Mr. Duncan

With Terrin in the basement, and the kids at daycare, we were able to continue checking our DIY projects off the list.  Next, the dining room table.  We found this table on Craig's List, and purchased it from a lovely women in St. Paul.  The table is a 1930's Duncan Phyfe (whatever that means), and it came with six matching chairs.  On the way to check it out, AP instructed me to keep my cool, so we could "wheel and deal".  I did my best, which was not very good.  As soon as I saw the table I gushed, "I LOVE it.  Like LOVE IT." I am pretty sure there were tears in my eyes as the previous owner told me how she raised her boys at that table, and did homework with them, and had holiday meals.  As the now college aged sons helped load up our new table, there was no doubt of the emotion from buyer and seller.

The table required some stripping, and we used some sort of goo for that process.  It was a huge mess, and honestly, I was too scared to scrape away at my beloved table.  We sanded the table a few times, and took the cushions off the chairs.  A few of the chairs needed some repair, and we used wood putty to fill holes and cracks.  We used 60 & 100 grade sand paper. (I should make a list of everything I learned this summer...)  After sanding, the furniture was wiped down with a damp cloth, and we put on a coat or two of primer.
     Aside note: A 4 inch roller may be the best invention ever.

The thing with painting is that you have to allow it to dry before you move on to the next layer.  In order to produce quality work, these times of rest were necessary.  This time also provided us with a well deserved rehydration break, and a time to meet our new neighbors.

A cool grey paint color was our selection. 

 Several coats of poly were added for safety.

The chairs were recovered with a bright red pattern (Thanks, Rudy!! I'll take my wine back now.)

I could not wait to get this table into our kitchen.  It took all my strength to let it sit in the garage for a few days and rest.  But, in the end, so worth it.

I can not wait to make some memories with Mr. Duncan.
 

Paint by Numbers

This rug idea came from somewhere... Wish I could remember so I could give credit...  We started with a rug from IKEA, and Terrin had stencils made at Office Max.  The rest was up to me.  Cooperative learning is what works best for my brain, so I recruited Kylee (with the promise of day drinks) to help me. 

It turned out pretty sweet.  I think it would be awesome for a play room (or classroom) - but perfect for my kitchen.

DIY Curtains

 Sweet Fabric + Heatbond + Iron + Grommets = Best Curtains Ever

Kitchen Luminary

Does that even match?

Our kitchen is a work of art.  It is a masterpiece of design, and I like to think it was kind of a group effort.  We had a lot of dialogue about the kitchen.  We looked at many websites (houzz being my favorite), and magazines.  There were a few things that we knew we wanted.

AP: wood floors, gas stove, white cabinets & concrete countertops
GP: farmer's sink, wainscoting,  & big family table

Lucky us, the house already had beautiful wood floors,  my husband has ADHD and is pretty wicked handy (and did I mention T was currently unemployed?).  AP picked up some appliances at an auction.  We made several trips to IKEA (cabinets, sink), and there were countless Craig's List finds.  The kitchen evolved in several layers.

Before:

  Phase One Complete:

The above pics is the kitchen I came home to after Ann's wedding.  I was shocked by the transformation in a few short days.  The lower cabinets had been refinished, the new uppers hung, the appliances in, wallpaper border off and new paint on.  Now, it was my turn as AP had to go back to his paying day job.

Guest Bedroom

 Before I bought food for the fridge, I bought bedding for the bed.   T needed a place to sleep, and her favorite color is green, so Bennett picked out some clean sheets for her room. 

Are you kidding me?

Nope.  No joke.  This was my first challenge:  getting all this stuff in the appropriate place.  I was stunned when I first saw the garage.  I thought I had organized and packed well.  Due to the extreme heat in our rented storage unit, several of the well organized and labeled boxes had collapsed.  We had a mess of mixed up boxes and rooms.

There were two Life Savers these first two weeks of the move.  1.  Ms. Kelli offered to take the kids, full time, two weeks early.  This allowed time to actually work on the house, without kids.  2.  Terrin was between projects, which was life-saver #2, as that allowed her to come stay with us.  Yes, stay.

Day One of Garage:

 Major Progress?

1407

1407

We have officially moved to Wisteria Lane - and I love it.  The weekend we closed on the new residence, the kids and I whisked off to northern MN to the wedding of Annie and John.  While we were celebrating, T came to 1407 and worked with AP.  They moved all our stuff into the garage, demo-ed the kitchen, cleaned up the demo, prepped and painted the entire main floor, put the kids rooms together, and managed to drink a few Alaskan beers.  I will never be able to thank them enough.

Numerous projects and painting and Craigs List finds followed, but lets begin at the beginning - a clean, empty house.

 Basement (Storage Room #1)

The entire basement will be our TOYROOM!!

 View upstairs - 2 storage rooms, and guest bedroom

 Family room

 Bennett's Room

 Bennett's Bath

View downstairs, and guest bedroom

View from front door - looking into kitchen, and up/down stairs

Kitchen

View from garage door - looking into front room and formal dining (which will be our library)

Front living room

Formal Dining Room (library)

This house is beautiful.  We were so lucky, the previous owner took outstanding care of the home, lawn and surrounding areas.  We need some paint up, pictures hung, and maybe a matching velor track suit - we will fit right in.