July 25, 2003

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  Please can I just lie here and sleep all day?

  
  

  I got my chair cushions all covered. That was my plan for this week. Next week I will be cleaning and polishing the second snackbar stool, and putting it back together, staining and polyurethaning the steps for the snackbar stools, and tackling the dreaded task of prepping four of these for repainting:

  
  

  

  
  

  vintage wrought iron kitchen chairs – they belonged to Bernie’s mom last, and I think she got them from someone else before that… this is how they looked when I got them – now the seats are removed and I have to strip and paint the metal.

  
  

  I have repadded and recovered the seats, they are now overstuffed, cushy and really pretty. You have to wait to see them, I am not going to post a photo until the chairs are painted and put back together.   There was also a matching table, with an ugly pink laminate top (which we removed and tossed out) I bought some nice pieces of Ponderosa Pine for a new table top. It will go on these legs after they are also stripped and repainted:

  
  

  

  
  

  kitchen table legs, sitting in the garage waiting for their turn to be made pretty

  
  

  Our kitchen has knotty pine cabinetry that my grandfather built, with black iron hardware. We want to keep the fifties’ retro feel of the kitchen but update it and make it brighter and cleaner looking. It always has been sort of dark, and I started 5 years ago or so when we first moved in by painting the walls pale yellow, removing the heavy drapes in the dining area and replacing them with lace curtains, and changing an old pendant lamp over the table to a nice white, light oak, and brass ceiling fan with three clear glass lights. I am trying to strike a balance between the dark wood and iron and lighter touches, so that it doesn’t end up with that “hunting lodge” look, but retains its retro somewhat country charm.

  
  

  This year we moved on to the next step of updating the kitchen when we replaced the old harvest gold fridge with a nice white one (and matching dishwasher, as soon as it gets installed) I am now working on the furniture, and hopefully the floor will be replaced next. We can’t afford to go to a more expensive floor covering like permastone or laminate, so we will probably be getting sheet vinyl. I like that better than tile (no spaces between to collect dirt) I already picked out a pattern, it has a subtle leaf pattern, in neutural colors with some mossy green, but that may change by the time we actually order the work. I am not going to attempt the floor myself, this is a job for pros.

  
  

  Maybe next year I will attempt to replace the plastic tile backsplash with ceramic tile (I would like to try that job myself) and hopefully we will be able to replace the countertops, sink and stove then, too, and then the kitchen will be completely rejuvenated. I don’t think it will happen sooner, there is just too much to be done elsewhere in the house.

  
  

  But as much as I would like to continue fiddling around with my household projects (if sleeping all day is not an option) I can’t.

  
  

  I have so much to do because we have plans for the weekend again. I need to pack up a bunch of book orders and take them to the Post Office, finish my laundry, clean up the kitchen, do the dishes, make potato salad, pack…

  
  

  and here I am, wasting time.  Can you tell I am just not feeling very motivated?

  
  

  Oh well. Better get to it, I don’t think the elves are going to show up and do it for me.

  
  

  

  
  

  *** update: in response to a few comments – the picture of the kitchen chair (above) is a before picture. It is what I am starting with, old beat up chairs with paint chipped off. The seats have been removed, padded and covered, but I haven’t got a picture of them yet. I still need to strip, prime and paint the wrought iron chairs and put them back together. You will see the final result (before and after pictures) when I get one finished. Hopefully this will be next week.

  
  

  And really, I don’t have a lot of energy. It may seem that way when you read my posts, but I am just pushing myself to get things done. I am tired of this house looking the way it has been looking for so long (moving into a run down old house is one thing, but since I have lived in it all my life, I have reached the “enough is enough” stage) and since we can’t just gut it, throw everything out and start fresh, I am trying to fix up what is here in the best and most economical manner. But it does wear me out. I was lucky today because Bernie worked overtime, so I didn’t have to hurry up and get ready to go to camp. We are just going for the day tomorrow. So I just had a good long nap and let a lot of the chores go for today…

  
  

   

  • 10:45 pm
  • 6 Comments