This and That
As I was writing the last post I was also half-watching the TV. I know, nothing too strange about that, right? Except for the fact that it suddenly dawned on me that I never showed you the freshly painted fireplace that was given an amazing makeover. That got me to thinking of what other little things we had done that I had never mentioned. However, before we get into all of those let me update you on our living room’s gorgeous focal point.
Remember that when we bought the house it looked like this:
Then, after a new hearth, trim, a built out mantel, filled nail holes, sanding, caulking, priming and finally painting (deep breath) we have this:
We clearly still have some work left to do on it and I’m actually in the process of trying to figure out what I want to do with the white, painted, brick surround. Acid washing it to reveal some of the natural red of the brick may be the first thing we try. Who knows though, the idea of tiling it has been tossed around a lot too! This needs to be decided in addition to adding some decor to the mantle. I mean, the television is amazing but it doesn’t exactly ring beautiful to me, I wouldn’t doubt if Pavlo disagreed though! 🙂 Sadly, decor is going to have to wait a little longer until I begin to empty a few more “decor”-labeled (a.k.a. unnecessary for living) boxes!
Like I said at the start of this post, the fireplace isn’t the only little thing we’ve worked on that I’ve failed to post on. Nope, we’ve also filled every single nail hole in the wainscoting of the living room, steps and upstairs hallway making it look a little splotchy, as though our house had a case of the chickenpox:
This was followed by sanding and then wiping down all of the wainscoting so that we could vacuum, mop and move in! Next up, caulk and paint the wainscoting so it shines just like the fireplace!
We also added two new hallway lights, one above the stairwell (which Pavlo converted into a chandelier so it hung lower) and one in the upstair’s hall. I had searched for the perfect lights for months. I wanted something updated but that rang true to either the colonial or craftsman influences (or both) in the house without breaking the bank. When it came to lighting I tended to like the craftsman fixtures muuuch better, and it seems like the majority of people tended to as well because boy can they be pricey! I’m talking hundreds of dollars for one fixture…and I needed two! Then, one day, while mindlessly searching Overstock.com, I came across these (see below) which, despite my preference for the more craftsman-like fixtures, I really think pay tribute to both colonial and craftsman influences.
What’s even better is that they were on sale for $71 a piece PLUS I had a 10% off coupon (putting us at around $64/light). Before I got too excited I called Pavlo to make sure he could convert this particular light into a chandelier and, as soon as he said he could, I hit the “Complete this Order” button. They look pretty awesome if I do say so myself!
Another thing we’ve changed around here are the door knobs. I have to admit that I actually really liked the house’s original door knobs. Unfortunately there was only one set left and it is currently on Colette’s closet door!
Pavlo and I searched high and low for matching sets that we could install throughout the house. We went to antique stores in D.C, Pennsylvania and in Norfolk, VA (don’t worry, we had reasons, other than antique shopping, to be in all of these cities) but came up empty handed. Since we had clearly given the search a good effort we moved onto plan B which was oil rubbed bronze door knobs. We loved how they looked on the crisp white doors in our last house so we knew we’d love it in this house too.
However, just so that it wasn’t exactly the same as the last house, I picked knobs that came with a square backplate that (once again) reflected the craftsman influences of the original house.
I’m sure there are a few other things that we’ve accomplished in the chaotic, past weeks but I really can’t think of any this very second (at least nothing more than adding a light bulb or outlet cover). Not to mention I’m pretty sure we’d all agree this post is loooong enough!
Ok, I have two little mouths to feed but I’ll be back soon with more on the backsplash!
Steph-I have about 20 old historic door knobs, that keep falling off! I need help with the hardware, but i love them!! I’ll take your old knob if you don’t want it……i need new doors first, that is goig to happen one day!
Yeah, I love that doorknob! It’s actually the only one in the house we haven’t replaced yet. I’m thinking, just so I don’t have to get rid of it, we might use it as hooks in her closet/room or maybe finials for her curtain rod.
As for doors, we found that the older doors (which are solid wood and soooo nice) can be expensive at the local hardware store so we actually found any tat we needed on Craigslist and an antique store (really it was more of like a salvage store that the owners called an antique store!). You can get them for really reasonable prices that way. In fact I think the 3 doors we needed were about $35 each.
Hey Steph, you and Pavlo should have looked for those crystal door knobs in the house that I grew up in! Boy, do I remember them and how much I liked them as a child. They sparkled so nicely! I still like them the way you do – with a white door.
I’m glad that you won’t want to keep the TV over the fireplace as a permanent decor piece! 😉
Love you all, and a big hug to my little darlings!
Bunia
Haha, actually the TV is staying up there but I just need to add more ACTUAL decor to the mantle to make it look a little bit nicer. The TV, the speaker system and the IR extender (so we can keep the cable box in the next room but still change channels) are all amazing but, alas, this is not a bachelor pad so we need those soft pretty things too! Now if only I had those millions of boxes from our old house ready to be unpacked!
The little ones say hello back!