Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

Do you see her on the porch waiting for trick-or-treaters?

Front Porch Refresh

We had warm weather last weekend, our last chance to repaint the front porch.  We only very recently learned that exterior paint requires temperatures of at least 50 degrees for  24 hours.  We had to repaint the porch before winter - it was in really sorry shape.  The paint was peeling in dozens of places, there was tons of mildew, and overall it looked really shabby.

First we sanded everything - the posts, railings, front and stairs.  Then we washed it all with a dish soap/water/bleach solution to remove dirt and mildew and let it dry overnight.  In the morning we primed everything with latex exterior primer and then painted the posts, railings and front part white.  It took forever - all those detailed posts took hours.  Right before it got dark on Sunday night we put leftover gray porch and floor paint on the stairs - the easiest part of the job.  (Don't mind the leaves and rain puddles on the stairs, it really does look nice in person.)

The porch looks so much better already with the fresh paint.  We still need to sand and seal the mahogany flooring as well before winter.  Someday we want to spruce up the porch even more - change out the ugly exposed bulb to a nice light fixture, add a lantern sconce above our house number and paint the front door.  But this is good enough for now - we have a million other projects to do before it gets too cold out.

Radiator Cover Two and Three Done: In the Living Room

Mike finished radiator cover numbers two and three for the living room!  They look so nice in a space that is still so messy and chaotic. I love it that the radiators have now become a usable surface in the room.  I'm not sure yet if they might be too hot to use as a shelf in the winter, but they can most certainly accommodate a cup of tea when I'm sitting in a nearby chair.

The cover by the stairs was super tricky because the radiator is pressed up against the stairs.  In order to fit the cover, Mike had to create a custom cutout to accommodate the shape of the stair.  It's quite impressive, just as impressive as the custom cuts off the back of all the covers to accommodate the baseboard trim and the window casings (I just realized that  you can't see them in the pictures because there's stuff in the way - sorry).  Georgia puts her paws up on this radiator to see out the window - I'm really glad it's now covered so she can bark at the morning school buses safely!

New Backyard Privacy Fence

Please excuse the blurry shot through the dirty window, it was raining outside!

The neighbor's new fence is in!  No more staring at piles and piles of kiddie toys.  Just lovely wood fencing.

Our backyard is now about 2/3 privacy fence. We won't be getting rid of the rest of our chain link anytime soon (it does have its benefits), but we do like the privacy wood provides - especially if we don't have to pay for it!

Our First Radiator Cover Done: The Master Bedroom

So here it is, our first radiator cover finished.  It's so beautiful - Mike did an amazing job.  They look professional in my opinion.  We painted it white - the same white as all the trim in our house.

It's such a relief to no longer worry/wonder if the heat is on when I get up in the morning (will I burn my legs if I'm not careful?!).  Plus it looks SO MUCH nicer than the chipping old radiator.  And there's a shelf!  For stuff!  (Though we coated the top lid with wipe-on poly for added protection - so we have to let that cure before I can put anything on it).

The radiator is not centered under the window, therefore the radiator cover is not centered.  Yes, we could have created an extra-wide box to compensate, but our bedroom is so small we didn't want to waste any space unnecessarily.  I still need to be able to open my dresser and all that good stuff.  Hopefully once I hang some curtains up (one of these days) I can camouflage it a little bit.

Last Minute Backyard Fence Removal

On Saturday we dug up an entire length of fence in our backyard.  Sixteen posts in total.  Our next door neighbors are getting a privacy fence on Tuesday around their backyard.  It was last minute notice from the fence company.  Plans were canceled.  It was a big rush, but we got it done.

We had to remove our fence because ours was 6" into our property and their fence will be 6" into their property - there would be a inaccessible foot of space between our two fences filled with weeds we would have to look at.  And depending on where their post holes are and how much cement they use, digging up our fence later could be difficult.  So our neighbors dug up their fence and we dug up our fence and tomorrow we will get to enjoy the nice side of the wood fence and the privacy it will provide.

Radiator Covers

The master bedroom radiator cover in progress.  Please note the screens are just stuck on for effect

Our next big project involves every room in the house: radiator covers.  While we were lucky enough to buy a house with a new furnace/boiler, our 1920s colonial has steam heat through the original radiators in every room.   These radiators get boiling hot when the heat comes on.  All our neighbors' houses have covers.  Apparently the ones from the previous owner were thrown out.  Georgia's already singed her paws and I am extremely clumsy, frequently injured and a prime candidate for a burn.

