So It Begins

Hello, again. And welcome to episode one of the "Probably Ill-Advised Pre-Thanksgiving DIY Kitchen Shakedown." Yes, it's November. And No, we haven't started yet. All in good fun.

Item number one on the agenda: countertop.  You may remember from past postings that half of our kitchen is charming (and lovingly re-finished) hand-crafted "butcher block." The other half is scary wood-trimmed laminate.

After over a year of scrubbing away the stains (and I mean STAINS.  This counter has been known to soak the printing off of plastic bags. Seriously. For weeks it advertised "AT&T Wireless." There was also the Maraschino Cherry Juice Incident of '09.)... we're finally doing something about it.

I should have documented the whole tortuous process, but here's the summary:

US: Quartz is cool, give us some samples.
[a few months pass]
US: Right, we forgot. Quartz is still cool. Let's get more samples.
ME: I like the brown. No, the gray. No, the gray-brown. The brown.
LOWE'S: Your kitchen is too small.
HOME DEPOT: So, the brown?
[crickets]
ME: AAAIGH! NO BROWN!
THE MR.: Seriously?
[there is much shuffling of samples.]
US: We meant granite.
HOME DEPOT: Your kitchen is too small.
LOCAL PLACE: Hello. We have nice slabs.
US: Our kitchen is too small.
LOCAL PLACE: We love you anyway. Also, we cost less.

We went skipping around the slab yard, and despite being momentarily dazzled by some sort of Chilean silver-impregnated something-or-rather that we would have had to sing to sleep every night, we made a decision.

Say hello to Slab.

So, yes, it's brownish, but it has a lot of black in it and a lot of depth.  The picture is kind of bad. Trust us--it's a lot more exciting than the flattish brown Quartz we were initially after. (I started thinking of it as 'mouse putty,' and, well, that's not what you want to prepare your meals on.) 

They came to measure for it a couple of days ago, and it'll be installed next week sometime. (Another plus to Local Place:  both HD and Lowe's claimed it would take "at least" four to six weeks.) In the meantime, I'll be taking 'before' pictures...

Vanity on Stilts

About five years ago I bought a solid-looking nightstand from the local Goodwill for--and my memory is rusty--something in the neighborhood of $5.  I needed something to put my TV on in the apartment I was moving to, and space was at a premium. The drawers were deep enough for all myVHS tapes of recorded shows (no DVR for the graduate student, nosiree), and the TV was an exact fit. Sound odd? Somewhere I have pictures of it in its former function (will add if I can find them.)

When the Mr. and I set up house, it returned to life as a bedside table. Eventually, when we decided it was time to actually get a bedroom set (post forthcoming), it found itself without purpose. Alone in the world, long separated from its twin and (I presume) matching headboard. Probably a dresser or two, too.

With all the shuffling around we were doing in the bedroom, I lost the place where I used to keep all my primping paraphernalia.  Makeup, headbands, hair dryer, jewelry, etc., etc. Aha!, I thought.

Turns out the legs were held on with screws, which left some nice squared moulding around the bottom edge.

We found some legs at Home Depot, for $6 each, and the corner plates ($2) to attach them.

It was a pretty easy project; four legs, some glossy white paint, and "stainless steel" spray paint on the hardware:

It's now tall enough that I can do my makeup with a mirror sitting on top, and the space underneath fits a laundry basket.  It's happily sitting in what used to be dead space between our bedroom and our bathroom.

The Perils of Bath Rugs

So, this might come as a shock to y'all, but it turns out we have old plumbing.

The Mr. and I got back from a trip, started some laundry, and sat down for a we-just-spent-six-hours-in-the-car meal of pb&js. At some point we became aware of the (not-so-tranquil) sound of falling water coming from the guest bath.  There, we find:

Awesome.  We realize (with relief) that instead of all the nasty things it could be... (I shall allow you time to imagine) .. it appeared, instead, to be "gray water" from the washing machine. It smelled great, actually. "Spring Meadow" Gain, I believe.

Our fears of spilling sewage were then replaced with fears of exploding washing machines, so we went skidding into the laundry room, sure that there was going to be a mess.  Nope again, but the utility sink appeared to be burping suds:

We just stood there for awhile, watching it gurgle. Though the suds eventually disappeared, the contents of the tub did not.  Turns out the pipe that leads away from the washing machine is a smidge too small/not vented well enough for the giant capacity of our washing machine, so if something starts to accumulate (the culprit: a shaggy bath rug was losing pounds of lint, apparently) things in our house start spewing drain water.

