friends back up to Auburn with him...fleas. I think Dave has given him a bath every other day now. But after Tux's baths/pills (etc., etc.) kick in and we share our most recent news with you, the fleas will have lost their rein over at the Simon house. Please don't think that we live like animals but when you have old carpet throughout the house, these critters have a slight advantage. Well, drum roll please...yup, thats it. We have floors! 

Today David went to Lumber Liquidators in Montgomery to purchase our new floors, new base boards & shoe molding, and stairs for the entry way! In the end, we decided to go with an engineered floor rather than getting solid flooring installed. This way we were able to cover more square-footage with the money we saved and we able to get the style and look we wanted. Once the manager at LL pointed out this hickory hand-scraped wood to us which was on sale at the time, we decided to go for it. David hauled 55 boxes from Montgomery with the generosity of a friend's trailer. In the next week with a little help hopefully from friends, we plan to install the floor ourselves. Once we rent the correct tools from Lowe's or Home Depot, it should be a no brainer. Dave found a link on This Old House that is gonna help out a bit. Easy-peesy, they say...but I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get this show on the road. We are pretty happy to finally move into the den when its all said and done. 

David Battles the Basement

So we have very usable 700+ square foot basement/Garage. The picture above demonstrates just how usable we have found it though. Thanks to busy schedules, traveling, and some good old fashioned lazy, the mess has gotten pretty crazy. Fortunately for us I have decided that the only way to get myself motivated to start working on the house again is to start a project that I can finish completely.

Imagine this scene:

(It's Monday around 6 PM, David comes home from working hard all day)

David: Honey, I'm home!
Adriene: Oh David I am glad your home. I love you so much!
D: Thanks babe, whatcha' wanna do this evening?
A: I was thinking that I would make your favorite dinner and then give you a back rub while you watch Arrested Development and play video games.
D: That sounds pretty good but I think that I would like to work on the house some more. Which project would you like me to work on?
A: Are you sure!?! I know that you worked very hard today assuring the students that all their information technology continued to work flawlessly.
D: Yes, my priority is to get this house fixed up just how you want it Dear.
A: Ok, if you insist. You truly are the best husband ever!!!

(Next scene: David has grabbed his tools and looks into office)

David: Time to finish the closet to desk conversion I started the other day.

(David sees the doors that need to be rehung and exits office)

David: Nope, not doing that.

Fin

Somehow after all this I found myself in the basement/garage and decided that there was no time like the present to start in on the clutter:




So after one truckload, to garbage cans, and a whole pile down by the street, we are coming close to having a great new usable space for arts and crafts, etc. Seriously though I intend to close off the area around the washer and dryer (if you can believe it a dryer has a tough time drying your clothes when the temperature is in the 30's) so that Adriene has an acceptable washroom. Also there may be a chance that I will build myself a little shop and possibly a closet or two down there.

I will add more pictures when I have finished the project. I guarantee that you will be amazed with the transformation. Sorry though folks Adriene owns the copyrights on all my great ideas and designs so if you were thinking about hiring me (!!!) call her.

PS. Special thanks to our newest follower. He is a good friend of ours and gave us some really good feedback after my first post. I won't leak his name out on the internets but I will post a picture. Sorry ladies, he's taken.

Tackling the Office

So you might of read of few post before but our office needs a little love. In the past few months we have collected most of our childhood keep-sakes since our parents did some spring cleaning. Dave and I haven't really wanted to take all of our memorabilia but if we didn't accept our parents gifts, they were going in the trash. We couldn't do that to bunny, Pongo and every stuffed Florida Gator imaginable! With all of our stuff in one room, you can image what it might look like. 

Yup, its a big mess! Our office is more chaotic now than what is shown in this picture because we had to remove everything out of the closets to paint their interior. Here is one closet that Dave rebuilt while I was baking and anticipating the paint job soon to come.

We've devised a plan! We want the office to have multiple functions, not only will it be an office but it will also be a work out/reading room. Dave came across the idea of putting the desk in one of our closets. 

FYI-Guys we caught him in the act--Dave was browsing Martha Stewart! when he found the closet idea--I told you everyone loves martha, she's so crafty! But its a great idea, none the less. I had already purchased the Lack shelves from Ikea so we've a step ahead of the game! We intend on building a table top ourselves because our current desk is too wide to fit in the door frame. Dave and I are still gonna have to make a special trip up to Ikea anyway for a few more products for the closet converted office project. This time, I think I'm gonna drag Dave to Ikea so he can see this glorious store in his own eyes! **Ikea has not paid me to be a spokesperson, I do that of my own free will** Here is what is on my shopping list: magazine files, cork-message board, boxes with lids, swivel chair, and some sort of drawer unit on casters.

      

As for the rest of the room, we wanted a space that we can use as a small workout area. The only way that I can stay in-shape and not become a fluffy wife is working out to my Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs. If you like to dance, it definitely for you! I have a spare TV and DVD player and will fit nicely on the bookshelf. Our love seat will provide a great area to read or just rest. Dave has a banjo that he has been wanting to learn how to play and this place would be great for him to practice.

Hopefully this office will be functional and peaceful. A good place to work on many projects from arts and crafts to learning the "art" of bluegrass. Maybe I should purchase some earplugs on my next trip to Lowe's so I'll be ready!

