Dreaming....

Well, at the moment in our house there is a 4' x 4' hole in the bathroom floor, a 3' x 6' hole in the kitchen wall, a section of the wall in the girls' room missing, plywood flooring.... well, you get the idea. However, I can visualize what I want it all to look like when it's done. Dan and I have been doing some dreaming, and looking for inspirational photos, and here's what we have found so far.

KITCHEN

Beautiful dark counter tops in my kitchen!

Or...

Maybe we go white on white?

Both options look good with the red kitchen.

BATHROOM

Now, granted, my bathroom does NOT have a beautiful claw foot tub, or a window, but I'm going for this feeling. Vintage farmhouse.

GIRLS' BEDROOM

A picket fence wall. And before I even saw this photo, I had purchased yellow and green paint!

Twin Murphy beds with a cabinet (similar to this one) between them. Ours, however, will be white enamel to go with the fencing.

HALLWAY

Crisp, clean, white enamel beadboard in the hall. The wall above will be a darkish yellow as it is in the living room currently. I also want to paint all of our picture frames white and then do a bit of antiquing on them. Nice!

Dreaming is fun, and it gives us something to hold on to during this "not so fun" stage of our unplanned remodel. We'll have to see how far we get with the funds we have available, and how close we come to our imaginings.

Here is my own take on Genesis 1:2 as it relates to our project:

The house was without flooring and void of any furnishings, and chaos was over the everything. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the house.

- Lord, I pray that when this project is done, you will say "It is good!"        

Tina 

Unexpected Remodel

We woke up Sunday morning a couple weeks ago to a bit of a disaster at our house. Our water heater supply line had failed, and as a result, we had a minor flood. I say minor because the we were able to sop up the surface water with a few towels. However, the damage was bad. The more Dan and I tore into the area, the more damage we found.

 Subflooring was mush and had to be removed.

The padding under our laminate floor was D R I P P I N G wet!

Drywall was wet up 2 ft in some areas.

The laminate flooring we loving laid just 2 years ago was swelling and warping.

We knew we were in way over our heads!

So, we called our insurance company, and then Belfor Property Restoration.

The Belfor trucks showed up Monday morning.

They tore up all the flooring around the flooded area and then started probing for moisture content. The rod that they are putting into the holes drilled in the cabinets in the above picture beeps every time water is detected. I started calling it the "Evil Beeper Thing" because it would not shut up!! It beeped at everything!! Meaning, of course, there was a lot of water.

At the end of day 2, the house had been well torn apart.

So here we are, on day... hmm, I guess its been 12 days since the "flood." We are living in a vacation rental (thank you Traveler's Insurance Co) because the house has been gutted, and is STILL drying out! So, what are we going to do? Well, we've decided that while the house is torn apart we should try to get as many projects finished as possible! So the "wish list" is as follows:

Entire House

new flooring

paint ceilings

Kitchen

new countertops

replace kitchen door

paint touch-up

Living Room

replace glass in front door

patch and repaint walls

Front Bathroom
new flooring
refinish vanity
new countertops
paint (wainscoting?)
shower curtain
rugs
Hall
paint
wainscoting
Girls' Room
build murphy beds
paint
curtains
rugs
Back Bathroom
new vinyl flooring
add storage shelves
Master Bedroom
paint

Ok, I'm exhausted just thinking about all of this! So far we have done most of the demolition work, but WOW! And my poor husband only has weekends to work on this project. Well, this is a WISH list. We'll see how far we actually get. Wish us luck! And your prayers are appreciated! :o)

Tina

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 Matthew 19:26

Dreaming of Spring!

Yes, I know that winter has only just begun, but I am getting that spring feeling... Christmas is over, and it's time for spring! Well, at least in my mind! Here in Central Oregon it will be many months before spring actually "springs"! Until then, I will dream, browse my own garden photos from last summer, and those of other garden lovers. If you too are dreaming of spring, send me a note to let me know I'm not alone! Include a picture of your garden! I'm hungry for green!!

Herbs and impatiens keep my little German hiker company all summer.

My backyard fountain is home to colorful flowers and vintage bake ware.

I can't wait for warmer weather to see the clematis I planted last year overtake my mailbox! Hope the mailman doesn't mind.

Think green thoughts as the winter weather howls! "To every thing there is a season" as it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. For now its a time of rest and waiting.

Have a great January!

Tina