Ah, the things you learn.  Also, we had to pay somebody $150 for the 10 minutes it took to stick what looked like a GIANT roto-rooter down the tub drain.

So... what do you do?

• Pay somebody $150 every time this happens
• Widen the drain and add a vent
• Throw out the bath rug

Happy Holidays from all of us here at House It Going!

I think we're finally all blinged out for rhe holidays...


Flowers courtesy L.; aren't they lovely?


Tree-on-a-trunk! We found out not too long ago that the guy that grew up in our house 1) lives down the street now and 2) runs a Christmas tree farm. T-o-a-T and the wreath in the first picture came from him.





Get rowdy.


The Captain is the opposite of rowdy. But festive, nonetheless. Most of you have seen the exterior pictures, but I'll post them soon anyway. This is mostly a test-- I'm posting from my iPhone! Yes, I have become one of those people. I found myself standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk the other day, using it to check the weather. Outside. Hopefully that was my low point. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Sidebar: Fun with Bacon

I heard some giggling from the kitchen this afternoon. I found the Mr. working on this: Coolest. Thing. Ever. The Captain didn't get why This Bacon was different than Other Bacon.

Before-n-after: Winged Rocker

Here are some shots of the new rocker (see LRoomarama Part II), before, during, and after the reupholsteration. Before (with a potential new-upholstery swatch stuck to the back cushion): Next we have the (nasty) pieces taken off and laid out on the new fabric as patterns. When I took them off I realized that the bottom used to be pink, and that the top was newer. I think somebody tried to reupholster the top to match the (already faded and yellow-looking) bottom. It was also clear that it had been reupholstered many, many times--judging from the number of nail/tack holes. After I got all the upholstery off (the cushion on the bottom was wrapped in muslin, and I didn't want to touch it. See below.) I cleaned the heck out of it. In the picture below, the left arm has been cleaned, the right not--all together now: "Ewww." So. Um, the cushion. I don't know how old this thing is, but it's definitely part.. hair. I only guessed at the seat cushion, but then when I had to take the back off because both sides where upholstered... The picture doesn't do it justice. We have batting. We have straw. And the brown stuff.. is hair. Disturbingly non-horsey-looking hair. I, um.. tried not to touch it. If you don't want to know whether I put it back, then don't ask. And... done! Fabric closeup. It's cream-y crosshatch-patterned nubbly stuff with sort of a mustard-yellow background. It looks much lighter in the pictures than it is in "real life." Sorry for the blurriness. It's late and I can't hold my camera still enough to take a picture when it's dark outside. It went well, all in all! I burned myself with hot glue (could have predicted that), and I'm going to put more tacks in the trim when my back recovers (there were some weird angles to get into, there). There were also some dicey moments with the back cushion (the one that may or may not still contain unidentifiable hair). I'm really happy with how it turned out--provided my stapling job holds up. There are a lot of half-bent staples stuck in that frame. Next up's the sofa... after a nice, long break.

Living Roomarama: Part the Second

We said goodbye to the old furniture last weekend. It did us well. It's on its way to my sister-in-law's new house. At the same time, we also welcomed a new sofa and rocker into the mix. Surprise! Surprised? We were. Here's the digest:

• We were on the way to order a new sofa from Rooms to Go. They have a nice slipcovered line right now. It was comfy, not too expensive, and I love the tailored-yet-aesthetically-rumply-slipcover look. (Thanks, mom!)
• On the way, we decided to stop at an antiques/consignment shop we'd heard good things about, but is never open when we can go.
• Three pieces of furniture later, the living room has gone in an entirely different direction and I'm planning a wee upholstery project for the coming weekend.

Here are the spoils (keep an open mind). One strange, spring-loaded rocker that my mother-in-law spied in a window display (it might throw you over backwards, but as long as it's not, it's REALLY COMFORTABLE, y'all): (It has wiiiiiings!) One behooked wall-mirror that we think used to live on a dresser (but will now live over a fireplace): And finally, the pièce de resistance and thwarter of new-sofa-buying: I love this. It too is surprisingly comfortable (according to the Mr., very, very nappable). It makes me feel like I'm in the lobby of the Grove Park Inn or something. Somebody get me a cigar. I am starting to think we're some sort of safe house for weird sofas. (Need I remind you of the fauxfa?) Come one, come all. You will be appreciated and lovingly reupholstered. Obviously, "threadbare yellow/pink velvet" and "royal blue sateen" are not exactly the looks we're going for with these. I'm going to attempt the recovering myself (with the prospect of professional help if necessary.) Look for updates on that. And, in case anybody's interested, you can get upholstery tacks and those hobnail-like things at your neighborhood Lowe's...