Day 16: Dream house

Hmmm...

That is a tricky one. The house I live in is pretty much ideal for this stage of my life. It is comfy old Victorian, built to be a family house. It is, as my dear Auntie said "like a pretty girl in an ugly dress". The ugly has improved somewhat over the course of my tenure, but, having SmallDaughter does limit me (as does being really lazy about house stuff!). She has written on (and painted on, and deodoranted on, and ...) EVERY SINGLE SURFACE in the house.





These are a couple of random pictures I found, I am not even sure exactly when they were taken. I think it tells you something about my life that, as dramatic as these are--they are such a part of my "normal" life that I had totally forgotten this incident. Which, by the way, was INK.

So it is very hard to get excited about spending lots of money to redo something, when it is just going to get markered up, so the interior stays mostly the same. Except the kitchen. WOT WOOT!


BEFORE

This picture, which was taken for something TOTALLY different, shows off the kitchen counters pretty well. The "blue" post shows off the @#$%^&* floor tiles. Thankfully, both are gone now!

I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having BOTH "before" and "after" pictures--FINALLY!, BUT, it seems that the computer has eaten all of the "after" pix, and I don't have time to hunt them down. So, I will try to post some soon. Sorry.

Anyway, if I had unlimited money and time, I would LOVE to build an underground house. This one inspired me, and it inspired my mom, and she actually went to see it--so imagine her disappointment upon finding that it had been purchased by a developer, bulldozed, and a community of McMansions built on the spot. I have actually talked to Paul Isaacson (who is a very nice guy) and he gave me some suggestions. I love the idea of an inner and outer greenhouse dome, so you can have light, grass and a garden year round--and still live in the north! I also love this one.

I really love the idea of living with the land, not against it, and using creativity to make a home that lives.

But until then, I really do love the one I am in (I just wish I could repaint it--I am getting rather tired of giving directions to "the big white one that really needs painted"--and having everyone find it easily!).

The light at the end of the tunnel--possibly!

The chaos is slowly beginning to ebb. I came up with a brilliant plan for putting all the stuff away in the new kitchen cupboards. First I mapped out the old cupboards, and listed everything they had in them. Then I made a map of the new cupboards, and a list of all the items, and, using old fashioned cut and paste, I made a new map of where everything will go, and posted it on the fridge. Then (here's the brilliant part!) I labelled every cupboard, so everyone knows what is supposed to go into it--and my big children have been putting stuff away--even when I am not here!

So Bright!

Today, BigGirl and I (with a little help from BG's friend Miss B) finished the applying the primer to all the gross green stuff in the kitchen. I just walked in there, and I can't believe how bright it is! How non-oppressive! Wow!

I can't wait until we get the actual paint applied tomorrow! Woohoo!

Wednesday's update

Today we:

got the long counter, the sink, the disposal and the microwave/vent hood installed. I have a stove, a fridge and a sink that all work (although the water pressure has gone all wonky)! All of this on top of a beyond belief gorgeous floor. All of the cupboards and counters on the west (back) wall are in.

The arrangement is the same, with sink and stove where they used to be--but now the sink is awesome, and there is a dishwasher between them!

I am still trying to figure out how to get the pictures off the camera onto the computer. I used to know how to do this--what happened to my brain?

Construction Update

This just in:

3 walls
1 floor

Yes, indeed! After letting LargeBoy, LargeBoy's bestie and BigGirl go to town on the old plaster walls with sledgehammers, we got the old stuff including: 1) plaster mess, 2) Lathe mess & 3) Shredded Paper Insulation mess--all cleaned up, and smooth new drywall installed! YAY! Not only do the new walls have Tyvek wrap and fiberglass insulation (on their insides) they also have MANY new electrical outlets and entirely new breakers! Woohoo! (No wind blowing my hair back THIS winter!) WOOHOO!

And the new floor?

I could just sing! It is SO BEAUTIFUL! It is the hardest bamboo flooring I could find (so hard the pneumatic nail gun couldn't get the nails all the way through, and I had to set them all by hand. Not fun--but worth it!) It is golden and glowing, and Light Years better than the horrible old floor.

Today we hope to get the cupboards and sink installed and the disposal hooked up--then I get to paint everything!

I am so happy (in the midst of SUCH CHAOS!)

More chaos than usual

Those who know me well would be surprised to know that it was even possible to have more chaos than usual. But, let me assure you--it is.

Anyone who has ever cooked (or even been in!) my kitchen has said something along the lines of "If I ever win the lottery, I am redoing your kitchen!"

The kitchen does have some flaws.

There are the functionality flaws:

*It is very small--think "Galley Kitchen"
*No dishwasher.
*A 1950's era single sink.
*Cracks in the lathe and plaster on the back wall (the wall that faces the prevailing winter winds) means that during all the long winter months, every time you open a drawer or cupboard, you get a breeze stiff enough to blow your hair around--no joke.

Then there are the design/aesthetic flaws:

*Rusty metal 1950's era metal cupboards and counters (I like the functionality of them--I am just not a fan of the rust--and honestly the long cupboard that spent decades in the basement does look like it has a fairly advanced case of leprosy.)
*The Vent Hood From Hades (seriously--so ugly, it doesn't work, it collects greasy dirt the way Lady Gaga collects crazy, it sticks WAY out and it is at the perfect height to bash all of our heads against it).
*Horrible gray asphalt tile floor with big (dirt holding) spaces between the tiles.
*Horrible floor was redecorated by SmallDaughter.
*Decorating by the crazy woman who lived here before us--did I mention the algae colored paint that clashes with the '80's green and cream plaid wallpaper?


Well--the good news is--you don't have to win the lottery for me to get a new kitchen!!

We are working on it RIGHT NOW!

My awesome hubby surprised me with it, and my dad is doing the supervising (and the lions share of the work). We went shopping last week and have TONS of supplies ALL OVER EVERYWHERE. Everything that was in all of the kitchen cupboards had to be emptied into boxes so those cupboards can be removed. And the cupboards that have quietly resided in the dining room and office (quietly filling UP), had to be emptied into boxes so they can be installed. And then... all of those boxes had to be put somewhere. Well, truly--they got put everywhere.

This project happened WAY SOONER than I thought it would, and I was not the calm and organized creature that I aspire to dream of despair of becoming.

NOTE: We are currently experiencing technical difficulties getting the @#$%^&! pictures off of the !@#$%^&*!!! camera. Pictures coming soon.

We hope.