Hidden Messages

The wallpaper exfoliation extravaganza continues. We are little by little giving all of the interior walls of our home much-needed facials. We utilize steam first, and then we implement a gentle chemical peel. We patiently repair any surface damage and then apply a deep conditioner. Lastly, we apply two coats of protective moisturizer.

The bare plaster walls that now adorn our house include the dining room, the entire stairwell, and the dressing room. This is good because we now only have wallpapered walls in the office. This is bad because the aforementioned bare plaster walls have not yet gone through the entire transformative facial process and it looks like we live in a run-down tenement building.

In reality, we live in an extremely sturdy, well-constructed, fantastically unique house...that happens to have some rather unattractive bare plaster walls at the moment.

Our house came into existence in 1935. It was hand-built by a father for his daughter. The father and his wife lived in our current neighbor's house back in the day when the majority of the homes in our neighborhood surrounded an exclusive golf course. Many of the houses in our neck of the woods were once the vacation cottages of the wealthy folks who lived on the lavish plantations on the west side of Nashville.

So, the father built this cottage with the intention of giving it to his daughter to live in. For whatever reason, the daughter ended up never living there and the father kept it sort of as his man cave, his "bachelor" pad, - even though he wasn't a bachelor - and it stayed in the family, I guess as just an extra house, until it was bought by the Gaithers (I'm not sure what year this occured, but I'm guessing it was late 60s/early 70s).

In 2007 it was bought by an investor from the Gaithers. The investor promptly went bankrupt before he was able to "flip" the house. The bank took possession of it and then we bought it 9 months ago. So, while we are technically the 4th owners of this 75 year old home, we are only the 3rd family to actually live in it.

Since the original owner didn't live in the house full-time, the lovely plaster walls were left bare for decades until the Gaithers came into possession of the home. During their tenure, they managed to cover every single wall of the house (except the living room, which has retained the original wood paneling put up lovingly by a father for his daughter) with wallpaper. Everytime they wallpapered or re-wallpapered throughout the years, they wrote stuff on the walls before covering them with the latest interior fashion.

While I readily admit that removing wallpaper is a shitty job, it's kinda fun to discover the hidden messages behind the wallpaper as we take it down room by room.

We discovered that the room we have been using as a dressing room was previously used as a nursery - which kinda makes sense since it's so close to the master
bedroom.





The top one says: "Sandra Gaither Dilated 3cm Nov 7, (or it could be 17) 1979 Baby Due this date (arrow pointing to above date)"
And then something unreadable followed by the word "Terrible"

The next one says: "Pooter (you can't see the P in the photo) Gaither Age - 17 MO SistER hERE AnY DAY"

I really hope Pooter was just a nickname or term of endearment.

Then we have this one: "Rango and Ronnie stoned again" Nice. Ronnie along with his wife Sandra were the previous owners. I have no idea who Rango was/is.



The next hidden messages says: "James Flatt and Ronnie Gaither DID this January 1972 God Bless America" Perhaps James Flatt also goes by the name Rango?





The one above is kinda hard to see in the photo, but it says "Rango 12-11-92 Bill Clinton Sucks!!"

There are a couple of other messages from 1992 that we found. One telling us that someone had a wrestling match at Father Ryan High School. Apparently '92 is when the Gaithers redecorated the kitchen and dining room and put up new wallpaper.

I love that our house has a history.

We have no intention of putting new wallpaper up in place of the old wallpaper, so we can't leave hidden messages on the walls, but I'm sure we can find other ways to leave traces of ourselves for whoever the next caretaker of the house may be.

House Update

Our contractors are finally finished. They cleared out 2 days before we got married. We will be giving them their final payment on Monday and then not only will we be done with contractors but we will also be done with NACA and the HAND department. Hallelujah!

Even though we are now free from having to share our living space with dirty contractors and their even dirtier materials and equipment, our house is far from done...

Besides the massive cleaning effort that has been taking place every weekend, there's still missing pieces that will have to wait for funding. Like the master bedroom flooring. And the basement flooring.

