Jul 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
The “new” house is starting to come along…
We are our own contractors so juggling everything is tricky, but worth the money we’ll save.
We’ve always done everything ourselves, but this is just too big a job to do it all.
Floors have been started (sort of) with patches done and kitchen rough sanded. They are all quartersawn old growth red oak. Very pretty.
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| Floors “Before and After” Sanding |
I ordered the floor stain/finish from Monocoat. It’s a NO VOC product that is supposed to be very durable. The thing I liked about it was that if there are scuffs or dings you don’t have to resand. Good to have tough stuff when you have three wild kids and a big dog. I’ll let you know how it comes out and holds up!
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| Color we picked for stain in whole house |
We have the cabinet style and plan done- cabinetmaker will start next week actually building!
I wanted simple and historically accurate so we picked a basic Arts & Crafts/Shaker style door with a small bead on frame and inset doors. (I didn’t realize there were so many choices.) I want exposed hinges, but not sure what color yet or what knobs.
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| From “This Old House”- LOVE the tile |
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| From BHG- Love the use of different colors |
We got our fridge and dishwasher in the scratch and dent room at our local appliance store. They are panel ready and much nicer than what we could have gotten for the same price otherwise. I still am in limbo over the range and hood. I want a nice one- I love to bake and most of the “fancy” 36″stainless ranges have smaller ovens than you’d imagine despite the range size. Also, a lot of those are really more for looks and not function from what I’m reading. This will be my big splurge though. I’m leaning towards the Bertrazonni, an Italian range that I found online (on sale AND with a free hood.)
but… the one I’m drooling over is this…
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| Isn’t it a Harley Davidson for a kitchen? |
Sigh… really don’t think it’s worth the extra dough though.
I’m off to paint the kids’ rooms and contemplate kitchen colors.
Jun 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
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| 1930’s Linoleum (2 layers down)– so cool! |
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| Oak Floors under old linoleum!! |
I’ve been trying to find a natural product for refinishing the wood floors in the new house.
Problems:
- Polyurethane is nasty (chemical-wise has lots of lovely VOC’s) and scratches so badly. We had the floors in our house now redone ten years ago and they have scratches from roller skates, toy cars, dog claws…
- The floors under the kitchen floor we tore out are original but worn to a different color/sheen because they weren’t waxed as regularly. Plus they still have the backing from the 1930’s linoleum on top which needs to be sanded off.
- Wax products you can buy have yummy stuff like xylene and cresol unless you can just use beeswax or another European wax (but they are expensive and not as durable as I’d like)
I just found a product called Rubio Monocoat and think it might be the answer I’ve been looking for! It’s made from flax, and has zero VOC’s. Very safe and is LEED certified.
We’ll have to sand the floors, (but really need to anyway considering the kitchen and patches from floor furnaces and electrical work,) then just paint this oil on and wipe off excess. If we use the fast drying one it’s done in a day! They have lots of colors to choose from but think we will just go with the natural color of the wood.
In the playroom we still have to lay floors (and subfloors.) Since it’s upstairs we want something that absorbs sounds, and still not certain what we’re going to put there. I’m leaning towards wood with an underlayment of soundproof material, or cork (also with an underlayment.) The kids want carpet, but I’m not a fan of the chemicals in carpet or the dust that it collects. Anyone have ideas?
Feb 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
We bought a “new” house last week!
It’s a historic 1930 craftsman a few blocks from our house.
The coolest part is that it sits on three full lots (which means awesome garden!)
We’re really excited to start work on the house- keeping it original, green, and yet functional for a modern family!
I’ve been doing research for the historic tax program and got some background information from the NLR Historic Commission. Last night Scott was doing some research on the original owner, and the first picture that popped up on the net was…
A picture of Scott’s great-grandparents!
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| From “The Guardian” March 30th, 1945 |
How strange of a coincidence is that?
(It ended up there was an ad for the man’s business on the same page of the paper.)
I call it fate.
Feb 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
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| Cinnamon Sweet Rolls! |
We are buying a new old house! It’s exciting but so scary. It was a spur of the moment decision and we didn’t think we’d actually get it (but were hoping.)
A 1930’s brick Art Deco Bungalow (I think…)
All original lighting fixtures, tiles, doors, knobs, even stove and sink. High ceilings and plaster walls. Very cool (or it will be.) The lot is what sold me. Almost an acre in the city! (4 level lots.) I can have a nice garden! It’s only a block from my house now, so not a huge change that way. (We LOVE our neighborhood!)
I am freaking out because now I have to finish the rent house, fix this one to sell, and fix that one to move into…
Anyone want to buy my house???
