Sunday, October 11, 2009

CALLING BOB VILLA

It didn’t take a close examination to figure out that we shouldn’t try to make it through another winter (well, what passes for winter in SoCal) with our 25 year-old paint peeling to bare wood all over the house, windows falling apart, and the sotto voce mutterings of the neighbors.  So, our grand RV trip to the Pacific NW was postponed for the second time, the bank account pillaged, contracts signed, and we’re off on the grand adventure.  Remodeling.  Of course, paint leads to grander considerations in the distaff mind, and the house is getting a porch ceiling, new entry stairs, enlarged porch floor area, new front walks, new side walk, new window in the cave-den, and closing in all of the eave overhangs.  Yikes.

Up went the scaffolding (that’s Mom supervising from the porch):IMG_2003

Out came the shrubs:IMG_2005

And on went the first coat of “Restful Green:”IMG_2011

The color’s a little hard to make out, but it looks great in the flesh.  Pulling off the old siding to the right of the porch revealed decades-long-covered vents, one in front and one around the edge towards the garage door. 

Up went the rafters for the porch ceiling:IMG_2038

And then the tongue-in-groove planks:IMG_2040

Meanwhile, now that we have all this “time on our hands, wouldn’t it be great to redo the interior as well?  Hmmmmm?  Let’s start with the dining room.”  Start?IMG_2020

Let’s see.  Strip the wallpaper.  Sand the walls down.  Wash the walls.  Wash the ceiling.  Prime the ceiling and all the walls.  Ain’t this fun?  Not.IMG_2047

Well, one of us is having a good time.IMG_2043

The colors were a little shocking at first for Loni.  I loved them, but she took a while to warm up.  That wall on the left doesn’t really look that pink in real life; it’s more of a salmon.  The lines where they meet the ceiling will be covered with crown molding.  IMG_2049

The new window in the den has eliminated the cave.  As a bonus, it looks straight across the 12 feet to the window in the house next door, right down their hallway to their bedroom door.  Well, alrighty!IMG_2046

The new front path has been staked and scraped.  We might see cement this week.  We will of course have to deface it with names and date for posterity.  Or until the next owner bulldozes the place and builds a manse.IMG_2051

More to come!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you going to repaint the front door to match? -JC

Meghan said...

Love the title! Love the dining room colors. Thanks for sharing the photos. Meghan

Yo said...

Love it!!! Wow, lots of work. Hope we can catch up soon. Maybe we can come visit with Sean once the project is complete!