A Dark Bathroom?

I always pictured lots of white or maybe tan. But this is gorgeous...

Can't Forget...

Somebody please remind me that I want mirrored nightstands. Yum.  Saw similar side tables at Target the other day, and then was reminded when I saw this lovely:

Reclaiming Old Details

I haven't done a great job of highlighting the details of my 1890 rowhouse (most of them were erased by previous renovations), but someday I'd like to open up the old coal fireplaces which have all been covered up and drywalled over.

Something like this:

But would it be too weird to put a flat-screen TV above it? I kinda like mixing old and new, but I could also see the look being a little jarring...

I'll take this one, thank you very much.

Feel free to wrap it with a bow.

Mmm white

This makes me want to replace all my black furniture with white. Like, really badly. Ignore the canopy thingy. Via Home Sweet Home.

This, but with security bars, unfortunately...

Okay, this is basically what I've envisioned for the kitchen door out to the patio. Maybe even this lime green color! I think it would look good with the aqua kitchen walls. Of course, because my neighborhood's a little sketchy, we'd be doing bars over the door, but at least we could get light in (and open the security gate when we're using it). The other option would be a full door with a screened storm door.

Mmm Inspiration ...

Found a new home design blog to follow! Home Sweet Home is the name, and it made me realize that I need this desk. Need.

Then, when I clicked on a photo of some sweet storage stairs, it led me to Delikatissen, which is pretty cool, too! Whee!

Speaking of, this is an awesome way to deal with a small bathroom -- look at how the shower doors fold in while it's not in use!

My flowers are dying, and other updates.

So my poor little flowers are dying, already. They say knockout roses are hardy. Apparently they still can't survive my gardening ineptitude. What am I missing?

In other news, I can't reach several lightbulbs to change them. Feeling like a helpless girl. Considering replacing the flush-mount light in the upstairs hall with a pendant, to lower the bulb's height, though perhaps I should just get a taller ladder. Or both. It's a pretty ugly light. So far I've been looking at Home Depot and LampsPlus.com, but I could use some other ideas.

I'll also hopefully be getting an appraisal soon to see if my renovations have increased my equity enough to get rid of the private mortgage insurance. That would make my year. But I know it's a long shot. Trying to keep low expectations here...

Nice Bathroom Colors

More likely for the first-floor bathroom....

The Future Fireplace

So how do I find this fireplace? It's basically perfect.

The Front Yard (95% done)

Catherine and I spent Labor Day fixing up the front yard. I think we did a pretty good job for not really knowing what we were doing.

We still need a couple more bags of soil and some stones cut in half.

Mmm an Office Someday?

Loving the color contrast, the white sheers, the Expedit-type bookcase and of course that light!

Simple Fireplace Mantle

My living room has an old coal fireplace that's been closed up, so now it's just a part of the wall that jutts out for no reason. Someday I'd like to open the fireplace back up, hopefully making it usable, and add a mantle. Our TV is already mounted on this wall, so it would have to move up a bit. I've been looking around at mantles (not that this is a priority project or anything) and they've all looked too bulky for the space. This would be a simple solution -- and I bet pretty inexpensive, too.

D.C. Pride

I wouldn't go out and buy this for myself, but it would be a cool gift (for me or others). Comes in a poster (black and white or red and blue) or a screen print (burgundy and tan, brown and lime green, or gray and white -- my fave).

Hmmm Maybe?

I think this is way cool, but I don't know where I'd put it. Maybe in the front? Eh, that's kind of weird...

THAT'S what I meant.

Somebody totally stole my idea for my living room. Okay, not really. More like I want to copy this living room. But it is generally what I had in mind for a couple years down the road, when I have furniture that's not from Craigslist or belonging to roommates. Specifically, the two matching sofas facing each other, sitting at 90 degrees from the fireplace (which I hope to restore). I'd put my TV above the fireplace and not go so far with the crown molding. Even the color scheme is similar, though I wouldn't have thought to do that pale tannish pinkish color three-quarters of the way up the wall. It's interesting. I was planning on all white, but color is probably good. ... Anyway, the picture:






















Loooove it!

Oh and here are some more photos from their home. I really want to get my hands on this issue of Domino.

WANT!

So we've been having some problems with people coming into our back parking area and, well, using it as a toilet. It's made me even more eager to get started with the patio (and fence!), which I started looking into the other day. I'm not sure of all the requirements yet, but it looks like it will take a while, with permits and surveys and such. Basically, into late fall, when I'm hoping it will be too cold for people to want to use my parking pad for their business. Anyway. So I think the best plan is to wait till spring for the big redo, which will include ripping up the concrete, putting in a fence with a gate, putting down pavers or some other kind of stone or decking, and building planters. Also maybe doing something for my hammock. Lots of plans. Anyway, today I saw this, and I was in love.

This isn't what I originally had in mind, and I'm ignoring the pergola-type thing, but I love the fact that it has a bench and planter box in one. I would probably do more planter and less bench. Man, I even like the stone on the ground. And the stain of the wood. Can I just copy?

My Current Obsession

Ever since we temporarily closed off the parking slab for our housewarming, making it a sort of patio, I've been kind of obsessed with having that patio for real. I know I can't do it at least until next May, because Catherine's parking there (and it's in her lease that she gets to), so until then I'm going to try and save up my money and plan for an awesome design. This picture was my first inspiration. It sort of has the size and layout of the parking area.

