I sparked quite a conversation about the exterior of my house yesterday! I’ll circle back about that later and share more of my plans for it. Today, we’re back to the inside.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know we’ve done a lot to our home. Every room has been painted at least once. We’ve overhauled the kitchen, the half bath, the master bath. We’ve made improvements to the basement and all of the bedrooms. There really isn’t a lot left to do on the inside and, as much as I enjoy all of the DIYing, I’m really happy to be at the stage when I can focus on some of the small, neglected areas and the unfinished details. I tend to look at the big picture of the space and have a hard time buttoning down and finishing the little, mundane projects.
The first on the list is the halls and stairway. The stairway walls especially are getting a little grungy, as they often do, with sticky little hands dragging across them regularly. I’ve also touched up some of the walls with the wrong paint. Nice.
This stairway has always been tricky for me, because it’s small, dark and oddly shaped. It used to have a window to the outside at the top of the steps, but that window now leads into an attic over the addition.
When I was out shopping a few months ago, I found this awesome antique map of Pennsylvania for only $35! I knew it would be the perfect piece to cover the window and make a statement going up the steps.
We hung it using curtain brackets, so it can be removed when we need to gain access to the attic. It was made clear that little boys are not to hang from it or they will incur the wrath of mom. Once the walls are painted, I want to fill them up with family pictures and maybe a few smaller maps to create a gallery.
I’m going to be painting the walls the same color as the home office, Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore.
It’s time to refresh the paint on the risers of the steps. They are getting pretty banged up now, but held up surprisingly well for 8 years. I’m looking into getting a runner for the steps as well. The narrow wood steps can be slippery and have already claimed one tooth from our family! I think a runner will make them safer.
The downstairs hallway is sort of a continuation of the stairway, so I’ll be painting those walls the same color. A few weeks ago, I hung up a great picture of my Opa as a young man, surrounded by girls. He was a very charismatic guy who made friends everywhere he went and this picture typifies that.
(To give you an idea of floor plan, I’m standing in the small 1/2 bath and the stairs are to the left of the doorway.
This is a picture of the same hallway from the living room. The 1/2 bathroom door is just to the right of the archway and the stairs are to the right of that. I think the pale gray will look pretty and fresh through the archway.
(You can see we still haven’t put a finish on the floor. I am enjoying them raw!)
And I need to do the tedious task of painting a bunch of trim.
When we moved in, the trim matched the doors. It was all an orangey pine. I just couldn’t take it, so I painted it white. It was a ton of work and, when I was halfway through, I realized I had one can of bright white, which is what I wanted, and one can of off white, which I had already used on half of the trim. ARGH! It was too late to turn back and I didn’t have the money to buy another can of paint, so I exchanged the bright white for more off white to get the job finished.
As I’ve repainted rooms over the year, I’ve updated the trim to the bright white, but there is still more to do and the hallways are the worst! The trim on seven doors awaits me. Oh, what joy is mine. You can see the difference here…
(I don’t think I need to point it out, but the bright white is on the left.)
And while the paint is out, I need to touch up the baseboards and shoe molding that we chewed up when sanding the floors. It’s going to be a pain, but it’s one of those attention-to-detail-things that makes a big difference.
We’ll also be starting work on the upstairs bath soon. We’re not doing a major overhaul, but we’ll tile the floors, swap out the fixtures and gussy up everything else.
I’ll share details when we start working on it, but part of gussying it up will involve this…
41 Responses
Your small bathroom is cute but you will be surprised at how some strategic small changes in a small bathroom can make all the difference.
We changed the floors and the toilet, painted the vanity, the walls, updated the towel racks, bought a new shower curtain and window curtains, and did some repairs to the walls, and now our master bathroom looks fantastic–good for another 20 years.
At the same time we gave our other bathroom “a lick and a promise” (well, not really a lick but definitely a promise) by changing the toilet, mirror, light fixtures and show curtain, painting the vanity, and adding a cute storage cabinet.
I think these simple updates (which weren’t very expensive because we didn’t change anything major like the plumbing or the location of the fixtures) really added to the value of our home.
Actually, the same thing happened when we added AC–so go for it all!
Love your blog!! We have the same problem with our basement in our “forever home.” We don’t currently live in it, we’re military, but will be retiring and moving back in in a few months. Our basement is finished though, and we’re trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Hubby wants to tackle it on his own, so we’ll see!! Best of luck with all of your upcoming projects!! Can’t wait to see how they go!!