We meant to start this project much sooner, but 1) the kitchen took longer and 2) we are easily distracted by other projects.  We have 11 radiators in the house, 4 of them prominently placed enough to cause problems. These are the ones we are tackling first, starting with the one in our master bedroom.

We found a great tutorial on ThisOldHouse.com complete with video, shopping list for supplies, and step by step instructions.  Luckily this is a fairly easy project and we have all the necessary tools, it's just time consuming.  The experts said each one will take about 6 hours - which for us means that the first one will take 10-12 hours, the second one 8-10, and so on until we get it down to 6 hours each with practice!

The construction itself is pretty simple, and luckily we are well versed now in the art of jigsaw cutting.  The cover itself is basically 3 pieces of MDF pieced together to form the sides, with holes cut out for the screen to let the heat through.  The top is another piece of MDF that comes off for radiator maintenance, and in the back we insert a piece of sheet metal to reflect heat back into the room instead of heating the balloon frame behind the wall.

Around here there's going to be a lot of radiator coverage until we're finished.  We are pretty much building a custom piece for every room in our house (and 2 for the living room), so it's going to be a radiator-centric for a while.

The Heat is On

We planned on not turning on the heat until we had completed a few radiator covers, but we've been busy with other things and the weather had other ideas.  It's been really cold in the morning lately.  Friday night we decided it was time to finally turn on the heat.  Step 1) Clear the space around each radiator because they get hot.  Step 2) Flush the sediment out of the boiler... then flush more sediment out of the boiler... then flush more sediment out of the boiler... over and over until the water runs clear four hours later.  Our furnace may be only a year old, but I don't think anyone flushed the system at all last winter.  Yuck.

So then we started again (on a very chilly) Saturday.  Step 3 should have been "turn on the heat," but Mike upgraded to a digital thermostat so we can set back the heat automatically and be a little greener.  This didn't go quite as smoothly as we hoped thanks to some ancient wiring upstairs, a mislabeled oil burner switch that actually controls the electrical of the gas furnace (and for that matter who puts up TWO furnace shut off switches?!) and some more mismatched basement wires.  But eventually (with a little help) we got things up and running. Our house is officially cozy and warm.

These old radiators get hot when the heat is on - dangerously burning hot.  It's more important than ever that we make some progress with our radiator cover project because every time the steam travels through the radiators it makes noise - and Georgia attacks them thinking there's a ghost or small animal inside.  All through the house - barking, running around wildly, growling and even jumping on the radiator and singing her paws.  This is especially fun at 2, 4 and 6am. Over and over.  At some point she'll get used to it, we just haven't gotten there yet.

Hello Halloween

We put up a couple of Halloween decorations on the front porch. My mom lent me a few things including these awesome bats. Some of the houses on our street have gone all out (i.e. the house across the street), but at least we're in the Halloween spirit!

The Tomato Plant

Whatever happened to the tomato plant that was growing out of the side of the house?
Funny you should ask.  We left it alone to grow... and it got big! It even grew 2 little tomatoes on it.

The Kitchen: Before & After

I can't resist a side by side comparison.  The kitchen has come such a long way since we moved in.  Originally it was greasy and dirty, with dark outdated cabinets that were showing their age.  There were layers and layers of wallpaper with crumbling plaster underneath.  The sink was too shallow and the faucet too low for washing dishes.  The countertops were dingy and damaged.

Now the kitchen is light, bright and warm.  The cabinets are clean and most of the dings are hidden under the paint.  The countertops are warm and inviting.  The white appliances blend into the space, making it feel bigger.

Kitchen: The Big Reveal

We are finished!   Over the weekend we completed our final details - adding crown molding, sealing the grout, retouching my paint job, putting up curtains and unpacking boxes.  It feels amazing to finally have a working kitchen again after more than a full month of being kitchen-less.  The hardest part of all of this was not having a working kitchen for a month.  Making coffee on the radiator in the dining room, cutting up fruit on the coffee table, doing dishes in the basement, eating so much frozen veggie lasagna (I made it ahead of time) that I might never want it again...

