Hanging art in a cluster

Tried our hand at hanging art in a cluster. We laid everything out on the floor first so, thankfully, only a few errant holes. Pretty happy with the result thus far, with room for expansion!







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And then this happened.

Among the many neglected items in the house, the windows are on their lasts legs. The previous owner allowed the windows to rot to a point at which the locks just fell out. I replaced them in teh most solid wood I could locate, but just closing the bedroom window today killed one completely. It split like kindling.

How much are new windows?? SIGH.




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Kitchen finished. Almost.

Now seems a great time for a little before and after comparison.
The kitchen the day we took possession, three weeks ago.

  






The kitchen today.
         

A close-up of the tile backsplash, Daltile white with pewter epoxy grout:

And finally, I am seriously in love with this floor. It's like floating on a yellow cloud.

I started cutting base moulding today but ran out and can't bear to go to Lowe's again. Once that is prepped and painted and installed I think we'll need a break before tackling the cabinet project. Honey oak be damned!

WE HAVE A KITCHEN FLOOR, FOLKS!

We are positively thrilled this is happening.
The measuring:

The subfloor:

And, at last, the marmoleum!





It really brings out the honey in the honey oak cabinets. Of course this makes me want to paint them yesterday if not sooner.

Stay tuned for subway tile backsplash reveal tomorrow!

Painting the fireplace, plus hidden TV!

We went for matching the fireplace to the trim after considering matching the wall paint or going with a dark gray the will (eventually) match the exterior if the house bit ended up calming the fireplace down a lot and giving the room more continuity. We like it!

After just a couple of trips to the hardware store, the flatscreen is incognito above the fireplace. Now, what to do about the cords?




And I installed locks on the windows that had none(?).
5pm quitting time. It's Sunday, after all.

Kitchen progress

The drywall in the kitchen is primed and everything is finally ready for the tile and floor guy to come do his thing.




There was an remnant of butcher block that just happened to fit perfectly between the stove and newly exposed chimney. And
I had an old and awesome stainless steel medical cart that magically worked as its base.
Doesn't my coffee look nice here?




And now for the not so perfect: in priming last night some stuff fell IFC the top of the fridge and I have my first gouge in the butcher block. Sad face.

Plumbing curtain rod

To match the bookshelves, I installed an 86" black iron curtain rod. Finding studs in such thick plaster is a challenge, even when looking right where they're supposed to be. I have two of three flanges in studs and the third secured with plaster anchors. No pull-ups on this bar please.




Unfortunately, I didn't think to measure the curtains first, so they're a bit long. We don't love them, so it's likely we will replace them soon anyway.





Back to the kitchen.

Spinning today:
Sera Cahoone - Deer Creek Canyon

Dolly Parton - Greatest Hits
Linda Ronstadt - Greatest Hits, probably the most memorable album of my childhood. My mom listened to that constantly. This links to an article published yesterday about the singer's new book, and struggles with Parkinson's.