Sunday, May 1, 2011

House Update!

On the way home from the community pool today, Clementine and I stopped by House (as opposed to Home, in the Pie parlance) to visit Jim, and to see some work that is progressing. Thought I'd show you some more "Before & Durings." Some day there will be "Afters." Some day!


(vanity = repurposed antique sideboard from Cargo; drawers being sized down to accommodate plumbing)


More of the bathroom! Ah, I love this bathroom so much. It's still not done -- grout needs touching up (the blue tape indicates where) and shower glass and final plumbing stuff. And then, you know, mirrors and light fixtures and all that stuff. We got the old clawfoot re-enameled, and it is so beautiful!!! I am over the MOON to have a separate tub and shower. Go to hell, musty shower curtain! Never again!!!




Do you remember the "Before"? It's changed some, no?




You may notice it has grown a bit. Luckily, there was a big closet behind that wall, easy-peasy to swipe. Now Clementine's room has no closet, but we have future plans for that dilemma. Also, Tyler was able to raise the ceiling there, which realllly helps the room feel bigger:




Love the rustic terra cotta floor tiles:




And the one-inch hex for the shower (there will be a glass door and window here):




The tile guy said he'd never done a shower all in one-inch hex before, but he's really liking it and wants to take pictures for his book.


* * *


Around the rest of the house, things are getting there -- so close!!! Jim is doing all the painting now (it is a lengthy process, my poor baby, and it is not the kind of painting he should be doing! He should be painting pictures!!!) and after that he'll refinish all the floors, which he's done beautifully in our current house. Anyway, when we found the house -- marvelous, o marvelous 1885 home with so much potential -- there was pretty much not a surface that didn't need overhaul. 

I present the fireplace wall in the living room. No idea how knotty pine came to be combined with embossed wallpaper, but so it was. And the fireplace was super-blah.




We asked Tyler to come up with something elegant and simple to match the moldings, just a *bit* ornate. And we love what he did! (Behold, no more knotty pine!) Bricks will be painted white; inside will be painted black. (This is primed, but caulking/painting not yet.)




While we're in the living room, here are Jim and Clementine in the entrance corridor today:




Here's that same wall before:




(In this post I mentioned how Tyler tricked out that beam to make it more stately.) 



* * *

And lastly for today, a transformation that thrills me: the library! We are going to have a LIBRARY!! The house has a "parlor" type room beside the living room with a second fireplace. 
The instant we saw it we said "Library!" 

As was:




The cabinet maker has been Mr. Tardy-Pants. This was supposed to be done two months ago! Not sure what happened there, but he swears it will be done this week! And he is doing a gorgeous job.




Look, window seats!! 

With Jim in the picture for scale, you can see that the shelves are over 9 feet high! Glee glee glee!!!




Here's that same wall before. We took out that door, which went to a closet, and had the closet accessed from the stair hallway, which makes much more sense anyway for coats and stuff.

 


So there's some of the current state of the house. So so so excited as it begins to come together! I'm still not sure when we'll move in. A month and a half? Not sure! Oh, the nesting that is to come. It doesn't feel remotely real yet!


15 comments:

nikkebirde said...

I LOVE the vanity!!!! Such a great idea and SO beautiful!!

Msb said...

Keep taking pictures! You'll love looking at them after all is done. You might even find yourself framing a before and after shot for a wall in the house.

Jane said...

oh my it's a dream! The changes you've made are perfect.
Can we see floorplans? I love floorplans

Charlotte said...

oh my gosh that knotty pine fireplace wall is a painful sight. Your fireplace looks lovely, though, and not just by comparison.

And yay for second parlors that become libraries! Ours is getting its own shelves this summer....

bronwyn said...

A library! You are so lucky! The house looks beautiful.

Shveta Thakrar said...

I am soooo excited about your library! I can't wait to see the final product. :)

This is so wonderful, Laini, and I'm so glad it's (all the wonderful things in your life, I suppose!) happening for you.

~Michelle~ said...

It's looking so gorgeous! Do you need to do the kitchen too? Love it!

amy said...

Wonderful!! Thanks for sharing the progress!

Emilie said...

Loving the evolution of your bathroom! I need to work up the courage to show my husband the pics of the white hex tiles...I think they would be awesome in our guest bathroom around the tub! We have a fixer-house too, but we didn't have the time- or finance-luxury of doing lots of work before we moved in, so we're just taking it slow. Please keep us all up-to-date! So fun!

Melanie said...

Oh, the transformations are just beautiful, Laini... oh to have a library! I had grand plans for one once, but then we had children and had to use the room (as it was intended)as a bedroom :)
But I make do with 2 bookcases and 2 armchairs in my "reading nook-cum-mini library" in the downstairs living area...
Keep up the pictures, I love the inspiration.

tone almhjell said...

Oooh, it's coming together so beautifully! I love the window seat. My dream house absolutely needs to have one. Preferably in the library or turret or winter garden.

Jennifer Morian Frye said...

FINALLY got to come and catch up on your wonderful blog....I had to go back SO so far....I shan't let that happen again, no matter how busy I think I am. Thank you for such wonderfulness to distract myself with! Love the Baby Love post so very much, and totally understand it. My 'baby' will be twenty in July and a Mom herself in October.....her little brother is now 11 going on way-too-old. *sigh* All we can do is enjoy whatever we get with them. (you may have to buy fancy skyp-ing phones for those bedtime songs)

Enjoy the elephant, and the singing, and the stories. (My son and I still read at bedtime, the books have just gotten fatter.) :)

ann said...

wowowowow. Lots of wonderful progress. I'm always curious how people afford home renovations -- bank loans? money stashed away for this sort of thing? We're just now getting wooden floors on the first floor of our home, and there's goes the bit of budget we had for it. Wish we had the funds for our laundry list of reno ideas. Living vicariously...

Amber said...

Love all of it! A library, oh be still my heart. Very cool!

:)

Laini Taylor said...

Thanks, everyone! Can't wait to get moved in!!

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