Tuesday, June 15, 2010

After, Part 1

The "after" will be a multi-part series that will extend between now and at least Friday. See, I can only show you some of the after right now because other parts are in various stages of completion. So, for example, Friday I'll get the chair and ottoman for the living room that will make the furnishings for that room complete-ish, so I'm not done showing you the living room yet. And I need to organize my closet so that I can figure out where the dresser goes, etc., so my bedroom is not yet ready for public viewing. And the Nook... well, it's very, very close, but not quite, because of a minor setback involving needing to get rid of my old desk and then needing to assemble a really crappy desk to replace it (but, even though it's crappy, it was only 40 bucks, and I needed for it not to be expensive, so there we are).

Anyhoodle, I know the suspense is killing you, so here are some pictures to tide you over.

This is the living room as it now looks. As you see, I bought new curtains to warm the room up a bit, and I also put shades up on the front windows, mainly because with no shades my across-the-street neighbors, who really like to sit out in front of their house (they have no porch - they just have chairs plopped out in front, and they sit there most nights, and often past dark), can see right into my living room if I don't close the curtains. Now, closing the curtains is all well and good, but if it's not a gajillion degrees, and if you want to have windows open, guess what? That means that closing the curtains is stupid. And if you don't close the curtains, then the whole neighborhood can see straight through your house. Uncool. And thus, shades. As for the curtains, you can't really see how great they are with this stupid camera phone picture - they are a golden sort of color, and they have a leaf texture that is really pretty when the sunlight shines through.

Ok, so now, the next picture is of the Dining Room, which seriously took like 3 days to complete. That wallpaper. The filthy walls. The ceiling which we totally think had never been repainted for at least 20 years. HIDEOUS. So here's the room now:


You will notice that the walls are pretty bare and I don't have a ton of furniture in the room. I do intend to decorate as time moves forward, but I'm going to take my time. I'll post a few more pics of this room once I get the third bookshelf downstairs to stick along the wall that you can't see, and once I get the curtains for the window seat put up (I need to take them to get cut down and hemmed, but the rod is up so once that's done, up they go). Oh, and the curtains. The former owner didn't have real curtains in this room. On the one hand, cool, lots of light, and the windows are pretty. On the other hand, total glare from the windows at nighttime, and if you actually eat in the dining room you feel like the next door neighbors can watch you eat. (Our houses are separated by only a driveway. I do not live in the country or something.) And so, I'm putting up real curtains so that I at least have the option to close them. I mean, seriously. Anyway, though, I'm really, really happy with the green that I chose, both because it looks nice with the color of the living room walls and with the kitchen (which is a sort of buttery yellow), and because I really think that it makes the woodwork look gorgeous.

So anyway, I do believe that's enough for now. I have things to accomplish, like spraying feliway in my stupid nook because the Man-Kitty just said no to a) home improvements and b) my mother's insane whirling-dervish-style approach to said improvements (which I'll tell you all about once I get over the trauma of experiencing them for a week), and he expressed his dominance and EXTREME displeasure by marking his territory with urine. (And by humping Mr. Stripey, because when the going gets tough, the Man-Kitty apparently needs to show who's boss. And yes, apparently it's normal for neutered cats to do these things.) I hate the chaos of moving, but not as much as the Man-Kitty does. I know all of the above was too much information, but let's just say that it added to what was already a slightly stressful week with my mother.

(In case you were wondering, Mr. Stripey remains unflappable and happy as can be.)

12 comments:

Musey_Me said...

I like the green in the dining room To transform it that much in just a few days is wonderful! The living room also looks better. I think adding the bright furniture made a dramatic difference. Can't wait to see the other pics as they emerge.

Bardiac said...

Beautiful wall colors! I love the warmth you get in there :) Lovely!

my capcha is: uparti.

I think we all know what THAT means!

Belle said...

Getting rid of the wallpaper is always a mess, but the end product is great!!! Or Grrrr-eat! as Mr Stripey might say.

Man Kitty might respond better to isolation while the demo/redo is in process; being presented with New! Better! No hassle! might make him feel more kindly.

Nik said...

I love the wood and the color of the dining room. I hate thinking about shades/blinds/curtains so I'm glad you outlined the positives of owning them. And cats are so crazy. Especially weird humping cats. My cat humps my leg. I call it 'nest' but we all know I'm lying.

Dr. Crazy said...

Nik - the reason that I HAD to do shades/curtains when my mom was here was because I feel SO clueless about these. Can I buy a house on my own? Yes. Can I do many and sundry things without assistance? Yes. But I'm shit with accessorizing, and that's whether we're talking about home decor or my actual person. Thank GOODNESS for my mom this week :)

Anonymous said...

And yes, apparently it's normal for neutered cats to do these things.

When PhysioCat gets agitated, he sometimes pops a woodie and wiggles it around. And yes, he's neutered.

Dr. Crazy said...

Is it wrong that I love that there is a Physiocat? And also wrong that I want to see a picture of him? And also that I feel certain that Physiocat would be hilarious to observe under the influence of some catnip? I mean, seriously MFJ = MFCN, I feel. You must send me an email with a pic of Physiocat. For serious :)

Dr. Crazy said...

Let me also note that Man-Kitty has not continued with his territorial behaviors (knock wood) since my mom left this morning. Seriously. She was so the problem (knocking wood again).

Historiann said...

Crazy--you really have done quite a lot for just a few days' worth of work, even with a cooperative mother on hand. (Thank goodness for cooperative mothers! When I bought my first house, my mom and I painted 3 rooms before we even moved in--it was a tremendous help.)

I love your new DR. And don't apologize for having an uncluttered house. I long for the days of an uncluttered house! You'll get the baubles and the pictuers and the doo-dads as time goes by. There's no real rush, right?

Congratulations again. Well done!

Historiann.com

Doctor Pion said...

Wow. Country farm house becomes civilized!

I love how the new colors bring out the wood trim, and how light and airy it will be during spring, summer, and (if you get them) cool summer nights.

One solution to the windows is to put translucent curtains behind the drapes. They let in light without letting in the eyes. Might be a good solution for both the dining room and front windows.

Unknown said...

Looks lovely, m'dear. Am very very happy for you!

Dr. Crazy said...

Anne! So good to hear from you! I was sorry that you weren't at the conference a week or so ago.... I'll likely be in NYC in Nov. and maybe we could arrange to meet up?