If you held the ‘o’ in windows when reading the title of this post, then you may have graduated high school in early 2000s. Was I right? It’s okay to admit it. I figured it was a very appropriate title for today’s post; I am so excited to tell you that I am officially D.O.N.E. with the dining room! Crown molding all the way down to the toe kick and all of the trim on the windows is painted and dry.
Can you tell how proud I am of that first piece of crown molding?!
So did that really take me 4 months to do? No, no, no…but getting back on this blog to make a post did! Hats off to the bloggers that make a living doing this! The dining room is nearly complete, minus the awesome ceiling installation I decided I HAD to have after I did a tour of the White House and the Executive Office building. However, remember that giant piano I got? Well it’s currently in the way and pianos are like crazy heavy. For now, it’s holding my curtains from the front room because in order to move the piano I had to first prepare the office for it’s reno. So I did this to the front room!
“Mom, his shirt should say ‘World’s Worst Brother…” Still love ’em.
Removed the carpet, scrapped the ceiling, removed the draw wall and finally started to feel like I know what I’m doing with this reno stuff. So why all the demo? Pent up aggression? No…I was talking with Hubs about the next year or so of life stuff and how my crazy reno plans fit in. He mentioned that he’ll definitely need a place to study since he’ll be going to school. Creative burners, ENGAGE! So…you need a quiet place you say, like vintage french doors that help keep things quiet yet give a sense of grandeur? Oh, I can do that. Off to the architectural salvage yard I went! Vintage House Parts & Radiators in North Brentwood, MD (just outside D.C.) is AMAZING! Saul and his team work with you to find exactly what you need/want/desire and at an even more amazing price. Their selection of doors was so much fun to see! After about 2.5 hours I left with 4 doors, yup…4 solid, heavy doors and the matching hardware. 1 for the basement entry, 1 for the pantry and a set of french doors for the Hubs’ quiet place. Really though, I could have brought home about 5 other pretty doors that kept calling my name, but Hubs didn’t need THAT many quiet places.
These french doors were originally hung as traditional french doors, but the way my OCD operates and the layout of the new office wouldn’t allow for a traditional door opening. Pocket doors would though! I double checked with Pinterest, “Those would totally look great, see look at these vintage house plans that show converging pockets doors. Nailed it!” “Awe, thanks Pinterest, I feel like you totally get me.”
I couldn’t wait to get started!
Next stop, youtube.com. “How to install pocket doors.” After watching about 13.75 videos, Bob Villa’s being the best(and whoa short shorts, Bob!), I felt confident that I could tackle the french doors. Hubs can never say I don’t listen to his needs, #wifeoftheyear. I had to order the special hardware and track and all of my online research led me to Johnson Hardware. Each review was very good and the pricing seemed to be reasonable. The hardware arrived a few weeks ago when Hubs and I were in beautiful Hawaii and even in the warm, pineapple scented air, I was still thinking about our new office…
So that’s what’s been going on…among other things, but we’ll save that for the next post that will hopefully happen in the next week rather than next three months!
A few end notes:
- Total Cost: ~$325 (for the doors, not the trip to Hawaii.)
- Biggest Lesson Learned: architectural salvages shops are always willing to cut a good deal if you buy more than one thing. They know their inventory and are more than willing to help you sort through the fun treasures!
- Best Tip: Maintain a clean job site – especially during demo! Helps maintain motivation and makes things manageable. Stay at a vacation rental home in Hawaii, so much cheaper and easier than a hotel. (Hibiscus Hideaway in Kihei, Maui is AMAZING.)
- Most Favorite Part: “Mom, you’re like Thor and his hammer!” 😉
Cheers!
-A.A.
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