Home Improvement Projects (Part 1)

We have been in our new home for a month excluding a week of travel and have dozens of do-it-yourself home improvement projects underway.  It's so chaotic here, I turned down a part-time job opportunity with the hope that another one will present itself as soon as these projects are completed.  And of course, we still have a huge punch list from our 21-day walk-through requiring someone here almost daily to oversee various contractors coming and going.   While building a house is stressful, and opting to do many of the upgrades ourselves has been time consuming, I would do it all over again.  This home is my fourth.  The first two were new construction.  The third was about five years old when we bought it, and after that experience, I hope we never have to buy a preowned home again.

Our new digs

I cannot take credit for most of the improvements.   I may have found or invented some of the ideas (which stressed this left-brained girl out!) and procured the materials, but my husband has done all the hard work with the help of his amazingly talented brother who flew in last week to help and instruct for a few days.  My husband works an incredibly demanding job with a long commute while being extremely devoted to family and church service, so how he finds the time or energy is beyond me.  When I say I married up, I mean that in so many different ways.

Window Coverings
We finally replaced our initial mosaic newspaper and paper towel window coverings with blinds.

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After

Family Room After

That process was much more complicated than we expected it to be.  We moved in right before Christmas, so none of the window coverings consultants could meet with us until after Christmas, and even the lady at Lowe's would not return our calls as promised. We scheduled appointments weeks later but eventually decided we could not wait that long for blinds in the bedrooms. So we measured, had them cut to size, and my husband installed them all over except downstairs where we had hoped to install plantation shutters.

Finally, two consultants arrived at the same time (oops!) to consult on the shutters.  Both agreed our windows did not work well for plantation shutters at all which ended up saving us lots of money.  We paid to have one consultant measure, but he never turned in our measurements so once again, we took our own measurements, and my husband installed them.  We did opt for the nicer, wider slat blinds since plantation shutters were not an option.

I was most concerned over what to do about the french doors.  We had custom 2.5" blinds on our french doors in our last house per the consultant's recommendation. They were affixed at top and bottom, but they would bang and rattle every time the door was moved, and since they were cordless without any holes, the slats would fall out needing constant replacement.

What we discovered for the french doors after many hours of hunting were micro mini blinds which look like they are built inside the door. Finding the right size was a trial, but these were worth every bit of effort and every penny of their expensive price.  They open and close or raise up and down with the simple flip of a lever.  They are miraculously easy to use, perfectly quiet, and cannot fall out.

As for the window curtains and rods, my home improvement ledger over the past month mostly consists of a series window curtains and rod purchases and returns, purchases, and returns, repeat x 10. Finding curtains to match in all lighting was impossible.

Gun Rack
Before all the window treatments were installed, we had another "priority" project to finish.  My son needed a gun rack for all his Nerf weaponry.  He picked out the orange color while I lamented that blue or black would have matched his room so much better (his room is now painted blue), but orange is a primary Nerf color.  He worked with his father to complete this little project and earned a Y Guides feather in the process.

 

Study Nook
The study nook is still in process.  We need to install blinds and shelving there and replace the desk, but here is the progression for the reading/study area up until now.

Girl's Area
We let our daughter design her own bedroom and bathroom.  I wasn't so sure about her selections since they were so different from what I would have chosen, but I wanted her space to be her own with her own unique style.  And her bathroom choices worked well with the cabinets and tile we had already chosen.  Bathroom accessories we already had from the other house worked fine, and all I had to do was repaint a framed picture we already had of a girl who reminds me of our own daughter looking at a cat with coordinating animal skin pelts on the floor.

 
Her bedroom selections were even wilder.  She stuck with the animal print but requested every color of the rainbow.  The following photos show the result.  My husband and his brother added the trim molding and turquoise paint last weekend per my request.  They are so awesome!   I'm not fond of the way she displayed all her pictures and accessory pieces I gave her, and I have some serious decluttering and reorganizing to do (yet again as it never stays like I had it, so I guess I should give up), but the pics show her wild style at any rate.  My right brained child is so colorful in personality and passion, so this room suits her well.

