Bird In The Hand Primitives

Primitive Folk Art Designs and Finished Items
By: Robin Leuschen

" Who you are is God's gift to you........ What you do, is your gift to God !"

Thursday, July 17, 2014

If I had a hammer .... I'd hammer in the evening...


Hello folks.... Well hubby has a hammer and he used it good the other day. 
Remember I told you this house was built in 1963 ? Well, they did things different then.... And oh what a frustration that can be to my husband many times
 working on this house. Of course we are dealing with plaster walls instead of dry wall. The house has settled and it's out of square. Just so much fun. 
We got some things finished and I can't wait to show you. 
First off , the kitchen floor had ugly blue indoor/outdoor carpet. It wasn't original of course but it's been there for at least 25 years. Gotta go !!! We ripped that up and then started taking the counter top apart. I'm trying the old refinishing for that. Don't have the funds right now to replace it. Hubby also has to replace the water valves underneath, and we have a new sink and also putting in new faucet. 
Well, in the corner was a nice little lazy Susan. It's functional, but I needed to get it apart to clean it and paint it. 
Hubby's struggled for quite a bit to get it out and finally had enough. I gave in and said, " just rip it out, we'll figure out what to do with it after that "!
Handy Randy was more than happy to comply. 
Here is a pic of the kitchen before we did much. Wallpaper was off in a few spots and that was it. 


Then, some demolition began. Wallpaper removal, lights taken down, tile removed, you name it. 
We also began sanding and priming the cabinets. 


Ugly paneling !! 52 years of heavy smoking ... Nicotine imbedded in the wood. But I decided to scrub it and paint primer on it. It's still bleeding through a bit but I know eventually it will be ok. Just didn't want to deal with the holes that ripping it off a plaster wall would do. 






Notice lazy Susan in the corner. Lol



Lazy Susan Gone !!!

Now onto a nice finish. 
There used to be a small half wall in front entryway. Hubby removed that. We scraped the old linoleum and tar they used to adhere it to the floor with and sanded down to the hardwood. 
The wall behind the television had hideous plastic fake brick and wow. Talk about wanting it to not come off. The glue that was on this stuff was like gorilla glue in steroids !!! Nothing would take it off !! Tried mineral spirits, heating and scraping, sanding you name it. 
Finally decided to put up beadboard 3/4 of the way up the wall. Hubby then put skim coat over the rest of the wall with the adhesive. 
I'm so proud of my husband !!
We are on a limited budget, and we both wanted a nice ledge on top of the beadboard. 
We have some scrap wood and trim I've saved for projects , so we ripped a big piece down the center to make a 3 1/2" ledge. Then Handy Randy took his router and made a nice edge and sanded down     
We painted the wall and trim etc with a few coats of primer. 
Now, we've learned that prepping is everything. 
Spent an entire day taping of the living room. And then ta da painting commenced and was quickly finished. So here are some pics. 


Notice what is on the tv ? We've had the pleasure of babysitting my 2 year old Grandson while a lot of renovations are going on. 









All of the outlets, light switches and plates have been replaced. Also all of the vent covers have been washed, sanded and re painted. 
Then.... I took the ceiling fan apart and spray painted the hardware with a rubbed bronze and re painted the dark wooden blades. 


Now, on to the kitchen again. Bathroom is in progress also. Pics to come soon !!
Say a prayer we get things finished soon !!!
Hugs,
Robin

19 comments:

Saundra said...

Wow Robin!!!! Lots of progress there and you'll enjoy all your hard work soon I'll bet. Also guess you two get lots of sleep at night from exhaustion.

Saundra

Myra said...

Coming right along ... love the white cupboards ... always wanted white cupboards. The bead board is such a nice accent wall and the hardwood floors in the living room are beautiful. Great tour. Can't wait for the next installment. :-) Btw .. I've never had one of those corner cabinets work right ... a real pain. You made a good decision to get rid of it.

Ronda said...

Looking great! .. It is so much work, but you will be happy I'm sure!

Ronda said...

Looking great! .. It is so much work, but you will be happy I'm sure!

cucki said...

looking great my dear...big hugs x

WoolenSails said...

You are both doing a beautiful job on restoring the house. I love watching the home shows where they fix up old houses, and love the idea of redoing the home instead of gutting them. We did breadboard in our house, makes it more colonial feeling and so much better than all walls. We also redid our kitchen, had to redo the cabinets since ours were falling apart and no money for nice counters, so we just got a stock counter for now and can always replace it later.

Debbie

Susannah said...

Lots of work!!!!! But it shows. It is going to be beautiful and you and hubby are going to be so proud. Our house is always a work in progress. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Susannah

Raymond Homestead said...

Whew! A lot of work but it sure is looking good!

My Colonial Home said...

Oh my Robin you are in a reno mode!!! lol
I looooove the wainscoat you put on the wall, so beautiful and really does eliminate a lot of tearing out of things doesn't it. It's going to be gorgeous when you are all done with everything.
I must say we were on a limited budget too this past summer when doing our house. We sprung for solid surface counters and now wish we hadn't....could have used that extra money for some other things...too late now and to boot we really aren't happy with them.
Blessings
Karen

Cathy G. said...

Robin,
My bones ache just reading about all your gorgeous renovations! LOL! You and your hubby are doing one fabulous job! I LOVE everything! Your house seems like it was well built and now with all the TLC you are giving it you will have a wonderful investment as well as a beautiful place to call home!
Sending good energies and hugs for your continued strength to carry on!!
Cathy G

Kim said...

Looks awesome Robin!!! I have painted old cupboards and bought a couple of large lazy susans at BBB so that I could use things that were always in back of cupboard where I couldn't reach, love the beadboard and floors are so nice!! It all looks great!!!!
Kim~

suz said...

wow - you guys have really gone to town! love the beadboard - great option for covering the faux brick.

Charlotte said...


Great progress! We went through 2 remodels and it is a lot of work but rewarding in the end. Third house was brand new!!!

Keep focused and "enjoy" the process!

Charlotte

PriviesAndPrims said...

I love that it's a redo on a budget and you're doing a great job! We need to teach the HGTV guys that things can be done for lots less!

Hannah Anderson said...

looking great Robin...
Proofreading services

ohiofarmgirl said...

Wow, it is looking great! Dianntha

QUAINT AND PLAIN said...

Makes me want to get busy in my kitchen which truly needs a make over ~ redo.. I think I can~~ I think I can ~~ I think I can..(

PriviesAndPrims said...

Love that you're reusing stuff instead of throwing it all out. So much is wasted on remodels sometimes and I think it means more to us to have a story behind it instead of just a trip to the store. :)

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