The Bedroom is Done

After 6 months the project is finely finished!

Five years ago when we bought this old house the very first thing we did was rip out the small closet in the main bedroom just to have a place to put our king size bed without covering a window. As I've learned on HGTV a room without a structural closet isn't a bedroom so one of the major concerns while redoing this room was to build a closet. We came up with the his/her closet idea on each side of the north facing window. I think it turned out beautifully! At first I was afraid it may make the room seem small but it hasn't in the least.

We had to re-plaster most of the walls as there was extensive damage especially under the windows. Over many years of neglect the plaster below each window had literally dissolved to the lathes. The electrical had to be redone and a new ceiling had to be installed.

We put in crown molding and framed out the doors and windows with traditional molding. This room is a perfect example of what impact molding can make in an otherwise plain room. Gary did a fantastic job installing all the trim. After so many houses he's become a pro at it.
I'm absolutely love the color we choose for the room. It's blue at night and green in daylight. I wanted a soft teal as that being my favorite color was the color I've been drawn to so all the bedding I've bought over the last few years matches perfectly.

Now my favorite part, buying accessories.

Visit us at http://www.leylandridgefarm.com/ to see our progress.

We've begun to Renovate the Bedroom!

I can't believe it! I had hoped the bedroom would follow the living room but didn't dare dream. We've actually begun building in the his/her closets on either side of the north facing window. When we moved in we were forced to tear out the only small closet in the largest bedroom as there wasn't a wall that would accommodate our king size bed without placing it over a window. I have a thing about obstructing windows, I love natural light and have always considered covering a window for any reason unforgivable so we ripped out the closet.

From my many years of religiously watching HGTV I've learned a room without a closet can't officially be considered a bedroom. This old house has so few bedrooms for the total square footage sacrificing one isn't possible. It would kill us when we decided to sell, trust me that's many years away but is always considered when making decisions. Someday when we've both retired we'll want to sell and move south. We share visions of retiring to a beautiful South Carolina town called Beaufort. We've vacationed there for ten years and have always talked about living there.

The bedroom is officially begun and will consume our weekends for a few months to come.

To see our Photo Journal of all the renovations we made to our 1926 SW Va Farm House visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm.

The Living Room is Done At Last!

We moved into the old 1926 farm house in 2005. The things that demanded our attention like heat, windows and roof pushed the things of comfort far back on the priority list but just after the holidays to my surprise my husband announced we would begin on the living room over the weekend. Several weekends and a lot of dust later the project is finished.

The plaster on the walls had cracked and under the old windows over years of neglect rain had dampened huge sections that appeared to have dissolved. Old wallpaper was stuck stead fast in some places and pealing in others. To avoid the expense and time of applying sheetrock we choose to apply a Venetian plaster finish to camouflage the damages.

We scraped as much of the wallpaper as we could, repaired the missing plaster, gave the walls a plaster skim coat and lightly sanded. This primed the surface for the faux finish. I choose a light gold and the darkest of the same gold on the paint chip. After an initial coat of Kilz we painted the walls the light gold, a 50/50 mix of dark gold and glaze was hand rubbed into the surface to create the antiqued finish we desired. It was the perfect solution for such an uneven surface. The cracks and bumps played into our plans perfectly. I’ve very happy with the final results.

The old plaster ceiling was replaced with tin look ceiling tiles. We painted the ceiling a lighter gold to make the new beautiful crown molding pop.

Over all I like the new look and am happy with the new living room. Now, if I can direct his attention to the bedroom I can say we’re on a roll.

Visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm to view the project photo journal.

The Beginning of the End of Wedded Bliss

The great outlet debate... my theory, you can never have too many, his theory must be quite different but he's never articulated it for me. My bet is he feels they are way too much trouble and what did they invent extension cords for in the first place.

I always speak up at the beginning of a new addition pointing out where I want every outlet and light switch. I’ve always given it considerable thought; have run through all possible scenarios in my mind. Having to pull out furniture to plug in the vacuum isn’t ideal, finding outlets for the candles in the windows at Christmas can be impossible; all these things run through my mind and impact my requests.

