How To Update a Dated Brass Fireplace

Remember this from our first honey do list?

A few days in our new home, and the eye sore in the living room had to go. 

I'm talking the crass brass on our fireplace. 

Turns out this project was 10 times easier than I thought it would be because 

the brass plate simply detached from the fireplace and revealed (sooty but beautifuL) marble!

Next, my mom & I went to work vacuuming & sweeping  out the soot & debris from the interior.

We wanted to be careful not to scratch the marble so we used dish rags, mild dish-washing soap, and Bar Keeper's Friend to scrub the excess glue & soot.

Then it was scrubbing time! 

The finished product! 

There are still some yellowed spots but the sunlight should naturally bleach the marble so it is bright & white.

Now to do one of my favorite things...

Cross it off the Living Room list!

• Paint Walls Revere Pewter with a white(ish) trim.
• Update Fireplace (aka get rid of the yucky outdated brass)
• Add built-ins with a place for the TV

Bye Bye Brass! 

Moving Day Progress

Move in day has come and gone, and we are settling in nicely at our new home. 

Three house guests and one point five weeks later we have already accomplished many smaller to-do's, 

but the most dramatic change came on day #2 after we finished unpacking boxes...

here's a glimpse of the house becoming our home!

Day #1 Living Room

Day #2 Living Room

All hail boxes in the Blue Room on Day #1

Purple Bedroom Day 

Pink Bedroom Day #2

Purple Room Day#2 (also known as the Guest Room)

Just peachy about the Master on Day #2!!

Cluttered Kitchen on Day#1

Us looking good at closing on Day #1.... 

 us nearing the end of day #1... not looking as good as the house, but so happy to be home!

Oh, what a difference a day makes!

Top three things I am SO ready to do...

1. Remove the door between the dining room and kitchen

2. See what's under those kitchen floors

3. Paint! It just won't feel like home until we do

Top three things he is ready to do...

1. Dismantle the loft in the garage

2. See what's under those kitchen floors

3. Cut the grass & trim the hedges!

Moving from A Condo to a House

Going....

Going...

(eating...)

Going...

GONE!!!!

Bye Sloan Road! You've been good to us!

We are so incredibly blessed to have literally moved everything we own 
in less than 5 hours with the help of our friends. 
Thanks everyone! 
We couldn't have done it without ya!

Honey Do: The Exterior & Garage To Do List

We have made it to the end of the honey-do's, and we are finishing strong with some great ideas for the exterior of the house, the yard & the garage space. 

Up first, the facade of our home by the creek:

TO DO:

1. Paint Brick a gorgeous & inviting creamy white with a correlating white trim

2. Paint shutters a deep navy blue

Here is my inspiration & SOON-TO-BE color scheme for the exterior. 

I am always amazed at what a little paint can do...

source

FRONT PORCH

TO DO:

1. Brighten up front door with Benjamin Moore's Wythe Blue 

2. Remove Storm Door

3. Add lantern-like fixture

4. Paint & Re-seal steps to front door

FRONT PATH (now!)

TO DO: 

Add Blue Slate Pavers....to create a more ordered look like this!

BACK DOOR

TO DO:

1. Remove Storm Door (it is broken)

2. Paint back door the same Wythe Blue as the front door

3. Replace/Repair flood light fixture above door

4. Repaint & Reseal back steps

On edge about this HEDGE....

There's a creek somewhere behind there....

TO DO: 

1. Go to work with a trimmer and cut back the hedges, 

overgrown weeds and limbs around the bases of trees (basically, Clean it up!)

2. Mulch around the existing flower/tree beds.

WISTERIA HYSTERIA 

All we need to do here, is trim the wisteria back from the roof line and shape up the bottom.... 

more work for the trimmer! (Oh, and that large crumbling cement fireplace has to go as well.)

Herb Garden & Flower Bed

TO DO: 

Demo Flower Bed. 

So sad to have to remove this but it holds water against the side of the house, so we are going to replant the beautiful herbs and roses in an alternate location.

Last but NOT least.....THE GARAGE (exterior)

The Garage (interior)

TO DO:

1. Add electric garage door openers (YES!! Can't wait!)

2. Dismantle loft (it is only held together by 2 - 2x4s hanging from the rafters -- yikes!)

3. Create a laundry room area

4. Dry wall garage walls and ceiling and remove black tar paper

5. Seal & StainConcrete Floors.... I am thinking something shiny like this...

We are so excited to be in our home at last, and to start ticking away at our honey-do list!

Honey Do: The Bed & Bath To Do List

This is where the home remodel gets real! 

We are ditching the old bathrooms,

 and creating a Master Suite for ourselves, 

but to be really impressed you'll need to see what it looks like now.

First up, the all important BLUE hallway bathroom! 

Nothing a little demolition won't take care of!

Bathroom #2 (& current Master Bath): Built for Tiny Tim

The Plan: 

• Demo BLUE & TINY!
• expand current white bathroom into a more spacious guest bath, accessible from the hallway
• create an en suite Master Bathroom with two vanities, and a luxurious shower

Here is some forward thinking...

Future Master Bathroom (minus the tub...it just won't fit!)

Inspiring look for the Guest Bath

Let's wander down the hallway to our sleeping rooms.... 

this hallway will also get doused with Revere Pewter & updated with a new fixture

Bedroom #1: 

The Green Room AKA The Back Bedroom 

i.e. Future Master Bathroom

Here is what I am thinking...

To Do:

• Create a doorway between Master Bedroom & Green Room
• Turn Half of Green Room into the Master Bathroom by adding drywall, appropriate plumbing, shower, two vanities, and tile
• Turn other Half of the green room into the third bedroom....the other part of this bedroom will be where the current BLUE bathroom is  

The FUTURE Master Bedroom (makes me just peach-y!) 

 To Do:

• Reverse Closet: Drywall work & Closet door installation
• New fixture
• Paint walls & Trim. I am thinking a calming blue/green color like this: 

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue

Bedroom #3: Purple Haze

To Do:

• Paint walls & Trim. 
• Replace Fixtures
• Replace Closet Doors & add shelving inside closet 
• Drywall space where current entry to TINY bathroom currently is (the new guest bathroom will be accessible from the hallway)

Happy 4th of July everyone!

More to come on the exterior and landscaping to do's soon.

We move into our home by the creek next week... 

wish us luck!