It’s that time again… the time when we at NewlyWoodwards share the weekly renovation status update. Hold onto your hard hats, here we go…
Painting, painting, painting
I’ve been doing lots more painting this week. So much so that my dreams are even filled with cans of paint and rollers. All the window trim that’s installed has been painted.
It looks awesome in person. What a difference new windows with new trim can make.
The dining room is tied for my favorite room in the house. With every other room.
I also painted that lovely wooden ceiling I shared last week. I honestly hate painting ceilings. And this is a big room. With extra tall ceilings. And wood that really sucks up the paint.
Luckily, Behr just came out with a ceiling paint with built-in primer. (Thank you.) So, two coats covered pretty well. After a quick Twitter call-out, I decided to use ceiling paint instead of trim paint.
Some of you may remember my stories about my dad’s dismay at me painting all the woodwork (it’s well-documented on NewlyWoodwards). After seeing the woodwork on the ceiling on the blog, he called me up to make sure I wouldn’t be painting that wood.
Poor dad. I’m killing him with all this paint.
The next step with the ceiling is to add batten to make a board and batten ceiling. We’re I’m waffling back and forth about the width of the batten boards. The decision must be made soon.
The most beautiful door in the world
I’m not being melodramatic. It’s beautiful. (Or at least it will be.)
Our house still has the original front door and it’s gorgeous and wooden and has windows. It’s also an extra tall and wide door. It’s a very common style in our area for late 19th century homes.
When we closed on the house last August, the locks were totally wrecked, two of the glass panes were cracked and there were some issues with the wood. Also, the door only opened about half-way. So, we have hardly used it.
But we both really loved the character of the door from the beginning. 38 weeks later, it’s fixed up and ready to paint. Woo hoo!
To get it to this point:
- We had new panes of glass cut and had them installed by a local glass company.
- Ryan removed the messed-up locks and chains, filled and sanded the holes left behind
- We chose and installed a new deadbolt that accepts the common house key. We chose some sort of black/rubbed bronze to try to coordinate with the original iron door knob.
- Ryan replaced some wood pieces that had cracked/rotted.
- Ryan realigned the door so it opens completely.
A fan of the fan
I forgot to mention Ryan installed our new ceiling fan in the kitchen last week. Here she is.
I chose white to just blend a bit with the ceiling. It’s a nice Hunter version that I spotted at Tuesday morning in August for a really good price. (Actually I walked away from them and then called my parents three days later to pick up all the fans for me.)
On this note, I am going to go out on a limb right now. Right here. If you are a fan hater, I’ll apologize in advance.
We at the NewlyWoodwards are big fans of the ceiling fan. I just don’t see the beef that people have with ceiling fans. Perhaps it’s because Ryan and I both grew up happily in homes with ceiling fans. I don’t know…
But we are proud, card-carrying ceiling fan fans over here.
I often hear folks say they are ugly, but I honestly just don’t see it. I don’t think they are most beautiful of all lighting. But they are so darn functional, I’m willing to overlook an mediocracy in looks. I’ve tried floor and table fans, but I just don’t think they do as good a job as a good old ceiling fan. And in an old house in the Midwest, summers can be brutal.
And while we probably could have skipped the ceiling fan in the kitchen (based on lighting alone), when I cook or bake or can in August, I must have a ceiling fan. Or I will probably drop dead. For realz.
(Phew.) I’m glad I got that out of my system. You can shoot all your flaming comments at me and my choice of fixtures. I have a ceiling fan to keep me cool.
The next step
Flooring is really the next big project on the docket. Ryan is filling in rotten and missing boards right now throughout the house. Once this is done, we’ll be ready to refinish. (Can I get an A-men?)
So, that’s the week in review.
What do you think?
The door is awesome! We’ve been dealing with our own door issues. Our door is nowhere near that cool, we are just too cheap to shell out the money for a new on.
As always, great job! Everything is coming along nicely. I can’t wait to see the front door without the storm door.
Oh and we are totally fan people too.
Everything is looking great, Kim! Especially that dining room… wow, the wall treatments… LOVEEEEEEEE!
Love that door….so happy you guys were able to salvage it! And that ceiling is going to turn out awesome (just like everything else you guys do). Can’t wait to see what next week brings!
Your door is going to be GORGEOUS! Can’t wait to see her all finished. I’m so excited for you guys. There’s nothing better than stepping back and taking stock of all your progress. Your home is looking beautiful already, and it isn’t even done yet!
Whooo, you’ve been busy! I can’t imagine what a headache it was to paint that wood ceiling – good thing it was only two coats! And that door is pretty fantastic. It’ll look even better once it’s painted and not hidden behind that storm door!
