This isn’t the worst we’ve seen, but it’s noteworthy. 2010 Marks our fourth winter in Syracuse!

(Note the mailbox)

This was one of our biggest projects. We had already started the framework when we built a wall to divide the playroom. We had no idea that, less than a year later, we’d have baby #4 on the way and would need to add a 4th bedroom! These rooms were getting pretty bad, actually. I had done my best to repair the walls when I removed all the paneling and wallpaper, but I had no idea what I was doing. Micah’s friend through work is a professional when it comes to drywall, so he helped us. I can’t believe the transformation. When that was done, and the walls were painted, the next step was to remove the nasty old carpeting and add laminate flooring. It seemed like the best choice for the lower level. We went with DuPont’s Montreal Gunstock (Real Touch Elite line) with premium underlayment.

I am embarrassed to show this, but here’s a glance at the walls and carpet that once dominated these rooms:

Ick!

A quick preview of the rooms after:

The rest of the photos are in the slideshows for Molly and Mia’s room and playroom.

The girls got a “new” dresser, mirror and nightstand (a craigslist find – $100 total!) and the baby will get their old dresser. We also found a full size bed for $100 on craigslist, which we set up in the baby’s room.

Up next: The baby’s room!

Molly and Mia decided months ago that they wanted a dollhouse for Christmas. I started doing some research for Santa, of course. It seemed that no one sold finished wood dollhouses anymore (at least, not at an affordable price). There were a lot of plastic ones, but they looked flimsy. Kits were also expensive, and I found them to be risky. So, we decided to get a bit creative and lend Santa a hand this year. My parents brought over my childhood dollhouse, which had also belonged to my sister. It was from the 1970s, and it needed a lot of work before it would look new again. The dark brown wood staircase was broken off and in pieces, and the rest, well, see for yourself:

I started with a coat of white paint on the window frames, roof, and exterior. It never ceases to amaze me when I see what white paint can do:

The walls were next. I used the bright pink paint that was formerly on the twins’ bedroom accent wall. Micah cut all of the vinyl flooring, and we made “hardwoods” to replace the 70s shag “carpet”. Lastly, Micah repaired the staircase, patched up some holes, and painted it white. Here’s the end result:

They’re also getting new furniture for each room, from the Fisher-Price Loving Family collection.

I think it was worth the effort to finish this! It actually took hours of work, but it will be so cool to hand this down to our kids (without them ever knowing we did a thing!).

In our family, the Christmas season begins on Thanksgiving. We’ve bought a lot of new decorations this year, with a silver and gold theme in mind. I filled the glass bowl on our coffee table with champagne filler jewels and a glittery candle. The tree has a mix of bright and warm white lights and a sparkling gold star. The dining room was a lot of fun to set up, with nothing but black and silver decor. I would like to get some new Christmas dishes, since we’ve been using ours for almost 10 years (I think I paid $10 for the set). That can wait until clearance time! And, of course, the girls have the pink tree in their room.

Outside, our display is a bit more humble than it was in previous years:

Parents always buy the best Christmas presents. This year, my parents presented me with an early surprise. I am getting a new storm door! There will be no present under the tree this year, but this is perfect.

Our storm door was bent and never was installed right by the PO. It also was a piece of junk. I painted the outside of the front door recently to match the shutters and garage doors. It looks so much better, but it’s still masked by that ugly storm door. You also can’t leave the door open and let a breeze in because it won’t shut completely, and bugs get in. Having a new one (Andersen 2000 series fullview, to be precise) is going to be great. A little tax rebate doesn’t hurt, either.

We made some progress in a few unexpected areas as well. My Dad figured out how to fix the leaky toilet in the kid’s bathroom. We hired a tree company to remove 8 stumps from the property (I’m talking about these, along with a few shrubs). They were working in our neighbor’s yard, so we stopped and were pretty shocked at the good price.

Next on the list is to replace a heating element on our dryer ourselves. It takes 90 minutes to dry a medium size load of laundry on high heat, so something is not right.

I procrastinated for over three years to paint the doors and trim in this house. Sort of. There were a few doors that were still that awesome 70s dark wood when we moved in. I painted those almost immediately. I also had the bedroom doors painted white from the inside. Beyond that, I just left it alone. They were dingy, dirty, and some sort of yellow-white color. A few nights ago, after the kids went to bed, I headed downstairs (armed with a $9.44 can of Color Place flat white paint). I started painting one door… and then its frame. It looked so great that I kept going. Before I knew it, the clock read 2:00 in the morning, and every door and frame in the house were covered in a fresh coat of white paint. You can see the contrast here, as I had not painted the doors yet but just started the trim:

Yeah, they were that bad. Here’s a washed-out-by-flash hallway shot after I (finally) finished:

I also painted the window sills.

I browsed Rate My Space today for the first time in at least a year. That site really baffles me. I mean, anyone can pay a contractor tens of thousands of dollars, and point to what they want. It does take a sense of style, but let’s face it… Those of us who are working on a shoestring budget and an older house can’t design their dream house. We have to come up with creative ways to work with what we have. That was the motivation behind our glass cabinet inserts in the kitchen and a few dozen other projects we’ve finished here.

