The Master Bedroom

Here is another room I don't really care about. I know in most families, the parents usually take the largest room, but we opted to take the smallest, since the kids make more use of all the space in the other rooms. I also didn't want to spend too much money, so I did this on the cheap.

I'm obsessive when it comes to remodeling. This room has has three looks in three years.

When we moved in:



The first remodel:



How it looks now, although you can't see how it connects to the loft where the stove is:



Here's the new dressers I got.



They're teak, cool huh? Going for the "feng shui" look. I used Dutch Boy Granite paint in the room, a matte finish grainy sort of paint. I really like the texture. It's the texture of bar sugar. I want to make bamboo valances for the windows, and bamboo frames for the prints on the wall. I just haven't got there yet!

The Master Bath

This is the last room we really need to work on. It's also the room I care the least about, so it's not taking priority attention!

But, it is from the late 30's or early 40's (toilet was marked 1932 or 1939), and is in desparate need of remodeling. This room I want to use alot of stone work, and with the stove and marble floor in the drawing room directly beneath it, I'm not so sure the house was meant for the weight load. I'll have to hire an engineer. The other thing is that the linen closet is almost large enough to be a bedroom (!) and I'd LOVE to tear it out and put the second floor lanudry in there. The room used to be a fifth bedroom, so it's very large.

Being as I can't really do what I want with the bathroom due to my overstretched finances being sucked by this house, I'm going for a "design on a dime" look, and keep it under $1000.

Here's the bathroom as it looked when we purchased the place. Keep in mind that half the room couldn't fit into this shot, so a 4x6 foot window isn't shown.



This is it now, so far keeping within budget:



I painted the tub with Rustoleum, and changed the clawfeet to silver. I installed new lights/fans, and painted the "wainscoting" (which is WAY cheap and fake, but it'll do for now), put in a new toilet, and put in a Victorian Delta faucet, granite undermount sink, and a cherry cabinet.

I still have to replace the vanity light, and put up new wallpaper. Then, I can at least live with the bathroom. I also have to tear out that mess by the radiator. Why did they cover it up? Why not just put a corner cabinet in above it?

Oh ya, remember this post about the central air conditioning leaking in the attic? Well, this what happens when water damage meets cold air:



Grrrr....

That #$!#%@$ Stove!

We didn't have this problem with the first stove's chimney.

Our new stove has an "angle" to the projection into the house. It is like this because the "tee support" was an assmbled part, leaving room for error in the alignment when attaching the tee to the house. I mean, it actually SLIDES on purpose. I suppose it could be a benefit to some installers, but not to us.

If it wasn't for the fact it's -5 outside, I'd take a photo to show how the rest of the chimney looks. It's not going to affect the saftey, for everything's bolted, but it LOOKS BAD, both inside and out.

You can see the angle at the elbow.



So, that's our project to fix!

How did we ever survive?

How did we; as a hairless species, ever survive? I mean, it's cold out here today! It's 10 degrees outside, and I can't finish putting in my stove! ARRRRGGGHHHH!

Here's the scoop:

Yes, we have "central heat". That is, if you count a radiant heat system put in around 1908. Don't get me wrong, we used it the first year in this place, but without ever having it inspected? I don't even want to bother.

I already have a wood stove in my drawing room but it is designed to heat only my downstairs. This summer I purchased another wood stove to go upstairs on the "loft" above the main staircase. I never put it in during the summer, well...uh... because I thought I'd do it in the fall.

Apparently, everyone felt the same way I did. I went to Menards, and they are backordered for MONTHS. So, I go online spend $500 more to have the chimney shipped in, and waited.

Then, we went to put it in this past weekend, and of course ran into problems. Karl's afraid of heights (working 35 feet up), there's a gutter where the ladder needs to rest, etc...

So, fed up at living downstairs, and NOT wanting to sleep in a 40 degree bedroom, I hiked up my skirt (kidding), flashed $200 (not kidding), and asked two guys to move my 400 pound stove upstairs, and put the effing chimney up. And, THEY DID IT!

I was so happy because my husband said I didn't "understand how hard this was to install" (because I'm using a horsewhip on him), and I thought that he doesn't understand that if he pushes me, I'LL get it done myself.

And I did. I moved the 400 pound stove from the landing, through my bedroom, and I widened the doorway, and set the stove into its final resting place. Yes, my back hurts.

Now the new problem. The one piece of chimney doesn't come into the house far enough for me to meet the heat clearances needed for either the stove or the stovepipe. Take a look, and yes, the window is covered in ice...



Dammit!

I was so close, and there's nothing I can do. I had to order another part, an 18" length instead of a 12" that's in there now. The good news? It should be here within two days. The bad news? The cold days are NOW, and it will be back into the 30's by the end of the week, and I don't care then.

So, back to freezing my dupa off and sleeping downstairs. I don't know how we survived way back when, because 40 degrees upstairs, and 52 downstairs is not cutting it for me, AT ALL. Think I'm joking? Here's the pics, taken today:


This one is out of focus because my Xmas tree is right there, so I had to take it really close.


And, 40 is warm, I took this in the middle of the day. God knows what it is at night.