We have been busy at the house. Mom and Dad took a break last week and went to the mountains for a few days. Not really a rest, a break from working on the house. They have a full garden at their NC mountain house that they take care of every year. Yes, they are amazing!
Before they left, Dad worked on trimming out some of the windows that needed some help. Whoever trimmed out those windows sure didn’t know what they were doing, so we are helping them along and making them look better. All the windows in the house will not match, but they will look fine once they are all painted out white. White, the color that unites. They will still be quite rustic, but I can live with that as long as they are white.
Me, I’ve been caulking. And caulking. And caulking. Takes a long time to do that, but it will make a big difference in the painting process.
The kitchen windows got an additional trim-out on the inside and they look great. Did you know you can use baseboard molding inside a window too? Yep, be creative with that molding, you can mix it all up. Might not be the proper way to use it, but it works for me. It hid all those ugly boards and made this window so much better. That was my idea!
Here’s a reminder of what they looked like before…..
And now! So much better. Again, when they are painted white, they will be loverly.
In the living room, I wanted to get those ready for the painting party on Saturday. See that big gap there?
I caulked all those big ole’ gaps and they will look better painted out too.
There are 4 huge windows in here. All the carpet is up in the whole house now.
Down the stairs. That carpet downstairs will stay, since it is brand new.
Dad worked on trimming out that middle window, which was naked of trim.
And this room across the hall, which will be my new office, had no trim on the window. It was just boxed in with sheetrock. So, dad worked his magic on this one too.
And now it looks like this. He added a little windowsill in here and I can set some plants there. Love that!
The masterbedroom with no carpet. Yippee!
Look how grody these grates are! Yikes, aren’t they bad? I know, I could go out and buy all new ones, but I think I’ll DIY these. We are going to take them all down, scrub them down and get all the dirt off, spray them with spray primer and then give them a nice coat of Rustoleum Heirloom White. They will look brand new when I’m finished with them. Rustoleum was nice enough to send me some prime and spray paint. I’ll show you all of that when I get to it.
It’s so hard not to jump ahead to the pretty stuff. Like paint! I love paint. Looking at paint chips gets me excited. You too?!
That color on the right, Sand Beach, was one of the colors in the HGTV Green Home and it is a beautiful color, but I think I’m going with Moderate White and Bright White trim. I decided to try light walls in my main living areas and I think I’m going to love it. Moderate White has just enough warmth to it so it will have a good feel, I think. I had bright white trim in my Birmingham house and even though I usually go for a little more creamy white, I did like the bright white. It seems to make colors pop even more. It’s hard to photograph colors accurately. Moderate White looks much warmer in person than in this pic.
Do you like bright white trim or something more creamy? I’m pretty sure I’ll go with a bright white.
I will be buying all my paint next week. I got a great promotional opportunity with my ad network and Sherwin Williams, so that is very exciting.
(Missi (Havoc to Heaven), Phyllis (not a blogger, but has a booth at The Classy Flea), Sheila (Plum Doodles), Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) and me.
In the meantime, these angels showed up on Saturday and miraculously all the trim got primed by lunchtime! Can you believe that? My dad was very excited about that part. That will get us further down the renovation road. These girls were great and we all had a fun time chatting and painting. Sure made that work go faster! I can’t thank them enough for their time.
I have to give a huge shout-out to RustOleum. They are sponsoring Haven and after I begged the RustOleum girls for spraypaint and primer, they came through in a BIG way!. Sent me a case (4) of this wonderful Zinsser BIN primer, which is great stuff. It is oil-based and sticks so well. It covered up that stained woodwork and now we’ll be ready to add some glossy white trim paint.
Sheila, busy painting in the dining room.
Connie (Sensible Redesigns) had to leave right before lunch, but that girl worked magic in one bedroom and down the hallway. She’s fast! Missi did a great job too and they flew through the bedrooms painting trim.
My dad was there too, priming away.
Sheila, Susan, and Missi in the master bedroom.
Phyllis priming the doors.
Here it is after priming, already looking so much better, don’t you think?
Can’t wait to get rid of that dark blue, but priming the trim really makes it lighter already.
In the living room, those big windows look really good now and that railing looks better in white.
One wall in the dining room, with the Rockport Gray I’m going with on top.
My mom is a doll and she was in charge of getting lunch for us. I called in pizza to go and she picked it up and brought along a nice salad and peach cobbler for dessert.
We all sat in the living room, ate lunch and chatted. It was so nice to have those sweet ladies stop by and help us. I’m sure we will do another paint day soon!
I had to share this sweet pic from last week. My dad’s favorite spot is in his swing and this is what we see frequently. His fave napping spot! He’s so cute.
