Chirky: The Color of Change

Since Roger and I bought our first house last March, we've been hard at work remodeling it. So far, we have:

peeled up the carpet
tackled the ceilings (and then smoothed them out)
tore all the wood paneling off the walls
dismantled a built-in book shelf and furr down in the living room
(for that matter, we removed furr downs throughout the entire house)
installed a new garbage disposal and garage door opener
replaced both exterior faucets
removed a divider wall in one bathroom (between the sink and the toilet)
rewired all electrical outlets and light switches
installed new pipes for running future cable lines to all rooms (including study, media room and bedrooms)
re-built a wall in the hallway leading to the master bedroom
stripped hideous wallpaper from the kitchen, breakfast nook and master bathroom
removed all baseboards and door trim
decimated the wet bar
demolished a closet
built a new laundry room
converted the old laundry room into a walk-in pantry
re-textured all walls in the house, including closets

And, after all this time, we FINALLY get to paint. (Thankfully, Roger's parents are coming into town for Thanksgiving. Guess what they'll be doing while they're here? Hey, I'm not against parental labor. I'm an equal-opportunity kind of gal.) We've narrowed our base paint colors down to the following...

1. Barn Owl White, used as a base color in most rooms and bathrooms

2. Nantucket White, for trim and baseboards

3. Architectural Off-White, for ceilings

4. Crab Apple, A little too blue-based, we're trying to stick with yellow hues. Probably won't be used.

5. Expedition Khaki, for the sunny dining room and living room.

Also this weekend, we're laying tile in the laundry room and pulling up the carpet nail strips from around the house.

Here's what we have left to do:

Install blinds
Re-finish the edge of the fireplace (jagged from initial build, where built-in bookshelf was)
Choose and install bamboo floors
Install remaining tile in kitchen and bathrooms (will not be done until we remodel those rooms)
Replace sliding glass doors with french doors (living room and master bedroom)
And then the fun stuff: choosing lighting fixtures, furniture, home accents, etc.

For the past seven months, Roger and I have literally been living in a construction zone - often using construction floodlights to illuminate our paths. And if I were totally honest, I'd tell you that Roger has done 95% of the work. But I'm not going to be honest. Instead, I'm going to take credit for it, too. (By association, you see.)

The one thing I look forward to the most is printing our before-and-after pictures, framing them, and hanging them around the house. And then I plan on hosting an open house, and inviting everyone I know to see what progress we've made. Oh, what progress we've made!

Comments

Oooh, bamboo floors, how exotic... and eco friendly! I still think Roger should be an interior designer, and I'm even more convinced after seeing his vision come to fruition.

Posted by: Erica | November 20, 2008 02:00 PM

Wow, how exciting!!!! I'd love to be able to do some remodeling, or even just decorative interior finish upgrades. Alas, all that requires money, even if you do it yourself, which we do. Isn't it handy to have these handy DIY guys around? I know I'm sure grateful to have a hunky construction type of guy in my life. :)

Posted by: Chiada | November 20, 2008 02:14 PM

I'm very, very impressed - I got tired just reading that! What the hell is a furr down?

Posted by: TUWABVB | November 21, 2008 09:19 AM

You know in commercial areas, sometimes you'll see boxes dropped down from the ceiling that look like they're hiding a pipe? That's kind of what a furr down is. It's a dropped portion of the ceiling that (in homes) is generally empty and serves no purpose. Often times you'll see them in bathrooms (with ceiling-mounted lights inset) or above kitchen cabinets (so there is no empty space between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling).

Posted by: chirky | November 21, 2008 10:41 AM

Awww! I can't wait to see what the before and after pictures!!

How exciting! You both have accomplished soo much. :)

Posted by: Lisa | November 21, 2008 11:18 AM

Very awesome. I verily love painting.

Posted by: Kerri Anne | November 21, 2008 04:57 PM

You know, I've heard really good stuff about bamboo flooring.. also cork. love your colors!

Posted by: julianna | November 26, 2008 04:06 AM

Super impressive! We bought our house in February and so far haven't done ANY renovation or redecorating.

I hope you'll post before and after shots online somewhere, too! I LOVE looking at that sort of stuff :D

Posted by: velocibadgergirl | November 27, 2008 09:27 PM

I can't wait to see it :D