I had a nice mostly unplugged weekend. I worked a little on Saturday morning and then just spent the weekend doing other things. With the move done, it now feels like we are starting to build our routines back. I was on the hunt for a small table for out nook and I hit up a couple resale/antique stores. Here are some nice shots of some businesses getting decked out for fall and Halloween:
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I did find an interesting table, but it might be a little too big.
I also finally got out into my own garden. This is the mess (one of) I am trying to sort out:
Yeah, it’s a big mess! If I can get anything cleared out, I might just get a chance to put some bulbs in just to have something come up in the spring.
House progress. I got all the wallpaper off the dining room wall! Each room seems to have a different level of wallpaper hell going on. This one seemed easy at first because the top wallpaper came right off except for right at the ceiling where it was glued in a strip (which took forever to get off), but the bottom was 4 layers. With paint in between. That took forever and a day. But now it is done!
All that is left is wall patching, quick sanding and then paint. That red color is what is going on the bottom half. It’s called Merlot. Top will be cream. It will be good to get this room done.
I found strange stuff, too. It looks like someone took a knife and stabbed the wall.
Is that not bizarre? This was up high above the window, too. All the neighbors we have met so far do not have a high opinion of the guy that had this house before. He sounds like a real peach.
We finished the doors for the radiator cabinet after my mismeasurement..oopsie… Or should I say John resized them 😀 Here is the old kitchen and what we were trying to solve:
Here is this area now:
The doors came out just like I wanted! The cabinets were moved a smidge to the left. We bought the radiator screen online and cut it to fit the middle of the doors. Then painted and voila. Now the heat can come out from behind there and we don’t have to look at it 😀 The drawers fronts look a little small above, but for now they will do. Plus we need a little trim on the bottom to match the other door, but those are small details. I know I owe you a full kitchen reveal as well.
Today’s pink picture! This is a magnet my sister brought us back on a trip she took to California earlier this year. Bling!
Don’t forget to click!
Knife wounds in the walls? Gah, I wonder what else you’re going to find! Sounds like that former owner was a bit loco en la cabeza, if you ask me…
The owner was a real piece of work from all the stories that we have put together. He treated others as poorly as he treated his house. Normally I feel bad that someone goes through foreclosure, but this man just was not a good person.
It sounds like you had a little slice of normal this weekend. Good! And it will be so fun to see what you do with your garden in the next few years.Aren’t you excited about the possibilities?
I am terribly excited. It would be nice if I had the clean slate to start from and not having to clean out these beds, though LOL!
You should really try and find the time to plant some bulbs…that will be such a motivator for you next spring! Love the new house and so looking forward to watching the gardens take shape from the ground up 🙂
I have to get the ground ready and that is going to take some time, but if we get a couple nice weekends, I should get some section plantable.
WAIT.
STABBED THE WALL!?!?
(now I wanna check the walls at our new place too :-))
I know – it looked so weird. I think that is the only thing that could have left those marks in the plaster.
Older homes always have the craziest things to reveal!
Nice that you got an unplugged but productive weekend. I do not envy the wallpaper removal. Wallpaper was actually a “not this house” item for us. I just can’t deal.
I really about died when I saw all the wallpaper. Having done that in all rooms of a previous flip, I knew what I was in store for. It’s so tempting just to paint over it, but I want to do this house right since we will be here for many, many years.
an idea…instead of making the drawers wider above the radiator cabinets , which are so awesome!, why not attach a metal bottle opener there (for beer!) beside the drawer? you could buy a vintage one or even paint it the same color as the cabinets….
you are doing an amazing job and your home is going to be beautiful!!!!!!
thanks for sharing the progress with us!
That would be fun!
Am having such fun watching the new home redo. Very creative way to solve the radiator problem and it looks lovely!
I really love how these came out. Sometimes things actually come out like I envision 😀
Hmm those stab wounds remind me of a house we looked at – it was ripped apart in the craziest of ways. Had the general layout not been so bizarre, we might have considered ripping it all out and doing a rehab, but I’m glad we didn’t take on all that work at that point in time.
Love those mums – especially the bright red ones!! Just wondering, when you look at your jungles outside, are you more daunted by how unwieldy they are or are you super excited about being able to get your hands in there and revamp the yard? I know it’s more work on top of the house work, but it seems like it would almost be a break from the rehab work for you since I know you love gardening.
I’m excited to see what you do with the new garden!
That is completely strange about those marks – hope the neighbors are nice to you guys! I have never been a fan of wallpaper – although I did have a wall paper border in my old kitchen that I loved. I haven’t touched anything in my kitchen in 14 years – but it’s the domino effect, if I did something to the cabinets, then I’d have to do the countertops, the floors, etc. 🙁
I love your solution to the radiator!! And, I didn’t even notice that the drawers were smaller until you pointed it out!
Weird about the knife cuts in the wall – sort of creepy!
After all that wallpaper removal I bet the walls are feeling lighter and sighing with relief. The rad solution looks excellent. I wonder if the guy was sitting on a couch/bed and practicing knife throwing at the wall? You know, holding the tip and then throwing it like we did (but outside in the ground) when playing mumblety-peg. Still obnoxiously ridiculous, but a little less eerie feeling.
The previous owner hid a heavy loose brick in the dropped ceiling of the kitchen. When I took the ceiling down, it plunged to the floor inches from my head.
(He also lied about many, many things he said he’d fixed in the house.)
Former owners=good times!
LOve what you have done BUT those knife marks – mmmmmmmm, maybe see what you can find out about things that happened in that house! Perfect for Halloween! 😉
IF the knife marks weren’t over the window, I woudl say maybe it was from a dart board being up there. We have a friend who has 12 children, one whole living room wall is dedicated, holes and all to theirs. Lol
Hmm…wonder what those knife marks are from??? OOOH….the plot thickens! Have a wonderful week Lori!!!! Just LOVE the pics you shared too!!
I want that old bike. Then I want a barn to put in front of. Well, I would need a farmhouse and 40 acres to go with it.
If you buy a new house the biggest surprise is always what’s behind wallpaper and how much more layers 🙂 I remember we had to remove several layers too when we bought our house.
Good to hear you had a nice unplugged weekend. I unplug a lot lately at the weekend and often 1 evening a night too and like it a lot.