Honey, I just ripped down the wall :-)

So while Nick is away on a job, I decided to tackle a bunch of home improvement projects.  One of my biggest problems is that I don’t finish one before i start another one.  But oh well…it had to be done.   The previous owner had covered the old plaster with some sort of weird 60’s homosote.  I couldn’t take it (obviously), so I began ripping it down tonight.  Here’s the progress.

I think Nick is going to be surprised when he gets home and see my handiwork.  Oops!

A new project begins: The powder room

First let me explain something.  My house has a full bath (upstairs) and an old servants “bathroom” downstairs that is actually only a closet with a toilet in it.  NO SINK.  And unfortunately there is no room to expand on either side (it’s blocked in by a stairwell and an exterior brick wall).  Anyways, this weekend I decided I would tackle the half bath by peeling the wallpaper.  It had been painted over several times, so I thought this was going to be difficult…but not so.   (Meanwhile, keep in mind it’s hard to photograph since it’s so small.)

A general idea of what I’m working with.

Here’s what the old wallpaper looked like when I started peeling.

Progress made.  I ended up peeling a lot of wallpaper in no time!  However as I began to keep peeling I realized that the exterior wall was covered by a weird 50’s wallboard that was super soft and not worth painting over.  So I poked a small hole…and then the next thing you know I’d torn all the wall board down and discovered an old exterior doorway that gave me an extra 8″ in depth where I’d be able to create built-in shelves!!  In a space this small…every centimeter counts!

Wow!!  I was thrilled to have found an old doorway!  At the bottom of the pic is the old baseboard.  I’m so thrilled!!  Now I have to either sheetrock or use beadboard to close it in.  (Oh, and install some foam insulation.)  I can’t wait to get you the after pics soon.

Lastly, I did some digging online and found the perfect sink for my teensy little powder room.  It’s only 8″ deep! If you have a teeny, tiny space and are looking for a sink, I can’t recommend this one enough.  It’s from the Whitehaus Jem collection and is so cute in person.  Vintage Tub & Bath had the cheapest price on it, plus free shipping.

The Deck Demolition Party

Yesterday I invited a few friends over to help demolish the deck…so our friends Audrey and Michael came over to lend a hand, and it was actually a huge amount of fun. The demolition only took about 45 minutes with the four of us. That was one seriously rotten deck!! The posts weren’t even secured into the ground with concrete. It’s amazing it had lasted that long! Anyways…here are some pics.

Mid destruction

Post destruction. Then began the bbq-ing!