In the end it was so worth it.  We love our new kitchen, down to the last new detail.  The warmth of the butcher block against the creamy white cabinets with the satin nickle hardware.  The white tile backsplash and the stainless sink and tall faucet.  Everything feels so fresh and clean.  I love how my fun kitchen accessories pop against all the neutrals.

Here's a little reminder of what it was before (stay tuned tomorrow for a full before and after):

And here's what it looks like now:

Paint

We chose Edgecomb Gray for the wall paint.  It's very neutral, maybe even a little boring, but we decided that we wanted the fun kitchen accessories to stand out.  Paint is easy to change later if I get bored, and I have some bold plans for our half bath downstairs that will work better with neutrals in here.

We're really close to being done with the kitchen at this point, just a few more minor projects to finish up this weekend (trim, grout sealing, etc.) so check us out on Monday for the big reveal. We're really excited!

New Kitchen Sconce

We picked out a nice wall sconce from the folks at CSN I told you about.   It took me forever to decide what I wanted, the options were practically unlimited because they sell pretty much everything.  But in the end we were currently shopping for a new kitchen sconce so that made the most sense.  The old light fixture wasn't our style and it wasn't very functional, we needed something pointing downwards to illuminate our work area.

The sconce we chose looks really similar to ones I was admiring at Pottery Barn, without the ridiculous price tag.  It has a clean modern feel but is classic enough to blend into our old historical home.  I love the way it looks in our kitchen. 

Technically right now the light doesn't turn on yet.  It needs a switch.  The spot where I want the switch  is currently home to the switch controlling the spotlight outside to the backyard.  This location makes no sense since its not by any door.  Mike is going to move this switch elsewhere and wire the new light here, but that's a big project for another day.

Primed and Ready

We seriously spent a good week plastering those walls.  It takes forever because you can only do a little bit at a time.  You have to let it dry, come back, sand it down and add more.  Over and over again.  It took forever to do the upstairs bathroom and it took forever to do the kitchen.  But now we're finished plastering and I primed the walls!  Everything looks so bright and white now (and a little splotchy but whatever it's primer).

It's a totally blank canvas, ready for paint.  Choosing the color has been impossible.  Seriously my mind keeps changing every day.  I thought once the cabinets were white and the walls primed I would have a better idea, but this room could be so many different colors from my swatches!  A neutral light gray, a dramatic dark gray, a soothing sage green, a soft retro blue, a sunny yellow... so many options!

Fresh New Landscaping: Back Yard & Side

During our landscaping revelry in the front yard, we actually put some effort into our back and side yard as well.  Of course while buying shrubs for the front, mums weren't my only impulse buy.  I have a soft-spot for flowers and also walked away with a small knock out rose bush - perfect for our super sunny backyard.

This rose bush actually had blooms on it, but they got knocked off before planting.

And I couldn't resist this dusty pink anemone.  It's a perennial (which means it comes back every year) that blooms in the fall (who doesn't want 3 seasons of flowers in their yard?!) and the blooms/buds sort of look like an under sea plant or an alien or something.  Double awesome.

We also added some plants to the side yard by our new fence.  My mom was given an abundance of transplanted hostas, several of which were passed onto me.  These plants require partial shade so they were placed on the shady (front) side of the fence and a couple more in the corner of the front yard.  The rest of the astilbe we broke up also went over here on the side.  Right now there's not much to look at,  it looks like a bunch of chopped off plants in the dirt - but in the spring it will be quite lovely...  I hope.

Far Hills Rummage Sale Success

Every time I go to the Far Hills Rummage sale, I find something that was totally worth the trip.  Last year it was a lovely little $8 side table in a love dark mahogany finish.  This year it was a mix of fun random things:

A $6 yellow and gray stripe silk pillow with a down insert that totally matches our bedroom bedspread, and a $3 fall berry wreath for my front door (don't mock the wreath, I'm excited about being a homeowner... let me be festive with a cheery front door).

A set of matching ceramic pots for the front porch that will look cohesive and stylish with flowers in the spring ($16 for 4).

Dollar Books.  A whole lot of new books to read!  And a $6 white medicine cabinet for our half bath downstairs.  We're having trouble salvaging the original upstairs one so this should help.  I also got a $4 wooden magazine rack for my reading nook.  It's black, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

My shopping companions were equally successful.  Coach bags, books, vintage napkins, Michael Kors wool skirts, nightstands, mirrors straight out of Anthropologie, never used wooden salad bowl sets...  totally awesome.