Living Room Tongue and Groove

I've been busy around the cottage priming tongue and groove boards for the living room ceiling.  Mr. Windmill is just about ready to install them!  Only one thing.... we live in the crooked house. 

This is the ceiling in it's current state.

To me it just looks like an unfinished ceiling, but it's REALLY unlevel.  If we try to screw the boards to the existing oak floor joists, our ceiling would make everyone sea sick due to all the waves and dips. So, Mr. Windmill has been leveling and shimming out all the floor joists to make a consistent ceiling.  An inch here a quarter inch there, ugh it's all so time consuming and tedious (so says the woman who isn't doing the work).

Here's a little glimpse of the shim process.

I know what you're thinking....  What's the difference?  It's still ugly unfinished!  But you can see each little block of wood nailed to the joists.  Each one is as unique as you and me, a different size and a different shape.

Once that work is done, 

my primed boards can go up. 

Did you see the wall on the right?  That is tongue and groove too!  It still needs to be primed.  

That's my next job.

I really fell in love with the shiplap look thanks to the hit TV show Fixer Upper.  I heart Joanna Gaines!  Mr. Windmill liked the look too but we didn't really care for the gaps that occur with shiplap.  You see, true shiplap has about an 1/8 inch gap between each board.  I was imaging all sorts of spiders and stink bugs taking up room and board between those gaps. So we opted for tongue and groove instead.  

Step by step (or should I say board by board) we are getting closer to a finished house!  {squeal}

Bless you all!
xoxo

A "Hole" in the Wall

Check it out! 

The before....

The after....

That's a pretty big hole!  Like we took out the "whole" wall!  And I couldn't be happier!  What a difference!  

You can see a peak of the tongue and groove ceiling. Those are the boards I've been painting!

We are planning an L shaped kitchen across the back and to the right.  The sink will eventually be under that far window.  For now it still sits in the middle of the room.  We still need to finish the plumbing for the sink and dishwasher.  The two posts you see will stay there.  They are holding up the 2nd floor!  There will be a small 4-foot island right in front of the posts. You can see a single light bulb in the ceiling over the dishwasher.  That will eventually be a pendant light over the island.  

And what a difference drywall makes! 

A couple more pics before I close.

 There will be a computer desk and wall cabinets to the left where you see the blue chair.

 And a view from inside the kitchen.  {love}

All for now!  
Love to you all!
xoxo 
  

Some "before" pics of the Kitchen

Demolition of the kitchen has begun!  In honor of this special occasion I thought I would share some pictures of what the kitchen used to look like.

This is the entrance to the kitchen from the dining room.

Walking straight in you come to the sink.  If you look through the brown windows you can see the new white window in the addition.  The kitchen will be extended out just like we did in the boys room.  

To the right of the sink.  

To the left of the sink.  That was the door that led to the basement.  But since Mr. Windmill reworked the basement stairs, it now leads to the addition.  This door and the whole wall with the brown windows will be removed. 

The fridge sits behind the sink. This is the opposite side of the dining room wall that will be removed.  Our plans for the nook to the right of the fridge will include a built-in desk and some storage.

 

After a day of wrecking the joint....

This is where the sink used to be.

This is where the fridge stood.

This is the view from the brown door that used to lead to the basement.

Some "before" pics of the Living Room

Hello!

Just checking in with some "before" pics of the living room.

Mr. Windmill is working at a fast and furious pace to try to get this room done!  

This is the fireplace and front entry.  The arch to the right of the fireplace is going to be taken out.  We have plans to open up the entry space a little more.

You can see repairs to the mortar joints in the brick work of the fireplace.  Because it would be way to crazy (and dusty) to grind out all the mortar joints, the brick will need to be painted or tiled.  The two squares at the bottom had grates like you see at the top.  I think there used to be fans in those places to help circulate the heat.  

The grates at the top will be covered and the ones at the bottom will need to be bricked.  We are hoping to install a gas insert so we won't be needing the circulation.