We have just moved into a new house after 21 years. At both places, we had basement leak repairs done by a company that uses pressure injected polyethylene. Fast, inexpensive, and I can vouch that for 21 years we never had a single leak after the work was done. Plus, they don’t have to tear up the yard, as the work is done from inside. I would be happymto talk about it with anyone who wants to learn more. No connection to any company, just a happy customer!
Mwyatt85(at)gmail(dot)com
I always had this mental picture that your home was picture perfect in every room 🙂 It’s good to see that you are human too. Ha! I can’t wait to see the progress and finished product (although nothing is ever really finished, right? 😉
Have you thought about getting rid of the radiators and getting central heat and air?
Yeah, I hate the look of the radiators…well, I like the old, standup ones, but I don’t like the ones that run along the baseboards. They put off amazing heat, though, so it wouldn’t be worth changing them out.
All the changes you mentioned will help in selling your house. Here in the South, we’ve never not had central heat and air – so I can’t even imagine that!
Really important to get that basement waterproofed – you don’t want a mold problem.
Looking forward to the finished projects.
Yes! All such smart smart moves that will make your home sell when you are ready again. These projects all had to be done to move forward – congratulations!
Smart upgrades! While installing a central air system and waterproofing the basement might not be the most glamorous improvements they will definitely be money well spent toward getting your home sold down the road. Although you live in PA, its on the southern end and it does get hot and humid there in the summer months so central AC is a must to most people buying a home in that area.
Where we live central heat is a must (I live in upstate NY), and air is optional, but I know it helps to sell the house when you have both. My husband is a realtor and he tells me many of his clients want their new home to be move in ready. All these improvements you’re going to make will help you sell your home in the future. But you might want to be careful not to spend too much on the improvements. Sellers often have a problem getting the money back when they sell their home (especially cosmetic improvements). Good luck!
I absolutely cannot WAIT to see you refinish your floors. I’ve been waiting to do mine, and I’m so excited to see you’ll be using your hemp oil on the job. I’m hoping this will make my floors look fantastic as well, and I can’t wait to see your finished project!
I am excited to see what you do with your small bathroom, I need some inspiration for my small master bath! I love the red Buffalo Check curtains in your spare bedroom, where did you find the fabric? Or did you purchase them pre-made?
Ha! We did a teeny tiny bathroom last summer in our 50/60s era ranch. We took out all the updates and put it back to it’s more original state. It was a BEAR!! Small rooms do not equal small work 😉 and let me add that since we live in the sub tropics central air is not negotiable …a must. You are so going to love it and not just the cool air, it is dryer air and so so quiet compared to window bangers.
I’ve some time off for the summer and getting ready to get back into blogging:) I had to say that I do think you are doing the right thing by updating and installing AC. I’ll be updating my bathroom too, can’t wait to see all your improvements in yours!
Do you have curtain drains around the foundation? They usually forestall any water getting into the basement. Regrading the soil around the foundation might help also. I can’t believe that you didn’t get one showing of your house. You had a really bad realtor. That is a shame. However in the meantime, you don’t have a garage, do you? Maybe you need to add one. Also add a second story to it for a studio or a mini apartment if your zoning allow it. Ask the manager of your realtors office why your house didn’t sell. They might have some ideas. Good luck. More interesting posts for us.
Marian, read your blog every day but I have not ever made a comment. Love your work and dedication to your blog, home and of course family. I am not extremely creative or talented in any area but love to dabble in many things. Was wondering what kind of tradesman you contacted about your basement drainage problem. We too need to do drainage around our foundation but I don’t know who to call. Long story short, did you call a basement person or an expert in french drains or are they one and the same? Hope this makes sense. Thank you.
I see a pretty tailored skirt for the faucet!
Won’t you be able to get rid of the radiator in the bathroom once you install the central heat & air? That would save you from one project and it would free up space to put in some more storage.
Marian,
How may we blog readers purchase your new Look Book?
Thank you!
I never even noticed the air conditioner units until you showed today’s picture. I can’t imagine not having a full home unit. You will love it.
