Before and After a Long Day at Work…

One nice thing about Mike’s schedule this pick is that is that he has time to get some work done on the house before he has to go to work. This makes for a long day, for both of us. I just keep in mind that there is light at the end of this tunnel…and a ski trip to France in March!

On Monday, Mike and his buddy, Gabe, removed some of the wall from the island to make room for a large counter height island/bar/dining room table. It made quite a mess, which was left for me to clean up. Removing the bar height counter really opens up the space and makes it look like one large room.

However, no project is ever easy. Inside the wall is a vent pipe that is sticking up too high. That will need to be removed and made shorter. Also, the microwave electrical needs to be moved and placed on its own circuit. This will require the help of an electrician who will come out on Saturday.

This reminds me, one thing that is really stacking up in our house is trash. Our community dumpster is completely full and it has been over a week since the waste management company has picked up. No one in the community seems to know why they haven’t picked up, since they normally do twice a week, but it is really causing a mess in our house. I emailed our HOA, but haven’t received an answer yet and I took it upon myself this morning to email the waste management company directly. If we were able to get rid of the empty boxes, trash and pieces of drywall, it would make things a bit more livable, but right now I feel like running away screaming. Sometimes that tunnel feels like it is closing in.

Sunday, Funday!

On Sunday, my mom and I took the morning off of house remodeling to visit the Denver Botanical Gardens. The air is crisp and cool in the morning, so it was a perfect day to go exploring.

Me and my mom.

Grandma’s favorite flowers.

Creepy water lily.

Bamboo forest.

One of the many ponds.

A huge artichoke.

When I got home, Mike had began sketching out the kitchen and preparing for the cabinet install. We weren’t planning to install the cabinets ourselves, but we had a cabinet installer come out and give us an estimate and it was outrageous! So, Mike decided that he would take a few vacation days and get it done.

I managed to get the hall closet cleaned out and discovered a huge mess of wires behind this giant metal box. After some research and help from Ed, we determined this is the security system control panel, but with no siren, it hadn’t worked for along time. My plan is to remove the box, stuff the wires in the wall and patch over the holes. This will allow me to put two hanging closet rods for all our coats. I also plan to remove the phone jack since no one has a home phone anymore and who would want a phone in their closet.

Measuring for the island cabinets.

Getting a level line on the main kitchen wall.

Security alarm system wiring.

Slowly, but Surely.

Another weekend is over and although we have a lot to show for ourselves, we have a long way to go. Saturday morning, I woke up early to begin my painting mission. I primed and painted the kitchen walls in order to prep for Mike to install the cabinets. Then, I started on the closet doors and baseboard heaters. I am lucky to be able to work outside since it would be near impossible to work inside with the mess. I was so engaged with my work that I didn’t take any pictures. That and I was covered with paint for the majority of the day. For paint, we are using Behr paint and primer in one in an eggshell finish.

In the evening, I finished putting together the bathroom and installed all the newly painted baseboard heaters in the bedroom. It is nice to finally have one room done. Well, almost done. We still need to do baseboards and one day, replace the tile in the shower.  However, for now, it is done, enough.

Finishing the baseboard heaters.

Our bathroom.

Mirror and sink.

Cabinet Delivery

Our cabinets were supposed to be delivered mid week last week, but the delivery guy gave me some sob story about a guy with the flu and another one that got injured causing him to fall behind on the deliveries. Even though I was not happy that we had to arrange our schedule to be home for four hours during the “delivery window,” I was glad that the cabinets weren’t taking up the little space we had.

With the storms, they were unable to deliver on Friday either. However, we did have to make arrangements again for their ridiculous, four hour delivery window. One thing that we have learned is that many of these “service” folks, don’t know much about service or timeliness.

The third time is a charm and they delivered the cabinets on Monday morning, taking up all available space in the living room/bedroom since we are still waiting for the floors to dry.

After another night at my mom’s, we were able to move our bedroom furniture back into our bedroom this morning and make some room for the cabinets. Mike began unboxing them today and will begin the install on Thursday. Our goal is to have them completed in two weeks. Then, get the countertops ordered and installed. I hope this project doesn’t follow the rest of the project timelines and bleed into a month long window.

