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Tag Archives: Washington

Finally Floor and Backsplash for Washington!

Jennifer and I finally had time when the weather was not horrible to go pick flooring and backsplash for the Washington house. We went to a new place, for us, Surplus Warehouse.

They didn’t have a huge selection, but the prices were great. The guy who helped us was knowledgeable and friendly, too.

Jennifer had brought a granite sample, which helped with the tile decision. We were afraid white would be too, well, white, so we went with this reasonably priced herringbone gray with crackles.

Tile up close.

Once she got back to the house, Jennifer said white might have been okay, but this looks pretty great, too.

Yep, the granite is in. We will have more photos tomorrow!

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Cabinets and Doors at Washington

Cabinet doors getting painted.

Painters have been in spraying the cabinets at the Washington house, so much of it is taped off. The garage is full of doors being painted. Their goal is to get three coats of paint on the cabinets before the granite shows up, which is currently scheduled for Monday. Even with just one coat on them, these custom cabinets are looking nice. The buyers are sure to appreciate having brand-new cabinets in their house!

Speaking of doors, here’s the new front door.

They also have brend-new doors and knobs. We were happy to learn that the door person Cody uses is really a good door hanger. We opened and closed the doors that are already installed many times. No sticking, no rubbing. Just opening and closing. It’s the little things!

All the trim is finished in the living room, and they managed to match the stain on the beams so well you’d never guess they weren’t all done at the same time!

All the outside lights are in. The big one is pretty big, but we like it anyway.

Next week the exterior painting will begin. We are all excited about that. It” going to make a huge difference in the curb appeal of the house, I hope!

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Let There Be Lights at Washington

The front lights. I tried to get a photo of what the chandelier looks like from the outside, but I got a reflection! Ha!

Lighting was the focus for this week’s Washington update. We’re getting ready for phase 3 of the project, too, so Lee and Cody met on that, which is really why we went there. We are all more than ready to see how the exterior paint comes out and to see a door that doesn’t look like burglars just left (we think a dog did the scratches).

But mostly Mandi and I hung around with James and talked about lighting, not falling off of tall towers, and people we knew who did fall down from buildings.

As for the lighting, everything seems to work, which is always a real bonus, right? Plus, we had to have a bit of fun, because it IS allowed occasionally. Continue reading →

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Electrical Improvements at Washington House

Even a simple new grate makes the house look so much better.

In this week’s visit to the Washington house, Mandi and I showed up in time to meet the electrician who’s fixing up all the outlets, light switches, etc., and installing the light fixtures. James had hoped to have some fixtures up for us to take photos of, but instead had spent some time fixing some iffy wiring. We’d rather he did that anyway!

While we were looking the nice new covers over, James had some questions. They were all really good ones, so I was glad to have the opportunity to address them. First, we found out that the two closets with light fixtures did not have light switches. That makes the ights we picked out for the spaces not work at all! He recommended some simple pull chain ones instead, which makes ssense. They’re just closets.

James Smith demonstrates what the pendant lights in the kitchen will look like from the living area.

Next he told us the spare can lights we had were too big for the allotted space in the kitchen. He wondered why we hadn’t chosen to get more of the kind we’d chosen for over the sink, and we explained we thought it would look weird. He said the shadows cast by the can lights would also look weird. We decided that if the pendants were installed at the right height, they would look much better. Conveniently, the fixture comes with the right size header, as James demonstrates in the photo.

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Doors Will Be Doors, Right?

Three interior doors in sunlight and shaddow.

Three of the new doors greeted me in the driveway.

Every renovation is different. Some are light cosmetics, others complete gut jobs. Most fall somewhere between the extremes. And while we almost always replace water heaters, doors are another thing. Usually, all doors need to be happy is a coat of fresh paint…maybe a few minor repairs.

Front doors are a special case. They take a lot of abuse from the elements and from people going in and out. They also make a statement. So, we often choose to replace front doors, even if they are in pretty good shape. Continue reading →

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