Two questions. How do you reach the toilet paper from the toilet? Maybe it’s just the angle of the picture that makes it look out of reach. Is there any danger in toilet paper hanging over a radiator? I’ve never had a radiator. We have central air, be ready for a shock when the electric bill comes. But I guess it will be less than your window units. Never had it in our old home but now we live in the desert. Just replaced the old AC unit with a heat pump. So much quieter and it’s twenty cents an hour less to run. Plus it kicks on a lot less than the old AC unit.
Wow that’s some list. 🙂 I look forward to watching it come to reality!
Those are some nice upgrades. It’s going to be even better than before, especially with the new A.C.
I was wondering what your going to do to resurface the tub. What are your options? I have a pink tub in one of my bathrooms and I’m probably going to paint it but I just wondered if there are other options. Thanks.
That should have been…”you’re” going to do…
As a retired teacher, I just couldn’t let that go.
🙂
All the changes sound good and something you can enjoy until you put the house on the market again. I’m surprised you didn’t get any showings because your house is gorgeous! Like you said, maybe you’re not supposed to move. You’re going to love central air!
You guys are very smart only doing what is necessary. I’ve made the mistake several times of putting my heart and soul (and check book) into a home, only to leave it when we move… None of the times did we recoup our money… and the people that bought our homes were DANG lucky we did so much. Now we are in our 6th home, and it needs white carpet taken out and replaced with wood floors, a totally updated kitchen and master bath… and the washer and dryer moved from the closet (yes closet – who does that?) into the laundry room. And all I can think is…. what do I do that recoups the most money… and what can I live with “as is?” It is tough, because I want to do so much… and I love having my home reflect my personality….
That just goes to show you… we all LIVE in our homes… AND LOVE THEM. But they all need a little TLC every once in a while.
I bet you’ll love all the changes even more. Besides– you like to stay busy in your home so boredom doesn’t set in and drive you nuts.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up!
You got my attention about AC. We currently do not have central AC. But do use window AC. We did had someone to come and take a look in jmuch it cost to have it done. We were told that it would take up all of the closet space in our boys room, half of my closet and half of my husbands. The price sticker nearly gave us a heart attack. We decided to back out of it. I am truly curious in how they will install in your house.
We did tried to sell our house a few years back. A couple of people did not want to buy our house due to no AC.
Our current realtor has begged me not to put any more blues in our house. We do have a nice blue color in our bathroom and she said no more!! Took me by surprise. Made me think of your house. We really had to take a lot out of our house to make it more neutral. As of now, our house is not for sale. We are still trying to decide if we want to stay in PA or move to GA. It all depends on my husband railroad job.
We want to build a house that would fit my needs in regarding to door bell and phone lights go on and off when it rings.
Have fun making your house more spiffy!! We are going to do a lot of work on ours soon.
You will LOVE the central air & heat … and the refinished floors … and the remodeled small bath, etc. I totally understand your going ahead with these plans while waiting for the time to come to put your lovely home on the market again! There is no reason why you should not enjoy those changes now, and then the upgrades will be done for the possible buyer later!
And if you’re like me, you have to keep busy: you’re doing something every minute, anyway! Might as well be home improvements, right?!?
Your home is gorgeous! We are refinishing our home right now and it’s complete chaos! It will be beautiful when it’s finished but I sure do hate the in between process:/
Looking forward to some inspiration pics!
After reading Kelly’s comment above mine ~ living in TX as we do, Central AC is a given, and they do require lots of room, but our builder put ours in the attic, rather than taking up a valuable part of the living space w/the fan, etc.
Marian, Your house is so cosmetically beautiful. When you do these “unnoticed” improvements, it seems that it will surely sell. We struggled with basement water problems for 15 years in our home. I thought I was going to go crazy. We spent a lot of money, including regrading our yard by installing retaining walls to keep water from draining towards our foundation, installing French drains, and professional waterproofing on the outside of the foundation. We felt we had to do it for health reasons and for our home to ever sell. The upside – when we installed the retaining walls, I gained a gorgeous courtyard in our front yard that I enjoy everyday. And it is so nice not to have that “nagging feeling” when we get a hard rain.
