It's All In The Details

Last Friday we stood in the future Great Room of our house and looked at each other in crazy amazement of how much we put our bodies through within the first week of home-ownership. We were so focused on the task at hand that we really didn't take many moments to step back and look at what we were doing... that's what we hope this blog will do. Document the craziness of DIY that we'll be looking back on day and say, "What were we thinking?".

However, until our bodies tell us to stop, we're gonna keep on going at this speed. We've committed to working only 1 night during the week (Wednesday) and then we'll work as much as we can on the weekends. Yes, we'll have to sacrifice making some friends for a few months, but we'll be much happier home-owners come Christmas :)

Speaking of which, some of you might be wondering why you don't see any furniture in these pictures. That's cause we're still living in our apartment while we make the major updates to our house. The timing worked out well so we have about 2 months to make as much of a mess as we want so we don't have to be careful about tip-toeing around our furniture. This also has another benefit that we have an "escape" from the mess we call DIY. Don't worry about it, it's a few miles away and in another building :) Out of site, out of mind... kindof.

Okay, now let's get down to the good stuff.

Last Wednesday's agenda
- Remove all the wall paper

It's hard to remove wallpaper quickly when you have TWO LAYERS to remove. We started out in the laundry room where this lovely wallpaper was on display...

But keep in mind you can't start removing wallpaper until you've moved the washer and dryer out, uninstalled all the pipes, and then removed all the items & faceplates to all the outlets. Sounds simple, but it takes some time. The wall paper came off really quickly, so then we were on to the kitchen. At this rate, we're thinking we're going to get all the wallpaper off tonight.... think again.

Here's a picture of what the kitchen looks like before wallpaper...

And now it's gone! Too bad it was already 10PM and we were beat. The rest would have to wait till Friday night.

Friday's Agenda
- Finish removing all the wall paper (3 bathrooms and Dining Room glue)
- Prep the home for trim priming

The electrical had to be removed in order to get the wallpaper behind it. Don't worry, I've done these types of things before :).

All of the wallpaper was off and it was only 8:45PM! Next step was to take off all the doors & hinges so that we could get rockin' and rollin' on Saturday with trim & window priming.


BUT FIRST... it's time. That's right, it's time to remove the worst eyesore in the whole house. The gold shear curtain above the front door.

WOW. It's crazy what it does to just remove window treatments.

Doors off and ready to go for tomorrow.

Saturday's Agenda
- Get coffee/breakfast at Starbucks
- Swing by Home Depot for paint primer and a few other things
- Prime all the trim and windows downstairs once

To be consistent, we started in the laundry room first and then made our way across the first floor of the house. After one coat on the laundry room door we knew we were in for an exciting day.

Look at how different it looks!!

We packed our lunch and while we were eating it we walked around our neighborhood and then stopped in our backyard to pull some weeds. JT made the statement that he's more comfortable doing renovations outside than inside... by all means! Help yourself :) I don't have a green thumb in my entire body.... but somehow I want a garden someday in this little area... my mom will come teach me, I'm sure.

After 1 coat on every nook and cranny on the first floor, we were pooped and ready to get some sleep. The second coat will have to wait for tomorrow.

Sunday's Agenda
JT was preaching at a small church in Springfield, KY in the morning and we knew we wouldn't get back till about 3PM or so to get started on the house.
- Finish the second coat on the first floor
- Start priming the first coat on the second floor windows

Lots more of the same... and now we realize that the largest task we've decided to take on is painting. We're literally painting every square inch of this place.... and patience is what's going to get us through this crazy thing.

 Here's a few before/afters to help us see the progress.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

 

 One last before/after picture to show you what a little paint will do. Notice the closet trim and the 3 posts in the vanity.

BEFORE

 AFTER

Tomorrow night is more of... you guessed it, priming trim/windows!! More updates this coming weekend. Stay tuned and add us to your google reader or subscribe to the blog.