27 February, 2011

Is There a Plumber in the House??

                                                  




I'll try just about anything when it comes to renovating, but I like to think I'm smart enough to know when to call in the Big Guns.
This is one of those times.
The old galvanized pipe supplying cold water to the kitchen sink broke.
I was screwing on a new shutoff valve, the old one wouldn't let the water through, when the threads just kept falling off.
Not Cool!
So now I have all the water turned off until the plumber fixes it.
I don't have a warm fuzzy about that bill.
So, in the meantime, I figured I'd continue painting and adding molding to the kitchen.
Here's where we started.


This is how it looks today.
Not finished, but definitely moving in the right direction.






Next will be the floor and hardware.
My first choice for flooring would be a grey and white diagonal checkerboard using VCT Tile.
They're pretty durable, I have them in my laundry room and studio.




Sadly, I think we'll go with a Porcelain or Ceramic tile that will hold up better over the long run.
Plus, Taylor wants to get a puppy once she gets a job, and the ceramic/porcelain will offer more in the way of camouflage for muddy paws!
ann marie

26 February, 2011

Estate Sale Finds



We went to 2 Estate sales this week.
One was in a home on 10 acres, and they had lots of stuff.
Of course, it was day 1 and I felt most things were way overpriced.
I did manage to score a few things that I loved.
One was a set of embroidered pillow cases.
White on white.





The other was a vintage game board in perfect condition.




The second estate sale was more of an indoor garage sale.
Not too much to offer.
But, when I went around the corner, I saw these little beauties and knew they would be right at home with Taylor.
Petite chairs for a petite girl in a petite house!





Please excuse my mess.
It seems I can't get things accomplished without making a mess.
The breakdown of what we spent?
Pillowcases-$4 each
Gameboard-$6
Mid-Century chairs-$3 each
ann marie

22 February, 2011

Cottage Kitchen in Shambles

So, last time Iposted about the bath in Taylor's cottage.
She chose the floor tile and the fabric.

I've since moved on to the kitchen.
Why am I jumping to another room re-do when I haven't finished all the little details of the bath?
There's a sound reason.
Our insurance company is sending someone out to appraise the house.
They need a $ amount to insure the property for replacement value.
They were kind enough to extend the visit a couple of weeks.
I really didn't want this to be what they would be shooting for as replacement cost...


I think the replacement value at this point would be somewhere around "crack house".
While it isn't finished, here are some kitchen update photos.
I'm going to go scrounge up some Naproxen.




How do you like that "custom" secret hiding place?


Remember Geometry?
It actually came in handy!
Today, I finished cutting all those small annoying pieces and then grouted.
Then I cut the marble tiles for the countertop and mortared them on.
The hard part was cutting 3/4" pieces for the back of the counter.
Marble is my favorite for a countertop, but it doesn't play well with the wet saw!
And then I started painting the cabinets.


There will be a range hood of some sort over the stove, at least that's plan A.



Not too shabby for a couple of days work.
The kitchen definitely feels bigger and brighter.
Tomorrow I think I'll paint the rest of the cabinets,
add molding,
and maybe start thinking about what I want to use for the floor.
And I'll hook up the sink.
You've got to love old houses.
ann marie



15 February, 2011

Color in the Bath.

Remember this?
I've made a little more progress in the bath.
All the baseboard has been cut, now I just have to attach it.
A telescoping(?)  mirror has been added.
The mirror hasn't been installed over the sink because it's not here.
This will eventually be installed.
It's at school with Taylor.

So here's where we're at right now.

I still have to add quarter round along the base.
And I need chair rail too.
Another trip to Lowe's.
Tomorrow.

ann marie

13 February, 2011

To Paint or Not To Paint?

I've been looking for a chandelier for the Cottage dining room.
And my self imposed budget is pretty small.
I like the challenge of finding something I like or can tweak for a nice price.
Maybe that's why I love Goodwill!?
This is what I found this week.


It came with the funky little shades.
I think it'll look a whole lot better without them,
a little more contemporary.
It's heavy, a silvery light brass metal.


There's no plastic.
It's traditional and modern.
It was only $29.95.


So, the dilemna is, do I keep it as is?
Or do I paint it.
Maybe something along these lines?


I found these on

One more decision to make.

ann marie



Bath Progress

Progress has been somewhat slow, but I am getting some things accomplished.


There was an "Oops" moment.
As I was ripping the floor up, I also ripped out the toilet flange.
You know, the thing that the toilet attaches to so you don't tip over...



After trip #3 in the same day to Lowe's, I fixed my little demolition mishap.


It was really cold out, so I improvised.
This actually worked really well.
This tile went down easily and it has the vintage look I wanted for a very reasonable cost.
I used gray grout to accentuate the tile pattern.


This was a pretty quick project.


We changed out the toilet.


We put in a larger vanity.
This will be skirted soon.
After several more trips to Lowe's,
the toilet was working, the sink had running water and the tub spout was re-attached.
I decided to bring in a little contrast to all that white.
I painted the top of the wall gray, and I'll install a chair rail, hopefully this week.


I'll probably install the new baseboard at the same time.
We're getting there.

ann marie






04 February, 2011

Snow Removal-Texas Style!

John Deere to the rescue!
There was speculation that he may be spreading deer feed for traction.
Who knows.


We woke up to this.


A dusting of snow.
That fell over freezing drizzle.
That has brought San Antonio to a complete standstill.
Most major highways are closed.
Schools and Colleges closed.
No garbage pickup.



We went for a walk to see the neighborhood.
Someone beat us to it.


The roads were pretty much solid ice under all that pretty white stuff.
Marc bit it only once, sorry Taylor, I didn't get a picture of the tread marks!
It's hard to believe we were at 80 degrees this past weekend.
Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment.



Car. Stuck.



Here's Taylor's cottage.




I'm going out to enjoy the snow.
It won't be around very long, and we've been here 20 years and we have never seen this.
ann marie




03 February, 2011

Cottage Bath Update

Well, I'm back from Boston.
The two weeks I spent with the new granddaughter flew by!!
So now I'm digging in on the Cottage Project.
Here's what we started with.

It wasn't horrible, but there was a whole lot of room for improvement.
We're doing this whole house on a small budget.
I like that challenge.
So, while we had rolling blackouts yesterday, this is what I accomplished.

It all started with a trip to Lowe's.


I replaced some damaged sheetrock.
I also didn't see any insect damage.  That alone made my day.


Backerboard went up next.
This is a wonderful, large, old cast iron tub.
We love it!


After an hour and a half, this is what it looked like.


I didn't have my tile saw with me, so I'll be cutting and filling in next time I work on the bath.
This light fixture


was replaced with this.



Next bath project, once I've finished the tub surround, is the floor.



This is so much fun!
ann marie