Remodel - Weeks 12 and 13

Let there be paint (week 12)...

and let there be light (week 13)

Week 12 was a week of paint - inside and out. As the glorious spring weather continued, Steve-the-husband was able to set up saw horses in the driveway to continue the painting of the HardiPlank wall shingles. Meanwhile, Jason was working on the north facade, putting up the trim and the shingles. As the scaffolding was still in place, friend hubby (who seems to have been a mountain-goat in a previous life) scampered up same to put on the 2nd coat of paint and touch up joints where shingles had been trimmed.

During Week 13, the south facade was shingled (see pix above). We were both thrilled to finally be able to see the new "Sealskin" color on the shakes. Alas, the gutters have yet to arrive so Jason could not remove the scaffolding as he had planned. As you can see in the pix, the "Saucer" magnolia has not been upset by all the construction and pruning - it is happily blooming its little heart out (and almost a month early at that).

Inside, Steve primed all the new walls and ceilings. Last weekend was devoted to applying the various top coats. We've evolved into quite the painting team - Steve plies the roller and I do all the trim. Years ago we used to tape everything, but we've learned that, with the correct brush (I use a 1 inch chiseled Purdy - this is one area where it does not pay to be cheap), a steady hand, and nowadays, a pair of reading glasses (sigh), a crisp line can be cut in without the "uh-oh-paint-bleeding" moment that would always occur whenever we would try to use tape and peel it off.

The upper hallway was repainted in the same color as before - Behr's Scotland Road. The color is sort of an Arts and Crafts green; it is also in our living room and dining room. We painted these areas using this color several years ago and still really like it - such a soothing shade of green (left pix).

Week 13 was enlightening for us because we FINALLY were able to get electricity to the light at the top of the stairs (left pix). We had been without a light in that spot for several weeks, making the stairs more challenging than usual to navigate. The original 1930's fixture in this spot was a single hanging candle (which we plan on rewiring and reusing in the little hallway by the 1/2 bath on the 1st floor). This single bulb did not cast any light down the stairs, which are treacherous - they twist and have several pie-shaped steps.

We really agonized over the replacement light fixture at the top of "staircase perilous" as we wanted something that was vintage in style. Alas, the converging roof lines of the staircase meant that there was not a flat ceiling that we could use for an additional fixture. Our 21st century solution was to use a track light, albeit one with vintage looking photographer spots (thank you Pottery Barn). We cast 2 spots down the stairs, one onto the niche and the final one down the old hallway. After almost 20 years in this house, one can finally ascend and descend the stairs without risk to life and limb.

The decision to put in a 2nd floor laundry was directly related to this staircase - the spousal unit has fallen down these steps numerous times whilst carrying down the laundry basket. Of course, the stairs are not entirely to blame as he could have made multiple trips with less in the basket, but he found it more efficient to stack the basket so full that he could not see in front of him. But I digress.

We continued the green scheme in the new hallway by going one shade lighter than "Scotland Road" - using "Southern Breeze" (another Behr paint). In the pix to the left you can see the transplanted vintage light fixture and the beautiful new archway to the old hallway/staircase.

For the new bedroom and bath, we used the same colors to make the rooms "en suite." We continued the lavender theme begun in our existing bedroom/master bath where we used 2 Martha Stewart colors - "Shantung" and "Black Pearl" - both so deep as to be almost gray. The new colors are Sherwin-Williams - "Ash Violet" for the walls and "Grape Mist" for the ceilings. We both like using a lighter shade of the wall color on the ceiling; we did this in the kitchen as well with another Martha color ("Citron"). You can see one of the pair of vintage wall sconces in the new bedroom in this pix (above) as well.

Next week will bring the gutters (hopefully), the tile guy and Jesse the hardwood expert. Such a flurry of activity! And Steve will continue his shingle painting (poor guy, he deserves an Academy Award for "Best Painting Performance by a Homeowner").