One of the features that caught my eye when we were looking at buying this house was the stairs in the entry way:

It reminded me of the stairs in the movie Titanic (of course, no where near the scale and grandness of the luxury liner).  The central staircase dividing off in two directions had me at hello (in case you’re wondering, the stairs to the right go to the master suite, the stairs on the left head down the hallway, past the bedroom-turned library, the two spare bedrooms and on to the game room).

One day this week, I was wasting time working hard on the Internet and I came across some pretty cool stairs. How would you like to walk up and down these?

Or these?

Or these?

I think all three stairs are sooo to cool look at, but I imagine I would fall down them pretty quickly!  One way to remedy falling down?  Include a slide!

I think these would work great doubling as a work out tool.  Imagine running up those steps again and again so you can slide back down them.  Fun!  And talking of combining stairs with recreation, I am in L.O.V.E. with these bookcase stairs:

I am seriously tempted to do something like this with the stairs leading to our attic (which will *eventually* be turned into a bedroom suite). Don’t have an attic?  How about these cool stairs leading to a basement.  Think of the storage capabilities!

So, there you have it.  Some stairway design inspiration. Drool at will.

(Sources: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6)

About this time last year, I blogged about Rick using the riding lawnmower we got for free off Craigslist. It was an older model and needed some TLC, but hey, you couldn’t beat the price (I’m talking about the lawnmower here folks, not Rick). 

It almost got us through the summer. By the end of the season, Rick was spending more time fixing the machine than riding it.  And for a couple of weekends, he mowed our 1 acre of lawn using a standard push mower.  Uphill. In 90 degree weather.  Not so much fun.  Rick became someone who used to like lawn tractors.  In fact, you could say he was an ex-tractor fan.  Badummmshhkk.

This year, we thought it would be wise to invest in an updated model.  Here’s Rick riding his new girlfriend (keep your minds out of the gutter people):

Want the deets? It’s a Husqvarna 23-HP twin cylinder Briggs and Stratton engine.  The three 48″ blades make short work of cutting the grass – this one is recommended for areas up to 2 acres (any bigger than that and you need to get a professional model). It has hydrostatic transmission, cruise control, a plush adjustable high-backed seat (a must-have for tall guys like Rick) .. and a cup holder.  You know, in case you’re in need of a beverage whilst mowing.

So far, the mower has been great.  It takes Rick a fraction of the time to mow the lawn than it did last year.  Rick seems happy about the new addition to our family:

Maybe the only way he might be happier is if he can train Beegee, our basset hound to mow the lawn for him!

Beegee on lawn mower 

Can you tell the time at all? Yep, cos you’re a huge mirrored clock I found for a bargain at HomeGoods!

Right now, its sitting above the fireplace mantel in the left-side living room (ignore the mudded sheetrock that needs to be painted and the outdated brass ceiling fan peeps). 

I think the scale is perfect – the clock looked really huge in the box, but put above the fireplace, it fits the space well. I am tempted with the idea of moving it to the dining room though.  I think the shiny feel would go well against the charcoal grey walls and bring a bit more drama to the room. Check out this gorgeous mirrored clock and see how it is complimented by the grey background (image source: Red Candy)

I haven’t decided yet, but for now, it will stay in the left-side living room.  I’m going to have to come up with better names for the two front rooms. Parlor?  Too Victorian-esque.  Lounge? Too Vegas piano bar.  Drawing room? We don’t … draw. Maybe we should just name the room after its main function.  The BDSM room?  Just kidding.  Anyhoo, I digress…

Getting back to scale and dimension, we have our TV sitting above the fireplace in the right-side living room (I think we can safely call this the TV room).  Our 32″ flat screen is looking very sad and small in relation to the space.  Rick is using this rationale to reason that we have to NEED to upgrade our TV to at least a 52″.

I’d love to upgrade to a larger TV, but I don’t think we NEED one right now.  All in good time, my dear husband, all in good time.

your fridge contains more paint brushes and rollers than food!

Did you know that you can store brushes and rollers in the fridge between paintings?  It saves wasting all that paint rinsing them out.  Wrapping them in cellophane or putting them in a sandwich bag keeps the brush moist (the fridge keeps bacteria and other nasties from building up).  When you’re ready to paint again, just whip out the brush from the fridge and you’re set to go.  Another quick tip – use a permanent marker to make a note on the brush the type of paint that was used.  Colored paints are obvious, but when you have a bunch of white brushes/rollers, it is difficult to remember later on if you were using gloss, ceiling paint, primer, etc.

