Back from Colorado

Hello friends! It's been a couple of weeks since I've actually had time to sit down and blog, and that said, this will be a quick one. But just wanted to share a little update that we returned from our Colorado vacation late Friday night, and we are back to work again this week.

It was so nice to have the time off and enjoy a state we had yet to explore. And we definitely did! There is a lot to do and see in Colorado.

From a Cubs/ Rockies game at Denver, to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, and Rocky Mountain National Park - we did as much as we could fit into a week (2 of those being driving days!)

I'll have all the deets from every leg of our trip very soon! Just give me a few more moments to get caught up on daily life, and on sleep. :)

Our Finished Hallway

It felt strange today to come home from work, and not have to paint all night. Like, I really didn't know what to do with myself! For the last few weeks, we've been hard at work finishing our hallway renovation, and we finished it just in time for our anniversary party on Saturday.

This has been the longest renovation project yet for us, in the nearly 6 years that we've been living in this house and fixing it up together! We first decided to rip out the hallway walls and ceiling back in 2011, then worked on putting drywall up, installed lighting, and put in 3 doors. But for a few years now, it was sitting unfinished while we went about our busy daily lives.

It was hard to get the time and motivation to get it finished. But somehow toward the end of last month, we got the bug again and got back to work. We always say, if you want motivation to get renovation projects done around the house, throw a party. It's great motivation to get things finished so you can finally relax and don't have to stress about it when you have company over! Ha.

In the last month, we finished sanding the floor and refinished it, finished the mudding and sanding of the walls and ceilings, primed the walls and ceilings and painted them, finished installing trim and painted it, and painted all of the doors.

Once we started priming the walls, it was coming together and looking more finished, but when we got the paint on the walls, it really started getting real! Paint always has that dramatic change effect - it can make such a difference.

And we did a LOT of painting with this project. It feels like we painted everything! I was definitely getting used to coming home from work, eating, then grabbing a brush and a paint can. And I don't miss those nights. :) It's nice to finally be able to relax and enjoy it now.

Here is the finished product:

It was a nice anniversary gift for us, just to finally finish this space and be done with renovations for a while! We both feel like we put a lot of work into it. Of course it isn't perfect - there are a lot of imperfections, which you'll have with old houses, things not being level, etc. But it feels like a finished space now. 

Now, instead of stressing about trying to get it done, or being embarrassed by the exposed drywall that was our hallway, we can sit back and check another thing off our home renovation to-do list.

And it feels really good! 

Now, for a final Before & After picture:

The "Before" pictures are actually kind of mid-renovation - the top left shows Trent demoing the old walls, and the bottom left shows the bare studwalls and new hall closet that we built. Hard to believe we are finally finished, even if it is 5 years later!

One Year

I don't know where this month has gone, or where this entire year has gone, but today is our 1 year Anniversary! It's hard to believe that one year ago today we were walking down the aisle and saying "I do." I'm glad the weather was a little nicer last year than this one. It's cloudy and a little dreary today. We had perfect weather on our day, though it was a little hot. :)

This has been one of the best years ever, and we've made so many more memories in just a year. I know there will be so many more to come! 

Current Status: Painting White Things White

Hello all, and happy August! My hallway update is a little overdue - we've been working on it for over a week now, and we are actually making good progress.

We finished the floor. It's nice and shiny, and new-looking thanks to Trent's sanding work, and two coats of Poly. We couldn't walk on it for a while so we had to make a detour through the closet to get to the bedroom and bathroom.

Now, we can walk on the floor, but there is a huge white sheet over it. It's pretty much a construction zone now, as we are working on the walls, doors, trim and ceiling.

Here's a little before and after of the floor, sanded and then finished (the poly was still wet, but you get the idea!):

It's exciting to see things finally start to take shape. Especially after all of these years of working on this space! I looked back today at my previous posts, and we actually started ripping the hallway out back in 2011. That's five years ago! Talk about a long renovation! You can see my first post about the initial demolition of the hallway here.

Since we've gotten the floor finished, Trent has been working on more mudding touch-ups, and is now in the home stretch of the wall-sanding process.

I have been painting - Painting white things white.

Let me tell you, it is a blast. So far, I have painted 2 coats on the bathroom and bedroom doors, and one full coat on the trim around both doors. All of the doors and trim are pre-primed, so they are white to start. And I'm painting white semi-gloss on them. So, it's not a dramatic difference, but it is still a difference, in that they are much brighter and shinier when they're finished.

Here's my nearly completed bathroom door! It's not super exciting but again, it's progress, considering we installed these doors back in 2012, and we've lived with them unpainted for almost 4 years.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to paint the closet door white! Yippee!