47 Coats

That's how much paint I thought it was going to take me to finish my brick fireplace. Here's a recap of how it started out.

And then I got the walls painted...

I thought I would easily knock out the fireplace last Thursday after work.  I underestimated how much time and paint my grooved bricks would take...by one gallon and 3 evenings. 

I started with one quart of Glidden Seal.  Ha!  My fireplace laughed at that puny little can.  Here it is after one coat.

At least I could tell I was on the right track.  Since I needed at least one mega coat more I went ahead and went a little darker.  I got a gallon of Behr Dark Ash and glopped it on like there was no tomorrow.  3 hours later it was finally covered!  I love the way it turned out.  I will have to go back and touch up my trim but for now it still looks great!

And I'm so glad it didn't take 47 coats.  I don't think my hand could have handled it.



They Grow Up So Fast

Seems like just last Friday this little bundle of joy was being delivered.



Seven massive boxes, two full evenings and one father figure later...

Where did the days go?  Oh well, I look forward to several hundred more days to come with my new huge couch.  In the bottom right corner of that last photo you might be able to make out Pablo, who is currently still hanging out on the old couch and not too sure about this new kid in town. 

Going Green

My little house sat very lonely in the months up until I purchased it.  The grass is a little on the sad side, the plants all a little brown and cripsy.  And then one bed was completely naked.

I'm slowly getting the flower beds cleaned up and pruned but had to take a moment to fill my poor naked bed.  With help from my dad (aka the dirt shoveler) I added a few boxwoods that should eventually fill in the space and help with the overall drainage off the front porch.  I think we did a pretty good job.

Now on a sad note...I proudly showed my dad some of the new green growth I was getting in my backyard.  I figured this was due to my excellent mowing/fertillizing/watering skills.  He regretfully informed me that the patches were Johnson Grass and Crab Grass.  Now 'grass' in the name may throw you off, as it did me, but they are weeds and I must now kill them.  Sigh.  And here I thought I was just a natural green thumb with grass-whispering abilities. 

Frugal Furniture

I've known I wanted a sectional for a long time.  I wanted a big piece that could pack in the people for Football games, Oscar parties and Wii throw-downs.  My condo living room could never handle the layout so when it came to house hunting, I mentally placed my mental sectional in all potential houses.  The Big Beige Grey Room is perfect for my imaginary Supersized Sofa.  My budget quickly ruled out most sectionals but when I ran across 'Karl' on one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love , I knew it was meant to be.  All this couch for under $1400!

I managed to run up to IKEA on my lunch break today, and come Friday morning I, too, will own a Karl.  I ordered mine in the same dark grey and I think it will be perfect with the light grey walls.  I plan on accessorizing with oranges and blues.  My goal is to finish painting the beige fireplace by Thursday night. And hopefully I will figure out how to put Karl together by the time College Football starts back up. 

Grey Area

I never realized how many shades of grey there were until I had to commit to one to grace the walls of the back half of the house.  For weeks I have been staring at paint chips collected from various stores and various brands.

Some were too blue, too brown, too green, too purple and believe it or not, some were too grey.  I finally decided on Olympus White from Sherwin Williams but ended up color matching it with Behr simply because running to Home Depot was more convenient for my Sunday morning plans. 

Armed with two gallons of Sterling and several types of paint brushes/rollers, I began to tranform my Big Beige Room.  What a difference!  It's not longer a beige cave.  It's light and airy.  The addition of a dark grey fireplace and a slate couch that I have yet to purchase will really balance it all out and ready it for fun pops of color.



Just ignore the beige ceilings...



You've Been Warned

They should probably keep their mitts off my beer, as well





Lighten Up

I didn't notice the beige molding when I first looked at the house.  I think I was just so excited to have a house with crown molding that I glazed right over said molding's color.

It may also have something to do with the fact that the house had no electrity when I first looked at it.  Hmmm, beige sneak-attack.  Luckily it was nothing a few painful coats of Pure White couldn't fix.  The work was brutal but it made such a difference.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

For the most part, the interior of my little house is great.  Everything is fresh and fairly new considering the house was originally built in the 1940s.  Unfortunately the previous owner and I have very different tastes.  Previous Owner (PO) liked beige.  I mean REALLY liked beige.  I have beige walls, beige moldings and even beige ceilings.  It makes the rooms seem smaller than they really are and I can't wait to get some cooler tones on the walls.  Here are some interior shots from when I first looked at the house.  You can get an idea of PO's taste.


Those Hallway Drapes were the first thing I took down!

And while the drapes aren't my style, I'm glad they were left behind for the meantime

One big beige room. 

My big beige Living Room will be the first room I tackle.  The molding will be painted white and the walls will be light grey.  From there I'll work on painting the fireplace dark grey and the ceiling a normal white.  Here is a mood board to give you an idea of the look I'll be going for.

I Now Do Yardwork

Gone are the days of manually clipping the 5 sod squares I planted in my old "backyard".  I now own a lawn mower and even a weed whacker (thanks, parents!).  It's a good thing, too.  When I moved in the backyard was over a foot tall.

After a quick lesson on mowing from my dad, I was off!  I actually enjoy mowing but it's not all that far fetched when you consider my obsession with my Dyson.  Mowing...it's like vaccuuming outdoors.

Now that I've got this mowing thing down, maybe I can work on a little landscaping for my boring backyard.  Baby steps, folks.  

My First House

After 10 years in my condo I'm finally ready to commit to a full sized house....with a yard and everything!  It took several months to get the condo sold but had it been any quicker I might have missed out on my fabulous new house.  The house had been on the market for months but was priced in a higher bracket that I never even looked at.  Right after I got the offer on my condo, my future home did a big price slash that brought it to my attention.  It was the 4th house I looked at on the first outing with my Realtor and it was also the last house. 

I think the tree sold me.  I can't wait for my first climb.  The house has the perfect mixture of move-in ready/needed updates to keep me busy for a while.