Back at the turn of twenty-ten, I set out our  renovation goals for the coming year.  Three months later, let’s take a look at how we’re progressing.  We have seven spaces on the to-do list this year: foyer, downstairs bathroom, dining room, office, garage, yard and library.  Some projects are smaller whilst others are more time (and budget) consuming. Let’s break it down one by one.

Goal 1: Foyer

• Finish drywall on headers – put up sheetrock, then mud, sand, dust, mud, sand, dust [ad infinitum]
• Prime and paint drywall
• Paint other walls 2^nd coat
• Install narrow shelving units in wall cavity

Progress: PARTIAL

We have started putting up sheetrock and mudding in some areas, like the header in the left-side living room.  We’ve still got to finish putting up the sheetrock on the right-side header, then mud+sand til our hearts’ discontent.

When we removed the the foyer walls and replaced them with headers to open up the space, we were left with two small partial walls either side of the entryway.  These are helpful in visually delineating the two living spaces without taking up too much room.  But we’re going to be adding more functionality to these puppies in the form of shelving.  In each cavity, we’re installing tall, narrow bookshelves for a built-in cabinetry look.  The shelves are built and have been placed in the space:

Now we have to sheetrock them in, then eventually trim around the outside for the custom built-in look. Once all the sheetrock has been mudded and sanded, we can prime and paint … well, everything. 

Goal 2: Downstairs bathroom

• Finish grouting, molding and decorating

Progress: COMPLETE!

Another one down (ok, the first one down), the first one bites the dust! Sing it, Freddie!  Tiling, grouting and molding have all been finished.  The decor has been … well … decorated.  This transformation is so jaw dropping that it needs a separate post.  Ok, maybe its more like I took way too many pictures to post here. So, watch this space, the big reveal is coming soon! But for now, here is a teaser photo…

Goal 3: Dining room

• Install trim boxes and chair rail
• Paint walls 2^nd coat, paint ceiling

Progress: PARTIAL

Twenty three boxes have been measured, cut and nailed to the wall. That’s 167 feet of trim, and approximately 980 brads nailed in and filled with putty.

Next up?  We’ll caulk around the boxes and paint the trim to make them seamlessly blend in with the wall.  We’ll paint another coat of the charcoal grey on the upper walls and then finally remove all the painter’s tape (as long as it has been up, it feels like a design feature).  The last step will be to put up the chair rail running around the room.  Add a few finishing touches (artwork, decorative knick-knacks … oh yeah, floors and replacement windows) and this room will be finished!

Goal 4: Office

• Finish painting walls
• Get  new office furniture to make office space more efficient (and less ugly)
• Move living room furniture to front living spaces

Progress: ALMOST COMPLETE!

This room has had a total makeover.  The walls have been painted (thanks Alyssa!), gone is the makeshift desk, the book cases have been replaced, and all the junk necessary office items seen in the picture above have been organized and housed in more efficient and appealing furniture.  The big reveal is coming soon, but for now here’s a teaser pic…

Goal 5: Garage

• Replace door, rails and opener on remaining two garage doors
• Tidy up and organize garage

Progress: NOT STARTED

This is one of two projects we haven’t made a start on yet.  With all the renovation projects going on in the house, the garage serves mainly as our storage space/work area and unfortunately will probably be one the last spaces to receive attention.

Goal 6: Yard

• Clear brush from back section
• Fence in rest of yard

Progress: PARTIAL

Rick has made some progress clearing out that dense brush area at the back of the yard.  He has cut down several small trees and piled the wood into neat piles:

We still need to work on clearing some of the bigger trees before we can clear out the smaller greenery and brush.  But we’re getting there!

Goal 7: Bedroom-turned-library

• Finish header – install last supports, remove studs
• Finish drywall – put up sheetrock, then mud, sand, dust, mud, sand, dust [ad infinitum]
• Prime and paint drywall
• Paint other walls 2^nd coat
• Remove existing railing – replace with new wrought iron railing

Progress: NOT STARTED

This is the second project that we are yet to start working on. We really need to finish the sheetrocking of the foyer walls below before we can install the new railing.  With our pack of dogs running around, we need to have some kind of partial boundary in place (whether it is the current stud wall or the new railing) to prevent them from going ker-splat over the edge.  So, for now, this project is on the back burner whilst we finish downstairs.

All in all, I think we are making good progress with our renovation goals for 2010.  Two projects are complete – the bathroom and office reveals will be posted soon.  Three projects are in the works – the foyer, dining room and yard will hopefully be finished shortly.  Only two out of the original seven projects are yet to be started, which I think is normal given that our priorities are elsewhere in the house for now.  How are you coming along with your resolutions?  Are you making good progress or have the goals bit the dust?