Nancy's Notes: Vintage Pottery and Simple Tablscape~

Nancy's Notes: Vintage Pottery and Simple Tablscape~

Sally's Place Bed & Bath

Like all renovations, a budget is established.  A good manager will add an additional 15-20% to the estimate for unforeseen expenses.  I did that, and like all renovations, we discovered many more unforeseen costs especially in the bathrooms.  We knew we wanted to completely demolish both bathrooms, but what we didn't expect were costs for a main drain pipe to the septic.  That required cutting into the sub floor and joist, so the plumber could dig out the pipe and replace it.  I was horrified to stumble into that scene one day. My son works in construction and is an engineer, so I trusted his judgement completely, and he had given them permission, but to walk into a project and see a gaping hole in the middle of the bathroom where we had just completed new sub floors was a bit much.  I will say that was the only time it happened.  From then on the sub contractors included me in the text stream just to keep the crazy lady off of their backs.

One of our goals was to complete at least one of the bathrooms, so we could have a working bathroom.  My brother had set up is travel trailer for us, but we had to hook it up and drive to a waste facility to clean the tanks.  It was not a difficult task, but it had to be done frequently, so having a bathroom in the house would eliminate a few of those trips.  As autumn became winter,  I didn't mind staying in the unfinished house as it was warmer and the bed was more comfortable.  I bought a microwave so I could heat water in the mornings for coffee, packed protein bars and fruit for my breakfast and lunch, but I had to drive 20 miles to eat dinner at night.  I spent many week days like this, so I could sand, prime and paint all of the woodwork and walls.  I was grateful for the working bathroom during those stays.

This bathroom was tiny and didn't work well even in the 80's when my mother bought the house.   We combined two hot water heaters into one, so much of our expense was plumbing this bathroom to the new water heater at the other end of the house.  This bathroom was expanded, so we could move the washer/dryer into the house as we had removed the dilapidated wash house.

The main bathroom worked but as you can see needed an update.  The cast iron bathtub had to be cut into two pieces to get it through the door.  I found it fascinating that the original homeowner (1960's) installed a gold  framed mirror and crystal light fixture.  An interesting choice for a lake home.

The bedrooms required the least amount of work, and most of the changes were cosmetic.  I will have to say that the homeowners were forward thinkers when they built the addition to the original cabin because the bedrooms are a nice size and both bedrooms have walk in closets, so storage space is not a big issue in this home.

In the main bathroom, I found an old farmhouse table, cut the width down and added a shelf plus bun feet.  I used marine grade varnish to coat the butcher block top, and high gloss paint was used on all wood surfaces.  The camp chair in the picture is original to the house.  Inexpensive white tile was used in the shower, and we found a bargain on the floor tile that is used in this room as well as the second bath.  Bead board was added to give the room a bit of character.

The small bathroom now houses a stacked washer and dryer.  My brother is a tall man, so we increased the shower size for him.  All fixtures were bargain buys at various big box home improvement stores.

Most items in this bedroom belonged to our mother and were left in the home.  I painted the brass lamp bases, side tables and camp chair.  Linens and rug were Target clearance items.

Furniture and lamps in this room belonged to my husband's family.  My next project may be to paint a few of these oak pieces.  I find it hard to cover such beautiful wood with paint, but it is all too matchy matchy for my taste.  This is my favorite bedroom, however, because the windows look out onto the water.  Such a pleasant way to awaken every morning while there.  

I shopped the following retailers weekly for clearance and bargain items.  Following is a list of those retailers:

JC Penney-custom blinds, lamp for den and window panels for all rooms except the living room.

Target-all bed covers, pillow cases, bedroom rug and towels.

Home Depot-bath fixtures, bathroom light fixtures, ceiling fans, tile, laminate wood floor, faucets, natural rug in the den.

Lowes-kitchen backsplash tile, ceiling fans, track lighting in den. All Paint.

TJ Max-vases, picture frames in den, throws, decorative pillows

The fish pillows and throw in the smaller bedroom were gifts from our daughter for the home as were the orange towels hanging in the main bathroom.  

