"Have you moved in yet?"

This is the question I get asked roughly a dozen times a day by well-intentioned co-workers and casual acquaintances. I know they are expecting me to say "Yes, and it's awesome!" and they kind of look at me suspiciously when I say "Not yet -- still getting it ready."

I think most people do not do their own painting and renovating. Because if they did, they would know it takes forever! I mean, I'm still working my usual job and my volunteer job, so all we have are evenings and weekends.

Still, we ARE making progress, I swear! The living and dining rooms are almost done. I honestly feel like all other rooms should go much faster, because they are smaller. Even the kitchen might be a speedier endeavor (I hope).

Here is my beloved cutting in the ceiling paint around our foyer light fixture. That foyer is a tricky space. I really like split levels, but the little landing at the doorway makes for some interesting challenges when you're painting. Poor Frey is leaning semi-precariously back from the ladder (one day, I will post the story of how we bought this ladder, which is a hilarious nightmare) to get the job done.

I am so, so tired of taping. Still, it's the responsible thing to do, especially when you're as sloppy a painter as I am. Here's the door to the deck, and all its many window spaces, in fully taped-out glory.

Tricia stopped by to help! It turns out, she is a cabinet-peeling sensei. She managed to peel several door and drawer fronts off in complete unbroken pieces. If only that were a marketable specialty skill... still, she shows the pride of a job well done.

Let's talk about that hammered silver paint. Finish-wise, it is both the bomb and the diggity. Working with it, though, is trying. It is beyond fumetacular. I had a serious headache after finishing the fireplace, door and windows, even with proper ventilation. Still, it's just so preeeeeeeetttty:

Oh, banister, I have been putting you off for too long. I'm not going to lie - I have been DREADING painting this thing. So many nooks and crannies. And that trim goes down to the lower level, so I have to clean the stairs to get it all painted. (That darn Andrea, our cleaning maven, is overseas for work. What about MY needs?)

As things stand now, the banister has gotten two coats of paint, and needs some touch-ups.

Have I mentioned how much the purple we chose changes tone depending on how the light hits it? This next picture is a great example. The area at the top of the photo looks like it has an almost magenta cast to it, while the bottom appears to have the cooler tone of blueberry yogurt. Same paint! I suppose it's fitting that our Halloween-inspired rooms have a certain Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde quality.

Those stairs will be black, too, but we are using a high-gloss paint in those areas, vs. the semi-gloss going on the trim.

Have I mentioned how much I love having our Haunted Mansiony vision come to fruition? Every time I walk into the house, I sigh with happiness. I am always thrilled to see the last thing we finished in a new light the next day as each step becomes part of the overall effect. I know our design style is not for everyone, but there's no debating that it's impactful. I adore our "modern Victorian" aesthetic, and I can't wait to live in it all the time.

Warning: I suspect I will continue to wax rhapsodic at an ever-increasing pace as we get more and more done on the house. As I type this, it occurs to me that's kind of like constantly complimenting myself on design choices.

Nice.

The Black-Out Continues

So, we're getting trim in the living and dining room taken care of, and I am thankful. I'm so tired of trim! I also got all the hallway doors painted - finally!

This is the view of the upstairs hallway now that I've banished all the white. Squeeeee!

I kind of love the purple and the aqua with the black.

AND, last night's exciting development - the first coat of hammered silver on the fireplace:

I'll confess, I should have done this after I taped ALL the doors and windows that need this silver treatment. But frankly, it's been a rough few months, and anything I can do to add some sparkle and fun is aok. The paint-on version of this paint (I had previously only used the spray variety) is just as fumey as the spray. And all this time I thought it was the propellants making it stinky.

As we see the finish line for the main living areas, our thoughts turn to the next daunting task: the kitchen.

Brian took a peek at the cabinet doors, and after a little fiddling, discovered that they come off pretty easily.

Take THAT, cabinet door! One down, 25 to go!

Loads of changes.

It's been a bit since I've posted, and there have been a lot of developments, both in life and in the house.

After three years with Cartoon Network, I was laid off the Friday before Thanksgiving, exactly three weeks after we closed on the house. Sigh. I am still riding the roller coaster of reactions and emotions. Right now seems to be the angry and resentful portion of the ride. I'm hoping it passes quickly. On the upside, working at the house always makes me feel better.

Here's what's been happening:

Painting the ceiling is more or less complete. We still have a few cut-ins to do, but otherwise the textured nightmare is over for now. Here's an action shot of me attempting to get some coverage in the foyer:

The purple goes on...

...and on and on...

Somewhere along the line, we discover that the factory finish on the kitchen cabinets peels off quite easily.

Once this discovery was made and we decided to go ahead and peel them all, peeling became everyone's go-to activity when they needed a painting break.

Then, the black out began. Still working hard to obliterate any and all signs of white.

The fireplace is going to get a hammered silver/pewter finish, as will the windows. That will be one of the very last things we do in the living and dining rooms.




The view of the dining room from the living room, which shows our black wall. It will get a little Oogie Boogie magic before long.

There's been some significant progress in the trim and doors department as well, so look for pics in the next update!