Side Tracked

One thing about doing a major project is that you don't get much instant gratification.  NOTHING is finished and while the to do list gets an item or two knocked off, it seems to continue to grow.

This weekend we took the weekend off and worked on another project.

A few weeks ago, I rescued a table from the trash man.  (Well Troy did the actual rescue).  I really only wanted the base.

When Troy bought the mahogony slab for the mantle, he picked up a piece of walnut for me.  I didn't really know what to do with it at the time but once I got this base, I thought it would make a nice bistro table for the patio.  We don't have anywhere to sit and eat or drink a cup or coffee or do some laptopping.

We started by ripping the board into planks to get as many peices as we could - there were knot and the it was rough sawn. 

Some glue and screws and we had a tabletop!

Next was planing and sanding trying to get it flat and smooth. Easier said than done with just hand tools!

 

 

I painted the base to match the ceiling and the accent color on the storage dresser.

Next came two coats of poly.

My new table - complete with a hole for my laptop cord!! 

My table's new home.  Now I have to move the bench into the garage - it will be my new toolbox and then there will be room for the two brown chairs I picked up at a garage sale for two dollars.  Next time I am at the fabric store, I'll be looking for a remnant to make cushions for the chairs. 

Hitting a wall

The past two weekends have been a study in frustration.  I hit it in every reno but this time it involved my favorite part of the job - painting

Last weekend was priming weekend.  Priming is BORING!!  All you end up with is white walls and a bad paint job at that.  No pictures - that is how boring it is!

On Sunday the FIOS guy was here and after grocery shopping Troy sent me to Home Depot.  The trip had two purposes...

Remember how I said I was going to paint the bathroom.  Well I decided to keep it the same color.  Problem was, I neglected to write down the paint color when I painted it nearly 4 years ago.  We had a sample - from some peeling paint so I took it to Lowes to try and match it.  The guy at the store was great.  The first attempt was too dark so we tried again. 

I came home and figured I could just do a touch up job on the new drywall areas - no such luck.  The new color was slightly lighter and I ended up painting the whole bathroom again!  Note to self - start a spreadsheet with all the paint colors!!

The second reason for the trip was to pick out a new light fixture.  The original got broken.  No great loss.  So now I have the bathroom back.  New light fixture and a few new pictures.

 

 

The pictures add some blue to the bathroom and I'll add more with the new valance and a new shower curtain.

The MAJOR frustration was painting the bedroom.  This is what I've been waiting for.  I could finally put on the Benjamin Moore paint I won.  I now have to confess that I didn't test the colors first.  I picked them from the cards. 

So I painted the ceiling.  The color was so nice and the Aura paint is great!

Then I painted the walls!  EEEEKKK.  The ceiling looked purple gray and the walls looked green/blue and not blue.  What I failed to take into account was two things - the lighting in the room and the effect of one color next to another.  By bedtime, I decided to repaint the ceiling the same color as the walls.

I wasted a whole morning because I took a shortcut.  THAT is a mistake I will never make again!  Funny thing is that Troy always jokes me because I will usually go through 8-10 samples before I settle on a paint color!

 

If you look carefully at the insides of the closet you will see the original ceiling color and see what I mean. 

Before we quit for the weekend, Troy installed the lights in the closets. And all the wiring and structured media set up is done so we are wired!   The ceiling fan is purchased and the sconces are ordered.  Floors are next. 

We may take next weekend off.  I have to work and the yard is starting to look like a jungle.