New House Update

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.  

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!

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.

From “This Old House”- LOVE the tile

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…

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. 

On Before & Afters

We bought a little rent house a couple of years ago.
It’s been a long journey but it’s finished- and rented! 
I wanted to share some “Before” and “Afters” to show what we were up against.
Be warned- the “Before” pictures were after we had cleaned twice- it was THAT DIRTY.

(Paint, Glass, Roof…)

 Whew!  Thanks to Mom and my uncle for helping us!

On Strange Coincidences?

We bought a “new” house last week!  
1930's Bungalow house in North Little Rock, AR

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!  
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.