DIY
Anyone who reads my blogs knows that we herewegoagains are not exactly handy. And, considering that of the six readers I have, five are connected to me by DNA..they don't even have to read the blog to know the handiness-factor of zero. They live it. But I have to write about it, because frankly, it's my let-off-steam (as well as brag happily) way to deal with the various DIY projects we have going on in our 1977 ranch house. And by "ranch", I mean "all-one-story-and-very-small", not "ranch" as in "we-live-in-Texas-and therefore-at-Southfork".
Anyway, we started not one, but two projects over the weekend. I was unhappily and unknowingly sitting through a Defensive Driving class (run by a comedian...which sounded like a good idea until I was quite embarrassed through most of it and really didn't want to see yet another Cheech and Chong at the red-light skit), while dh and Rowdy took down a vanity in my bedroom.
My house, is as I said, straight out of the mid-70's. The master bedroom has an extra vanity so that the lady of the house could get ready for the cocktail party while the master of the house took a long shower. I guess. I personally used it for everything that had nowhere else to go. We emptied the drawers last week and found old pens (of course), old make-up (makes sense), bits of jewelry (kind of cool) and old ammo (???). The best part? When they pulled the entire unit from the wall there was yes, an OLD SHOULDER PAD wedged back there. Ah, memories.
So, I came home from Zorro, the bad, gay, comic defensive driving instuctor to quite the mess in the bedroom. Rowdy (who must actually not have our DNA) was beside himself with joy. He has always wanted to "demo" something in this house (well, I guess he does have my DNA after all), and he had talked dh into it. Where the unit had been, there was now drywall. Above it, just wallpaper. On the floor? Cement. It sounds unattractive, but actually it was way more attractive than the dark brown seventies idea of a vanity unit. I was kind of excited. Total cost so far? Zero dollars. That's my kind of DIY.
We discussed texturing and painting the drywall under the wallpaper, but came up with brilliant solution (my idea) of beadboard. Rowdy and I measured, discussed it with dh, and headed to that big orange store we all know and some of us love. It is Rowdy's most favorite place on earth. I generally would rather pull out my toe hairs one by one than spend any time there. And dh just won't go.
Anyway, we found the board, found a nice guy to measure it and CUT it (very key) and then tried to call dh to get the measurements one more time (hey, I had a professional CUTTER standing by...as in, well, the cuts would fit and all that). We called. We called. We called. We called. We gave up, estimated and had the professional CUTTER cut it. We got home to find dh and Sweet Girl in the yard, shooting soccer goals. And to find (I'm not kidding) seventeen missed calls on his phone. He shrugged his shoulders when I suggested he keep the blasted phone with him when he was in the yard and I was in the ORANGE STORE! "Why?" he asked, "What did we do before cell phones?" Well, obviously cell phone use hasn't changed MY life at all--apparently the house isn't the only thing in my life still in the 70's.
So, of course, HE had to make the cuts after all (estimation being estimation after all). Let's just say, they were pretty straight. And I think there is a quote about "pretty straight" in the annals of carpentry history. Bring on the caulk. Lots of caulk. At this point, dh and Sweet Girl were off on another father/daughter adventure, and once again Rowdy and I were in charge. We discussed how much caulk you could actually sqeeze into a "gap" and have it hold. We then discussed my favorite decorating technique--"I think if we put the dresser there, it will hide everything." Whew. Solved. But someday, someone will move that dresser and have long discussions on the amount of caulk used..and why?
But, actually it looks O.K. We are into it for $30.00 and that makes gaps and such irrelevant. Thirty dollars? Who cares what it looks like? And anyway, the dresser will hide it.
Edited today (Tuesday) to add...Rowdy and I put down the "new floor" today. Now, where once was a vanity, is a chi chi little 6' by 3' spot for a pretty chest of drawers. Fresh paint, caulked gaps, lots of trim (oh, how we love trim!), and only sixteen (true) trips to the big orange store...and we really ARE done. Finito. And...the dresser DOES hide it. I'm so excited. I think I might actually tackle the popcorn ceiling next. Stay tuned.
Anyway, we started not one, but two projects over the weekend. I was unhappily and unknowingly sitting through a Defensive Driving class (run by a comedian...which sounded like a good idea until I was quite embarrassed through most of it and really didn't want to see yet another Cheech and Chong at the red-light skit), while dh and Rowdy took down a vanity in my bedroom.
My house, is as I said, straight out of the mid-70's. The master bedroom has an extra vanity so that the lady of the house could get ready for the cocktail party while the master of the house took a long shower. I guess. I personally used it for everything that had nowhere else to go. We emptied the drawers last week and found old pens (of course), old make-up (makes sense), bits of jewelry (kind of cool) and old ammo (???). The best part? When they pulled the entire unit from the wall there was yes, an OLD SHOULDER PAD wedged back there. Ah, memories.
So, I came home from Zorro, the bad, gay, comic defensive driving instuctor to quite the mess in the bedroom. Rowdy (who must actually not have our DNA) was beside himself with joy. He has always wanted to "demo" something in this house (well, I guess he does have my DNA after all), and he had talked dh into it. Where the unit had been, there was now drywall. Above it, just wallpaper. On the floor? Cement. It sounds unattractive, but actually it was way more attractive than the dark brown seventies idea of a vanity unit. I was kind of excited. Total cost so far? Zero dollars. That's my kind of DIY.
We discussed texturing and painting the drywall under the wallpaper, but came up with brilliant solution (my idea) of beadboard. Rowdy and I measured, discussed it with dh, and headed to that big orange store we all know and some of us love. It is Rowdy's most favorite place on earth. I generally would rather pull out my toe hairs one by one than spend any time there. And dh just won't go.
Anyway, we found the board, found a nice guy to measure it and CUT it (very key) and then tried to call dh to get the measurements one more time (hey, I had a professional CUTTER standing by...as in, well, the cuts would fit and all that). We called. We called. We called. We called. We gave up, estimated and had the professional CUTTER cut it. We got home to find dh and Sweet Girl in the yard, shooting soccer goals. And to find (I'm not kidding) seventeen missed calls on his phone. He shrugged his shoulders when I suggested he keep the blasted phone with him when he was in the yard and I was in the ORANGE STORE! "Why?" he asked, "What did we do before cell phones?" Well, obviously cell phone use hasn't changed MY life at all--apparently the house isn't the only thing in my life still in the 70's.
So, of course, HE had to make the cuts after all (estimation being estimation after all). Let's just say, they were pretty straight. And I think there is a quote about "pretty straight" in the annals of carpentry history. Bring on the caulk. Lots of caulk. At this point, dh and Sweet Girl were off on another father/daughter adventure, and once again Rowdy and I were in charge. We discussed how much caulk you could actually sqeeze into a "gap" and have it hold. We then discussed my favorite decorating technique--"I think if we put the dresser there, it will hide everything." Whew. Solved. But someday, someone will move that dresser and have long discussions on the amount of caulk used..and why?
But, actually it looks O.K. We are into it for $30.00 and that makes gaps and such irrelevant. Thirty dollars? Who cares what it looks like? And anyway, the dresser will hide it.
Edited today (Tuesday) to add...Rowdy and I put down the "new floor" today. Now, where once was a vanity, is a chi chi little 6' by 3' spot for a pretty chest of drawers. Fresh paint, caulked gaps, lots of trim (oh, how we love trim!), and only sixteen (true) trips to the big orange store...and we really ARE done. Finito. And...the dresser DOES hide it. I'm so excited. I think I might actually tackle the popcorn ceiling next. Stay tuned.
posted by herewegoagain at
10:04 AM
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