My 70's House

Under Contract

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:54:00 +0000

My house is under contract! Tomorrow I'll see my handyman and real estate agent to go through repair items that came up in inspection report.

My House is Still On Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:53:00 +0000

Day #16 and counting... These are pictures from the other day when I had to go to a park with my dogs because an agent was showing my house. It was strange to be at the park during daytime when I should be working.

Beautiful neighborhood trail

Lili says "Can we do this everyday?"

Silly Jake. Standing on my lap.

My House is On Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:55:00 +0000

My 70's house is on the market. Today is only day #3 and someone has made an appointment to see the house this evening. Past two days, I watched people take brochures outside. I wanted to tell them "Thank you for your interest!" But I also was thinking "What are you doing? This is my house. Get out!" Very strange feeling. Hopeful, scared, excited, sad, and very jumpy.
I thought this is a good time to review how my house has changed over the 2 years. Enjoy BEFORE and AFTER pictures. And....please wish me luck for selling my house during this tough market.

Kitchen - BEFORE

Kitchen - AFTER

Work-In-Progress Pictures
A lot of hard work but it all worth it.

Prime. Prime. Paint. Paint.

Jake...What the heck are you doing?

Nightmare. I've cleaned, primed and painted cabinets all by myself.

Kitchen floor. No more vinyl.

Landscaping - BEFORE

Landscaping - AFTER

Dining Room - BEFORE

Nasty Carpet

70's lighting fixture

Dining Room - AFTER

Living Room - BEFORE

Living Room - AFTER

Kitchen Update: Painting Window

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:45:00 +0000

I spent yesterday and today painting my kitchen window. This was the first time I painted a window but it was not that difficult. It just took extra time to put painter's tape. I also had to be very careful around the window frame because I could end up a window painted shut. I first primed the window with Behr primer then I painted with white color (semi-gloss).

This is the window before.

So dark and depressing...

Bright and happy!

Removing Cheap Bathroom Lighting Fixture

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:03:00 +0000

I needed to replace the lighting fixture because I wanted to paint the bathroom. So I updated the bathroom lighting fixture this week. What I had before was this cheap industrial-like lighting fixture. I think I saw this at Lowe's around $10!

When I took it out, there was wallpaper under it. Interesting choice of wallpaper.

Then when I tired to take the wallpaper, there was a wallpaper under the wallpaper. The wallpaper was very shiny and loud.

Here are AFTER pictures.

Now I need to paint the bathroom. I'm not sure when I'm going to have time to do that.

Kitchen Update: New Countertop

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:13:00 +0000

I've got new granite countertop at Lowe's. It was about $2500 including installation and the cost of ripping out my old countertop. My handyman did all the plumbing work because Lowe's charges too much. I was without my kitchen for 3 weeks and was getting tired of washing forks and knives in the bathroom but it was worth it.

Before

After

New countertop & new sink

My Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Friday night. Painted trims in the entrance foyer.

Saturday & Sunday. Dug two shrubs out. There were the last ones. Hooray!

Thank You, Refrigerator

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:54:00 +0000

I've finally replaced my refrigerator. My old one came with the house and it looks like it is at least 20 years old. Maybe 30 years old. Is that possible? It is Sears's Coldspot model that was discontinued in 1976. Hmm.

I bought new one at Lowe's and took advantage of free delivery & haul away service. The delivery guy from Lowe's disassembled my old refrigerator and took it to outside. When he did that, he threw my old refrigerator door on the ground like it was a piece of garbage. I know it is just a garbage to him. But I was sad to see that. My old refrigerator has been good to me and kept my drinks cold.

Because I was so used to my old one, when new one came, it wowed me. It's so spacious inside and all the shelves are solid. I don't have to worry about shelves falling down when I put something heavy. Wow.

Old one.

New one

It's spacious inside.

Removing 70's Wallpaper: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:04:00 +0000

After spending two weeks on the wallpaper removal project, I was left with the damaged wall (pictured below).

I was thinking I might have to hire someone to put a heavy wallpaper. The estimated cost for hiring someone to do that was $300. Ouch. But my handyman told me that I need to sand the wall and prime it. He said he would fix damaged areas after I prime the wall. I hate sanding but I had no choice.

Sanding prep. It's going to get really messy!

Sanding prep.