So, that’s our last week’s progress. We’re getting there, slowly but surely. Thanks for being out there and following along. I love to read all of your comments on the house progress. Your comments keep me excited and raring to go! I can’t wait to get this house painted and on to the floors.
Wow, your house is looking great and so encouraging to see how far you have come; you do have amazing parents!
Rhoda, I’m just so excited for you and what fun to have friends come and help out!
Girl, I feel your pain!! When I moved into my house it had all new walls, doors, windows, etc. because of fire damage but not one single baseboard, window trim or door trim had been caulked. Guess what I had to do? When I rehabbed houses I learned something from our finish carpenter. (He actually taught me a lot of great stuff!) He said that caulk is a carpenter’s best friend. It is amazing the difference it makes in making something look “done”.
It is just so much fun watching and reading about what is happening at your house. Your mama and daddy are amazing folks! And a paint team – how cool is that? I am looking forward to the next installment!
It looks like so much fun! Hope I can make it to the next paint party!!
If you can get those air vents to a place that will sandblast them for you, you will be so pleased with the new paint on them. Like brand new.
wow! your house is really coming along! it looks great. ;o)
Rhoda,
You have accomplished so much in such a short time! Amazing!! Our A/C grates were white when we moved in. We have hardwood floors on the main level, so I decided I wanted them a bit darker (they were white). I sprayed them with Rustoleum’s ORB and they’ve held us for years!!
amazing progress, rhoda! you must be thrilled! love the updates!
Love the picture of your cute Dad napping! What wonderful ladies to come and help you out with all that trim work. Your getting so much done and so quickly, well, maybe not to you since your doing all the work!
It’s looking wonderful and can’t wait for all the soft decorating to begin.
Zinsser is a great product, nice that they sent you all of that for your paint party.
Rhoda – the pics look great! Had such a great time meeting everyone and seeing the results of our work! Can’t wait to get the paint on …it is going to make such a HUGE difference! See you soon! xoxo
I look for ward to your house update emails. So exciting to see the progress. You are working magic along with your friends and parents! It will be beautiful!
Hello Rhoda,
The house is really starting to be transformed! I so love reading about your sweet parents and how hard they’re working to help you get settled in your new place….. Your dad reminds me of mine. When my former husband and I built our home 19 years ago, my dad was here bright and early every morning in his work clothes. He was 66 years old and newly retired but could work circles around the two of us. I have such wonderful memories of those days! We didn’t always agree and would banter over certain decisions but when it was all said and done, he was really really proud of the house we built. We lost him in 2008 and my mom in 2011…. Love those two sweet parents of yours and treasure your time with them….
Such a great job everyone is doing! I can’t wait to see what it looks like as you progress!
So happy for you that you’ve got a place of your own again!
Rhoda, it was so much fun painting and hanging out with everyone. You have wonderful sweet parents. I just love that picture of your dad taking a much needed break- looks like the perfect spot for napping. I’m itching to get those walls painted- just say when, ok? 🙂
That picture of your dad asleep in his swing is ADORABLE! It was fun seeing everyone helping you prime the trim, and you are making amazing progress. I look forward to all of your installments about the house renovations.
that is so great these girls could help with this project they saved you oddles of hrs ……i can’t believe how far you are already things are looking great….you are blessed with great friends and wonderful parents.
It’s looking good, Rhoda! Hope to see it in real true life one of these days! When we moved into our c.1964 house 15 years ago, we had all the hideous dark trim and wainscoting painted Duron Shell White, so I’m committed to it now (we’ve had it repainted 4 times since then!) and have to do it in oil, so it’s an ordeal! But my old house in Acworth and DOTR’s office condo both had/have bright white trim and I do like it–you are so right, it makes everything pop!
How wonderful to have such great blogging friends come and help you with the painting….It truly warms the heart!…The house is looking wonderful each day that goes by…I am sure you are so excited….
You are very blessed to have such wonderful, supportive parents…they are amazing!
Hi Rhoda,
The reno is coming along really nicely. It is going to look great when you are done. Your parents are amazing. I really miss my dad who passed away 6 years ago. He was just like your dad. He helped me with so many projects, and any time I need something built or fixed he was right there. Cherish the time you are spending with them, it is very special. also nice to have such wonderful ladies come help paint, it sure makes the job go faster.
Painting is so much more fun with friends. I love the picture of your dad napping. You should blow it up and frame it and hang it somewhere in your finished house. 🙂
I ran my A/C vents through the dishwasher with a bunch of soap. Some of them came out with no paint on them! Then priming them and painting them was very easy.
We did the same thing @ our son’s new house– worked great without any scrubbing or scraping!!