| Personal Blog |
10/14/11
| Home Improvement Projects |
| That thing on the wall is a decal from a kit that Bobbie bought. It's not what I would have put there... |
White walls, adorned with pictures from
the 20th century - small, cramped. That
paint on the table - it will be used well!
the 20th century - small, cramped. That
paint on the table - it will be used well!
| BEFORE |
| Green walls, decal art of a unicorn flying over a rainbow - miscellaneous clutter - and OMG... that ugly chandelier. That green paint reminds me of the walls in the cafeteria at my elementary school in Garfield NJ - circa 1976. |
| More decals - this one of a tree, bluebirds, bird houses, and some kind of blue-green & pink flowery vine going around the archway. That piano took up the entire right side of the room. Words cannot express my hatred for that ugly chandelier. |
| This is the layered-stone wallpaper prior to the removal. The wallpaper paste was applied so thick, that it actually stripped the drywall. It needed more than just a few coats of paint - I had to strip and apply a thin layer of plaster every wall in this room. |
| This is the view from the front door. This is the first day of the project and I have started stripping the wallpaper on the right wall. Straight ahead is the entrance to pool room - to the right is the room with that awful haunted house chandelier. |
| View as you entered the room from the old family room and facing the foyer. |
| View as you entered the room from the foyer and facing the old family room. |
| Archives |
10-14-11... Home Improvement
The Family Room
The family room was being used as the dining room. The larger room was used because of the large
German shrank and the china cabinet, combined with the dining room furniture. Sometime around
2001-2002, Bobbie painted it green. Not just your normal green - it was that elementary school-
basement cafeteria-green. Then she added more of her decal artwork to the walls. Myself, I think that
this stuff is great for a kid's bedroom - perhaps it would look awesome in a crafts room - but
definitely not in the dining room. I liked nothing about this room at all - especially that old, ugly,
dated, haunted mansion relic of a chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
The family room was being used as the dining room. The larger room was used because of the large
German shrank and the china cabinet, combined with the dining room furniture. Sometime around
2001-2002, Bobbie painted it green. Not just your normal green - it was that elementary school-
basement cafeteria-green. Then she added more of her decal artwork to the walls. Myself, I think that
this stuff is great for a kid's bedroom - perhaps it would look awesome in a crafts room - but
definitely not in the dining room. I liked nothing about this room at all - especially that old, ugly,
dated, haunted mansion relic of a chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
Long term project is to replace the kitchen tile and the double ovens. My sons are 22 and 19 -
and they aren't into the pink paint.
Home design was not her forte` - and that was just a sign of things to come.
The Dining Room
The dining room has never served it's purpose. Bobbie shoved a desk and computer in there and
called it "the computer room". In the past it has served as an extension of the kitchen for excess
storage - for a while she had the German table set up in there (seen in the above photo). It has never
been the dining room. When Bobbie passed away in 2009, I wanted to create a common area - or a
family room that would keep people from hiding in their chosen areas of the house. I wanted to
create a place where the family could be together - not always separated with everybody isolating
themselves from each other.
At the time, this room was the easiest to clear out and set up as a family room. Although it was
small and cramped, it served it's purpose.
and they aren't into the pink paint.
Home design was not her forte` - and that was just a sign of things to come.
The Dining Room
The dining room has never served it's purpose. Bobbie shoved a desk and computer in there and
called it "the computer room". In the past it has served as an extension of the kitchen for excess
storage - for a while she had the German table set up in there (seen in the above photo). It has never
been the dining room. When Bobbie passed away in 2009, I wanted to create a common area - or a
family room that would keep people from hiding in their chosen areas of the house. I wanted to
create a place where the family could be together - not always separated with everybody isolating
themselves from each other.
At the time, this room was the easiest to clear out and set up as a family room. Although it was
small and cramped, it served it's purpose.
Pink trim and green leaves - Not good.
Pink counter tops & pink trim around the stove
The trim was all natural dark wood - the walls you see in this picture are white paint over
wallpaper. My next project is to strip it down, sand, and stain all of the wood and cabinets.
wallpaper. My next project is to strip it down, sand, and stain all of the wood and cabinets.
This home has gone through many changes over the years. When I first stepped foot into this home in
1987, it looked nothing like it does today. It had many of the original fixtures, flooring, etc dating back
to when it was built.
Bobbie and I moved in here in 1994. The first thing we did was overhaul the landscaping. We replaced
the grass out in the front yard with rocks. Planted a mimosa tree - invested in shrubbery. The rocks are
still there - the mimosa tree made a mess, so it was removed in 2006.
Inside the house, Bobbie completely overhauled the kitchen. As a man, I had no say-so on what she did
with the kitchen. $2500 later, I learned that I had bought a pink kitchen. She painted over the wallpaper
(white) and she also painted over the natural dark wood in the kitchen. It was pained white with pink
trim. As an afterthought, she bought some craft kit and started to design the walls with leaves. She
started that project in 1996 and never finished it. She pulled up the green linoleum and replaced it with
white ceramic tile with PINK grout. Pink countertops. She decided to leave the double stack ovens that
matched the green linoleum. I didn't agree with it, and when I said something, all she said was , "Who's
going to see it anyway?" Below are some picture of the kitchen (my next project).
1987, it looked nothing like it does today. It had many of the original fixtures, flooring, etc dating back
to when it was built.
Bobbie and I moved in here in 1994. The first thing we did was overhaul the landscaping. We replaced
the grass out in the front yard with rocks. Planted a mimosa tree - invested in shrubbery. The rocks are
still there - the mimosa tree made a mess, so it was removed in 2006.
Inside the house, Bobbie completely overhauled the kitchen. As a man, I had no say-so on what she did
with the kitchen. $2500 later, I learned that I had bought a pink kitchen. She painted over the wallpaper
(white) and she also painted over the natural dark wood in the kitchen. It was pained white with pink
trim. As an afterthought, she bought some craft kit and started to design the walls with leaves. She
started that project in 1996 and never finished it. She pulled up the green linoleum and replaced it with
white ceramic tile with PINK grout. Pink countertops. She decided to leave the double stack ovens that
matched the green linoleum. I didn't agree with it, and when I said something, all she said was , "Who's
going to see it anyway?" Below are some picture of the kitchen (my next project).
This was a lot of work - work that started with conversations between Shane and I as we
looked around
wondering why this stuff was still on the walls. After several experiments in Photoshop - hours
of
deciding on different color combinations - after several discussions of how to redesign each
room - on
October 2, I stripped the first chunk of wallpaper from the foyer and we finally went to Home
Depot to
buy paint.
Continue to page 2 to see the work involved and finished project.
looked around
wondering why this stuff was still on the walls. After several experiments in Photoshop - hours
of
deciding on different color combinations - after several discussions of how to redesign each
room - on
October 2, I stripped the first chunk of wallpaper from the foyer and we finally went to Home
Depot to
buy paint.
Continue to page 2 to see the work involved and finished project.