I’m living in a whole house remodel, there is not one room that we don’t have something going on in. Living in central Oklahoma having a HVAC is a must. I know there are homes that have window units, and I feel for them. Ceiling fans are a must also. We have a semi ranch, as it is one story minus the straight layout. We have a cement foundation and floors, one room still has carpet the others are bare cement. We started with the ceiling scraping popcorn, restextured ceilings and walls, followed by paint. We (my husband and myself) spent one whole month building cabinet doors (for the whole house) as our cabinet boxes are solid wood and I refused to replace them because of some Seriously ugly doors. With all the doors built and half the kitchen doors painted and installed, my painting area is in my dinning room one because of the heat outside, and two because of the dust, with the cabinets being sanded and stored in the shop, we got hit by a down draft or small tornado. With damage done to both our homes roof and the shop was left with half a roof and one wall an inch out of wack, one overhead door looked like it was rammed into and the walk through door was blown so hard that it busted the jam. We are right now getting back on track, with all the kitchen doors painted and installed , I’m moving on to the hall bath. Let me say this is our forever home! Never again, lol!!!
Living in Georgia you couldnt imagine a world without it but I grew up in New Hampshire and lived in the Bay Area and we had nothing but fans and it was fine. I have gutted my house and what I know now boy I wish I knew then. My words of advice for consideration is put the unit outside by the garage or some place where you dont hear it. DO NOT PUT IT OUTSIDE YOUR MASTER BEDROOM WINDOW like this dummy did. Also since you are moving I cant recommend buying a Lenox or a super expensive one though not knowing your real estate sometimes homebuyers might buy a house over another with parts of being newer and a higher level of quality units and yes even air conditioners. I too did my basement and put in a internal french drain with a back up sump pump and a separate dehumidifier that deposits the accumulated moisture into a the drain. French drain cost 5k and dehumidifier cost $1500 all installation included. Sooooo worth it and peace of mind. My house flooded 3 times. And one last thing, I bought a lot of items like light fixtures, facets, on ebay, resale shops, craigslist and most all brand new. I love Kholer facets and toilets. Take your time a find your parts are super reasonable prices and take the time to find good contractors. I think you know all of this. Love your site!
I have to constantly remind myself my “dream home” and “forever” home will be in heaven some day, not here on this earth. Having said that, I love a pretty and well-kept home. Yours truly is.
If I understand what you are doing, you are going to add AC to your house, not remove or change the heating system. We have a 1924 bungalow with hot water heat and radiators, that I would not change for the world. The heat is more even, quiet and much cleaner. A number of years ago we had AC installed and it has made our home a palace. It so happened that the first summer was one of the hottest we had had in years and we lived in comfort. You will never be sorry and will sleep soundly without those “window bangers” humming in the background. Go for it and enjoy!
One last note on radiators. We had a local person who builds wood painted radiators covers build covers for our house and they are a wonderful addition. There were two radiators that did not allow for covers due to positioning. We had the radiators sandblasted and a local auto body shop paint them with auto paint that naturally withstands heat. They turned out beautifully.
Good luck with your projects!
Marion,
I’m saying this in all kindness, but if you plan to sell your home, I would not publicly disclose things like water in the basement! Yes, fix that problem for future buyers, but for many that would be a big red flag and they might not even look at your home. I don’t believe that I would.
It’s good that you have made the commitment to stay longer in your home and be content about it!
Well, we have to disclose it when the house is listed, anyway, in the state of PA. 🙂 The key is that we’re getting it fixed, so it won’t be a problem.
Sarah, Marian is right, I live in PA and we, by law, have to put down every little thing that went wrong in the house. We had our basement flooded at least 3 times before we finally did something about it, 5 grand later, it’s all worth it. As long as the problem has been fixed, it shouldn’t be a problem in selling the house.
Yes, I understand completely about disclosure because we have the same policy in MN and also in IN, TX, and CA where we also sold homes. However, the important thing is to get people IN the house. If it’s out there that here has been water in the house, many people stay away because they think that where there is water, there is mold or other problems. (Or they worry that this will happen again, in spite of repairs) It doesn’t matter if the problem has been fixed, they see it as a red flag. Believe me, I have seen this! This is in no way being dishonest. Serious customers will know all about the disclosures during the selling process and decide then if this influences their decision to buy or not. Getting potential buyers through the door is the most important so that what they see IN your home is what persuades them to buy.
our central air unit went in this spring and i was so excited to finally not have to deal with window units after 17 years! I joyfully photographed the monster of a unit and even blogged about it. No it’s not beautiful but anyone who lives in a hot humid climate knows just how much they make the beautiful in life more enjoyable! you will be so very glad!