But there are also things that still need to be done, that we just haven't had the motivation to start yet. Like taking the lovely wallpaper down in the dining room, then patching, sanding, priming and painting those walls. Ugh. And painting the dining room ceiling. And painting a second coat in the master bathroom as well as installing towels bars and such. Oh, and installing switch plates in the kitchen.

I swear, our To-Do List is approximately 1.7 miles long.

My latest "project" has been unpacking and organizing our massive collection of books.





I have this sickness. A sickness that involves acquiring many books and then never getting rid of any. It's quite a serious affliction.

We have one built-in bookcase next to the fireplace in the living room. Beyond that, we need to set up our other bookshelves. BUT, we are currently sleeping in the room we intend to make the office. And we can't move out of our sleeping room until we get flooring in our master bedroom. It's all very complicated.

The one room in our house that feels ALMOST completely done is our kitchen. The only thing we "need" to do is install new switch plates. Would it be nice to update the cabinet hardware and hinges? Yes. Do we need to right now? No. Would we like to put up a tile back splash? Yes. Is it a priority? No. So, here are a few pictures of our mostly finished kitchen:

The stove that my beloved is obssessed with. It's gas, of course. 5 burners, one with some kind of super-turbo function that gets so hot it would destroy a microwave if we had one installed above the stove. It also has two ovens which can be set at different temperatures at the same time.

I haven't been allowed to use it yet.



In case you're interested and/or a rabid fan of HGTV, we kept the original cabinets, but replaced the black and white vinyl flooring with porcelain tiles. The tiles are 20"x20" and 14"x14" and are laid in a "hopscotch" pattern.

We also got rid of the black laminate countertops and replaced them with Silestone quartz countertops. All of the appliances are new. And the faucet is new but the sink is the cast-iron beast original to the house. And we love it. It's huge and deep.

The lighting is also new in the kitchen. The previous owners had installed this monstrous flourescent centerpiece that dominated the ceiling and looked as if it could easily transport you to another dimension. We decided to go with something less dramatic and a little more functional.













So, there's the kitchen. Yes, it's missing switch plates. And a tiled backsplash, but it's working for us right now when the rest of the rooms in our house are each in varying degrees of disarray.

Take, for instance, our master bathroom. It's lovely. It really is. And the contractors are finished with it. However, it still needs to be cleaned. And it still needs to be painted a second coat of Gobi Desert. And it still needs towel bars and toilet paper holders installed. And still needs shelving installed. AND, since we can't move into our master bedroom yet, it's slightly inconvenient to use regularly at this point. But here it is, in all its unfinished glory:

This is looking in the doorway from the master bedroom.



As you can see, we need some kind of tall shelving/linen cabinet unit to put between the two vanities.







This is what I was talking about when I tried to describe how our bath tub would be IN the shower. See? It really maximizes the smallish space of our bathroom and allows us to have a walk-in shower AND a soaking tub.







That last one is the shower head, the glass accent tile, and a little window we cut into the wall to allow natural light into the shower enclosure.

So there ya go. We still have a ways to go, but it's coming right along.

Just Checkin In

Hey! It’s July! Holy crap-o-lah. Do you know what this means?

I’ll tell you what it means:

It means our house renovation was supposed to have been done 1 month ago.

It means July 4th is in, like, 5 minutes.

It means I’m going to be married in, like, 10 minutes.

You may have noticed my lack of house renovation reporting. Tis true. *sigh* Every week, every day…nearly every hour, we are informed, assured that it’s almost done. “We just have to….(fill in the blank)”. “As soon as we….(fill in the blank)”. When you’re told that something is going to happen over and over again and it never does, regardless of whether that something is good or bad, it seriously messes with your mental health.

Meanwhile, as we’re being mind fucked by our contractors, we are living in a constant state of clutter, filth and disorganization. Good times. The fuzz-butts are not happy about this situation either as they have to be locked up in the bedroom all day. Poor fuzz-butts.

