Friday, January 29, 2010

The Scariest Place in my Home

I can't believe I'm going to post these pictures, but I've convinced myself that they will make for much more dramatic "after" pictures. The really frightening part is that I've actually gotten rid of a lot of stuff. Without further ado, cue the Psycho music ...

All that paint in the foreground was in a cabinet under the shelves that I just gave away. The furnace is on the right. I have an idea for hiding that. Oh, and the Bills fan of the house is finally going to have to find another place for his decor.

The washer and dryer. I keep hoping the washer breaks so I can get a side-loading but the thing is incredibly reliable. I suspect those cabinets were part of the original kitchen from the 1960s. We're replacing those.

See my paint samples? That little panel next to the cabinets was part of an old intercom that I thought was fun, but it never worked. We removed all the other panels in the house.

This is something I will probably not be able to hide. We have a radon gas system and a dryer vent exiting through a window.


Ahhh, and the ceiling ... You see, the ceiling wasn't that bad at one time. To the right, you can see the tiles that used to be there. If they were still there, I could have just painted the ceiling and be done. But, no. The Great Flood of 2007 occurred (thankfully before our kitchen remodel). One night, we awoke to the sound of running water. We came down to a kitchen filled with water. One of those flex-tubes under the kitchen sink had burst and all the water was dripping through the floor into the laundry room. We had to take down the soaked drywall and tiles, lost some items in storage, but we didn't have major damage thanks to a drain in the floor nearby. I plan to drywall the hole. (A little tip if you don't want to end up with a flood - Get a flex tube for your sinks/toilets with a safety valve.)

Speaking of the drain, that brings me to another problem. I had originally planned to paint the floor, but then I thought of the pictures above. How in the world would that EVER be possible? We simply cannot empty the room. Our kids would be all into all that stuff if we put it elsewhere. Plus, there is zero ventillation here. I would die from the oil paint fumes.
I came up with a new plan. From left to right below ... new tile I'm laying, the original 60s tile, and a bare spot where the floor slopes down into the drain where the original tiles have broken away. I'm not going to lay tile where the floor slopes because they will just break up again so my plan is to lay the tile up to the broken tile and just paint the sloped part. I think I can manage the fumes if its just a small area.


I wish I could have done ceramic tile. These peel-n-sticks cost $1/sf and you can get ceramic for that price, but the problem is installation. Ceramic isn't hard to install, but its time consuming and there is the additional cost/hassle of the wet saw. I'm going for convenience here. Its still amazing what a little cheap flooring can do.


Oh, and a change in the paint ... I decided to go with a color that's slightly less electric. From Summer Harvest to Pale Daffodil.

Because of all the "stuff" in this space, its going to have to be done in stages. This weekend, I'm going to focus on the area in the first picture. I'll take down the shelves, paint that wall and finish the floor in that area. I have purchased some cabinetry ( some of which needs to be exchanged) so I'm hoping to be able to organize a little before moving on to the next area.
That's my plan. Have a good weekend!

8 comments:

  1. Looks like a huge project, but oh will it be nice when it is done. Great storage area too. I can't wait to see the finished project. Hugs, Marty

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  2. LOVE redo's...can't wait to see your new space...I have no doubt it will be fabulous!
    xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

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  3. You are tackling on large project with this one. However I can't wait to see it all come together. Love the paint color you chose. It's going to look great.

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  4. Wow..I thought I was the only one who had a "scary" place...I can't wait to see the final product....good luck

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  5. I think you have some great ideas for your laundry/furnace room. I like the softer yellow that you have switched to as well. You might be interested to read my frugal laundry room makeover on my blog as I had to deal with some fo the same issues. http://gracie-senseandsimplicity.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-frugal-cottage-laundry-room.html

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  6. Wow! I can't wait to see it finished! I need the inspiration! My laundry room/pantry/storage is an awful mess! I haven't even begun to get to that room yet. It really is scary in mine! I love the colors that you picked out! I used a color similar to yours in my kitchen.

    Have fun!
    Hugs,
    Lee Laurie

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  7. I can't wait to see pictures of 'after'!! And if that's the scariest room in your house, I envy you! I have the scariest basement in existence. We call it the "Silence of the Lambs" basement. You get the idea. There's no deep round pit or terrariums of moths (haha), but it's made of stone, dark, creepy and has many crazy rooms in it!!

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  8. Katie,
    Your comment made me LOL. It kinda reminded me of some of those ghost shows where people stay overnight and start exploring basements. I don't think I could move into a house like that! ;-)

    ~Melanie

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