Out of the closet

Of all the rooms that this project entails, finishing the closet would make the biggest change, at least at first. Right now, our clothes are scattered in mounds downstairs. Deciphering the difference between clean and not-so-clean clothes can be risky. So, we are happy that the big closet is almost finished. Just some paint, brackets and hangers and closet Nirvana is ours.

Paint on the walls

You know, if I don't touch another paint brush for awhile....

Trying to save money on the project, we decided to tackle the interior painting ourselves. Well, it turned out to be a bigger job than anticipated. It's crazy how much paint and primer can be used. Oh, and it can be pricey, too. I made a mistake to begin with. I painted all the walls BEFORE painting the ceilings white. So, I had to go back and re-edge the rooms AFTER I had finished the ceilings. Oh well. The rooms turned out pretty nice. These three pictures show the mudroom, kitchen and study. The doors will be painted red.

Wild deer chase

I was driving up the street to the house the other day, when I was surprised to see a deer standing in the middle of our yard. The animal was exhausted, tongue hanging out and drooling. Obviously, it had been dashing around trying to find a way out of the neighborhood. I'm guessing it must have traveled along the railroad tracks where there is a green belt. Anyhow, I parked the car and ran in the house to grab my camera. By the time I got back outside the deer was loping through the neighbor's frontyards. Hopefully it found its way to safety.

The painted house

Finally finished. The paint crew worked about three weeks on the exterior of the house. Of course, lots of prep work and the weather was crummy for a few days, but still, the final product is a dramatically changed house. The new addition was sprayed the dark green color and then the cream color was added to the trim and details. The reverse happened on the existing house, cream and then green for the details. I spent a few days following behind the painters touching up the brick. Years ago, a sloppy group of chimpanzees must have painted our house. White paint was dripped and splashed onto the original brick. I tried all kinds of stuff, short of sandblasting to remove the paint. Nothing worked. So, I took a couple bricks into the paint store, we matched the colors and off I went. I actually enjoyed the work. It was sorta like fine painting, using artist brushes to blend the paint to the brick.Here are three shots of the fresh exterior.

Photo 1: This is the new look of the front of our 1918 American Foursquare house.

Photos 2 and 3: The new addition exhibits the most dramatic color change. The lower deck is ready to go, minus the railings.

Don't fall off

The first of five sections of balcony deck railing is in place. I am making these sections to match the existing fence surrounding the yard. A difference is that these pieces are painted black. I have the other sections fabricated. I just need to paint 'em and install them. Look for the finished upper deck photos soon.