We think they are almost done. No, for reals. I mean, it looks like they are almost done. They finally got the plumber back on-site to finish the master bathroom. He will be there today and then should be done. The master bathroom is the only major component not yet complete. But beyond that, there really isn’t much else, except for a few minor (and I mean MINOR) punch list items and then the removal-of-the-construction-crap process can begin.

Earlier this week, they finally removed all of the old disgusting carpet padding (it was being used to protect the wood floors throughout the house, but it was Nasty) and we were overjoyed to tears at that simple gesture of progress.

Okay, enough belly-aching about the house. Soon I will show you pictures post-construction. Soon. Very soon. Promise.

Not to change the subject abruptly, but have you seen Up? Ohmigod. Seriously good. I’m not a Pixar fanatic – I actually much prefer hand-drawn animation – but I wanted to see this film as soon as I saw the very first preview. And honestly, it was better than I thought it was going to be - which rarely happens. It was really fun and funny and sweet and imaginative and relevant. If you haven’t seen it, well, you should. That’s all. You just should.



So, what’re y’all doing for the 4th? Last year, Daniel and I went to Erie for a few days to celebrate, something I’ve been doing my whole life, and went to a handful of picnics/parties. The 4th of July celebrations of my youth have gone the way of my childhood Christmases. We always had great 4th of July parties at our house – playing murderball in the pool and volleyball on the grass. The older folks played horse shoes and bocce on the lawn. Everyone participated in the water balloon fights – willing or unwilling. There were sparklers and fireworks, cold sodas hunkering in coolers. The prerequisite hamburgers and hot dogs, and two big long tables full of picnic food. Lots of those elements remain the same at the various picnics hosted by friends and families. Although none of them have the element of my dad, and maybe that’s the problem.

Whew!…gettin’ a little serious there for a sec. Pay no attention to my navel-gazing drivel.

This year we’re staying here in Nashville. They have big beautiful fireworks over the river and a party at Riverfront Park. Although neither one of us really enjoys crowds, so we may skip that. Also, on our side of town they are having the Hot Chicken Festival. Hot Chicken, if you don’t know, is a Nashville thing and very nearly a religion…so we should probably check that out. It would be a sin not to, right?

Besides that, our agenda for the next 7 days revolves mainly around frantically cleaning, unpacking and organizing in preparation for the arrival of my mother and sister. That’s right. They are visiting in 7 days. And our contractors are still an intimate part of our lives. And currently there is no where for them to sleep. Or sit. Or walk really. So, we’ll see how that goes!

They are going to be our witnesses. Can I get a wit-ness!? sorry

We still need to go get our marriage license at some point. Soon. We have our rings – and we actually know where they are in the mess that is our home. And soon we will have announcements. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working with a local artist/graphic designer to come up with a cool marriage announcement. I think we nailed it. Now, we just need to get them printed. We are scheduled to be married at 10:30 am on Friday July 10th. This is a very early hour for Bethany but she is making the sacrifice to be our witness.

Can I get a wit-ness!? again, sorry

That is all.

Get Outta Mah House!

Our contractors have had it good, man. G-O-O-D. For the past 5 weeks, they have had exclusive run of our house. No bothersome people or pets to work around, no furniture to worry about, and no schedules for them to deal with. Ideal circumstances under which to work.

All of that is about to change Friday morning when Daniel and I pull up with our moving truck full of furniture, our two cats, our work schedules and our lives. Our contractors' perfect little set-up is about to go down the terlit very quickly.

Which is why they should hurry the fuck up and get outta mah house!

Otherwise, we're going to be moving into this:



And this:







And this: Notice the lack of countertops




Right now, there is NO WAY all of our stuff will fit in addition to all of the construction crap strewn willy-nilly throughout the ENTIRE house.

Hopefully (fingers and toes crossed), MUCH will get done in the next 4 days. Today, the electrician is supposed to install all the new lighting, new receptacles, and upgrade some wiring. Our kitchen countertops are also supposed to be installed today. Our contractor is supposed to finish the kitchen floor and finish repairing the kitchen walls. Our kitchen appliances are supposed to be installed on Thursday.

