Hallway of Gray

We finally got around to painting our stairwell/hallway and risers, though admittedly, with the help of a professional painter who had ladders that could reach our 16-foot high ceiling.

 For comparison...here is the before picture:

The color we used is the same silvery gray (Samovar Silver in satin finish by Sherwin Williams) painted in the living room and dining room. It's a neutral shade that we're using in various parts of the house to help unify the spaces and balance out some of the other crazy colors we've painted on accent walls, etc.

The risers were painted white to match the trim and banister spindles.

Once again, the before picture when the only color the house knew was "oak:"

The gray walls look great with the banister and create a two-tone effect (with a deeper darker grayish blue on the rail). Now both the upstairs and downstairs oak has been transformed and the institution-style white scuffed hallways are a thing of the past. 

Aside from a few doorways and, of course, the ugly kitchen, this concludes most of the painting on both levels. (Notice how moving on to more expensive projects means less projects getting done at all.) Over time, we'll start tackling some of the bigger projects and I'll continue to share them here.

House Love At First Sight

It was on Memorial Day weekend last year that we saw this house listed for sale on Trulia. It was in a nearby neighborhood we had been "stalking," it was within our price range, it had all our "must-haves," and it had just the right amount of potential. Our Realtor showed it to us later that afternoon. We put in an offer the next day and found out the offer was accepted the day after that. We went from casually browsing to buying a house practically overnight.

We've done a lot of work so far and we have a lot more to go, but I often get so caught up in the urge to fix everything all at once that I forget to take the time to reflect on everything we've accomplished in one short year. It's hardly the same house anymore…and that's a good thing, I think.

Here's a montage of the house as it was listed one year ago and how it stands today.

Exterior changes: Powerwash, new paint (blue, gray, & white), new white steel door, new white vinyl windows downstairs (new windows upstairs coming soon!)

One Year Later

Backyard: Powerwash & new paint, new bay windows, cleared out monkey grass, vines and small trees, repaired broken lattice and play set.

One Year Later

One Year Later

Living Room: Painted walls, trim & mantel, new windows, new curtains, new pot lights, stainless steel outlet plates.

One Year Later

Dining Room: New paint, new windows, curtains and rod, new light fixture, table and chairs.

One Year Later

Kitchen: New windows, custom window seat, new light fixture, primed for paint (next week!) 

One Year Later

Front Hallway: New paint & trim (including banister), new white steel door, new light fixture.

One Year Later

Laundry Room: Painted wall and cabinets, knew knobs, new dryer, custom built folding shelf.

One Year Later

Guest Room: New paint, curtains, art, etc.

One Year Later

Master Bedroom: Removed border, new paint, white outlet covers, curtains (new windows coming soon).

One Year Later

A lot of people think we're joking when we say it will be years before we're done fixing up the house, but it's true.  For every project we've finished, there is an equally daunting project we still have to accomplish (the kitchen, bathrooms, third bedroom, landscaping, etc.). Let's blame HGTV for making us feel as though we can "makeover" an entire house in a short hour-long "episode." Today, though, I will remember this house as it was one year ago when we first saw it, and how far it's come.

Opening a New Door

Even though my parents came down for a holiday vacation, it's been more of a working vacation for my dad, whom I presented with a list of house projects before he arrived.

The trade-off for them to escape the -20 degree temperature in Maine is to help Tommie and I with the projects we're not skilled enough to tackle...which is a lot.  We pretty much max out on anything that requires more than a hammer and a paint brush.

Since it was warm when my parents arrived around Christmas, we first tackled a couple of indoor/outdoor projects.  The old owner's left a play set in the backyard, and even though we don't have kids, I wanted to replace the rotted support beams because during our move-in I found one of Tommie's 21-year-old co-workers enjoying a good swing.  Better to be safe.  A couple new 2x4's with a pressure-treated one on the ground should do the trick.

While shopping for 2x4's, we noticed an entryway door on sale at Home Depot for $159.  Our wood door was swelling and contracting a lot with the temperature fluctuation in North Carolina, and we would have to replace it at some point, so I added it to the "daddy to do" list.  It was a big project to tackle, but everyone helped.  

The new white, steel door has a half-circle window and it helps brighten up the entryway a lot.  It's also really good at keeping out the drafts compared to the old door.  I was able to unload the old door to someone on Craigslist who bought it for $25.  Cha-ching.

Front door before (above) and after (below).

Entryway when we bought it

Entryway now with new paint, light fixture, and door.

Outside with old door & old paint

Outside with new door & new paint. Bam!

Banister Beautification

80's oak.  It's the gift that keeps on giving in here.  Our splotchy and dated entryway banister was just another part of the house in need of a makeover.

(Stairway before and after.)

Since it's the first thing you see when you come in the front door, we really wanted to freshen it up.  I didn't like the style of the spindles, but painting them white (with the same Valspar paint we used on our trim) made them look a hundred times better.  

(Spindles and outer stair border now in white.)

The rails recieved a couple coats of dark gray high gloss paint from Sherwin William's called Gray's Harbor.  Eventually, the trim on the other side will be white too, and we'll paint the walls the same light gray color that carries into the living room.  It will be nice to tie some of the rooms together in time.

Lighten Up

I was itching to update some of the brass and glass light fixtures in the house.

 (Original lights in the foyer and the eat-in kitchen.)

This black chandeleir was the display piece at Lowe's, so when it retired to the clearance shelf we picked it up for $23.00 (marked down from $79.00).  It was missing the mounting bracket so it's a good thing we had a handyman take care of hanging it.  Otherwise, I'm sure it would have fallen on our heads by now.

(New light in the eat-in kitchen.)

Tommie and I did manage to change out the fixture in our foyer to this glass bell jar light with an edison bulb (also from Lowes).

(New light in the foyer.)

Another quick fix was updating the glass covers for the light over one of the bathroom vanities.  They were $1.50 each at the Mission Thrift Store in Durham and with less flowery curves than the originals, they help modernize the fixture.  I'm also planning to spray paint the base silver.

The old fixtures were donated to Habitat for Humanity's Restore shop.  We still have plenty of brass and glass to part with, but this is a start.

Whiteout

I never gave much thought about painted versus non-painted trim until faced with a house that's downstairs is full of dark oak trim on the top, bottom, and sometimes in the middle of every wall.  I often like the natural look of wood, but not this wood--it's dingy, dirty, dark, and dated.  So, as we go through each room with new colors for the walls, we're transforming all the trim to white.  We will likely finish this project sometime before 2020.

(Stained oak trim to white.)

It takes multiple coats of primer and paint to cover up the wood and it's painstakingly slow (sand, sponge, prime, sand, sponge, paint, and paint, and paint).  It's starting to feel like Groundhog Day around here.  Also, painting things white isn't as visually rewarding as painting with color, but it has to be done.  I can just hear the house begging us to brighten her up.  I'm also touching up the window frames after the new windows were installed and painting the banister rails white.

I can't believe that no one before us wanted to change the trim or paint a wall in here.  It's crazy to me...though I suppose some may argue that "hearing" what a house "wants" is crazier.

When Tommie and I first moved in, we found some items in the back of a bathroom cabinet left from those before us...mauve hair dye, deep maroon nail polish, and black lipstick...that about sums things up in here.  The 90's are calling and want the house back.  It's time to bring this baby up to speed.