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a glimpse into our lake home renovation.  I don't know that I would tackle such a project myself again, but we learned much, laughed a lot, and grew as a family.  My brother sometimes voiced his doubts about my choices for the home, but in the end his words, though simple, made the work worthwhile.  "Mom would have loved this."

Signing off from Sally's Place @ Possum Kingdom Lake,

Lana

Sally's Place (Kitchen)

As I look out of my window, I am so thankful that I live in a state where I know there are more good weather days than bad, and this, indeed, is a glorious day.  I am in a rush to go outdoors, so I will post more pictures of the lake house, dress and begin the task of cleaning flower and garden beds.  Yipee!!!

The next three pictures are a few I took later as things are always changing.  This corner is dedicated to my mother, so the photos are of her from childhood to grandmother.  Again, I shopped for frames in my closets, spray painted them all flat black and then printed pictures to fit the frames.  The book is one I made for guests so they could see the house transformation, and the lamp is a hand me down from my son's room as a boy.  The desk and chair are pieces from my husband's family.

These are additional shots of the family room complete with a map of the lake, and the living room that serves as a dining room when we have a crowd.

Now we can move to the kitchen.  I shopped my closets for the crocks, the bowl and basket.

This is what met us the first time we entered the house after about a 10 years absence.  My mother did not leave it this way, so all of items on the counter tops were quite a surprise.  Years ago there was roof damage after a tornado, and while the roof had been repaired the ceiling had not as you can see in the photo.  The indoor/outdoor carpet was the hardest to remove.  It took days and days of scraping and sanding.

We expanded the opening from the kitchen to the living room to support an 8 foot stainless steel bar.  When we removed wall board, my husband and son discovered carpenter ants, so we had to rebuild a corner of the house, but that was the only room with water or critter damage.  We were so lucky.

We loaded the cabinets (all custom to the space and in really good shape) and brought them home with us, so I could repaint.  It took me all winter that year, but I love the outcome.  I also scraped and sanded the hardware and knobs and repainted those as well.  We saved the counter tops and used Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations.  The sink is original to the house and required a bit of elbow grease to clean it up, but the faucet is a new clearance find.  Since our budget was almost nonexistent, I decided to use inexpensive white tile leftover from the bathroom projects with just a bit of natural tile as a border.  The armoire serves as a pantry, and the stainless steel island was a bargain find.  The expansion of the bar space gives this area the best view of the lake.

Hope you enjoyed viewing this transformation as it is by far the most noticeable. Up next will be the bathrooms and bedrooms.  

Until next time,

Lana

Sally's Place Part 2 (Lake home update)

The weather cooperated beautifully this weekend in Texas.  My brother drove in from west Texas to meet our first grand child.  He and my sister stayed the day, and we didn't have to stay bundled under throws and blankets.  But, today is another day.  Wintry mix weather is headed our way, so I cannot work outdoors yet again.  My brother is staying at the lake house and wanted to re-roof a building that houses a water well, but it looks like his plans will be thwarted as well.

The year we began working on our lake home was the year fires burned savagely in Texas.  Many, many lost their homes around us, and we were lucky that our area was saved from the fires.  We have several pine trees lining the front of the property so any spark could have been disastrous.  We were spared.

As posted last time, the home was filled with junk that had to be removed before we could begin.  We found a retired firefighter who loaded it all and hauled it away to his church who in turn gave the goods to those whose homes were destroyed by fire. There were some items, however, I would like to have saved, but I was overruled by men who saw no beauty in the junk.  One such piece was a midcentury cone freestanding fireplace.  I thought we could use it outdoors, but mysteriously it vanished while I was gone.  I did manage to save the den mid century Ranch furniture and a sofa.  I purchased custom slip covers for the pieces, but decided not to paint as you will see in the pictures.  As with all home remodels, unseen expenditures left little room for decor, so I spent many hours perusing  Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart, TJ MAX, ROSS, JC Penney, antique stores, second hand stores, and my own home to finish the interior.  Also, to save money, I painted (with some help from daughter and daughter-in-law) the interior and exterior myself.  Every surface was painted three times.  My husband wanted to buy a professional paint sprayer, but I preferred to do it the old fashioned way.  That was my contribution to the project.

