Conquering the giant vine

One of the fine specimens of our garden was growing up the side of the house. Sure, it hides a lot of the ugly, but it's really not good to have little tendrils working their way into the siding, and then possibly tapping you on the shoulder while you sleep -- or worse, waking up covered in creepy vines. (Sorry, that's my worst-case overactive imagination talking there.)

I couldn't take looking at it any longer, so I decided to tackle it with whatever tools I could find laying around (and there's many). I came across a broom initially and smacked the living daylights out of it with some success, knocking most of it from the house. (I was like a horticultural gladiator...in my mind.)

Take a look at my handiwork, and notice the fact that windows exist under all of that:

A-mazing.

Before and after: The main floor bathroom

Here's the official unveiling of the bathroom on the main floor.  It's just a small half bath, but it originally sported lino, a large mirror glued to the wall, and a horrible light we affectionately nicknamed 'the baguette'*.  We ripped all that out, but kept things that still were in good shape like the vanity and countertop, and the toilet and sink.  The faucet, light fixture, knobs, towel bar, toilet roll holder, mirror and moulding were updated.  With some crafty thinking, we didn't break the bank on this one (yay!).  

The existing countertop isn't horrible, although some yellow gerbera daisies help.

Good budget tips: We found a mirror for $40 (Homesense) and sprayed the frame white; we used a very moderately-priced tile for the main squares and highlighted the edge with the more expensive glass tile (I think the total floor cost was $140).

More of a 'during' shot rather than a 'before', but hey, you get the idea.

*There's still a 'baguette' in the house, in another bathroom we didn't go too crazy on.  More on that beauty later.

Before and after: The dining/living room

This is one area of the house that's sustained a lot of abuse and clutter.  It's also one of the most travelled-through parts of the house, which was made even more difficult when it resembled a storage locker.  We've had office furniture moved into it, tile storage, moulding and sawhorses...not once have we been able to use it to live or dine in, until now!*

*And believe me, it's still in shock.

A dining room?  For real?  *blink blink*

No more squeezing our way through construction clutter, I can do twirls in here now!

Watch out now, here come the before photos (they scare me):

Oh, sad days -- burgundy days.

Balloon window treatments, in burgundy, naturally.  Why look, there's a whack of moulding too!

And all of the office furniture/clutter awaiting a new home...somewhere.

Big before and after: The entryway

Light, bright, just right!

Ah yes, I'm going through memory lane looking at all our before photos at the moment.  This installment is dedicated to our entryway.  Just a short while ago it was burgundy, thanks to Trevor's hands and ideas.  And then I came along and changed it.  Sure, we lived with the burgundy for a while, but it was really oppressive and, well...burgundy.  A coat of primer and two coats of paint later (and moulding, and flooring...) and it's a brighter, lighter entryway.

Bur-gun-dy.  'Nuff said.

Front porch: Before + After

The after.

I finished up the front porch last week, and I'm proud to say that this project lasted 3 days (compare it so some of our never-ending ones...).  The outdoor carpet was ripped up, the wood underneath was patched, sanded and stained, and the front door was painted.  I bought an outdoor area rug (Home Depot - $60, and can also come with us when we move) and then did the planters (all existing, the tall ones are from Ikea).  I looked into finding a used rocking chair that I could refinish and put out there, but I think that time and effort is better spent inside on the other projects at the moment.

The before (Halloween shot from a while ago, on the Saturday I started this project I discovered the camera battery was dead.  I'm sure you get the idea.).

Close up of the planters and rug.  I love that rug.

Scary windows x 4: Before and after

The scary windows were tackled over the weekend.  After holding the previous fabric option up to the windows and taking a look, I decided that they were blocking out too much light in the stairwell -- and that's not good.  So light and airy was the new goal, and a trip to Ikea was made for panel curtain material:

Anno Horisont curtain panel.

I took the roll and measured 4 panel lengths and did a simple stitch along the top and bottom for the rod (no need for the sides, they don't fray unless you touch them a lot, and no one can reach these).  

The entryway: Before and after

The entryway was finished this weekend.  Despite my inital ho-humming about the slate tile (it seems a bit overused in houses right now -- but I'm sure the future buyer of this house will be over the moon about it) I think it turned out beautifully.  Two coats of gloss sealer (bling!), the addition of moulding (notice the plinth block action, courtesy of Trevor's mad finishing skillz), painting of moulding (my mad skillz), painting of closet doors and one revamped table later and we're done*.  

* Although I think the glass bottle needs a flower or two.

Half-round table: Before and after

From dark and yucky to bright and cheery!  This table was sanded, primed (Kilz latex is great), sanded again, first coat of paint, sanded, darker paint and fabric lining in the drawers, another coat of paint all over and a hit of beeswax to add a little extra sheen and keep the drawers moving smoothly.