it's time for the long awaited Park house update! We have been very busy working on various projects in-between our travels this summer, and we have managed to get quite a lot accomplished. So, for those who may not know we moved back in April of this year after purchasing my grandparents' home in Jackson MI. I have a lot of fond memories having grown up here and we have thoroughly enjoyed the process of making it our own. We have officially lived in the house now for 6 months, and that time has absolutely flown by!
You can take a look back at past projects like the garage doors, roof, many new floor coverings! And since my last update we have made some more progress! We spent some time cleaning out the basement and getting a few things stored away, in the process of doing that we realized that we very nearly had a fire in the basement! There was a gutter that contained a light fixture, and there had been an apparent leak from the pipes of the upstairs bathroom that we had already repaired, but we didn't relize the accumulation of water in the gutter fixture that eventually rusted and shorted out the light! Thankfully the breaker tripped and cut power to that area and prevented a much bigger issue! We had quite a spark show when we turned the breaker on the figure out what was going on. Needless to say, that issue has been properly removed and repaired. Crisis averted! Here are a few pics of what that looked like.
We also removed the drop ceiling in most of the basement so that we could get a better look at the wiring and plumbing. Lots of basement cleaning was done, and then we moved some furniture and other items to be temporarily stored until other spaces are ready for them. This was a long days project and because we have a rather pesky spiral staircase to the basement, we had to carry everything down the long way down the hill in the backyard and into the walk out entry. The staircase is slated for replacement as soon as next year!
Had a little oops this summer when the neighbors tree fell on our fence, Andy made quick work of the clean-up and repair and although not perfect it will do for now.
The front landscaping is coming along nicely, we have the plantings in and have started getting the underlayment, and stone down. Because Andrew is landscaper by trade this is taking a little longer because who wants to work all day to come home and work all night, it will be completed very soon!
We purchased a few new pieces of furniture including a loveseat and sofa for the living room, and a new dining table. Loving the way the furniture brings everything together. In addition, we added a couple of new area rugs to the living and dining room. The spaces feel great, very cozy and warm.
The den was painted, and new art is up! We decided to keep this room a little moody and went with all "stormy" art scenes. We also have all of the tv's installed now, there are a grand total of 3 screens in this room. I know it seems like a lot, but this is the bar area where Andrew likes to watch all of the sports... all at once... lol! All joking aside this is a great little entertainment space, ready to host our Michigan watch parties and more. We love how this has turned out! We also have the carpet replaced that sat in the bay window, the other was stained and the binding was coming loose so, Christoff's came through using our old one as a template. It looks great as well. We will be installing some new lighting in here soon, and then I can officially say this space will be 100% complete! Thank goodness!
Now that we have that project nearly done and several other projects underway, why not start a new one, LOL! Mid-August I took on the first of many wallpaper removals in the house. I worked for three days to get all of the paper out of the main floor bathroom. I started with this area for a couple of reasons, first and foremost the paper was peeling in a couple areas, especially at seams near the ceiling. I suspect it was struggling because this is a bathroom and our laundry room, and there is naturally just more moisture in this room. Secondly, I hated the way this floral paper competed with the grapevine paper in the kitchen area. If the door was open to the bathroom, then you could see both patterns and my Virgo heart could not take it anymore! We are slated to have this area painted in the next week or two, and then new art and fixtures can go up! I am excited to see how it comes out.
The stair saga. When we took on the flooring projects, we knew we would have a challenge when it came to this single stair step going from the dining room to the kitchen. We were pleasantly surprised to see the partially stained veneer to the left of it, but the patch, and repair of the step is really a task, and we forgot that we needed to use stainable wood filler the first time, so we got to repeat this repair! Ugh... I guess we will just keep swimming on this one and pray that it looks the way we want in the end.
The reindeer motif wallpaper has been removed from the sunroom, and we are pulling carpet and preparing to cut out and repair part of the concrete. Once repaired new flooring will go in here as well, and another room will be near completion. We will have a sitting area out here, as well as our home gym stuff like small barbells and the treadmill.
Mechanical update, we recently found a terminal issue with one of the furnaces in the house so we had the main furnace replaced recently, not what someone would think of as a major upgrade, but I tell you what, sometimes you don't realize how bad something is until its fixed, and wow what a difference! The airflow and air quality in the house is so much better! I am so glad that we replaced it, and we plan to replace the other furnace and air conditioner in the Spring next year!
Up next fireplace cleaning and inspection, bathroom paint, sunroom paint and flooring, mudroom paint, and cleaning out the rest of the garage! Still plenty to do, and we have a Halloween party to prep for, so lots to do before October 19th! I will share more updates soon and stay tuned for the low down on this year's Wild West Ghost Town Saloon Halloween Party (Check out Eli's costume!), we will post again soon! Thanks for following along!
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