You guys remember me mentioning that I was trying to get Mr. vB to hang some picture molding for me?  After a fun weekend with the boys, he came home to find his wifey with a nail gun in one hand and some liquid cement in the other. 

{I wasn’t really going to attempt to use either, I just thought it would get my point across.}

Well within 30 minutes Mr. vB had it hung and caulked!

He actually was working so quickly I couldn’t even snap a before photo.  In the shot below Mr. vB had already hung the molding to the left of the fireplace, but you get the jist.  The portion around the fireplace was hung about this time last year.

Our lonely little map longing to hang on the wall… {say that three times fast}

Ta-da!  Anyone notice the freshly painted radiator cover??

So remember me mentioning that I am on the hunt for new living room furniture.  And its only requirement is that it needs to be from a 2nd hand consignment shop or thrift store?? Now don’t get scared like my mums and think that I am buying 2nd hand furniture with cooties… I’m planning on painting and reupholstering the items that walk thru my front door. Just so we are on the same page, here are some inspirational Consignment/Thrift Store before and afters…

A Word from the Worthington’s

AND

Good Bones, Great Pieces

.{pretty freaking awesome, eh?}

I have been stalking scoping out my local thrift stores- Goodwill, Fantastic Thrift, Diversity Thrift and my favorite, The Love of Jesus Thrift Store. (Yes that IS its real name}.  I also know of a fabulous consignment shop named Rooms, Blooms and More located about an hour away in Newport News.  Family friends own this hot-spot and have had ridiculous success selling furniture, accessories, and window treatments- at amazing prices.  Obviously with it being an hour away I don’t get there as often as I like, BUT they do have a facebook page which highlights a new piece of furniture daily.  How awesome is that!!  {If you are on facebook, you gotta friend them!}

But back to my living room plan.  Get excited people- the first purchase has been made!!!

For $35 buck-a-roos I scored this sweet arm chair and ottoman.  Have no fear, the orange velvet is going bye-bye.  I am in-visioning painting the wood frame black or peacock blue, and then maybe use this fabric to recover it.

Won’t that look awesome?!?!

I also scored this cool painting while I was out an about.  Something about it really caught my eye.  I think with a new frame and some matting it will look straight out of an art gallery.

Wanna guess how much that set me back?? $2.80.

{Okay- so Mr. vB just got home and looked at my new fav painting and says- that’s a paint by number kit.  I’m like, WHAT? He says he and his brother use to paint them with his grandmother.  He even showed me one of the numbers that wasn’t fully painted over.  Whah-whah…. Oh well- I still like it!}

So it may be paint by number, but it did come with a bonus.  Hidden under the painting was this engraving.

Not to sure who it is, but thought it could be fun to frame as well.  Heck, maybe it is worth millions and was stashed under the paint by number for safe keeping.  That will stop Mr. vB from laughing at my poor taste in art work.

So one chair & ottoman down, and a sofa, chair and coffee table still to go!  Would love to hear suggestions on other places around town that I should go check out!  Where is your favorite place to find 2nd hand furniture and accessories?

Mr. vB and I haven’t started any {major} projects since we powered through finishing up the kitchen a few weekends ago.  Instead we have been focusing on finishing all the little details that have sprung up from getting our hardwood floors refinished. {remember that fun experience?  For a reminder click here.}  It’s been a slow process, but we are in no rush.  The living room remains empty, but that’s okay with me- I’m really starting to like the minimalist look! {ha-ha}

Speaking of the empty living room, did I mention that we have decided to leave the big 3 piece sectional sofa in the basement?!  We have gotten quite accustomed to hanging out down there for the past 6 weeks and decided we wanted to make it our den. {more on that later} So we did a bit of rearranging and it actually fits quite nice! BUT, this means we now need to get something to put in the living room.  I’m thinking something very simple- a small sofa, 2 side chairs and an ottoman/coffee table.  Oh and I want to try to find most of these things from a 2nd hand/consignment shop or thrift store.  I have already started looking, but I know it’s going to take awhile to find the right thing.

But back to the details..

We did muster some energy this weekend to start making Radiator Covers for the ugly radiators in the living and dining room.

I found this great DIY tutorial here.  Mr. vB normally likes to build things by the seat of his pants, but I thought these might come in handy. (and they did!)  The covers still aren’t totally finished, but are looking good.

We still need to prime and paint it, but I already am in love.  {I’m hoping once we paint the metal screen the radiator will be less visible.}  The best part of this project was that we had all the wood on hand and only had to buy the metal screen!

And last weekend we finished adding the shoe molding to our base boards and repainted them all with a fresh coat of white paint.

Before

After

Another project that makes my heart go pitter-patter.  So nice and fresh looking!

I also asked Mr. vB if we could add a few pieces of picture molding to the exterior walls of the living room. These walls are a mixture of brick and plaster and nails crumble at the site of them.  Hence the reason we have not hung any artwork in the living room, except for the one piece of artwork on the interior wall.  Hopefully I can get him to hang them at some point this week!  {Pictures to Follow}

So once those are up we will be back in business! I can start to put back the bookcases, console tables, and lamps.  Also hang a picture or two!  Then maybe visitors will stop asking if we just moved in or are moving out!

