Project: Updating Exterior House Colors

First off, I did not paint the house myself. I hired professionals. I chose the colors.

BEFORE

AFTER

Second, yes, I should have taken a picture of the house from the same angle. I forgot what the old photo looked like. Duh!

Project: Office Windows

The old, leaky, southwest-facing office windows. And by leaky I don't mean just air, but also water! The paint job by the previous owner was seriously suffering and one of the panes was cracked from a too-vigorous fly-swatting incident. In a pinch, we caulked like crazy to ride out the winter and vowed that these would be the next to get replaced. Even the siding beneath the windows was cracking from all the sun and rain. When we took out the window we found incredibly shoddy carpentry beneath. We had to properly rebuild the rough opening, frame out the window, build the sashes, waterproof, put up new siding, trim, and paint, paint, paint.

Time to completion: about 4 full weeks spread out over several months.

Project: The Master Bedroom

(Vintage dresser, Past Perfect; White vases, J. Mendocino; vintage Yugoslavian alarm clock from trip to Bosnia; Jewelry box from Morocco; Duvet cover and pillow cases, DwellStudio; Elephant cushion, childhood craft project)

Before...

What we actually did:
Removed painted-over and torn wallpaper.
Fixed and patched plaster walls.
Re-aligned tilted chair rail.
Added missing sections of picture rail.
New paint on ceiling, walls, bead board, trim, doors, everything!
Removed paint from all hinges and rosettes.
Window enlarged and moved 10 inches to the left.
New double-hung, double-paned window built from scratch. Except for the glass, of course. (Click here for story)
Exterior wall insulated and water-proofed.
Ceiling chandelier added.
Curtain rod and curtains.
Lined closets with cedar and added new rods and shelves. (Click here for story)
Made headboard for bed.

All the serious carpentry done by T (he can fix ANYTHING!) Dad helped with the chandelier, and best friend J helped early on with the wallpaper removal. All the plaster work, paint removal, and new painting (of everything) by yours truly.

Total time: one year to complete.

After...

(Felt rug, The Gardener; Wool/Rayon curtains, Bed Bath and Beyond; Art Deco bedside lamp, X21)

Project: The Bedroom Window

We disagreed on almost everything about the window. The original sashes were pretty rotten and he wouldn't let me epoxy/sand/paint them. Instead, he built me a whole new window from scratch (I made him stay as historically accurate as possible), and moved the whole thing to the left by 10 inches to allow for better house siding installation and water-proofing. We bought fancy new pulleys and window hardware from houseofantiquehardware.
(Drumroll........)
TA-DAH!!

(Before the final picture rail trim and the extensive painting that took place)
Total time: 1 year. Yes, 1 year with a gaping hole in the wall...

Project: The Master Bedroom Closets

Don't get me wrong. I love my San Francisco house. It's quaint and charming. Built in 1928, with old growth wood framing, plaster walls, and picture rails. The problem? Decades of use as a rental and little to no maintenance. Yes, I have a tight budget too, but it's so sad to see how this little old beauty has been run down.

The worst part of the house? The closets!
All were dank, nasty, and smelly. Shabby but not chic. They were so sad and depressing. Sure, I could have filled them with clothes and hid them. But where's the joy in that? The "master" bedroom had two closets. Both in serious need of repair. Closet 1 was the larger, main closet, original to the house, with peeling wallpaper everywhere. A long, sagging rod spanned the whole length of the closet, and there were 2 shelves on top. The ends of the shelves and the rod were impossible to reach and use.

Closet 2 was a smaller addition from the 50's or 60's. Less depressing, but also horrible.

After much "discussion" with the fiance, I opted for fragrant red cedar lining, ipe trim, and special-ordered metal hardware. An easy project in concept, it turned out to be painstakingly time-consuming. As anyone living in an older house would know, no two walls in my house are square, so each piece of cedar had to be measured and cut individually. After much work, here are the completed closets.

Closet 1 (above): Cedar lined and with cedar shelves. We put double bars on each side (his and hers) which increased our total hanging capacity and allowed us to "walk" in to reach the high shelves at the top. Even though the space in the middle is sort of wasted right now, it's much easier to get to the clothes and we actually can fit more in. Eventually, we'll either put a long mirror in the middle, or build a shallow system for purses, belts, shoes? We haven't decided on that part yet.

And Closet 2 (right): We put several 1" thick solid cedar shelves for sweaters and folded clothes, and a hanging bar for dresses/pants. The closet is wonderfully fragrant and keeps the moths away!

There are a couple more touches to be added still, like the full length mirror inside Closet 1, but overall, we're very pleased. It's now a joy to open those doors and put our clothes away!