A Seat with a View

In addition to the nursery and master bath projects, we had some home improvement activity taking place on the first floor over the weekend. When we first moved in, one of the first things we thought of when we looked at the bump out window in the front of the house was "wouldn't a window seat look great there?". Well, we finally put those words into action.

Our awesome contractor, Doug Kidd of Kidd Construction, arrived at 8:30 am on Saturday and got right to it. Doug is like a little gift from the heavens. There is nothing that that man can't do. He installed all the windows and sliding glass doors in the house about a year ago along with the chair rail in the kitchen and did an amazing job so we knew we were in good hands with this project. He set up shop out front and got to it.


And of course, Lucy was on hand to make sure that things ran smoothly.


Once the frame was in place, Doug installed the "seat" which is also the lid to the storage area below.


It took about 4 hours to build the custom storage bench and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. Now all we need to do is have a cushion made and we will be all set.


While we had Doug here, we also had him install a recessed light in our very dark kitchen...and let me tell you, I am SO happy we did. I can finally see what I'm doing when I make dinner!!


As I said, Doug is a Godsend. We can't wait to have him back to tackle more of the many projects on our house list. All in good time. And all in good tax return. :)

The Nursery: Take Two

It has been another exhausting weekend, but I'm happy to say that we are one step closer to the final stages of Operation: Decorate Nursery. If you recall, we started out with a nursery that looked like this:


It was essentially a dumping ground for all those things that didn't have any other place to call home. We then cleaned it out, took you on a little tour, and started painting once we found out we were having a little boy. The nursery went from this...


... and this...


... to this...

...this...


...and this.


Dad Q. was on hand again for some final trim work and he did a mighty fine job. Seriously, put a good brush in this man's hand and he can cut the paint in like a pro! And he donned some new paint duds this time around. :)


Then this was delivered:


Yes, that's right. The baby's furniture is here!! Thanks to the help of our burly neighbors (Chris, Ed and Shawn - Thank You!!), Ed was able to transport the boxes into our freshly painted nursery. Very exciting!

Since we have no patience, we dove into those boxes like it was Christmas morning. It was quite a scene ... one that Lucy took in from the comfort of her blankie.

Actually, she was not really that interested. :) The beautiful dresser was 100% built so all we had to do was put it into place. Not so much on the crib, but it was a pretty easy set up. I was expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprise. Lucy was a little more lively during the crib stage, but only really showed interest when it was complete. She is Union; she was on break.


So after a little staging, we have a nursery that looks like this...


... and this...


and this.

We are VERY pleased with the furniture in the space and can't wait until the glider gets here. Of course there are still shelves to be hung, a rug to be bought and decorating to do so once that is complete we will share the final reveal. Lucy (and Ed) can't wait!!

Some "To Do's"

In addition to fixing up the nursery, we are also taking this pre-baby time to tackle some other projects in the house. If you are a home owner, you know that the list of "To Do's" is never ending. I actually have a "To Do" notebook and 3-ring binder filled with lists and ideas for future projects (nerd alert, I know!). This coming weekend, we are going to be checking a few of those projects off the list.

Our friendly neighborhood contractor, Doug Kidd, will be on hand this Saturday to build us a window seat / storage chest in the front window bump out. While we don't have a full on bay window, we do have an 18" bump out giving us plenty of room to create some much needed storage in the living room. With a new custom cushion (that I'm hiring someone to make) it will give us some extra seating and be a great vantage point for Lucy to look out the window.


As you can see, this area is kind of bare, but in the next 2 weeks or so there will be a total transformation. In addition to the bench, we (meaning Home Depot) will be installing new blinds so that we can finally stop everyone on the street from checking us out.


Another happening this weekend is the minor remodel of the Master Bathroom. Ed has been working hard to get the walls into shape so that they can be primed and painted. Since this bathroom has no window and flat paint, the walls had started to look shoddy so we knew it was time for some updating. While we can't afford to do a major remodel, we do plan to paint, add a new light fixture and medicine cabinet as well as some glass shelving. Once tax time blesses us with some cash flow, we will be adding a clear glass shower door, a canned light in the shower and a vanity for storage. Here is what the bathroom looks like right now...


