Problem II - Lighting

This was supposed to be a black, white, and khaki room - but that's not working either. During the day, instead of white, the walls look almost gray. I discovered why on a wonderful blog called "Colour Me Happy" - a light color (white or pastel) never works in a room without a lot of natural sunlight - you just get shadows. And every room needs lighting in at least three of the four corners.

So...I've got a couple things working against a white room. The room has only one window with a northern exposure and an overhanging roof so no natural light ever makes it way into the room. Because one side of the room is entirely taken up with bookcases, it's only possible to place lamps in two corners (and one of those lamps has a black shade).

The picture (fuzzy since I purposely did not use flash) above gives a general idea of how gray the walls look during the day. As you can see, it was taken when I was playing around with new wall and sofa colors.

Problem I - The Desk, Lamp and Curtains

My current desk is just too bulky. This means that when I have overnight guests the coffee table has to be moved to the hall so that the whole condo is disrupted. And since I bought a Mac, I don't need all the storage compartments to hide a PC tower, etc.

The desk also does not accomodate the printer, router, or cable modem which leads to the mess in the corner. Since I still need access to the mess, it rules out a proper end table with a table lamp. The floor lamp I bought for the spot is from Pottery Barn but I was too cheap when I bought it to spring for the lampshade designed for it. Consequently, I've bought several Target lampshades over the years that were never straight or too small.

The curtains were a stopgap measure and five years later they're still there. They were ready-made and "inexpensive." While I still think plain white is the best choice for the room, these are unlined so they just look limp and cheap.

My Den

Now that I'm retired and home during the day, my den is just driving me crazy!! There are so many things wrong and this room has to really function well because it's not only my den but also my guest room and it's just not working.

Done/Thrilled!

Everybody (glass, plumber, tile) finished today and I'm thrilled! Moyer Marble and Tile was great and so was Affordable Plumbing and Jacksonville Discount Glass (much cheaper than Lee & Cates too!).

I don't even mind my old stove!

I thought about changing the mirrors in the bathroom because they do look dated. But it's a dark area and not symmetrical so I decided to leave well enough alone.

Day 2

One minor problem on Day 2 - they didn't have enough bullnose tile to finish the backsplash so they'll have to have some overnighted. This won't delay the mirror guy or the plumber though. The grout has to cure but they told me it was okay to go ahead and schedule the plumber for Friday. How nice it will be to have a functioning kitchen!

I also played around with kitchen accessories a little bit today. Some of the redware I've been using clashes with the tile so I think I'll use brown transferware instead.

I love how everything looks so far!

Day 1

The tile guys - about six of them - arrived bright and early. Once the demo was done and the new substrate in, three of them left and the rest got to work. They didn't even break for lunch. The bathroom was pretty much finished except for the grout in one day. In the kitchen they were able to do everything except the windowsill. It seems to be going quickly.

Prep Work is Done

Sunday night Nephew Paul removed the medicine cabinets (and found three Bud Light cans in the wall behind one of them!) and the plumber came Monday to remove the faucets and kitchen sink. The glass guys came on Monday too - I could not believe it took one guy less than two minutes to remove both mirrors. The mirrors are now living in my dining room and the kitchen sink is on the porch.