Master Closet Complete!

As you probably remember from my earlier post about demoing the master closet, we took out a mirror and wall along with some shelving in order to put in a closet organization system.  I told you the "after" pictures would be coming once we had removed the remainder of the shelving...

...and painted, and had the new carpeting installed....

...and the baseboards were removed....

and once the project was completed.  Today is the day I share the completed (for the most part) project pictures!  I am so happy with how the closet came out...I just don't think we will ever be able to go back to a normal closet after being so spoiled by this!  My inner Monica Gellar has been unleashed, and now I am on an organizing spree; the office closet is my victim for the next few days! ;o)

Carpet Detour

Today was the day I had waited for since we moved in (among many other dates, but this one was up there).  I was looking forward to the bleached/makeup stained/urinated on carpets to finally leave this house along with their horrible stench and be replaced with brand new!  Not only were we replacing the carpets, but we were pulling up some beaten up hardwoods in the loft that didn't match the hardwoods throughout the rest of the house.  The upstairs had four different carpets and hardwoods in two bedrooms a bathroom (yuck!) and a loft.  In addition, the stairs were a totally different carpet from the 4 already used upstairs.  The previous owners did so many strange things in this home, and we were looking forward to some consistency beginning with all one flooring upstairs!

However, my big plans for finally moving and arranging furniture and unpacking the last of the boxes this afternoon quickly faded.  The carpeting guys began just before 8am ripping up the old flooring.  They soon slowed down after pulling up the carpets and spent over six hours (yes, that does say "six") to remove the hardwood flooring in the loft.  The loft had hardwoods surrounding a carpet inlay, so this was not a massive amount of wood to remove.  However, the previous owners had it installed like tile.  They had used trowels to literally swipe 1/4 inch layers of glue across the subflooring.  This means, the hardwoods came up inches and tiny pieces at a time.  In addition, the beating the subflooring took from chisels, crowbars, and hammers during the demo today was unrepairable.  The floor was completely splintered and there were huge holes that left the floor compromised.

All work was stopped until they could fix the subflooring.  So, because of this....

...our house now looks like this....

So, we are now waiting for the subflooring to be pulled up and reinstalled with new, before the carpet can go in.  Part of me is just happy that nasty carpet is gone, even if we are delayed now.  I am trying to be patient as it feels like we are living in the middle of a construction zone out of boxes.  In addition to the carpet install being on hold, the kitchen and bathroom remodels are in a stalemate until the plans can be finalized.  It feels like the house keeps getting worse and worse, yet there has been no lack of time, effort, or resources put into it!  I know one day it will all fall together and actually feel like we are moving forwards instead of backwards!

Today was not all bad... the foyer console I bought in West Hollywood earlier in the week was delivered!  So, now it is sitting in the foyer crowded with the upstairs boxes and furniture, covered in a nice layer of sawdust from todays demo.  On top of it sit the wall plaques I purchased and cannot hang until painting is done, and next to those will be sconces to cover the lovely exposed wires.  However, they cannot be installed because the mount kit that came with them is too big for the electrical support on the wall.  I wish just one thing could look put together and stay clean for a bit!  As you can see, this is all so exciting and we feel so blessed to be able to do these things to such a gorgeous home.  However, I think living in a hotel prior to this, and now unexpectedly living in this chaos just feels like too much!  I'm counting down the days to doing dishes in the laundry room wash basin! Ha!

Working Overtime!

Todd had the entire week of the 4th off due to his company's annual, and oh-so-appreciated shutdown! Instead of spending the week in Tahoe, or in Sonoma like most of his coworkers did, we stayed at home to work on the house.  Not only does Todd's company shut down, but since they are so large the entire town of 140,000 residents practically shut down along with it!  This place was a ghost town!  However, it was so nice to not have to wait for a table at restaurants, stand in line at Home Depot, or have to dig for the best produce at the grocery store.  My Mom came and stayed for four days and more than earned her keep!  She helped us prime 5 rooms, and complete paint in 3 as well as do some extensive planning for the interior and exterior of our new home!!  My cousin also came up from San Diego a few days later and helped with things like fixing the garage door and breaking in our brand new grill!  Needless to say, we were super productive!

We have accomplished so much over the last week like unpacking and cleaning, but here's what was picture-worthy:



The Dining room in all of it's plum, overdone tackiness before....

Breck putting those nasty drapes to good use while we painted...

...and a MUCH happier, less in-your-face after...including new light fixtures!

I would say this picture needs no words, but oh it does!
Your eyes are not decieving you - this is jet black paint...
on the walls AND the ceiling.  To top it all off,
it is in a matte and gloss harlequin diamond pattern!
Clearly this is the Before!!

Thank goodness for my Mom and a 5-gallon bucket of primer!
(which is already gone, and we are now on the second bucket)

Thank goodness there was a fairy-tale ending!

The master bedroom before with its horrible faux finishes that weren't quite executed...

And after!!!  Notice the lovely mini blinds that were 2' too short are also gone!

Another after :)

You know those horrible tables from the 80s that look like this...
well, I somehow inherited one when I married Todd,
and he has some strange obsession with keeping it and said "we" should paint it...
which really means I should get to work on
stripping, sanding, priming, and painting 4 coats with a trim brush.  So, I did....

And I am so happy to report this is how it turned out! 
Feels a little Pottery Barn-esque and it now has a new lease on life
as a much more up-to-date desk!

In the House!!

The end of June and beginning of July were sooo crazy for us!  We were finally able to close on the house and get in it!  Since then, we have been cleaning, unpacking, painting, and spending money!

We are beyond grateful for my Mom, who decided to fly out to help us with our long to-do list!  Since she has been here, we have been painting, picking carpet, and installing light fixtures!  She took this picture of Todd & I with our "his and hers" carts in Home Depot yesterday...I think it says it all!

Happy 4th of July to all of you!  We are so excited to be spending ours in our new home!