As the kitchen continues...

Terriffic Travertine Tile Takes Time!

ohhhh I am such the alliteration queen today!

Getting ready to head to VA beach so I will post this quickly- wanted to send updated photos of my Dad's hard work- he has painstakingly by hand created me a travertine tile backsplash in the kitchen! It was a merry go round of choices, travertine, granite, tin... but finally the travertine won my heart. I may have mentioned how it would look great in a diamond pattern and my Dad hearing my wishes went the extra many miles to make it work.
No finished photos yet, but a few to get you salivating for the end result!

Also-- these photos were taken with a new nikon dslr but I fear with the quality of the blog the better photo quality will not shine through!




















I also took a few new shots of the house today from the road ! If you didn't know you can click on the photos to make them larger for your viewing purposes!

*drum roll* the last window!

The last original window was replaced today by my Dad. It's great and I suppose I shouldn't complain as I got a whole house of new windows for $87.00! (This kitchen window was the only one I had to purchase).

The countertops are in and look wonderful, what a difference from the old to the new fresh and clean look! All of the flooring is complete, you can look up the color -it is Pergo Sunlight Beech that I got on discount at Ollies! I am considering carrying this color floor into the dining room- the last room to be remodeled as it is housing the "satellite Home Depot/Lowes". I even managed to get a white Kohler cast iron sink which Steven and Dad installed while I was comfortably at work!

Next undertaking will be a back splash of some sort, am toying with either the pseudo tin look, granite tiles or small 1.5x1.5 travertine tiles. The only downside is the drywall has to be removed and backerboard needs to be put up in order to fit the backsplash properly with the countertops.

There are of course lots of mini details left in the kitchen- new baseboard, window trim, outlets and chair rail, not to mention trimming the doors, but when you started with the ugliest kitchen ever you can really appreciate the newer look. My Dad keeps saying I need a "wow factor" in the kitchen since I'm remodeling, I guess I never thought of it as these crazy remodels some people do, I simply wanted to bring the house up to current living standards, or what I view them as! I was interested in having frosted glass doors or ribbed glass doors made for the pantry area but the estimated cost of that would be about 600$ and it wasn't even the glass look that I wanted...So as I think about the wow factor and how to incorporate this I will share some photos.

And as for words of wisdom, when all else fails rip it all out and use plumbers putty.

Updating The Kitchen...

Trials and tribulations!

Maybe I'll add more explanations and fabulous stories later but as of right now it is all I can do to get some photos up of "how I'm living" right now! For those of you who haven't had the pure joy of visiting, the appliances usually are not in the middle of the kitchen. On a positive note I'm getting out of dishes and major cooking ( I mean really how much can you cook in a microwave and not dirty a bunch of dishes).

Here's steven attempting to tear up the old floor after I tried to help and couldn't even budge it!




All of this fun happened on my Dad's 59th birthday weekend ! So in the middle of this we changed our clothes to celebrate with dinner/cake and presents!

The Granite Arrives!

...and Dad to install it !

Thanks to my delightful neighbors who helped me score a discounted price of granite for the main bathroom, the bathroom remodel is coming to a close! The granite was an absolute steal at $114, I had been quoted anywhere from $400-700 for this piece which I was not about to pay! Since it was a remnant there wasn't enough to make back splash so Dad and I created a travertine tile back splash that I really like and hope to do something similar to this in the kitchen when the time comes!

Picking out the faucets and installing them wasn't the "easy finish in ten minutes" as advertised but now that it is all installed it doesn't seem like it was such a bad job at all. I even picked out a semi-modern light that I liked. The bathroom came out a bit more modern, or do I say contemporary?, than I had imagined but all in all I can't stop walking past it to look in- quite the transformation from run down foreclosure to updated beauty!

The main bathroom lives...

The main bathroom project continues and is moving so quickly it is thrilling! After work tonight I ran by Sams Club and got another water sipping toilet that my Dad installed after he finished up the flooring today. It looks much improved and I think even a bit bigger with the way the wood runs for the floor. My Dad is on a great streak right now getting projects out of the way, it is wonderful to have him back! I'll attach an updated photo, keep in mind I need to do some paint touchups, the trim work needs completed, light fixture replaced and of course a brilliant looking vanity top. Above you see the before photo and the current photo!

Just a little weekend fun in the bathroom!

"Jess get me a bucket of water in case something catches on fire"

The brilliant words of my father as we are on idea #2 for how to remove the old vinyl flooring in the main bathroom. My Dad challenged me to remove the toilet and the flooring while he was gone today and although I did enlist some back-up (Steven) it was completed, minus the really tough parts of the floor. The great news is the sub-floor doesn't have to be replaced, the bad news is we spent all evening trying to remove the old flooring.


Yes, that's me chiseling away...eventually my Dad would take over as he claimed I was making this more of a project than it need be- three minutes after he got down working with it he also claimed it was a horrible mess, and I shall let the photos below explain what ensued.
Photo # 1 is Dad attempting to chisel, the floor is still dry and fairly clean considering everything. Now you see him using his torch to attempt to heat up the floor and release the bond of the glue, yes we are getting craftier in what I imagined as a fairly straight forward project. The "do it yourself network" doesn't have an inch on us!


Then he attempts to cut the top layer of vinyl off, similar to removing wallpaper using the circular saw. Thank goodness for ryobi. No


Now you see me back again working on the flooring, we've gone to using warm soapy water, the floor is a horrible brown color as it is wet and smells! I can not wait for the new floor to be finished. As I go to bed tonight I've closed the door and await a new tomorrow of renewed energy!

Just for fun, I've painted some stripes in my bedroom as an accent wall, and although I've heard rumor they're not straight I just keep saying it is an optical illusion! I taped them by myself, what can I say!

Some of you know I'm dog sitting K this week, she really likes to pitch in around the house, here she is helping my brother John start the pump to empty the pool!



Last but definitely not least I have managed to find 2inch curtain rods for the living and dining room windows on deep clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond. The rod set up alone would be nearly 200$ and I paid just a fraction of that!