I agree on the ceiling fans. We have them in every room, and I think they look just fine. More importantly, they make SUCH a difference in the summer. And, on a side note, we have the EXACT same fan in our kitchen. 🙂
I love reading and seeing your progress on the house!! The front doors is going to look amazing – Hmm I’m guessing you’ll paint it a bold blue color? That would be fun!
As for ceiling fans – no I won’t flame you — they are a must for us in our living room, but its white so it blends in 🙂
The whole house is looking beautiful! I love all the paint colors you chose. This is the third time you guys have taken a little neglected home and made it into something absolutely gorgeous. You’re definitely building up homeowner karma points!
~Rebecca~
I’m guessing blue for the front door – only because the last was red and you’ve been changing all of your colors :+)
I am in love with your dining room… I cannot wait to see if complete!
Such Impressive work and such a house! I can’t wait to see the board and batten ceiling.
I love the progress. Is it weird to proclaim I am in love with all the paint color choices in your home?
The paint looks great – it looks so crisp and clean!
I can’t imagine how one could live without a ceiling fan! …Maybe it’s a Midwest thing?
Oooo, pretty door!!
My husband is glad that I at least read 1 blog that is pro-fans. I hate fans because I’m always cold and I think they are ugly…but I married a sweater…and I am cheap and like lower energy bills…
This is looking awesome! Great work. I can’t wait to see that ceiling when it’s complete. The door is amazing too. Basically I want to move in.
You guys are amazing!! I can’t wait to see that completed ceiling! 🙂
You guys are really kicking it into high gear!! First of all – LOVE the front door – can’t wait to see what color you choose – red? blue? black? stained? I’m anxious to see!
Second, I totally agree with the ceiling fans. We only have one in our kitchen and I would love to put on in each of the bedrooms (We HAVE to have a fan running at night) and in our Family room – which gets quite stuffy in the summer. I agree they aren’t exactly the prettiest things, but they ahve come a long way and sometimes function and comfort take precdence 🙂
Kim, It’s looking great!
I love that you preserved the front door. I can’t wait to see what you do with your wood ceiling (I first saw the seams in the wood and was worried until I read about the board and batten). Good luck figuring out how to space the boards. 🙂
Once again, great work. I love the white window and trim against the dark wall in your dining room. And I want to guess that you will be painting your door red!! (You know I love a red front door.) I was not a big ceiling fan person, but Mr Cherry convinced me to install two in our house and I love them. They practicality far outweighs any aesthetic loss.
As always, you are making fabulous progress! I can’t wait to see the board and batten ceiling. I’m already crazy excited about your board and batten staircase.
As to ceiling fans, I couldn’t agree more. They are a must in old homes without central air. And they honestly don’t look all that bad!
I think it’s coming along very very nicely. I love all the details in the moldings and the door up to the lighting. Looks fabulous!
Looking great. LOVE the front door and dining room. I’m all about the ceiling fan, too, even though we have central air. I get they aren’t the most attractive design-wise, but I’ll take comfort over looks every time.
It looks AWESOME!!!
Wow! You guys have done alot. Love that door, too! Gorgeous.
We’re ceiling fan fans over here, too.. although we only install them in rooms where it’s really neccessary. 1 bedroom and the kitchen are without air vents (bad builders!) so they get HOT all the time, so we have fans in there. I would DIE without them!
~Chelsea
It’s coming along nicely. I would have died already if I had to paint that much. We have ceiling fans in every bedroom and living room of the house. My husband always has them on. A kitchen fan sounds like a good idea.
Great progress this week! The door is going to look amazing once it’s painted – what a savings to be able to repair it! I’m fine with ceiling fans as long as they look as awesome as yours, and you are right, there is no beating their cooling effects 🙂
Katy
Seriously, the progress is incredible.
Also, I like ceiling fans too. In fact, we’d have one in our house, but our ceilings are pretty low…but you’re right, they work so well…and there’s no danger of little ones sticking their fingers inside!
It is amazing what paint can do. Love love love the front door!
I’m in love with your door. I hope you’re ok with that. And the window trim looks fantastic! The house is really coming together. I can’t wait to see the floors!
Oh man – that door – its going to be in my dreams tonight. Lucas and I are talking about him making a new door for our house. I may just have sent him an email with your door as inspiration 🙂
You guys are making great progress. I hear you on the ceiling fan thing. So incredibly functional. I don’t especially care for how they look, but I can’t complain about how much cooler they make everything! Yours is lovely. 🙂