Dining Room Paneled Molding

There was already a chair rail in our Dining Room.  After thinking about it a bit, we decided we wanted to add some decorative molding below the rail.

We first picked up some of the pre-made moldings from Lowes.
But none of them were the right proportion, so we returned them.  Mike decided they would be easy enough to make himself.

After measuring the different sizes we'd need around the room, he started cutting.

We stuck them to the wall with Liquid Nails.

They started to slide a little bit, so I then went around with painters tape and secured them while the Liquid Nails dried a bit.


Since our plaster walls are anything but flat, there were some gaps.
So after the frames were adhered to the wall, we went around with some caulk and filled in the areas that needed it.

Once the caulking dried, my mom & I primed the bottom half of the room, and then painted with semi-gloss white (also giving the window & doorway moldings a fresh coat of paint).  Meanwhile, Mike painted the ceiling with flat white paint.

For the tops of the walls, we knew the yellow had to go. We had purchased a new creamy beige color months ago, so we were all set to keep going!  

(I have to look up the exact name- unfortunately I don't remember!)

The curtains are sage color- we had them from our old house.

The room feels so much bigger- I don't know if it's the white on the bottom that pushes out the edges, or if it's just because I haven't put the frames back on the walls yet!  

The pictures don't really do it justice... plus it's looking really bland while I figure out what's staying or going decoratively!  (Especially since three of the frames from here were used to finish up the hallway!)

If you look close at the photos above, you may notice that something else is missing... 

More on that soon...

New Bathroom Doorknobs

With the  bathroom renovation complete, we still needed to update the half brass- half chrome door knob.  It's the only doorknob in the house that doesn't have ANY good age or character to it!

Hallway side of door

Bathroom side of door

As mentioned in this post, we found some old door hardware out in the barn.

My parents checked their basement...
Luckily, they found some pretty old door knobs, along with the other random pieces we were missing!

After removing the ugly door knobs, we had a big hole in the door...

Which wouldn't be hidden by the new hardware...

Of course, it's never easy!

We had to fill it in...

First filled with wood block
(couldn't forget that side piece too)

Then wood putty, sanding & paint

After that, Mike drilled the hole for the knob to go through, and another for the keyhole.  The black paint on the rim lock needed some touch-up paint.

And here they are!!!

Hallway side of door

Bathroom side of door

I feel like the clear glass knob is like a touch of sea glass for our beach-y bathroom!

Here's the Before & After side-by-side:

Working on the Workshop...

...to make it easier to work IN the workshop!

The big thing we wanted to do out here was to re-run the electricity.
The barn had been previously wired, but was disconnected at some point before we moved in.  We weren't too sure about their integrity, so decided to replace them.

So on a weekend that Mike's dad was visiting --he's our electric expert-- we decided to focus on the "workshop" portion of the barn (not the "garage" half of the first floor, or the second floor- those will be added later!)

Old Stuff

New wires run

Mike tore out the old wires.











His dad helped him run new ones...

We already had two fluorescent lights, so we bought two more to match...

New Lights!

And new outlets were added...

And now we have light!

Mike's happy to be able to easily plug in his tools (rather than run an extension cord from the other barn).

Oh, there's still lots more to do... like getting a dumpster to clear out the scrap from other renovations that's been collecting in the "garage" side.  I'm too embarrassed to  even post pictures of that mess!  At least it's out of sight, behind a closed door.  But don't get me started on the garage door itself- yuk!

We also plan to replace the crusty old screens up on the 2nd floor with windows.  That will also be a huge improvement!

Working towards that goal, we did get the 2nd floor a little bit more organized.
More on that soon!

Deck the Walls

Yeah, I'm a little late with that title!

But, we've been getting more odds & ends done in the Foyer...

all involved putting holes in our freshly painted walls.

First item tackled: Spray painting the brackets & hooks on the shelf.

Silver matched the gray much better than the bronze.

Then Mike re-hung it above the table...

The decorations will get a refresh for spring.  

For now, I just added a few winter things to replace the Christmas decorations.

Next up: finding something to hang in the space over the radiator.

We had the aerial photograph of the house/property- but now it didn't look right.

We played musical pictures for a few weeks. 

I ended up taking a painting by my great-grandfather that was in the family room 

I stuck it inside a chunky white frame I had in the attic.  

We're liking it!  Now we just have to fill the space it left on the living room wall!

The cat thinks he's part of the decor ;)

Finally, we had the hallway wall... 

Mike suggested hanging some artsy photos I had taken last year.  

We love having meaningful artwork- these are all photos from our garden.

I waited until Snapfish ran a sale, and then had them printed up.  

Before buying new frames, we wanted to try to work with some we already had.

These gold frames hanging in the dining room (the three on the right) fit the bill...

They were from our old house and had Monet prints in them.

Nothing that I LOVED...

So, I took them and spray painted the frames silver & the matting black. 

The black matting tied in nicely with the new rug!

I wish the frames were a little chunkier, but they'll do for now.

Total cost = $20.30

(I already had the spray paint left over from other projects)

Our plan is to print out at least three more sets of images I've taken, 

Then we can swap them out seasonally!

Here's a new look from the front door...