...not a pretty site. But things sometimes need to get ugly before they can be pretty again. Luckily, we have another full bath on the 2nd floor so we've been living like this for the past week:


FYI - we decided to add a medicine cabinet to this bathroom as well so that our child's future toiletries do not need to live in boxes on the toilet bowl.


So it looks like we have another exhausting weekend ahead of us. Luckily Dad Q. will be back in his snazzy attire to help us finish the trim in the nursery. Gotta love a man with a paint wardrobe!

Love is in the Air

Well, paint fumes are in the air but really it's love as in we LOVE the color in the nursery! It has been a long, exhausting weekend but after 2 days of meticulous taping and spackeling and sanding and painting the nursery is done. Well almost done. We still have to touch up the trim but in my world, that is pretty much done.

If you remember, the project started last week with some prep work and continued in to the early evening on Sunday. Dad Q. was on hand to help Ed since I really shouldn't be inhaling the paint fumes even if the paint is low VOC. The day started with Ed tackling the ceiling while Dad tackled the cutting along the crown molding. Mom and I decided that the best way to help the guys was to get out of their hair and go shopping! We did bring back lunch right in the nick of time. Saturday ended with a 2nd coat of ceiling paint and a first coat of paint on the walls. It was a good day...but we were not quite finished.


Sunday began with some more attention to the ceiling. First, let me just say one thing. Painting a ceiling is a giant pain in the you know what. It's awkward to apply the paint and typically it is white on white so it is hard to tell what has been painted already. To make matters worse, we realized during the prep stage that the previous owners had painted it blue with white clouds and then covered it with a thin coat of white paint. Not ideal. But we managed to bang it out and I have to say, it looks pretty damn good. Dad Q. showed up for another day of fun and tackled more of the trim and molding while Ed put a second coat of paint on the walls. I again contributed by leaving. :) By mid-day the room was done and was looking FABULOUS!!


As I mentioned earlier, we still have a little more work to do with the trim, but all in all, the room is looking great. Ed is very pleased with the color - as am I. I know I wasn't really on Team Blue for the nursery, but I'm loving that this particular blue is more of a grown up blue vs. a baby boy blue. So, here is a summary of the nursery painting project in numbers:

• 1 industrial strength halogen light to help illuminate the fairly dark room and point out the crazy ceiling situation.
• 2 gallons of paint to do the 2 coats on the walls.
• 3 ruined drop clothes when a 1/2 gallon of paint was spilled on the floor.
  
• 4 trips on Home Depot on Saturday alone to pick up supplies.
• 5 or so different rollers and paint brushes used to tackle the 10 x 10 room.
  
• 6 articles of snazzy paint clothes that Dad Q. brought for the project.
• 7 F-bombs uttered when Ed realized he had to sand and repaint a portion of the ceiling.
  
• 8 times that Lucy checked in on the boys to make sure they were behaving.
  

So there you have it. The paint color has been revealed and we are on our way to getting this nursery in shape for our little boy's arrival.

It's All Happening

I'm a fairly neat person. I like order and live by the mantra that everything has a home. My husband, on the other hand, does not live by that mantra so you could say that there is an enormous amount of nagging that goes on in our house.

So you could imagine my horror when I came home from a work function the other night to find our second bedroom looking like this:


Even Lucy was horrified! But in my hubby's defense, it was for a good cause because the nursery currently looks like this:


Ed spent the evening Wednesday night prepping the nursery so that it could be painted this weekend! This is a BIG step in the world of baby so we are very excited. Since I really shouldn't be around the paint fumes, we have recruited Dad Q. to assist Ed with this project ~ thanks Dad!! He is a pro at cutting so between his skills and Ed's skills I just know that the nursery is going to look great. And of course, Lucy is going to supervise. :)

The big color reveal will be coming soon so stay tuned !!!!