I hope everyone is sitting down because I would like to announce that Mr. vB and I have actually, wait for it…FINISHED A PROJECT!  The Kitchen has officially been checked off the To-Do List. {If the mood strikes us we might still upgrade our dishwasher and change up the bar top, but for now we are all good!}

But before I debut our new digs, you know I gotta show you were it all started.  And just to warn you- this is gonna be a long post.  I took us just over 6 months to get it all done.  That is ALOT of projects/photos to recap!

Just like most things in this house, Mr.vB had already renovated this kitchen once when he originally moved in. Here is what it looked like back in Jan ‘05.

This is the few from the hall looking into the kitchen and dining room.

And here is looking from the back pantry room into the kitchen. {nice isn’t it?!}

The original plan entailed opening the wall up between the kitchen and dining room and also rearranging the cabinet layout.

Here is the kitchen right before we started taking down the cabinets.  The upper cabinets did have doors, but Mr. vB was working too fast.  By the time I grabbed the camera, half of the doors were already down.

We were never fans of the original cabinet doors as they were very 80’s-ish with the wood accents. Our appliances (which came with the house) also bugged us as they were mismatched- Black Stove, White Hood, White Fridge and Silver/black dishwasher.

We started by rearranging our existing cabinets. Mr. vB took down all the existing cabinets..

And then put them back up in the new layout.

We also added floating shelves beneath. Instead of buying them, Mr. vB attached pieces of re-bar into the brick wall.  Then he built a box that would slide around the pieces of metal and become our shelf.

Once the new layout was in place, we purchased the new fridge, stove and exhaust hood.  To properly exhaust the hood to the outside, it required drilling a BIG MESSY HOLE in the brick wall.  We sealed off the kitchen to hopefully contain the mess.

A few weekends later we decided we had to do something about the back splash.  Previously it had been painted to buy us some time, but we had always envisioned it in tile.  We ended up having some left over tile and grout from the bathroom project, so we decided it was time to take the plunge.

It was actually quite easy and we had that part done in a weekend.

Then month by month we purchased the new cabinet doors and hardware. {As you saw, we reused the existing cabinet boxes as they were in pretty good shape, and once the new doors were on you wouldn’t be able to tell anyways!}

I love how the new doors and hardware make the counter tops look so much better!  I was never a fan of the Formica {especially with the old doors} but now they look so much richer.  I am still thinking about removing the existing Formica bar top and replacing it with a granite slab, but we’ll see.

Another new addition was the hardwood floors.  You might remember me mentioning that we discovered these the week Mr. vB was on vacation. What a difference they make to this room!!  We were never fans of the bright orange tile, but had no clue such a gem was hiding under it.  We might have ripped them up sooner had we have known!

Our final tasks were to add base board and shoe molding, touch up paint, caulk, and clean!!

So one more before shot and then the grand unveiling..

Before

And AFTER!

Dotty and Flo even made it down for the photo shoot!

There you have it!  Was it worth the 6 month wait??

Introducing for the 1st time…please hold your applause… OUR NEW FLOORS!

As I was typing this post I heard a loud crash upstairs {I’m using the computer in the basement}.  Not knowing what the heck it could be I ran upstairs.  I had opened all the windows on the first floor to air it out a bit, and one of the windows literally fell out of the frame.  And you know it had to crash right onto my new floor leaving 2 nice dents. I knew the floor wasn’t going to stay pristine forever- but jeez!  I’m hoping with a little sandpaper and some stain we can camouflage the dents…. Plus once all the furniture is back in place no one will notice it- right?!

Mr. vB and I are going to spend the weekend trying to get the house back in order.  We need to put some shoe molding down, plus wipe down all the walls and trim! Sounds exciting doesn’t it??  Mr. Sanders said we could put the furniture back in place by Sunday, but the area rugs would have to wait at least 30 days.  Guess that leaves me some time to get all the finishing touches just right!

OMG- the smell coming from our new floors has burnt my nose hairs off.

Mr. vB and I got home about 8pm from our weekend in Myrtle Beach and were immediately welcomed hit in the face by the polyurethane smell.  We didn’t think it was too bad at first, but after about 4 hours of sitting in the basement I was DONE.  I had even stuffed cotton balls up my nostrils to try to curb the smell, but it didn’t work.  When I told Mr. vB that I was going to sleep in my car, I think he knew I meant business. So at 1:30 am we grabbed our bags and headed over to his dad’s house.

We only spent enough time in the house over the past 3 days to grab our work bags, computers, and more clothes.  I am seriously worried that my house will never smell good again and that my nose hairs are permanently gone.  Let’s hope not.