This is the view looking into the dining room.

My favorite spot in the house is sitting in this double window corner!

Here you can see the glued on ceiling tiles, the wobbly ceiling fan and that strange hood thing that was mounted above the fireplace.  All of these things will be removed!  

So far the plaster has been removed, the wiring has been updated and insulation was installed.  We found quite a bit of water damage behind that tongue and groove.  The chimney leaked several years ago and was never repaired properly.  It's all fixed now!  
The master bedroom is next!

Dining Room Demolition

You may have seen this pic on Facebook.  The one where it looks like the zombie apocalypse taking place inside our house......minus the zombies, unless you count my kids in the morning......or maybe me, maybe.......  #coffeefirst !

Anyway....

Here is our plan.

There is a small storage closet behind this door.  Because it's under the stairs, it's all awkward with a slanted ceiling.  We may be able to open this space up too....but we aren't quite sure yet.  For now, we know that this door will be gone!

And here's what it look like now!

Making progress but so much more to do!  My pinterest boards grow and grow!  It's all so exciting (and dirty).

All for now!

~B

Boys Room Remodel Ideas

Right before Christmas, Mr. Windmill demo'd the boys' room.  We then added six more feet to the room, installed a beam, insulation, new wiring and drywall.  Now there is room for all of their furniture and their closet is at floor level.  Previously the closet was built up a foot off the floor.   

Here's a pic of the closet

My kids had to literally climb into the closet to reach their clothes.

If you missed the before pics, check out this link.

I've been thinking a lot about how I want their space to look.  My boys being 6 and 8 have their opinions too.  So we all talked about their room and this is what we came up with.  

We already own the blue and green comforters.  And since we are on a pretty tight budget (you know, a whole house to remodel), I decided to work with what we have.  

I started by showing the boys my pinterest board inspiration for their room.  To my surprise, they really liked some of my choices. 

I originally thought of grey walls, blue and green bedding and some orange accents for a little pop of color.  But my youngest superhero insisted on green walls.  At first, I wasn't sure..... but now that I see it, it might just work!

I really like that desk, but I'm afraid it is out of our price range at $440.  I'll have to hit the garage sales and flea markets this summer to see what I can find.  

Mr. Windmill doesn't know it yet, but I'm scheming for him to build some rustic book shelves.  I would also like him to build something like the cage light holder you see in the upper right corner.  My oldest really wants this light by his bed.

Who knows when we will ever get to the decorating phase!  But it's fun to dream.  

Happy Tuesday everyone!

2nd Floor Progress

Slow and steady wins the race.  Right?  Yep, uh huh, this is where you nod your head and say..... "Yes indeedy pumpkin seedy!"

The reason it's been so long since I've posted some pictures is because I really didn't have any pictures to post.

Things around the cottage have been slow.  Our Christmas was very low key.  My oldest superhero had his tonsils removed a week before Christmas.  We cleared the calendar and just relaxed.  That gave us all time to re calibrate and time for my little guy to heal.

Taking a break is good.  But sometimes it really messes with your mojo.  You see, we REALLY enjoyed doing nothing for a few weeks that it made it really hard to motivate again.  Like, really hard.  So much that "slow and steady" became just "slow"!

The upstairs sat in demolition for a while.  Mr. Windmill plugged away an hour here, an hour there.  His work schedule changed between daylight and midnight several times, which made it hard for his body to know if it was coming or going.  

Here are the pictures of the drywall coming along.

 The right side with the bathroom framed in.  

The left side.

Just a quick pic of the stairs.  I am thinking of refinishing them.  Or painting them.  Not entirely sure yet.  We definitely need to choose new railing.  The height of this railing is not up to code.  It's way too short.  

Here is a link to my Stairs Pinterest Board to give you an idea of what I'm thinking about.
So many choices, only one set of stairs............

Have a great day everyone!