I woke up today thinking I would have nothing to post this week about our renovations, but as I was looking through all the pictures, I’m starting to feel kind of okay, but still nervous about meeting this deadline. Am I ever happy this project has a deadline though, cause it’s gonna get done in a timely manner.

This week was a week of hurdles that we are slowing putting one leg over at a time. Let me talk about the big ones we were dealing with this week.

Plumbing.

Well, well, old home hell happened. We were ready to start laying the floor and have a plumbing problem. It’s beyond Will to fix, so we had to call a plumber. First issue, we have to move the toilet about 1 foot. No biggie there, except last week we discovered a leak (kinda a big one) on the exact same pipe that the toilet ties into. The leaky pipe is the waste pipe from the guest room (Young Duchess) bathroom. The good news is we can see the whole pipe and where it needs to be fixed, but the toilet ties into the pipe right by the leak. So we’ll have the plumber do both. Second, we have our bff the radiator. Little blue radiator in the room  has no shut off valve. It was either turn off the heat to the whole house or add a shut off to the radiator. After chatting with our favorite plumber (seriously, he’s a problem solver!) and explaining why we are so hot the move this rad, he had an idea. He said it uses pecks, and he can lift it up a few feet so we can tile underneath and move on. He said if he disconnects it or adds a shut off, we have to bleed the whole system. We’d rather not incase another issue pops up, it’s better to do this work in the spring or summer. Our rads work really well and we have no issues with them. All this plumbing is going to set us back quite a bit.

Electrical.

We realized we were walking through renovation mud, moving at a slow pace and considering our next projects based on how much tearing up of the house we had to do. Electrical was stopping us at every turn. We took the plunge and had all of our panels replaced, plus upgraded our service to 300 amps (we were at 100 amps). The 100 amps was entirely too little for a house this size – and we set the foundation for a kitchen renovation and adding electricity to the third floor. A big check (in more than one way) mark to having all the wiring replaced in the bathroom. If we have open walls, we are going to replace the cloth wire. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with it, so we are not going to replace it if there are no issues – but if we have a wall open, new is going in. CHECK. Completed today. The sconces were also moved. Anyone follow along on IG stories and see my silly template way of checking spacing for light fixtures? I literally cut out paper templates based on the specs on Hudson Valley Lighting. The lights should arrive soon, and we’ll pick out the final one on IG stories together.

 

Cabinet.

WHAT A FUN DAY!!! Did y’all follow on IG stories as we tore up all the antique stores on Route 9 between Beacon and Rhinebeck? I geo tagged everything, look in our highlights if you missed it. I finally found a cabinet – and it’s the cabinet of my dreams. She’s a little like Cinderella right now, a bit dirty and kinda needs a new dress. But don’t worry cause I’m lining the drawers so she’s gonna feel like a whole new cabinet. I want this cabinet to serve as a reminder that even if you have a limited budget, you can have beautiful things – with a little elbow grease. I shopped all kinds of stores, fancy and higher priced to a barn that had some strange smells. I’m looking for style, then I look at price. The cabinet we ended up buying was $380.00. Pretty damn good for a large, beautiful piece of furniture. It has some flaws. I used a furniture kit from Rejuvenation that I LOVE to restore the wood. It was dry and thirsty. I use this kit on a new-used piece of furniture when I bring it home. It makes a huge difference in the way the piece looks. Second, I lined the drawers and am thinking of lining the back of the cabinet. I want that organization porn moment! On a less emo level and more tactical, this cabinet will provide storage for rando things downstairs that don’t have a home. We literally run upstairs for a band-aide or Advil. I’m making a list and going on a Target run to stock the bathroom. I’m also going to hide some small things, like my nail polish and the dog grooming stuff that somehow lives in a drawer filled with renovation items? And a drawer with entertaining items like candles and extra hand towels – cause you know, candles. Before, I was always scrambling for this stuff, but now I’m going to live my 90s Martha Stewart dream and organize the heck out of my house.

Other Important Stuff

Will, who knows how to do everything, installed dry wall where the old shower was and skimmed the room twice. He’s ready to rock and roll when the plumbing is complete. There are boxes everywhere, our house is a dusty mess – we are in full swing renovation mode. We’ve been through one round of trash management, and we’ll be going through round two next week. Unlike last year when we did the ORC, all of our big items are here, waiting for install. I’m going to order some finishing details this week, and then we’re focused on working til the wee morning hours.

 

 

Follow along these other brave souls as they tackle the One Room Challenge

At Home with Ashley | Brepurposed | Dabito | The English Room | Erin Kestenbaum

Harlow & Thistle | House of Brinson | J & J Design | Kelly Golightly | Linda Holt

Megan Bachmann | Michelle Gage | Mimosa Lane | Murphy Deesign | Vestige Home

Old Home Love | SG Style | Shay Geyer | Sita Montgomery | SMP Living

Media Partner Better Homes & Gardens | TM by ORC