Preparing the Exterior for Awesomeness

This, sadly, is DAYS worth of progress...
But in a month, it will look quite different!

The exterior of our house is an eyesore. Our poor neighbors have, for years (decades?), been subjected to washed out purple aluminum siding, rust-colored wood trim, overgrown plants... not to mention ankle-high piles of leaves, grass and weeds. In fact there's a pile of rotting wood waist-high on one edge of our lot. And, while using the leafblower to remove piles of debris from the side of the house, I was lucky enough to find a very large and almost fully decomposed bird, as well as a large and very old plastic bag filled with dog poop.

SUPERGAG. I have never been so disgusted.

Preparing for New Floors

Top - the "old" floor in the hallway.
Bottom - the original tile from 1958.

In preparation for our new Marmoleum and Marmoleum Click flooring, we've been working on demolition of the old floors in the front and back hallways, and the kitchen.

When we purchased the house, it was clear that any original tile in these areas had long since been covered with ugly brownish-khaki-grey linoleum. Ick.

We think removing the old floors and having new ones installed will add significant equity, as the floors simply don't make sense with the home. Not to mention they're just plain ugly.

Furnishing Our "First Room"

The house has been in a constant state of transition for over a month now, so we've been looking forward to the moment when we can finally enter a room and enjoy it... instead of thinking about all of the projects that need to be completed.

The first room that is nearly finished - and beautifully furnished - is the living room. We recently had the floors lightly sanded and buffed, so they're now clean and sparkly... almost as good as new! The following day, our furniture from the Room & Board Outlet arrived.

Painting the Guest Bedroom

Fun painting, but I am getting a little sea sick...

The guest bedroom - which was previously inhabited by a child who enjoyed bright colors and chalk boards - is just not our style.

As part of the cosmetic updates to the house, we're repainting the guest bedroom, replacing the carpet (Empire will be here as soon as we no longer need the room for a workshop), cleaning the closet doors and fixing the sliding glass doors so we don't have to seal off the 1-inch gap with painters tape anymore.

Please - bad men and large insects - let this thin blue tape keep you at bay. 

Mood Board - Subdued Dining a la Mod

Click to enlarge the Subdued Dining a la Mod Mood Board

New Kitchen Faucet and Old Appliance Cleaning



As is the case with most projects, simply installing a new
faucet and side sprayer became a hassle. We uncovered
a pinhole in the plumbing - here, dad is repairing the leak.

 The old kitchen sink was simple and (though not from 1958) dated. It didn't work well, and the side sprayer was clogged from the hard St. Louis Park water.

Whiler we're not ready to embark upon a full kitchen remodel, we did a few things to give the space a fresh new feel:

1. Deep scrub of the refridgerator, microwave, oven, sink, dishwasher, countertop and cabinets. (This should probably count as seven items... after all, it took about ten man hours!)
2. Replace the faucet and side sprayer with a new chrome finish set.