The first interior pictures I will post are of the living areas.  We expanded the opening between the two rooms, walled off an area in the den for a larger bathroom, and added french doors we salvaged from my brother's barn.  They were in excellent shape.  Note the late 60's and early 70's paneling and color scheme.

The living room was packed with furniture.  The only pieces I kept were the wooden dining room chairs, the table and the sofa.The brown cabinets in the upper right hand corner had to be removed because the service closet is behind them, and we had to replace the ac/heat and hot water heater housed in that closet.  There are two other entries to the closet, but none were large enough for the equipment to pass through.  Odd design.  The glass paned door is now the front door to the home.

 Notice the vintage stove on the right.  The door on the right leads to a small bathroom.  We extended the wall to create a much larger bathroom, so we could house a washer/dryer indoors, since we removed the outdoor wash house.The big window unseen on the left of the right picture was replaced with vintage french doors.

After:

We left one wall of paneling that I painted a silver gray.  (Next time I visit the lake house, I will jot down the paint colors and post.)  Shutters were a second hand find for $10.  Orange and blue pillows double as guest pillows.  The woven rug was a steal at Home Depot as was the JC Penney lamp sans new shad.  The frames house photos of our children as youngsters enjoying their Grandma Sally's.  I covered mats with  burlap from my son's wedding, and the frames are from a collection I keep in a closet.  The two antique tables (round and lamp table) belonged to my husband's parents. I love the light and shade dancing across the room in the right picture compliments of the unseen salvaged French doors.

The living room now serves as a dining room as well.  The table was one of a few purchases made specifically for the house. All other furniture including the footstools/extra seating belonged to family.  I made the drapes and the mason lights seen below.  The jars were my mothers.  We expanded the bar to add more seating and dining with a view of the lake.  (note the paned door moved to become the front door)  The bar is covered in stainless steel, the bar stools were a purchase and the hutch is a family piece.  I have made a few changes since these pictures were taken, so I will post new pictures later.

For my next post, I will share the before and after of the kitchen.  As in most updates, it typically is a more drastic change.

Until we meet again, stay warm!

Lana

Sally's Place

It is dreary today.  I am not motivated to do anything but curl up on the sofa with a good book and drink lots of hot coffee and tea.  To make the day even more bleak, I saw August: Osage County yesterday.  I won't spoil the movie for the rest of you, but I found no redeeming virtue in the film.  I look for the bright side of life and I am guilty of wearing rose colored glasses, but I found none in this movie.  Every family dysfunction was portrayed in the movie.  The lemonade I guess is that when I compare my family to the movie family, we are all very normal and our dysfunction is minuscule in comparison thank goodness.

I will not start any new projects this week nor will I work on any old projects as I have too many obligations.  I have decided to find refuge at our lake home for a few days, so I am posting before and after pictures of the renovation of the home.  It took us about a year's worth of weekends to complete the renovation (although like any home remodeling, there is always something that needs done.)  Sadly, Texas has been in a three year drought and we are no longer lake side but lake view.  Happily we have wild life regularly, so my visits are rewarded even without the water.

Periodically I will post before and after pictures of the home so I begin with the outside of the property.

This is a view from the deck during a wet summer.  It is green and the temps were normal.

The home had been neglected for years after our mother passed.  Junk (not the good kind) was everywhere and had to be removed.

Many of the trees on the property had died and we would lose many others because of the drought.  It is so hard to cut down trees in this part of Texas as they are few and far between.

Very few structural changes were made to the outside of the home other than paint and a few new doors.  We added the deck a year later to help shade the kitchen after we had to remove trees.  WE have also added a barn to house our boats and other various water crafts as well as much of the left over  supplies from our remodel.  Our son built the swing that reflects his memory of his grandmother who was ever sitting in the swing watching the birds and deer.  Our mother, Sally, is fondly thought of every time we visit, and I have a dedicated corner in the home for her photos.  Small and large mementos of her are seen everywhere in the home.  This is Sally's Place.  I look forward to sharing the rest.