What a Load of Garbage

Staying with the trend of our kitchen updates, we needed to get some upgrades. After the under-mount sink was put in, we needed to replace the garbage disposal. It was loud and half the time it didn't work, granted we only used it just a few times. Most of all this thing was nasty, plus it hadn't been used in a while because David disconnected the old dishwasher back in November and its just been sitting there festering. Ew. David ended up going with the InSinkErator. Its the mid-grade of our choices of food/garbage disposal. Isn't it pretty, as David does his best Vanna White and/or Price Is Right girl. Wasn't sure what he was channeling.

Although it came with directions and David said it wasn't difficult to install. It did look quite complicated. You have all these pipes and things to connect to it. He said the hardest part was disconnecting the old one only due to the vile smell that was coming from it. He replaced all of the pipes under the sink and everything runs very smoothly. My only request was that he take a shower before doing anything else after that. Didn't have to tell him twice. I am pretty proud of my plumber, electrician, semi-carpenter, painter of a husband. Not to mention, that this is the most quiet food disposal I've ever heard! If you are looking for a new disposal, I definitely recommend this one.

Kitchen Reno: Chapter Four *Sneak Peak!

Good morning! Although I'm a little under the weather and I'm afraid its gonna turn into bronchitis, I'm very excited because our kitchen is slowly but surely coming together plus its getting a little warmer outside. Our carpenter came on Monday and installed new doors, drawers, and extra cabinets. We went ahead and had him put up crown-molding in the common areas of the house too. David and I have lots of painting to do now! The gas company came by as well to move our gas line for the new gas range which is still in its box since November! David is at the house this very second waiting on our granite countertops to be installed. We're just gonna have to ignore the floors for a bit unless we stumble into a pot of gold in the next day or so. Seen any leprechauns around? But it is gonna be nice to cook something and not have to put it back in its box. Can you imagine that we have gone without a dishwasher since October! Yup, our dishwasher has been in its box as well. I think we were starting to forget what our appliances looked like. Well, enough chit-chat. I know you want to see some pictures. REMEMBER-these cabinets haven't been painted and don't have the top molding on yet. Here's your sneak peak!

So theres the new layout. We have 23 doors (amount of knobs I'm gonna need to purchase) and 10 drawers (number of pulls I'll need). Below is a photo of the kitchen faucet that we went with, Moen. If you don't remember the kitchen we had before, let me refresh your memory! More updates will be coming soon!

Kitchen Reno: Chapter Three

So last time I believe filled you guys in about the kitchen was the destruction of wall in between the kitchen and the living room. David was able to finish the wall and put in a new door frame between the two rooms. I'm so lucky I married a 'handy' man, or a guy that isn't afraid to get his hands dirty! Take a look at my guy at work!

After that we removed all of the cabinet doors. We were thinking that we would just re-face the doors with some fresh paint and maybe a glaze but after much thought and consideration, we decided to scrap 'em. After all that sanding, I called Dykes Cabinets. Mr. Dykes is going to create a new kitchen for us! We'll be getting all new doors with interior hinges, more cabinets that will go on right side of the new gas range, plus he will be building a 'refrigerator wall/cabinet'. I'm not sure what you call the thing that wraps around your fridge and it has cabinets above it? What can I say, I'm a blonde. We also plan to add top molding to the existing cabinets and the new ones. Once its all said and done its gonna be great! But for now this is the kitchen, beware...hazardous viewing...

 

Since we have been waiting to get our kitchen cabinets, I've been able to really brainstorm on how I want the kitchen. As I said before the cabinet color will be Woodrow Wilson Linen by Valspar and the kitchen walls will be the Churchill Hotel Wheat, a light goldish-tan. The countertops will be a brown/tan granite from Marble and Granite Works in Opelika. They will install an under-mount sink too when they cut the granite. So in the mean time, I went window shopping. Here is what the granite will kind of look like, for the backsplash, I'm thinking a field tile like you see in the photo or maybe subway tile, we will just have to see once its all together.

Possible kitchen faucet, I think I'm leaning toward option #2:

 

Cabinet Hardware, rubbed bronze knobs and pull handles for the drawers:

  

Kitchen Lighting: I've already purchased a track light for the kitchen from Ikea. Its stainless and it will match the stainless appliances. I wanted to go with track lighting to obtain the best lighting for a narrow space and our ceilings are only 8 feet tall so I didn't want a pendant that might hang too low. I would like to add under-the-cabinet lighting, we'll see if Dave will let me have that! Cross your fingers! For the kitchen dining area, our friend Alex gave us a old pedestal table that he wasn't using. We sanded and painted it a slightly different cream color. Here is the pedestal table, I haven't put a top coat on it yet so it still might look a little rough. And the table will actually go in the kitchen area, not the den of course, if you can even call it a den yet!

Here is my shopping list for the eat-in kitchen: 4 chairs from Pottery Barn but I would like to some something with a pottery barn look but a flee market price. I'm not sure if I go with the woven wicker look or the modern metal look?

The lighting is a big issue! Does anyone watch ABC's Cougar Town? I like the show but I love, love, love the set design. If I find this light pendant that Jules (The cougar) has in her kitchen I am buying it! One problem, I can't seem to find it! Anywhere! A little help? If I can't find it, Pottery Barn never lets me down, that will be an option 2. But seriously, where might I find this amber light pendant?!