Seven Weeks Into Our Renovation

Today marks our seventh week into our renovation project. We had no idea that we would be sleeping at my mom’s house, playing life sized Tetris with boxes, eating peanut butter and jelly for almost every meal and still washing dishes in the bathroom sink. We planned a month for the complete renovation and it looks like we will be closer to the three month mark before we can put our feet up or get back on our mountain bikes.

However, I have to stress how lucky we are to have a dry home and each other. With all the terrible flooding around Colorado, we have nothing to complain about. My thoughts are with those who lost homes and loved ones in this tragedy. With the sun back out, folks are beginning to assess the damage and rebuilt and although we have been building for the last seven weeks, we have plenty to be thankful for.

With the never ending rain this weekend and our bedroom floors getting a final coat of poly, our project scope was limited. We spent some time catching up on sleep, finishing some minor projects here and there and shopping! I even managed to drag Mike to an amazing indoor antique mall!

Finally finishing up the hardwood floors in the bedroom.

The Brass Armadillo, off I-70 between Kipling and Simms.

Mike shopping for antiques!

What is Black and White and Gray All Over?

My new color obsession is gray. But, if you ask Mike gray is not a color. So in an effort to prove him wrong, I consulted Wikipedia. Much to my surprise, gray is a neutral between black and white with a literal meaning of “without color.” Since I have already saturated the bathroom with gray tile and gray walls and as of late, a gray shower curtain, I have been on a mission this week to choose a color palette for our new home.

Choosing a color palette is not easy for me. Unless you consider brown and white and beige and gray a color palette. Mike is always pushing me to add more color to our living space and since I never can decide on a palette, I just keep buying neutral things, thinking that one day I will decide.

However, I think I have narrowed it down. Thanks to Sherwin Williams’ Chip It website, I was able to create color palettes from some of my favorite images. Here are some of my trials. You will need to click on each image to get the full palette.

Italy

Our Wedding Day

Japan

However, I think I have decided on a palette and Mike has agreed. And although this didn’t come from the Chip It generator, but from Pinterest, I find the colors pleasing to the eye and I think I can pull it off.

Now, let the shopping begin!

Another Weekend, Another Project

This past weekend we tackled some smaller projects including finishing up the paint in the bedroom, hanging the bedroom fan, replacing all the electrical outlets and installing the bathroom light fixture. I have never done any electrical work before. This was proven on Friday morning when, while scoping out an outlet, I  electrocuted myself. It was just a tingle, but shocking never the less. With the power turned off, I successfully replaced all the bedroom outlets and they work!

My handy work.

Mike hangs our new fan.

A beauty!

With the hardwood floors down in the bedroom (not finished), we were finally able to move into the bedroom for a few days. It was nice to have some space to organize our boxes and regroup for a few days. We will be moving back into the living room with all our stuff on Thursday, when our hardwood floor guy comes back to finish our flooring.

Bedroom walls, Behr aged beige.

Everything fits!

A true renovator, a toolbox in the bedroom.

However, let no weekend pass without some play time. On Saturday evening, Mike and I took off for south Denver were we participated in an event for his work. It was nice to get away and have a few drinks. As a treat to ourselves, we booked a hotel room and spent the night. Although it wasn’t far, it was nice to sleep not surrounded by boxes and ladders.

A Whole New Meaning to “Labor Day”

With a four day weekend behind me, I must say that things are coming together. Although everything takes at least TWICE as long, we got a lot accomplished this weekend. On a normal four day weekend, Mike and I would have taken off to the mountains to enjoy some mountain biking and camping, but instead, we are homeowners.

Even with all the work we put in, we managed to get away for an evening. In order to escape the stacks of boxes and the heat, we spent the night at my mom and Ed’s new condo on Saturday night and joined them for breakfast on Sunday morning.

Painted the interior windows, Behr Ivory Palace

Painted the bathroom door

All blinds are up.

A few trips to Home Depot.

Mike trimming down the bathroom door.

First homemade dinner at the new house.

I love these blinds!

Thanks to a housewarming gift from grandma and grandpa, we purchased bathroom fixtures.

Patching and prepping the walls.