Master Bedroom
The ceiling project in the master bedroom has been both fun and frustrating.  Unfortunately, I selected the paint color based on the bedspread which can look blue or green depending upon the light and accent pieces around it.  I selected the paint months before we bought the curtains, so the ceiling is now too blue and will need to be repainted.  We will also paint the walls in the same color as the ceiling, replace the chair and ottoman, install the ceiling fan which has been collecting dust (along with 9 others that need to be installed in other rooms...bless my poor husband with that long to-do list), and hang up pictures and paintings especially chosen for this room, but here is the ceiling as of today.  Stay tuned for updates.

Kids' Bonus Room Project
The number of toys and junk our kids possess which we paid to store for six months is shameful, sinful, and insane.  I'm kicking myself for not trashing most of it before the first move.  Our time was short to get out of the house, but we had five years of trying to sell the house (but not thinking it ever would sell) to purge.  And I did purge, but the rate of stuff creep is simply overwhelming.

So, whatever toys they would not donate or trash or could not fit into their rooms had to be stored in the bonus room.  We bought them boxes of shelving supplies, and they assembled them all by themselves.  No nails, screws or tools were required.  We eventually got all their stuff into the shelves. I wish the shelves weren't so open (and thereby such an eyesore), but they were affordable and fast, and now we can actually walk around our bonus room without tripping over boxes.  Loose Legos will always be a hazard, however, so walk with care in our house.

We now have crazy black speakers hanging from our ceiling in our bonus room.  It looks quite odd, but the surround sound it produces is amazing.  So I ask you to forgive the odd ceiling decor until you have experienced my husband's multimedia area to its fullest.  I'll post more pics when the room is more complete.

Kitchen and Butler's Pantry

The biggest and most stressful projects thus far have been the built-in bookcases around the fireplace which are still far from done and will have to be posted about later and the backsplash for the kitchen and butler's pantry.  We initially selected backsplash for the builder's subcontractors to install.  However, I did not have peace about our selection (white subway with pebble style Listello Gelido insets in black, gray, and white) and had hoped we could do it ourselves more cost effectively.  What a nightmare.  We visited countless tile stores on-line and by foot.  We ordered numerous samples and made multiple trips to the house during its construction in different lighting to make our selections.  After hearing horror stories from others even after finding a wet saw we could borrow for free, we gave up the idea of doing it ourselves and contracted out.   This decision was by far the wiser for many problems were encountered during installation which would have freaked me out had I been doing it myself.

Here are some of our initial ideas for the backsplash.

My favorite selection was Helsinki marble, but it was $55 a square foot for materials only, so we finally ended up going with something similar but cheaper, Carrera marble.  We love the accent strips but did not want anything to take away from our white glacier gloss granite, which was our biggest upgrade and prettiest feature in the kitchen. So we settled for a molding piece also made out of Carrera marble to provide an extra accent at the base of the backsplash without being too distracting.

Installation was more complicated because our builder had four inch granite backsplash installed a day or two before closing even though I had asked him not to.  The tile guys had to remove that backsplash first which left sidewalls in need of repair.  When they removed the backsplash in the butler's pantry, they found a 5/8" to 3/4" gap between the granite edge and the wall, so we had to call in granite repair guys to patch that gap.  We're still trying to decide if we should keep the granite side splash in the butler's pantry to cover all that patching and wall damage.  But I'm still very pleased with the result, and even though we didn't save any money verses having the builder contract out the backsplash, we got much nicer materials, a softer look, and backsplash in the butler's pantry as well whereas the builder's price only included the kitchen.

Before

After

Other completed kitchen DIY improvements include replacing the drawer pulls with something nicer I bought in bulk online (saving about $700 vs. builder pricing) and under-cabinet lighting (our little LED lights saved $1000 vs. builder's hard-wired strips). We also added six leather nail head bar stools which my husband painstakingly assembled himself following a few product returns.  (Procuring items for this new house involved returning a marble table, 3 chairs, a bar stool, and a curtain rod due to defects or shipment error.  Murphy (as in  Murphy's Law) follows me everywhere I go, but I also shop for deals and deals often include hassles.

