Thursday, September 23, 2010

Getting Crafty: The Reveal

Back in this post, we started talking about our copycat CB2 light fixture we were attempting to recreate.  Well, it's been up for a few weeks, so we thought we should do a quick reveal.

Since we weren't quite ready for a full-on electrical extravaganza, this was a great option for this area because we only need to add tea light candles, and it gives off a pretty amazing glow at night.  It's definitely not something you can turn on everyday, but when the mood is right, we think it looks pretty cool.

Plus we scored some battery operated LED candles at the dollar store, so all in all this was big fun with a little price tag. 

A bright idea you might say.

Here is the one from their blog/catalogue:


And here is ours, a little longer vs. wide, but we may add a few more down the road...





Saturday, September 18, 2010

Half-Bath Bliss - Our dreams come to fruition!!!

Finally!!!  Our half-bath project that seemed to last all summer is complete!!!  (ok...it was complete about a month ago but I'm just now getting around to posting the reveal)  :-)

Rather than bore you with all the gory details up-front like always (I'm talking about MY blog posts of course, Kelly's are always witty and entertaining up-front!), I decided to hit you with the finished product right off the bat!

VoilĂ !!!

(and yes...that's a tarantula in our wheat grass for all you Halloween fans out there!!)

Now...here is how we got there...

After all the drywall was done and the walls were painted a fresh and clean "Extra White," I put down some flooring and framed up a "vanity-ish" thing for our future sink...remember that terrible angle-y wall thingy I had to contend with?  No big whoop.


Then with the help of a returning Two Six E project champion...my old man...I framed up, poured, troweled, sanded, sanded some more, stained, and finished a concrete countertop...in our basement.   The black and white holes you see will come into play later...they're supposed to be there.  ;)

I'm very proud of this thing...including all the natural variations in the finished concrete!  This was a NEW kind of project never before attempted by me or my old man!  It was a task deserving of an entirely separate blog post that is forthcoming.  THANKS MY OLD MAN!!!

Then with the help of a NEW Two Six E project champion...our friend Erik W. (in the foreground...the one struggling less than the other), we carried the now 150 lb. countertop UP the stairs and dropped it into place with only MINIMAL wall scuffing!  :)  (the scuffing was my doing)  THANKS ERIK!!!

(sample backsplash tile at back of countertop)

Then I wired up a new IKEA light fixture...(I was the only project champion on this step)...


Then with the help of yet ANOTHER returning Two Six E project champion, our good friend Chip C., we added the mosaic tile backsplash (natural slate + glass tile mix)...  THANKS CHIP!!!

Then I finished building the shelves and shelf fronts for the "vanity"...

...there's more rocket science involved here than it looks like folks!!!  Measure 4 times...cut 2 or 3 times...get new piece of wood and cut again I always say!

Then finished the door casing and base trim.  Notice we tried to replicate the traditional style found throughout the rest of the house, replacing the more modern, boring, cheap-o door casing that was in place previously...

Then I set another Glacier Bay dual-flush toilet from Home Depot like the one we used upstairs...GO ENVIRONMENT!!!  

...set the sink (a Kraus vessel from csnstores.com), hooked up the faucet (a Glacier Bay from HD), connected the drain...

...and let Kelly start making it pretty!  :)  These are watertight, porcelain vases from CB2.  Perfect for orchids!


And what would a bathroom be if not a place for reading some fine poetry by Alex...???  A tribute to our feathered friend we found during the first phase of demolition.

________________________________________________
For one final look (if you have a strong stomach)...the BEFORE...

...and AFTER!!!


Here's to happy flushing...and washing of course!!!  
-EJ

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMD!!!



Happy Birthday to our beloved Evie!  We love you so much!!!! There couldn't be a sweeter, more charming, more handsome, more handy, more loving or more incredibly deserving guy to wish a very Happy Birthday to!  

And there couldn't be two luckier girls than us, to celebrate with you, and call you ours. :)

We had an early celebration for Ev Thursday night, complete with homemade cards of spotted rabbits, pop-up trees and red carrots....



...lots of hugs & kisses from the ladies! 



 ...and a delicious feast of Mexican food from our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Jalapenos, followed by decadent gourmet cupcakes!  


That's a chocolate cream cupcake with whipped frosting and candied bacon.  Yes, bacon.  :)




Happy Birthday to the Man of My Dreams. 
May it be equally as sweet as you are.

xoxo

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Brown BEGONE! Bring on the “Golden Fleece”!

Sorry we've been quiet for a while...busy time of the year for all of us!  A few weeks back, we decided we wanted to paint our front door BLACK!  But we couldn’t do this until we put on a new storm door.  We couldn’t do this until we painted over the terrible brown exterior trim around said door.  And if we were going to lose the brown around the door trim…we might as well get rid of the brown on the porch columns!  So BASICALLY…what started as painting the front door turned into 3 evenings of nightfall painting fun.  J

Picked up the new black storm door at Lowe’s the last day that they were 15% off…KA-CHING!!  Used a “standard” 81” storm door as opposed to the 83” “custom” one I replaced.  This meant about half the cost of a custom storm door, but also that I needed to frame down the top of the door/sidelight openings.


On the plus side…this means that we’ll also be able to replace the entry door with a “standard” (cheap) 80” door down the road…double KA-CHING!!  Or who knows...maybe we'll find an all-wood vintage 83" at our local Habitat Restore one of these days!!

Always be sure to prime (exterior KILZ)…in the dark…after 11PM...while hanging upside-down off the porch roof!




Porch BEFORE primer 
(OK...technically on the day we took possession but you get the idea):

And AFTER primer:

Then after the new full-view storm door went on (see in final pic below), it was finally time to paint the front door!  I still wouldn't call it BLACK...but "Dark Kettle" is as dark as Valspar gets.  


Steps to paint a front door:
1.  Sand  
2.  Prime
3.  Paint
4.  DO HAPPY DANCE!!!

Every house in our neighborhood blessed with these square, wooden porch columns with the square corner trim is painted with the trim color on the corners, and the body color in the middle…so in an effort to blend in historically, we followed suit.  In went the “Golden Fleece” yellow paint…God love it.  Thanks for leaving 2 gallons downstairs guy we bought the house from!  J


So…what do you think?! :-)
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