June 05, 2007
german chocolate caulk
6/5/07
Dear reader, you've been warned. I have below The Most Boring Pictures You'll See This Month. "Oh, they can't be that boring," I hear you say, but that's where you're wrong. If you're not asleep by the end of this blog, then you're not truly alive. I was making them for Tessa, but then figured - I've shared so many yawn-inducing home improvement projects, so why stop now?
Here's the deal: for Mother's Day, I gave my mom a wish. She could choose any room in her apartment for me to finish. Living above Sean and Jordi, she's got a great space, but all of the work was abandoned once Barno popped out of Jordana's belly (not for lack of trying - she was painting when she went into labor) and now all my mom's rooms are unfinished with lots of boxes and half-solutions awaiting the day Barnaby can help his dad with the nail gun. So I offered to step in, even though it meant staying in NYC a few days longer without my superstar wife and the glorious Lulubeans.
My mom chose the kitchen to finish, which might be the hardest room in any house. Especially an old house like this in Astoria: it's as though the original designers were allergic to right angles. Due to decades of dereliction, most of the walls disintegrated, and Sean did a heroic job of getting them back in shape, but it still meant that no distance in the entire kitchen is equal to anything else. This meant two things: lots of odd angles on the miter saw, and loads of Phenoseal.
I like Phenoseal. A lot.
Anyway, here's the kitchen window. It used to be hanging in space, with the beams exposed on either side, and the counter-top material rising up into it. I liked how our barn window in our bedroom at the farm looks, so I made a close approximation, then gave it a pure-white high gloss finish:
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I painted the ceiling with primer, which cut down the glare, then added crown molding along the entire top edge. I also replaced the "chair rail" thing at left, and added a floor molding for good measure. To cut down on the visibility of house imperfections, I also added molding to the inside and outside corners whenever possible, without being too prissy, and then used the same high gloss. There's still a no-man's-land to the left of the stove, but hopefully Sean can add some more countertop there:
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The crown molding shows the Phenoseal in action - even though the actual ceiling wobbles unevenly (up to a 1/4 inch) as you go along, using the caulk with an artful finger can make it look totally even:
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I'd give this particular job a solid B-minus. I could have spent three weeks in there carving each piece of wood to fit exactly, and I never found the proper kickplate to put underneath the floor cabinets. Also, if you get really close, you'll see all the little concessions I made to time and vagueness... but it's now a functional kitchen, cosmetically speaking, and my mom, who made me an awesome tuna and avocado sandwich while I was working, deserves it.
Happy Mother's Day, mom! Super late, but whaddya expect?
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Nice work.
Ian, since I went to bed before you were finished, and now you've gone back to California, let me publicly thank you for the truly wonderful and much appreciated Mother's Day present. Sean and Jordi already know how much I love this little tree house they have created for me. Sean was faced with the daunting task of transforming a kitchen he called "like a 3rd World country" (scroll down to picture five on this link:)
http://www.seanrants.com/arch/2006_11_19_index.html
Sean worked wonders, putting in new appliances, cupboards, window, floor... everything. And Ian's super trim job is, quite literally, icing on the cake.
Thanks, Sean. for a cool place to make orange rolls, and thank you, Ian, for delaying your trip home to Tessa and Lulu to make it even prettier!
Love, Mom
I LOVE that Carolina Blue kitchen! I was impressed with Sean's bathroom transformation, but the kitchen transformation really is amazing.
Ian -- you are a good son.
Lucy and Barnaby are the CUTEST!
Based on the November pix of the kitchen, both you and Sean deserve some orange rolls - at least a lifetime supply.
Watching James fix things in our new house made me realize how comforting it is to have a husband whose father taught him everyting from painting to building a house. It is sexy watching him replace faucets, installing dimmers and putting up dry-wall, not to mention the money it saves. Yea to all(boys and girls) who took the time to learn home repair skills and yea to those that patiently taught them. Ben, age 2, now says "the depot" is his favorite place to play.
as someone who is remodeling an entire house, I don't find this boring at all, I love seeing other people's home improvement projects! You and Sean did an amazing job with this judging by the pictures.
Well, I for onezzzzz....zzzzz... oh! Sorry, I dozed off. Great job! Come do mine!
Who taught you to do this stuff??
Salem's Little Sister,
My boyfriend fixes cars. I went with him to the shop to give my car it's 20,000 mile service and oh, my, you want to see something sexy? Watch your man change your oil, air filters, rotate your tires, use very large power tools, etc. If you know what I mean. He used to be a construction worker and talks about the house he wants to build me. I'm lost.
CL - Weirdly enough, I did a bunch of merit badges for woodworking when I was a Cub Scout, then took all the shop classes I could through school. The rest has been trial and error from the days I had no $$$ but still desired a decent living space.
I think you could do everything I did in the kitchen with about two day's training and a fair amount of patience.
Well, it's pretty impressive. I'm storing all that stuff for use someday.
Wow, that is awesome! We are both so home improvement illiterate...my husband is great and all that, but what a loser when it comes to Mr. Fixit! How cool that your mom is in such proximity to the new grandbaby.
Scruggs -- my husband and I are the same way. We don't know how to do a damn thing around the house.
CL -- I was lurking on your website. Congratulations on the anthology! I will order it ASAP. Living in MD since 1993, I still tell people that I am "from NJ", and I can't wait to get my hands on that book. Will it make me all Jersey homesick? You are in excellent company in the anthology. . . and you met Tom Perrota??? I am swooning. Congratulations!
Sorry, it is me again.
I saw Michelle's sexy boyfriend comment. Is that Michelle, Ian's sister Michelle? Please let us know. . . I have missed your writing and wondered how you were. How about that. . . someone you have never met is thinking about you! Hope that is not too Internet-creepy. I mean well!
Anyway, if this is you, a sexy former-construction-worker boyfriend is a good reason not to be blogging. Hope all is well -- take care.