What's Been Going On?

Hello everyone!  Is anyone out there?  Would you like an update on life with us?  We are still in the Dallas area.  However, last year we bought a home in the Kansas City suburbs with plans to eventually retire there.  That's is originally home to us, although we haven't lived there in 34 years.  Wow.  It still seems like home since we visit family there multiple times a year.  Our youngest daughter has been living in it to keep an eye on things and to save for her own house.  Which she just bought yesterday!!!  Woo Hoo!

Last Fall we began a remodeling process to get it ready before we moved in.  I thought you might like to see some before and after pictures.  My main goal was to lighten up the rooms.

We mostly remodeled the kitchen and master bathroom, but we added additional wood floors and painted the entire main floor.  So, I'll just show you some glimpses.

This is the living room. We painted the walls Creamy (SW7012) and trim white Snowbound (SW7004) and the fireplace Sherwin Williams Anchor Aweigh (SW9179). We removed the carpet and added wood floors stained a Dark Walnut matte finish.  Removed the ceiling fan and replaced it with a brass chandelier.  I really wish I'd painted the walls a "whiter" white.  Picking paint colors is extremely difficult.  In the end, the goal of lightening the rooms was achieved.  

The original kitchen.

We removed the appliance garage in the corner and extended the cabinet above the ovens.  We extended the top of the island and obviously, painted the cabinets (Zurich White 7626) and added new countertops and backsplash, sink and faucets.  I haven't taken final photos yet because there is still a punch list to finish and it needs to get cleaned up.

Here's the repainted dining room and new chandelier. 

Just small changes in the Family Room.  We painted the cabinet Navy (SW9179), painted the walls Light French Gray (SW0055) and refinished the floors. 

Well, I think I'll show you the rest of the house in another post.  There were a lot of changes in the master bathroom.  We also updated the laundry room, powder room and piano room.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

Painting Changes Things

I traveled to Kansas City for two weeks to get started on the house remodeling.  It may not have been the first thing that should've been done, but I had the main floor painted.  My painter's week of availability was the last week of July/first of August.  I was anxious to get the wall colors changed.  So, up I went.  

First are some "before pictures" of the house.  This a screen shot off of Zillow and shows it partially furnished from the previous owners.  

Here is a tighter picture of it empty. I obviously don't have a wide angle lens.

Here is the painted version.  The walls are painted Sherwin Williams Creamy and the fireplace was painted SW Anchors Aweigh.  The floors will be wood and probably a chandelier will replace the ceiling fan.  

Same for the dining room.  

Sorry for the different angle.  The chandelier will be changed as well. 

Here is a different angle with the painter's tape yet to be removed. I didn't really want the trim to be a different color than the walls, but I had difficulty identifying the trim color and not enough time to figure it out before the painters arrived.  I went with Creamy on the main floor except for our bedroom. 

Here is the entry staircase "before". This first photo is very old.  

You can barely see a brass chandelier at the top of the photo.  

 This current chandelier is bronze.  But I recently noticed that the chain and cap are brass.  

Strange.

"After" These aren't from the same angles, but you can see the color change. 

It is a very dark area and I think the SW Creamy white will help a lot.  

The door straight ahead leads to the Master Bedroom.  I will have the wallpaper removed and painted or re-wallpapered.  The room on the right is the library.  It is the same color as the other rooms.  It looks blue because of the northern exposure.  It was a gold color as shown in the Zillow photo below and is now also Creamy white. Evidently I never took an after photo. 

The Master Bedroom was dark brown, much like our bedroom in California.  I was very tired of that color and never picked it in the first place.  So this time we went with a gray/blue/green color.  It is SW Silver Strand.  

Again, I lack a wide angle lens. I think you can see the improvement though.  

Much better, don't you think? 

So, there you have some progress pictures.  I met with two contractors and am waiting on their bids then we will start making decisions and picking out surfaces and fixtures for the kitchen and the Master Bathroom.  I'll keep you posted! Any advice you can give to me since I'm new at renovations will be much appreciated.  

Snowed In?

I thought I'd show you how we began 2015.  We got 10 inches of snow and lost our electricity for around 62 hours.  As you can tell by the photos, it was very beautiful.  My little shed is going to be the star of many of my photos.  It was especially lovely covered in snow.

 Isn't she pretty?

My husband is a hiker which I'm sure you remember.  He has a lot of necessary supplies that helped us survive the power outage.  He was loving his Jet Boil, but our gas stove worked fine and we made do.  We also used our charcoal grill for some delicious steaks.  I even popped popcorn in a pan on the stove the way my Mom use to do it.  It was delicious.

The headlamp came in handy at night when I wanted to read.  You won't be seeing any photos of me with the headlamp on.  Not happening.

 I was reading Unbroken, which is so good.  My little annoying difficulties were nothing in comparison to what Louis Zamporini endured.

 Yay for powered up Kindles.

 Seriously!  Isn't it gorgeous?

We have long ago gotten rid of our snow shovels.  My husband ended up shoveling our very steep driveway with a regular garden shovel.  We still could not get out, because we live along very steep hills and our city does not have equipment to plow snow.  So we waited.  We finally got out four days later.

 Our new refrigerator.

 So many trees in our area were shattered.  It's really sad.

My beautiful Aeonium tipped over and so these pieces are going to friends who want to start their own.

Yesterday (less than a week later) it was 82 and so we are back to normal California weather, if not a little warm for the month.  Big changes are on the horizon at our house.  I'll try to keep you up to speed a little better in 2015.  Hope your New Year was wonderful and not as eventful as ours. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Collected Christmas - Home Tour 2014

Welcome to our home!  I thought I'd join in with The Nester's Christmas home tour.  It's for home's that don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  Come on in, I'll just let you have a look around.

Let's go into the family room where most of the "hanging out" happens. 

I was in a hurry to cover up the label on the poinsettia wrapper before my party last Monday.  I decided to grab a quick scarf and it worked perfectly.  This may happen every year. 

Pottery Barn plates, vintage collectables fill my antique cabinet. 

Thanks for visiting.  I have a little more to show in the next post.  Make sure you check out the other participants in the House Tour.  Merry Christmas!

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  

Isaiah 9:6