A Better Bathroom Fan

Right now, the fan in the first-floor bathroom is connected to the light, and there's only one switch. So every time you go in there, it's kind of obnoxious. So when we do the bathroom over, separating those is a big priority. And upstairs, even though we got the fan and light separated (by adding another light), the fan itself doesn't even work.

So on to my solution for both bathrooms!


















This fixture is both a recessed light AND a fan, and even better, it's quiet! From Apartment Therapy.

Swanky Bedroom Windows

So I still haven't posted bedroom pix, but I wish they included curtains like these! Love how the rod goes over both windows. Not sure if I could do that with my three windows, but still very cool. From a before-and-after on Apartment Therapy.

Wishful Thinking

I've decided this will also be the place where I keep track of design ideas I want to copy, plans that I can't afford yet, etc. Here are a few:

Snapping deck tiles by VIFAH, found on Apartment Therapy, where I find most ideas. For when I turn the parking slap into a patio, though I think pavers are more likely. Still a cool idea.










Okay you can't see it very well in this picture, but the back wall of the kitchen is a wall of windows (and a glass door). I loooove this, especially since this kitchen has the same galley-style layout as mine. I guess I'd need to get an alarm system, since I couldn't do security bars. From a Washington Post article on narrow rowhouses.







I want a walk-in shower like this one on the first floor, and I like how the wall of the shower comes out just past the vanity. I probably wouldn't go sooo modern, but other than that I love this. From the same WaPo article.














Oh yeah, definitely want a rainwater shower head. That tile's pretty, too. Unfortunately won't be able to get any natural light into the first-floor bath, cuz we're putting the shed on the outside wall of it. From Design Sponge.














Bathroom chandelier? Oh yeah. Apartment Therapy.

Renovation Gets in the Way of Renovation Blog

So it turns out there isn't much time to blog when you're doing a renovation, even if it's a blog devoted to the renovation. But here are some pictures of the house mid-renovation. These aren't up-to-date, because I still need to take more now that the place is looking better, but I want to do some more cleaning and stuff. So here we go:

Got all that crap out of the living room and started over. My uncle's guys came to help out.






That ductwork at the ceiling is gonna get boxed in, with recessed lights.






That's Gustavo. He taught me how to spackle. :)









Mom and Dad also helped out a whole bunch. That's the new utility closet on the left.








Don't worry, I helped, too.









We had a big mess for a very long time. That's my new water heater in the big box. We ate several Subway lunches in those camp chairs, pretending that was a patio.





So remember the kitchen? The exposed ducts? The lack of cabinets? The freaking furnace?






Right, that furnace. Ew. Get ready for the kitchen mid-renovation...






Yay! Those are my medium-brown Adel cabinets from Ikea. The table is also from Ikea, a discontinued model that we got on sale. The stainless steel appliances are Whirlpool for Ikea, also gotten with my spiffy brand-new Ikea credit card. Oh yeah, sink, too. It's a stainless steel, two-bowl corner sink. I wanted an undermount one, but apparently they're like $800 to get that style, so inset it is. Digging the double bowl thing so far.



The other wall of cabinets. Because of issues with the waste line, we couldn't get the sink over here, under the window, like we wanted, but it's kind of nice having this side as a sort of prep/serving area. That's the awesome pantry cabinet on the right. Was a pain in the butt to get there (had to redo a wall and move a light switch), but it was worth it.




From a different angle you can see the glass cabinet doors (there are two, the rest are regular wood) and the utility closet to the right, with my Craigslist stacking washer/dryer. High-efficiency Bosch, sounds like a jet taking off. But works well. That window faces the alley.





A sneak peek at where the living room is heading, with the ductwork boxed in (and recessed lighting started) and the built-in bookcase on the left. Also the new TV mounted on the wall!

There She Is

So here's where my money's going for the next 30 years of my life. I close on my first house in two weeks. I'm pretty excited to be a homeowner for the first time, but it's going to be a while before this house is, well, even close to perfect. It's got a million electrical problems, there's a leak in one of the two bathrooms, everything needs paint, I've got to move and/or replace the furnace, which is in the middle of the kitchen (??) along with the hot water heater, the roof needs repairs, there's no washer or dryer, and the kitchen needs all new appliances and cabinets (which I'm having a hard time picking out!). Oh and I basically am spending all of my money buying the house and won't have much left for repairs. So that's all...


The first-floor bathroom (the leak is at the faucet, where some of the hideous tile is damaged) was added by the previous owners, I think, sometime in the last decade or two. The house itself was built in 1890.






The sink looks pretty new, but no storage, and not that pretty. Ew, and that tile again!








The back half of the living room (or should we say the dining room?) leads to the first-floor bathroom, and that's some ugly duct work up on the ceiling (which is pretty darn high, yay!). Not exactly sure why you have to step up into the bathroom, but somebody explained it to me.








I think that's the vent from the fan in the bathroom. But really? Did they think that was the best way to do it? It looks like something from "Ghostbusters."









So that's the extent of the cabinets in the kitchen. And yes, more ugly duct work. Oh, but it gets worse.







Yeah so that's one of the two windows in the kitchen, obscured by the furnace, water heater and a bunch of duct work -- and oh yeah, it's a carbon monoxide hazard.









Out back, the illegal flue from the water heater (I think?). And Daddy on the parking slab. He will be helping out a lot.