Archives March 2020

The next project I’m going to tackle before spring truly arrives and I can get to work on a multitude of landscaping projects is a redesign of the laundry room. It’s one of the last rooms in the house that still has a tacky country feel to it, but because it’s a laundry room it’s been low on my list of priorities. It had an ugly wallpaper strip, a worn out sink, and some ridiculous bird house window treatments. So far, I’ve done most of the demolition by removing the window treatments and stripping the wallpaper.

I’ve also purchased a new sink and fixture to install, as well as new cabinet hardware and outlet covers.

Once those are installed, I need to repaint the walls and install new window treatment and it will be all set!

When I originally remodeled the smaller walk-in closet in the master suite in the house to be a powder room for my wife, I redid all of the furniture but didn’t touch the lighting. It still had old fluorescent closet lighting along with a cheap floor lamp, and it had been a low priority to-do on my list for a long time to replace that lighting with something nicer.

When I removed the old lighting, I realized the old fluorescent light had just been screwed into the studs, and there was no junction box for a traditional light fixture. In order to install one, I first had to cut a hole in the drywall to accommodate it. I used a drill bit that had adjustable blades and a plastic bowl to catch the drywall dust:

Once the hole was cut, I was able to install the junction box and anchor it to the stud in the ceiling.

After that, installing a warm LED light fixture was easy. It’s bright enough to fill the room with light, which is helpful when my wife is doing her makeup, but it’s not harsh like an old school fluorescent light.

Now that the lower level has been complete for awhile, my interior designer (Brittany from Interiors By B) wanted to bring a professional photographer to take pictures of the project. Obviously the pro did a much better job than my amateur iPhone photos, and was able to capture the brightness of the house. Here are the photos:

I can’t wait to see what the photos of the more recently completed room redesigns look like when we bring the photographer back for round two!

Similar to the guest bedroom, the lower level living room is now complete as well. I had movers take the old sectional the storage unit, and the new sectional, chairs, and other furniture arrived. Some construction work was required, since when I setup the sectional I realized that there was a gap between it and the wall due to the pre-existing ledge, and the sectional easily slid backwards when people sat on it.

I used oak boards, anchored into the studs using steel ties, and built a shelf behind the sectional that also doubled as a structurally sound brace that prevented the couch from sliding backwards.

I then realized that I didn’t really like it stained, it was hard to match the color of the other trim and it contrasted too sharply with the couch. I ended up painting it the same color as the mantle and the accent wall in that room, which ended up pairing really nicely with the couch.

After the shelf was done, the chairs arrived from Pottery Barn and completed the room. It looks incredible, and has its own personality as compared to the three other living rooms on the main level of the house.

The last things that need to be done in the lower level for now are new window treatments, which are in progress, and a new set of artwork for the wall behind the sectional. That’s been ordered, and should arrive in a week or two. It will look like this, and will complete the look:

Over the last week, the remaining furniture and decor items arrived for the guest bedroom. I hired movers to move some of the old furniture to the storage unit, and the new furniture was delivered by White Glove Delivery.

After some work to hang the extremely heavy mirrors, everything was ready to go. The newly redesigned room is extremely bright and sunny compared to the old room, and has an aesthetic that mirrors the rest of the redesigned rooms in the house.

I recently reorganized my home office, which is really more of a sports memorabilia shrine than a true office. The first thing I did was to remove a large number of the books and move them to the library. The remaining books were moved to the shelves with glass doors. I also removed the bar glassware and bottles, aside from the scotch in the liquor cabinet. I then purchased a large number of shadow boxes and other display frames, and redesigned the layout of some of the memorabilia on the shelves.

The end result looks much cleaner and more organized, and better shows off everything on display.

More of the art I ordered has arrived, including a huge piece that you see when going up the main stairway, a large piece in the lower level living room, and a large mirror for the upstairs hallway.

As new art has slowly arrived, I’ve moved certain pieces elsewhere in the house. Some of this has gone into the bar area, and some has gone into the theater, which looks really great now that it’s filled with art.

The most recent flooring updates have taken place upstairs, where the upstairs hallway carpet was removed and replaced with hand scraped hickory hardwood, identical to the wood flooring on the main level. This was the last planned flooring update for the main house, aside from redoing the stairs in dark wood instead of carpet. Here was the hallway before the replacement:

Over the course of a day, the carpet was removed and a subfloor was installed.

After that, the rest of the flooring was installed.

Finally, carpet transitions were installed in the doorways to tack the carpet down and complete the project.