Some day we will update the island with wainscoting or stone, and we're searching for a copper sconce to hang between those two contemporary pieces on that back wall.

Now we have a new problem in the kitchen.  The range that the builder installed leaks gas.  I called the gas company.  They detected the leak and turned it off for safety reasons.  A week later (no cooking during that time), Whirlpool sent a repairman to replace the regulator, but I still smelled gas.  So I called the gas company again, and they turned it off again for another week while I waited for another repairman who insisted it wasn't leaking gas.  This ordeal continued until Whirlpool instructed me to turn it off, disconnect the gas, and buy a new one.  They are supposed to come buy it back, so it sits in our garage while I wait for the check.  I bought another range/oven which was supposed to be the same size although it was a different brand and much nicer than what the builder had provided.  However, it does not fit, so now we are waiting for the granite company to return AGAIN (this would be at least the 4th time that we know of thus far). I'm hoping they can move the granite counter over 1/8" to make room for the range. Of course, grout and caulk are connecting the counter to the cabinet and the counter to the backsplash so who knows if that is even possible.  Such are the ordeals that seem to always find me.   So imagine this kitchen with a nicer range with five burners, more stainless steel surface area, and sturdier knobs.

Dining Room
The dining room has been a fun, whimsical project for us.  It was so plain initially without any trim compared to at least half a wall of fancy molding in our starter home.  So, I first went looking for a new chandelier to replace the builder's standard.  I found a nice, five-light crystal fixture which would be plenty big enough for that small room, but my husband was of the "go big or go home" camp, so we got a behemoth.  He probably regretted that recommendation when the box arrived without a single piece assembled.  I told him to pretend it was a glass Lego kit. So he donned the white gloves that came with it and spent two hours assembling 700 glass beads and approximately 125 major parts using very crude directions.  What kind of awesome is he!

A light fixture that size needs a medallion, so I shopped, and he installed.  Then when his brother came, they installed the vertical trim I had requested and painted an accent wall and the ceiling blue.  His brother hung the mirror and now I have two crystal sconces being shipped here now for each side.  To be such a form over function, tomboy kind of girl, I sure got fancy with this room.  We also ordered a canvas triptych using a photo we took in Ireland (we were on a flight to Ireland when our house finally went under contract after over five years of trying to sell it which kicked off this new home construction) to add some color to that bare side wall to the left.  A valence and table/server decor will be added soon thanks to some shopping and sewing assistance from my dear mother and her sister who are gifted designer wannabes.

Update: Mom came and added some pretty items to our table and server.  She's still shopping for some chunky blue candles, curtains, and more pieces for the floral arrangement.  And the triptych should be here soon for the bare wall.

Fitness Room
While house hunting on-line this past summer, I can across this MLS photo of a home gym.

I thought it looked cool, and we had most of the equipment for a basement workout room like this one.  However, we never bought this house or a basement, so we decided to convert the back office of the home we did build into a workout room.  It's small, so we have to use a smaller universal weights system, and the punching bag is still in the garage (after we spent over $100 trying to rig a device to hang it in our old house only to have it fall down again before I ever got to use it).  But my husband wanted that stone and mirror look in our fitness room, so he labored over four days to construct something similar while our bunny supervised.  The fitness room is Bun-Bun's favorite playground after all.  He does his best aerial stunts in this room.

My husband is probably wishing we had put the fitness room in a basement with shorter ceilings, because that top portion was a bear to install. I love it, and I love my man for wanting to make my favorite room in the house so awesome.  This wall gave me a name and a tag line or vision statement for the home gym and my future personal training business. Solid Rock Training:  Forging physical, mental and spiritual fitness for, by, and through Christ, the solid rock upon which we stand. (Matthew 7:24-25)  Getting certified as a personal trainer has been on my bucket list for 20 years.  Now that I have the gym, the name, and the vision, I guess it's time to start working toward certification. Perhaps my passion can become my profession, but regardless I pray this gym will be a blessing to others and not just my own private retreat.