that brown house

…was written in the warning label on the tin of paint stripper. in other words this product was not intended for us. we bought it anyway. then we proceeded to spend easter sunday playing with toxic chemicals and chatting with neighbors. we did, however, start the day with easter baskets & homemade biscuits and end the day having dinner with friends…thank goodness the days are getting longer…too bad that means the nights are getting shorter…more sleep would be good.

anyway, we had another busy weekend of running around getting and doing odds & ends, but not accomplishing anything monumental. here’s what has been accomplished since the last post:

• the heating contractor stopped by and adjusted the dining room duct so that the register fit properly, reimbursed us for the two registers we ordered (we wanted semi-period ones for the living & dining room and didn’t like the ones in the contractor’s catalog), installed a filter to keep pet fluff out of intake grille (we kept the brass grille from the 1940s floor heater as our intake), and gave us the permit. we’re not having the heating inspected until the electrical work associated with the heating system is done.
• the electrical contractor pulled the permit for the electrical work. he was supposedly starting today, but when i popped by at lunchtime it didn’t look like anyone had been working. last night eric and i walked through the house contemplating what we would need to plug in where and left a trail of post-it note memos in our path. hopefully, our electrician doesn’t think we’re psycho. most of the memos are about which light fixtures we are keeping and which we are replacing (and what they are being replaced with), so i think it’ll be fine.
• we have yet to purchase all the light fixtures on our shopping list (if i could afford to buy everything from rejuvenation, we’d probably be done, but finding fixtures that both of us like in the right finishes that are within our hazily defined budget that also coordinate with whatever existing condition/fixture/hardware/etc. that we are trying to coordinate with is a quest) but we did pick up two of the three 1920s schoolhouse style fixtures we had ordered from berkeley lighting (the other won’t be in until late april!?!), returned the sconces that didn’t fit my cala lily glass shades, and purchased some vaguely craftsman/mission style exterior lights for the front and back door. mom scoffs at pictures of any fixtures designed to be reminiscent of the period/style of the house and seems to only like neo-colonial fixtures that, while attractive for a formal dining room in a colonial home, would look out of place in her bedroom. sigh.
• we picked up the new pedestal sink and (part of) the new toilet (there was a snafu with the order that should be correct by the end of the week) and purchased a eco-toilet (half flush to save water) for the quarter bath. we forgot to buy a wax ring, so we haven’t tackled actually replacing the toilet yet…
• we removed all the gummy-with-paint hardware from the bathroom door, including removing the bathroom door from it’s hinges (which are now boiling away to get the paint off) in preparation for rehanging the door and adjusting it to close and latch properly.
• we bought a tool to turn the water on and off at the point of connection
• eric stripped paint (and mold) off the wainscoting behind the stove (fun with chemicals!) while i did some general clean up and started washing the kitchen walls with TSP (more fun with chemicals!). then eric finished the walls while i attacked the rust(?) stains on the tile counter tops. the rust stains aren’t gone, but with several liberal doses of CLR, they are noticeably faded (and the grout in those areas is really clean), so maybe there is hope for eradicating them. in any case, i think we are finally ready to tape and prime the kitchen walls & trim. we don’t want to paint any of the finish wall colors before the electrician is done poking at the walls, but i’d like to get it done with time to air out before we move in (and no, i’m not using low VOC paint in either the kitchen or bath because i want “washable” walls…this is another reason why i want these areas done before we move in, despite the fact that the kitchen really won’t be *done* for quite awhile).
• i’m very into spray paint right now. i used to hate it and i may regret my current trend of “refreshing” dingy misc. hardware with it, but i decided that since i’m stuck with it for awhile, i’d try to clean up and spray paint the dorky crooked duct that attaches to the wedgewood stove. i figure i can’t make it look too much worse. right?
• i also bought enough sheer fabric to make a curtain with a pocket rod on both ends for the front door and either a matching curtain for the living room window or curtains for the side lights…now to find time for a sewing project…

so, i think that pretty much sums up what we’ve been up to with the house the past few days.