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Thursday, May 17, 2012

The William Morris Project: Cosmetic Update

This week's William Morris Project is brought to you by my husband, who thankfully was not harmed during the completion of this task.  All I did was hold the ladder as it sank slowly into the lava rock and shriek when the wasps came looking for their now vanished nests.  It was a tough job, but I was lucky to have it. 

Before:


After:


I know, at first glance it may appear that we are uglifying the house instead of making it more beautiful.  
I disagree. 

I hated the thorny, poky bushes. 
The shutters were shedding strips of white latex paint into the lava rocks below, and with each windstorm little bits of plastic slat would flutter into the backyard.  I had considered replacing them, but at $60 EACH, that's not going to happen anytime soon.  Or, now that they are off, EVER.

I am hopeful that 3 months of brutal summer sun will even out the coloration of the siding.  I'll still take a little uneven shading in preference to peeling paint and missing slats.  

And I promise that we're going to put in some new bushes.  
Some day.  

Oh, and in case you think I am feeling smug for getting stuff done after not posting for two weeks (insert earth-shaking eye roll here), let me share with you my House To-Do list, which is 9 months old: 

House To-Do
  1. Rip out old carpet
  2. Clean house
  3. Clean existing carpet
  4. Bolt down guest toilet
  5. Install new carpet
  6. Prime guest room
  7. Paint guest room
  8. New MBA floor
  9. Strip wallpaper in Kitchen/ Dining Room
  10. Prime & paint MBR
  11. New shades for MBR ceiling fan
  12. Paint trim white throughout house
  13. Prime & paint MBA
  14. Prime & paint Family room
  15. Strip wallpaper border in M’s room
  16. Prime & paint M’s room
  17. Paint ceiling fan in M’s room
  18. Prime & paint J’s room
  19. Paint ceiling fan in J’s room
  20. Replace floor in Kid’s bath
  21. Prime & paint Kid’s bath
  22. Kid bath: new mirror, light, faucet
  23. New shower curtain for Kid’s bath
  24. Prime & paint Kitchen/ Dining Room
  25. Strip wallpaper border from Living Room
  26. Prime & paint Living Room
  27. Prime & paint hallway to BR
  28. Replace floor in guest bath
  29. Prime & paint guest bath
  30. Replace light switches through house
  31. Paint back doors (inside).
  32. New dining room light
  33. New entry light
  34. Paint or replace ceiling fan in kitchen
  35. Paint kitchen cabinets
  36. Replace hardware on kitchen cabinets
  37. Replace kitchen sink & faucet
  38. Replace kitchen countertops
  39. Tile backsplash in kitchen
  40. MBA
  41. paint cabinet
  42. new light
  43. update fixtures
  44. Paint cabinet in Kid’s bath
  45. Paint cabinet in Guest bath
  46. Laundry room
    1. Motion sensor for light switch
    2. Finish right wall & paint
    3. Shelving for storage
  47. Paint front door
  48. Add potted flowers flanking door
  49. Pull out juniper bushes
  50. Pull out lava rock
  51. Re-landscape in front of porch; add 6 pavers next to spigot
  52. Landscaping in back (TBD)

I was feeling OK about things until I tallied up the numbers and realized that I still have more than half the list to go.  HALF.  And we've been here almost a year!  We're getting to the point that many of the projects will make a big dent in our bank account, and we're just not there yet.  Until then, I'll be scraping wallpaper and painting trim all summer, enjoying my dirt patch and hunting for bargains wherever I can find them (tell me again why lighting is so expensive?).  


6 comments:

Rita@thissortaoldlife said...

Hi Amy--We moved into our house last August, and you've done lots more than we have! Be as smug as you want! :-) It just takes a lot of time. And sometimes money. We've got to bite the bullet and paint the exterior of our house this summer. Lots of money and little improvement in quality of life. But, some of the siding bare in spots, so it has to be done. Your no shutters and bushes look like progress to me--and progress is always beautiful!

May said...

I love those projects that move you closer to making the house "look like you". That has taken longer than normal in our current house.

Courtney said...

Sounds like you made the right decision since the shutters were in such bad shape. And I agree - that is quite a list and you have accomplished a lot! Feel as smug as you want :)

Melissa@Home Baked said...

Lighting--SO EXPENSIVE! Good for you getting those shutters off. Ours are dated and faded, and we'd like to paint or (more likely) replace them, but there's the whole money thing...

Alice Almighty said...

Shutters are so silly. I agree with you, removing the things that are bugging you will give you more room to figure out what you do want. Sometimes that takes way more than a year, so don't be hard on yourself! I am only just over half done with my list, and I keep adding on to it!

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