Things were much less uneventful Days 2-4 of the hardwood floor refinishing as Mr. vB and I had packed our bags and headed out of dodge Richmond.  {We coincided this project with our trip to Myrtle Beach to visit Mr. vB’s mom and step dad to celebrate belated Christmas and birthdays.}  From what we heard, the smell from the stain (day 3) and the coats of polyurethane (day 4, 5, and 6) were going to be somewhat unbearable.

When we left town on Friday (day 2), Mr. Sanders had finished sanding the kitchen and hallway.

Even without the stain and polyurethane IT LOOKED AWESOME!!!

I am so glad we, okay Mr.vB, checked to see what was hiding under that lovely {insert major sarcasm} terracotta tile. Who in their right mind wood have covered up hardwood floor to put down tile??

On Saturday (day 3), Mr. Sanders applied the stain, Minwax- English Chestnut, and then Sunday (day 4) applied the first coat of poly.  By the time we got home on Sunday night, we had a GORGEOUS floor waiting for us!  But man did our house STINK! {more on that to come!}

One day down, Seven more to go….

Mr. Sanders got to work bright and early yesterday morning, and like he promised, had the majority of the floor sanded by early afternoon.

Here’s a before and after shot of the cool transition inlay that Mr. vB installed.

{Since there are Oak Planks in the Living Room, Dining Room, and Hall and then Pine Planks in the Kitchen, we have had to get creative with the transitions and the stain.  We want it to look as seamless as possible}

Mr. vB stopped at home during lunch today and Mr. Sanders painted several stains on the floor for us to examine.  I am pleased with the stain we chose even though it is not the original one I had in mind.

In the meantime we will continue to hang out in our Basement Getaway.  It was a brisk 62 degrees in the basement when we went to sleep last night. I told Mr. vB just to imagine that we were camping.

{This is when I need you to remind me why we did this!!!}

Also thought you guys would get a chuckle out of our make shift kitchen.

Here is the fridge/microwave/coffee center conveniently located with inches of the tub and toilet.

And our Entertainment/Bar/Food/Utensil Center.

It may not be the Ritz, but it’s free.  Can’t beat that!

The Floor Guy starts today!

Mr. vB and I are taking bets on whether or not we are over-estimating or under-estimating the mess that is about to rain down on us. {Literally- remember we are living in the basement!}

I thought you guys would enjoy photos of the 1st floor cleared out..

{I know this photo is dark, but I didn’t want to debut our new kitchen with blue tape everywhere.  Justin You will just have to wait a little longer for the big reveal. Patience.}

We have sealed up all the air vents and cabinets, and taped off the hall to the upstairs and back room with plastic.  We are trying to contain the dust as best as possible, but I know it is going to end up EVERYWHERE!

Also wanted to show you guys the cute Birthday Cake my Mums made for Mr. vB yesterday. My Daddio even hand delivered it!

Stay Tuned to see the progress of the floors.  Mr. Sanders {I’m not kidding- the guy sanding our floors is named Mr. Sanders} says he should be done sanding the majority of the floor by tonight.  The kitchen and hall floor is going to take him a little longer due to the left over grout we couldn’t remove by hand.  Plus I am working up a little post about our new “diggs” in the basement.

Well, to the Basement that is.

Mr. vB and I spent the day yesterday ripping up the remaining tiles in the kitchen and hallway to fully expose our hidden gem.

Here is Before and After…

We’ve also started to pack up the entire first floor as come Thursday, that’s going bye bye too.

Why you might ask??  Well we are getting our hardwood floors refinished! HOORAH, or more like OMG- what am I thinking?!

I’m the kinda girl who loves a clean, organized house.  This is not what we currently live in and I am starting to freak out a bit. The stove and the refrigerator are going to live in the pantry area for a week.  All of the dining room furniture (ie. our new table/chairs and china hutch) and all of the living room furniture (L-shaped sofa, console tables, coffee table, and TV stand) already has or soon will be shoved stored in the sitting room off our master bedroom or down in the basement.  Then we are relocating the guest bed, a full length mirror, and any and all clothes, food, and gadgets that we might need, down to the basement for a week.

{See why I am freaking out?!?!}

Our hope is that it won’t be too dusty from the sanding or too stinky from the stain fumes.  It is really hard to find a place to relocate for a week that will allow 2 90lbs black labs to join you. {No offense Marty or Adrienne- I appreciate the offer to crash at your pad’s sans the pooch’s.  We might have to bite the bullet and pay for the dogs to be boarded if the dust and smell is too overwhelming!  So please don’t turn us away if you see us on your front porch one day!} And for those cat-lover readers of mine, Milo isn’t going to be left home alone.  He has his bags packed to stay a week at my Mums house.  I like to think it will be a mini vacation for him.  No big dogs to chase him around and tons of new rooms for him to explore.

Here’s what our living room and dining room looked like by the time we called it quits tonight.

I feel like Thursday morning is going to be here before we know it and we still have so much to do. {insert deep breath here} I will definitely keep you guys updated as this is going to be QUITE the adventure!