I also don’t understand why you can’t get a top rating unless everything is high-end. I am a total commitment phobe when it comes to remodeling. I’d rather get some higher grade vinyl flooring or laminate countertops that I can change out in 10ish years, than spend a life savings (which we don’t have) on a dream kitchen or bathroom. For those of us who did not pay a fortune for their house (ahem, $100k, ahem), it just doesn’t make sense to break the bank.

Just sayin’. Lighten up, Rate My Space.

Lastly, I discovered Hobby Lobby this week. I could drop a fortune in that place. The decor selection is lovely, along with the seasonal departments. I found myself drooling over all sorts of fabrics, wishing I could sew. Oh, the things I would make if I could just sew! I need to add that to the list, right after cooking elaborate meals that everyone will eat!

Kitchen updates (including any labor)

- Cabinet Hardware: $75.00
- Appliances (refrigerator, range hood, range, microwave, dishwasher): $2100.00
- Pendant lighting: $30.00
- Updates (countertops, flooring, sink, faucet, paint): $1200.00
- Backsplash: $60.00
- Under cabinet lighting: $50.00
- Cabinet update (glass inserts, hardware): $55.00
Grand total: $3570.00

That was done over the course of 3 1/2 years. The number shocks me, but it is a fraction of what most people pay for a kitchen update. According to one report, the average cost of a “minor” kitchen remodel is $14,913.00. We didn’t do a full remodel, but it does look like a very different kitchen.

Here is the original photo of the kitchen from the MLS listing in 2006:

Here is the kitchen today:

It has been a lot of work, but I think it has paid off. We finally replaced our dishwasher, and updated our cabinets by cutting 6 of the doors to add glass inserts. You may recall that they were 80s “slab” doors (for lack of a better term):

Here they are $55.00 later:

I would like find a small under cabinet wine rack for the space above the refrigerator. A previous owner cut into the wall to make a refrigerator fit in that space, and our replacement is not as tall. There is a hole in the wall that I cover with fabric and a plant. It was supposed to be a temporary fix, but several years later it’s still there. I’ve seen them online for about $12.00, so I’ll search for one with the right dimensions.

I am so happy with our kitchen!

(The lovely view from the dining room)

We’ve taken care of a lot of the major jobs in this house. The previous owners had already replaced all of the windows and exterior doors. We replaced the furnace and hot water heater, the roof, and made some key changes in the bathrooms and kitchen. There really isn’t much left. Cosmetics aside, we were already happy with the house the first time we saw it. There is one thing that has become an issue, though: The carpet downstairs.

It was fairly new when we moved in, but it was cheap quality. Factor in 3 years of kids running inside through the sliding doors and some scratching, hairball-laden cats, and it has become somewhat gross. My Mom helped shampoo it last year, and that has bought us more time. I am just glad it isn’t part of our main living space.

So, that is my one home goal of 2010. Sometime early in the year, we want to rip out the carpet and put down laminate. Since this is the lower level of a bi-level home, there is concrete underneath. Hardwood is not only costly, but I’ve read it would not work well on this level. I know carpet will just get destroyed again, so laminate seems to be the best option.

I like darker colors, but I think it makes more sense to match the hardwood floors upstairs as closely as one can with laminate. This is the best match I’ve seen so far:

It’s Pergo Presto Bridgeport Red Oak Laminate. I have only looked casually so far, but it’s a nice dream. Our house would be completely carpet-free.

I’m sure I’ll get over that soon. I recently read from a blogger who used many samples to pick that perfect shade. She is right. I have painted every room in this house, only to decide after a year or two that it wasn’t “What I was going for”. This drives my husband crazy, but I can finally say that our large “open concept” area upstairs flows together well. It was very difficult. There is only one wall separating the kitchen from the living room, which flows into the dining room.

I ended up painting the kitchen. I liked the pumpkin color, but it was too bold for the rest of the house. I tend to lean toward neutrals, and I have decided to stick with that. I tried using Wheat Bread (Behr) in the kitchen, but it looked terrible. Everything in that room called for something darker, but I didn’t want it to be too dark. I went with Valspar’s Faint Maple, which turned out lighter than the swatch. It is perfect, though. It is the lightest color I could have used that still works (matching with the backsplash was tricky as well).

When all of that was done, I did some work outside. The paint on the shutters had chipped in a few places. It had been annoying me since winter, so I finally dragged out the ladder and re-painted them (same color). After that, I touched up the foundation wherever it was needed, and washed all of the windows. Windex Outdor Multi-Surface is a great product. It attaches to the hose and makes it a lot easier to clean windows from the outside.

I will take a break for a while. I think being home with the kids all the time has made me kind of stir crazy!

By the way, photos of the aforementioned rooms are here.

We painted the upstairs hallway and living room a nutmeg color in 2006. We had just enough paint to finish it. I learned from that mistake later on, as it eventually needed a lot of touch-ups. I also discovered that my love of semi-gloss does not necessarily pertain to walls in a nearly 40-year-old house. I bought two gallons of a taupe color. I painted the hallway and living room, then continued on with the upper half of the dining room to stay consistent. It turned into a bigger task than expected, but then again, everything does when I’m involved!

The entryway and downstairs hall were also a warmer neutral color, so it seemed like we needed to divide the space. I chose a shade of green for the walls near the top of the stairs to accomplish that. It brings in color from my grandfather’s painting, the rug and coffee table. I think it worked very well. I will update the photos of the rooms soon. Here are the Behr colors:

Everything is nice and bright. I also touched up baseboards and trim in a few spots throughout the house.