That's a whole lotta supposin'.

In more productive news: This past weekend, Daniel and I sanded, primed and painted the hallway leading to the kitchen and the kitchen ceiling. Paint under our fingernails and in our hair has become an inevitable part of our lives. Tuesday night we will be sanding and priming the walls behind the refrigerator, and Wednesday, we will paint those walls in preparation for the refrigerator installation on Thursday.



You can see the color we'll be painting the kitchen walls just there above the window. It's not a terribly accurate color representation but, it's called Puddle and it's a purple-ish gray color. I love the names of paint color. Really. I delight in them. If I could find a way to make paint-naming my career, I so would! In addition to Puddle, we also bought cans of Castle Walk (for the dining room), Sweet Molasses (for the pink bathroom), and Gobi Desert (for the master bath and bedroom).

FUN FACT! My sister also, without prior knowledge or consultation, bought Gobi Desert for HER new bathroom. We're weird like that.

Anyway, cross your fingers that our contractors fully understand the ramifications of us moving in to their construction site in less than 4 days!

Are We Done Yet?

Now? How about now? Now are we done?

As much as I love our contractors, I want them GONE. Impatience has settled in my bones. I'm ready to have them be done with their work so Daniel and I can move in and get on with stuff we want to do to the house, that we can't, as long as all of their construction crap is strewn about the ENTIRE house. We are officially moving our asses (and all of our furniture) into the house in less than 2 weeks. And instead of our house looking tidier and more complete as the days go by, it looks as much of a wreck as it ever did...at least on the surface.

The master bathroom, along with ALL of the electrical work, are the last major components to be completed. There are still a few little things hanging out there like repairing the kitchen wall and building a surround for our new range vent and repointing the fireplace bricks...

Last week, they spent a good portion digging up our main water line and replacing it, digging alongside the house to provide extra drainage, installing a roof vent for our shower, and finishing up the plumbing in the master bathroom.









Here's the other thing they've been doing: Mutilating our front door.



The front door is problematic. It was painted a heinous shade of cracked, faded teal. And the bottom would stick everytime you opened or closed the damn thing. Our initial response was, "Replace it!". However, the door is the original solid mahoghany door. The inside of the door is gorgeous paneled wood. And it's an unusual height of 7'-6" (doors come in standard sizes of 7'-0" or 8'-0"), so we would need a custom door built in order to replace it. Plus, trying to replace a beautiful old door of this quality and craftsmanship, would require mucho dinero. Our contractors offered to strip it down and see what kind of condition the wood was like underneath the layers of paint.

Conclusion: The door itself is sturdy and not yet ready for the graveyard. However, getting it to the original wood again will be nearly impossible and/or cost prohibitive as the paint is so very old.

Solution: The contractors shaved an 1/8" off of the bottom so it wouldn't stick anymore and suggested we re-paint the door once they have repaired any cracks and sanded it down.

So, I guess that's what we'll do. But for now, this is what graces our front entrance:



Nice.

Pink Is My Favorite Color

NOT!

The other bathroom in our house is pink. With some white. Originally it had blue-pinkish paisley wallpaper, but we took care of that atrocity right quick!



Underneath the wallpaper we found lovely plaster walls that had been painted...pink. I can live (for now) with the pink wall tiles. Mostly because they are the real deal - real tiles, as opposed to acrylic or some other kind of plastic substance. Same with the floor. The floor is the original hexagonal tiles, mostly white with a few scattered pink tiles.

The walls, however, must be dealt with.



First, we sanded them to remove any bits of wallpaper still clinging to the surface along with any wallpaper glue, and any other unidentified anomalies. We tried using elbow grease and those smallish foam sandpaper blocks. When this method proved mostly futile, we brought out the big guns - namely, an electric sander.

Hello, my friend.



