December Project Progress

We're making slow but steady progress on a couple of projects around the house.  First up is the kitchen countertop.  We recently finished cutting out for the farm sink, and for the faucet.  We ran into a snag when we determined that the counter is thicker than what our 100 yr. old salvaged faucet allows for.  We routed out a section on the underneath side of the countertop to allow for proper fitting.  We hope to get the countertop installed in the next couple of weeks, which will be a major milestone for the kitchen remodel project.

The mantle bookshelf project is moving right along. We dismantled the salvaged bookshelves and leaded glass doors, and are rebuilding the fronts to fit onto the bookshelf built-ins under the mantle.  After removing the fronts, we cut them down to size, and are adding a small quarter-inch furring strip for an exact size match.  This project is coming together nicely, and we hope to have the new fronts installed and the leaded glass doors fitted by January 2012.

Bench Upholstery Project

We have a long list of furniture we've collected over the years that needs to be re-upholsterered or fixed in one way or another.

An antique bench we found on Craigslist a few years back has made it to the top of the list.  The upholstery fabric is ordered, and it will soon be outfitted with a new cushion.  That's at least on step in the right direction.

Bench:

Fabric:

We ordered just enough extra fabric for 2 or 3 throw pillows for the living room settle once we get around to completing that project.  Maybe 2012?

Seasons Greetings

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mount Rainier National Forest 2011

Mantle Progress

We finished stripping the paint and sanding the mantle.  Next step is to build the new bookshelf fronts and stain.

Now:

Newly stripped and sanded mantle.

Before:

In the beginning before the paint was stripped.

Stripping paint off the mantle.

Paint stripper used on the mantle.

Living Room Fireplace Mantle

We've made good progress on the living room remodel project.  We completed the paint stripping and have now started sanding the fireplace mantle.  We're two days in, and based on our current progress, we expect to have the sanding finishing next weekend.  To tackle this project, we stapled a plastic curtain to the ceiling to conceal the sanding dust.  Wow, what a mess it makes.

The goal is to finish sanding the mantle and then begin the finish carpentry work to install the glass fronts on the mantle built-in bookshelves.  In addition, we just got a quote in from a tile installer, and the installation of tile on our fireplace is within our budget.  Hopefully we can start this project in the Spring.  In January, we're going to start calling drywall installers to get a quote on covering the popcorn ceiling.  My dream/plan is to have a majority of this project wrapped up by late April.

Mantle being stripped of paint and sanded.