During the construction process I remind, request and have demanded. I don’t like having to demand it doesn’t result in happy labor but occasionally the situation calls for some emotion. Like this morning…

We was standing in the new pantry discussing the progress and preparing to install the next set of lower cabinets when I realized an outlet was going to ultimately be inside one of the cabinets. I pointed this out and he said “that’s ok; you can open the cabinet when you want to use the outlet.”

Think about that statement and think about a cabinet full of food stuff. Do you honestly think you’ll be able to get a cord to reach over the counter top, inside the cabinet, through the contents and reach the outlet? I don’t think he realizes the emotional attachment women have to outlets especially if you’ve ever lived in an older home. Outlets are far and few between and usually unsightly. When given an opportunity to call the shots on placement we become vested in the decision.

Needless to say we had a lively discussion about moving the outlet and it was before breakfast, that isn’t the way to start the day. I can see why renovating an old house could strain a good marriage and possibly be the end of a fractured one.

I’m luckier than most, we rarely argue, often share the same taste and fortunately he respects my opinion so as I type this he’s moving the outlet.

Visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm and share in our renovation photo journal.

Pantry and Mud Room Addition

The weather is turning chilly and work on the inside is starting up again.

We originally talked about building simple shelving in the pantry but as we started comparison shopping the cost of 1x12, hardware, storage boxes for organization and construction time we realized for not that much more money we could install stock cabinets that almost matched the custom cabinets we ordered for the kitchen perfectly.

After all this would not only be a pantry but with an outside entry it will serve as a mud room off the deck so we wanted it to look nice as well as be functional. We're also creating an enclosure for the cats litter box in the lower cabinet. A cat lover's dream - a litter box that's out of sight.

The kitchen isn't that large so the addition of the abundant storage found in the new pantry makes the size of the kitchen less important.

We want to be able to add the new square footage to the overall footprint of the house. To qualify the pantry had to be heated. Since it was once a screened porch and was offset from the main house this made connecting to the existing heating system a logistics nightmare. To accomplish our goal we opted to install radiant heat in the floor. For just over $200 we ordered a floor heating system over the internet. It will consist of a heated strip 2x6 under the flooring. We've discussed installing the same heating system in the new upstairs master bath as well. This will be a good test run on how easy it is to install and how effective as a heating source it actually is.

This project is coming close to completion. Look for updates on the progress soon.

Visit us at Leyland Ridge Farm to see our entire 1926 farm house renovation project.

Finished with the Exterior - Starting on the Interior!

The exterior is finished at last! We put up the last of the siding and the shutters this weekend. We can now finely concentrate on the interior.

Our goal was to add a second story over the kitchen to accommodate a master bath and walk-in closet. We wanted the new addition to appear as if it had always been a part of the old 1926 farm house. I think we accomplished that.

I want to add a screened in porch on back of the house eventually but we have a long way to go before we can start that.

Visit us at www.leylandridgefarm.com.

The last of the Construction

We started the final stage of construction last weekend, at last! The old porch was demoed and the new walk in pantry has been built. Once this is completed we can finish putting up the siding, shutters and guttering. The exterior will be completed. This has been three years coming.

I've always wanted a pantry big enough to store bulk purchases and have never had the space. Now we do! I can finely get the most out of my Sam's membership.

This addition will also serve as a cat room. We're building an enclosed space for the litter boxes, a cat owner's dream. No more smelly unsightly litter boxes sitting out for the world to see. It will also be a secure place to feed the cats without the dog stealing most of their food before they're finished with dinner.

A broom closet will be added, wall shelving for canned goods, lower shelves for produce and other large items and a shelf below the windows for wintering plants.

We're planning duct work to the space so it will be heated and cooled along with the rest of the house which will allow us the luxury of adding the additional 75 sq feet to the foot print of our house. We've discussed how much our $3,000.00 investment will add to the overall value of the house. I say $6000.00 hubby says $12,000.00, any ideas from the readers?

And most importantly it well finely complete the line between the porch on the front of the house and the back. It looks a bit off right now but the measurements are the same. I hope once the gutter is installed it will look even.

Visit us our website at The Leyland Ridge Farm.