I adore the electric sander. Best $29 bucks we've spent so far! And, let me tell you, we have certainly been spending the bucks lately, at an alarming rate.

Once we sanded the walls, we went about patching them using a spackling substance called DryDex.



Anyone who has plaster walls, knows that they are prone to hairline cracks. These cracks are not indicative of any structural failure or wall damage, it's just the nature of the beast. Personally, I find the innocuous cracks charming. But, since we have the opportunity now, and future cracks are inevitable, we went ahead and repaired them along with any nail holes before we paint.

The DryDex is applied using a plastic spatula scraper thingy (that's the technical term). It's a bright pink color (think bubble gum on speed), and the consistency of thick cake frosting...just like the Betty Crocker stuff that comes in a tub at the grocery store.



Then, as it dries, it turns from psychedelic pink to white. When it's completely dry, we will sand the walls again, wipe them down, and paint them using a paint that is both primer and paint in one. I've never used such a product, but we thought we'd give it a try. Ultimately, if it means LESS painting...I'm in!



On the NON-PINK front, our contractor has been working on tiling the kitchen floor. I'd say, 85%-90% of the tiles are laid, no grout yet. And they're kinda dusty from general construction dust, but MAN, I am loving those tiles!



Sure beats the black and white vinyl checkerboard floor that was there before.

Hot, Wet, & Sticky

Wallpaper Removal.

Anyone who has enjoyed removing decades old wallpaper, say "Aye!".

*crickets*

Remember how I told you about, and showed you, all the freaking wallpaper in our house?

Exhibit A


Exhibit B


Exhibit C



Previously, we (Daniel) had attempted to remove it using the heat gun. It worked so well on the contact paper, we thought we'd give it a shot. It did not work well on the old, old wallpaper stuck to original plaster walls. So, then, we (Daniel) attempted to use a water and fabric softener solution to remove the wallpaper. This method also, did not work well.

So, on Saturday we went to Home Depot (our new hang-out) to rent a wallpaper steamer.



This thing actually worked pretty well. It was still a hot, wet, sticky, messy process that required considerable patience, but we managed to remove all of the wallpaper in the entire kitchen (even the little strips above the cabinets), and in the hallway and in the pink bathroom. And it was only $32 to rent for 24 hours.







So, now instead of dark blue wallpaper with little columns of pink roses, or pink paisley wallpaper, we have lovely old water stained plaster walls which will require patching, sanding, priming, and painting.

One step at a time...

Are You Tired Of House Posts Yet?

I'm finding it extremely difficult to concentrate steadily on anything but my new house and it's current state of transfiguration. Last night, Daniel went out to the house to take some boxes over and talk to our contractor - again, without me because I was at the office until 8:30 p.m. Blah.

The brick re-pointing has been finished on the back terrace. Basically, re-pointing bricks just means cleaning them up, replacing or repairing any damaged bricks and re-mortaring the brick joints. It's a maintenance thing to keep any brick structures from crumbling to bits. And the non-painted, exposed brick of the terrace seriously needed some maintenance. Here's a picture of the steps after being newly re-pointed yesterday.



Our contractor, who is a hoot and a total pleasure to work with, sent new pictures of the work they've been doing on the master bathroom. The plumber was there today, re-plumbing everything and upgrading pipes and connectors and such.



We've come up with an interesting design (well, I guess we didn't really "come up" with it since they've been doing something similar in Japan for ages) to accommodate our smallish space. Since we absolutely want a walk-in, tiled shower stall, but also want a soaking tub, we're going to combine the two. So, you'll walk through the glass shower door into the tiled shower stall and just beyond, tucked in a sort of nook, will be the soaking tub. Get it? No? Never mind then, just wait til I post pictures of the finished design.
Right now, it looks like this:



Oh, and the mystery of the mystery tile has been solved. It's the glass tile we're going to be using as an accent in the shower. The shower will be tiled mainly with black slate, but then we're going to do a band of decorative glass tile. Our contractor brought us a sample of said glass tile. Mystery solved.