So, we put a final stop date for renovating the new house as Sunday, April 16. That leaves us with 2 full weeks to actually move. And, really, the hard stop for actual house renovations was Saturday, April 15 … because on Sunday we needed to clean – ALL DAY.
So, this week, we chugged along, trying to stay productive and get as much finished as possible. Patrick had a lot of work stuff, but I’ve been able to work a decent amount.
The beginning of the end of the pre-move work:
I worked on the ½ bath. I mudded it on Tuesday night before we left. Then on Wednesday, it happened again. I told you it wasn’t over – it’s never going to end. I already said it – it’s neverending – and I meant it. I sanded the top half of the walls to prep for the statement wallpaper. It created SUCH. A. MESS. Closing the door and opening the window didn’t help much … some, but not much. Ugh.
Anyway, after I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning that 5’x5’ room full of drywall dust and clouds … I did a final coat of the white paint on the beadboard and ceiling. The ½ bath is ready to be finished – and the wallpaper for the top half of the wall is cut and ready to be hung. I’m nervous to do it. This wallpaper is custom printed, specifically fit for the exact dimensions of this exact room. There is no extra roll, no repeating sections, no replacement pieces if I mess up. Messing up would mean replacing a large section of the mural, re-ordering an oversized piece of the mural, waiting on delivery, then trying to cut it down and to fit into the bathroom, etc. … not ideal. And, well, it’s just stressful, okay? I haven’t started yet. But I did cut the sections and stand them up in the family room – now they’re just taunting me. (But, I just close the pocket door. 😉)
Then, Wednesday night, we made a priority list – what actually NEEDS to be done before we can move our stuff into this house?
- Prime the closets (remember all the drywall dust from the mudded ceilings?)
- Finish painting the main level (mostly now just cutting into the baseboards)
- Paint the master bedroom ceiling (before the mattresses are delivered this weekend)
- Replace the old outlets and light switches with new white ones
- Hang new lighting
Then, if we also can swing it …
- Finish hanging wallpaper in the foyer & ½ bath
- Paint the ceilings in the office and 2 guest bedrooms (it’s just such a pain once all the furniture is in the rooms …)
So, we both worked after work all week, and Friday was a work holiday for me, so I was able to work all day. And by the end of last week (Friday), we had some of this list finished, and also some stuff that wasn’t on the list.
- Patrick inventoried the outlets/switches so we could go purchase the right amount (that’s next up!).
- Patrick installed the can lighting replacements in the kitchen.
- I cut in the walls to the baseboard.
- I painted the master bedroom ceiling.
- I painted the inside of the closets in the foyer, master bedroom, office … and just the ceilings in the 2 guest bedrooms. (Go ahead and judge me … my arms and wrist are starting to literally give out, and by the time I got to the guest bedrooms, we just figured, screw those closets.)
(Also, painting the insides of closets was something that was ALWAYS on my to-do list at our first house … but I NEVER got around to it … so I’m super excited that *most* of the closets got painted at this house. 😊 But it did leave me with LOTS of paint in my hair; closet ceilings can be tight/tricky spaces to paint. ☹)
But, by Friday night, all of the red painters paper was up off the floors, the main level was completely painted (except that section of foyer we still need to wallpaper), and we were starting to feel like we were in a house again – not just a construction site.
It felt good.
Welcome to our home ... our second attempt at a fixer-upper. 