Welcome back my friends, to the renovation that never ends! Actually, I am feeling good this week after getting back from my travels. But I had to ask myself, is the dining table really necessary for Thanksgiving?
The short answer is, in my book, yes it is. And since I wanted to give myself a deadline for actually getting something BIG done, in this case that would be get the sunroom/dining room finished, there was no other answer than to get off my bootie and get moving!
The dining table is still wrapped in the moving blanket from the movers. It has been leaning up against the wall for the last 8 months. It is ready to become the star of the show.
The sunroom that took forever
This week I have made some goals. I first started out, after having a few weeks off for travel to visit both my girls, getting the tools out again. I began by building the window seat that will run the full length of the sunroom and be seating for one side of the dining table.
I will also fill it with all my puzzles. It will be a convenient place to store them, as I cannot wait to do one, since this is the table I like to puzzle on. It is nice and flat, our kitchen table is an old english farm table and has an uneven surface. The other window seat in the kitchen houses all the china.
That bench was an easy enough build, as I whipped it out pretty quick and then started looking around at all the piles. And I have decided, I AM DONE LOOKING AROUND AT ALL THE PILES! I want them gone. No more piles. I wish to be … pile free.
So I decided to be realistic, figure out what I can actually get done before Thanksgiving, and made a list. I made that list and I am checking it twice. Call me Santa. Because crap is happening and I am officially done living with all this trash around. I have 2 more weeks of patience left in me, and then my cup runneth dry. Watch out!
So the window seat is officially done and ready for painting, along with the whole room. That is the next step after I spend the next hundred years caulking and filling the holes. Next week might be pretty big on progress, so I am holding out celebrating and congratulating myself.
The list that brings focus
So the list I am working off is focused on me getting all the “woodworking” stuff done in the main living areas, so I might actually put my tools away for the week of Thanksgiving. I won’t get too excited, because they will be back out soon. But here is my plan:
- finish all the woodworking
- caulk and fill everything
- sand like crazy
- prep for painting (I spray with this sprayer)
- paint and pretend I am a normal person
- put away ALL tools for a week and style my spaces, which will include hanging all the artwork and unpacking some boxes
- put my feet up one day and pat myself on the back without feeling too smug because I am not even close to being done with the whole house
I am feeling good about everything, have ordered all the light fixtures I need so all can be hung before the holiday, and have even added another chore.
You need help
Not sure if you have noticed this about me, but admittedly, I have a problem with getting help. My issue is twofold. One, if I do it myself then I know it gets done properly. Trust me, nothing is worse than paying someone to do something that you could have easily done, and then realizing they did a crappier job than you would have.
Two, I like to save money because that allows me to spend money on the things that make everything look fabulous and bougie. So doing things myself, as long as I have the skill set, has always been my preferred mode of operation.
But this week, as I was outlining my goals to finish the entire main living spaces before Thanksgiving, hubby said “get some help”. I am rarely obedient, but I finally listened, and decided to call my fave exterior painting guy and see if he can squeeze me in before Turkey Day to paint a big giant wall and small hallway. To my delight, he said YES!
So in order to prep a few things to complete for him to do that, I pulled out the big ladder to finish stripping the wallpaper. I am halfway done and will finish stripping the rest down the hall, but that will require a bit of sketchy ladder work over the stairwell, so wish me luck.
I already had most of it done before, and just had a small area to finish, so we are full steam (literally!) ahead! I just love progress.
We also had this weird gate thing on the stairwell going down to the basement. It was here when we bought the house. It was very convenient when we had a dog, which is why I am sure they had it originally installed. I just wasn’t thinking about it.
But today I had to remove the baseboard to add the new stuff and I was messing around over there. Wait, why do I need this? Um, I don’t, I just hadn’t thought about it because I have a million things going. But guess what? It’s gone! YAY! Now the hallway seems giganormous and I am happy to have it gone.
Let this be your reminder that you don’t have to keep things a certain way just because. Make them your own, have it fit your needs, and get what you want!
I added that vintage newel post and topped the existing railing with a handrail. All that will soon be painted, but NOT the newel post! I love that patina. Remember this one I added in my other house? It adds a little somethin’ somethin’. Love it at Christmas time. That’s comin’ in hot!
A little retail therapy
I hit a few estate sales last week because I needed a little pick me up. I found some fun stuff to sell in my booth. I was only going to go to one, but then it snowballed, and before you knew it, I was like 45 minutes from home.
But I went to this super cool one that was a house that 5 generations had lived in. So everything was super old. I bought the most amazing Victorian wicker chairs for the outside patio.
They are the kind that are super solid and heavy, back when they actually made things to last 100 years. Now they just need a fresh coat of paint in the spring, but aren’t they gorgeous? Bargain priced at $15 each, and they are heavy sturdy and bigger than they look in the pictures. Score!
I also got this super old sideboard that is over 100 years old and basically amazing! It needs a bit of love, but I can provide that. I was thinking about selling it in my booth, but then I put it under the patio and thought “wow, that looks great there”. I forgot to take a picture and now it is dark outside, but I will show and tell next week!
That’s it for now. I hopefully will have more things done and soon can start styling. I can’t wait to clean and put stuff away. Weird, I know. But it’s been too long. Thanks for following along. More to come, stay tuned.
