progress report

We've almost been in our house a month, and it has been non-stop action since then.  When I think of all that has been accomplished in these last few weeks, I must say, I'm impressed. When I think of all that still needs to happen to get ready for baby in just about six weeks, I get a little nervous.  One day at a time, I guess.

I should state clearly and upfront that I have done about 0.3% of the work, and the rest has been all Dexter.  He's the one who sanded, painted, rehung and added new hardware to 24 cabinets, he has painted three rooms, the stairway, and a whole bunch of trim.  He's unpacked most of the suitcases.  Clearly, I'm useless these days :)  I've been doing the less exciting, but no less important tasks of getting utilities set up, changing addresses, getting the car registered, etc etc.  And I've been cleaning and contributing as I could.  The landlords left behind their shop vac industrial vac for a few weeks, so we took full advantage of that - they had three (THREE!) Golden Retrievers here, and the amount of dog hair that we've uncovered has been. . .horrifying.  I could probably vacuum this house top to bottom every day for a month and still find dog hair.  Sigh.  But it is getting better.

And things look SO MUCH better.

Unfortunately, the pictures don't do the changes justice.  So, come on over and visit sometime.

First up was the master bedroom.  The carpet was being replaced the week after we moved in, so we made that a priority.  We decided to go with a color we thought would be a deep blue-grey-y color, but the results are mostly a pale blue.  Even though it wasn't what I envisioned, I love it, and I think the master is my favorite room of the house!  As my dad said when he saw it, 'It's not appalling, it's appealing.'  I think that about sums it up perfectly.

 Kyalo wanted to help

 ta-da!

Then, the nursery. Again, the color wasn't what I wanted.  Whereas the master was more muted than I expected, the nursery turned out to be a bit bolder/brighter in the green variety than I had hoped.  I'm coming to terms with it (we didn't have time, and the store didn't offer samples, to do a lot of little swatches).  With some decorations and curtains and things, it'll be pleasing, I think.  And anything is better than that purple that was there before.

we have our work cut out for us in here!

We got new couches -- one a sleeper sofa -- delivered this week, in a sort of emergency status since our nearly 3 year old (for us) Craigslist sofa collapsed on us last week.  Thankfully we'd already selected out what we wanted and it was just a matter of a phone call.  Phew!

They're super comfy but way bigger than we anticipated!  Still, we're grateful to have new couches, and a place for visitors to sleep when they come.  I wouldn't mind changing the paint in the living room here - even a lighter shade of brown - because the room just feels dark all the time.  I'm not sure Dexter is up for it in the same way, though. 

We are turning the front porch into Kyalo's play room.  It isn't insulated (we assume) so it will not be used in the winter but it is great to be able to keep his stuff corralled out of our space!  It needs some more organization but it has been a great space so far.  

see those crystal clear windows?  Dexter spent about a half a day washing them all of all the street grime that collects there.  Made such a huge difference!

Lastly here's the stairway and the entryway.  This was also a pale grey color - but it is really very very pale. Almost looks white.  Maybe some day we'll kick it up a notch, but for now, it feels clean and fresh, and 100x better than the floral wall paper that was there.

 Dexter painted that trim today!

and Deb, the owner, has been coming to work on the stairs.  Here the paint looks white or even grey, but other times it can look like a really soft blue.  Funny how the light can do that to paint!

The kitchen looks so much better too.  No pictures of that yet - I need to get the counters better organized first.  Are you sensing a theme here?  

The to-do list is growing, not getting shorter.  I'd welcome your favorite organizing tips - for just about any room of the house - as well as decorating ideas.  

Every day it feels a little better.