Before sanding. Already very unhappy about the task ahead.

The wall after sanding & priming. It looks so much better.

My handyman & his wife suggested that I could do textured painting and avoid wallpaper. Brilliant. I searched online and saw "faux painting". There are different kinds of faux painting. Sponging, ragging, colorwashing, frottage, dragging, etc etc. I went to the home depot and a nice painting guy there said sponge painting is definitely easier. I thought I liked the look of frottage but I didn't want to mess it up so I decided to go with sponging.

This is the after the first coat of sponging. The painting definitely hide the damage of the wall. And the wall looks "interesting" but not so great. The wall somehow made me think of virus in a petri dish.

So I went for the second coat of sponging. It looks better. kind of.

After.

By the way I can't really recommend sponge painting. It takes forever. I was sponge painting until 2AM. Great way to spend my Friday night.

Removing 70's Wallpaper

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:38:00 +0000

This project was pure nightmare. I finally decided that I had to do something with the ugly wallpaper in my entry foyer. Foyer was covered with this weird grasscloth type wallpaper. It might work if the wallpaper wasn't damaged and the house is Japanese style. But my wallpaper was damaged badly in some places and there is nothing Japanese about my house.

I thought I'd just remove it and paint the wall. Well, nothing is ever easy in my 70's house. First, I had to remove grass-looking thingy. It was so hard to remove when it was dry. But when I sprayed with water, it came off easily. I wish I'd done that from the beginning.

Then here comes the difficult part. How do I remove the paper under the grass-cloth thing? The answer is "I don't know" because the wallpaper wouldn't come off! First, I tired Diff in a blue bottle. Then tried Diff in a red bottle. The used Paper Tiger & Diff. Nope. Dishwasher soap and hot water. Nope. Vineger and hot water. Nope. Nothing works. When I tried to remove the wallpaper, I kept ripping the sheetrock paper and damaging the wall.

Hello and welcome to the wallpaper hell

When I searched on the internet, someone said covering the wallpaper with plastic sheet helps removing old wallpaper. So I sprayed Diff and covered area with a garbage bag. I also tried food wrap. Okay, maybe little better. But it didn't really make big difference and certainly not worth the trouble of covering the wall with plastic sheet.

I even discovered the older wallpaper under the wallpaper I was removing. Yay, freakin' yay.
I worked on removing wallpaper every day after work for 2 weeks. In my opinion, dishwasher soap and Diff didn't make any difference. Actually, because Diff is more expensive and dishwasher soap smells better, I prefer dishwasher soap. I

f you are fighting with stubborn wallpaper like this one, I recommend spray wallpaper with dishwasher & hot tap water mix. Wait 10-15 minutes. Come back before it dries out and spray the mix again. Wait about 10 minutes and then remove wallpaper while wallpaper is still wet.

To be continued...

Updating the Dining Lighting Fixture: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:47:00 +0000

I was pretty happy about the new lighting fixture until my handyman pointed out that i needed to cut the extra chains on the top. That means I have to take the lighting fixture out then cut the chains, cords, and put the light back. Actually it wasn't that bad because I could use the daylight. I'm very happy about the outcome. Here are before & after pictures.

Before

After

Changing Lil Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:01:00 +0000

I'm happy to report that I finally changed the nasty-looking door knob for bathroom closet today.

Before

After

Updating the Dining Lighting Fixture

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:27:00 +0000

I've finally installed new lighting fixture in my dining room. 70's lighting fixtures in my house is disappearing one by one. I installed this after work because I didn't feel like I wanted to wait until weekend. I had to cut out circuit breaker and my flash light didn't work, I installed this in a dark. I had to use only candle I have which is Christmas candle my colleague gave me. I also used the light from my laptop and cellphone to see which one is black and which one is white wire because they look all the same in a dark. I'm pretty proud that I completed the job by myself without burning down the place.

Before: Is it UFO? No, it's my lighting fixture!

Before: Thank you Jared & Betsy! Your gift card came handy.

Before

After

After

Landscaping: Killing Bush

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:41:00 +0000

I've been busy killing shrubs/bushes by my front windows. I think they are too big and overpowering for my house. I want to replace them with smaller ones. I felt bad for killing healthy shrubs but sorry, guys, you are UGLY! My back really hurts but I won the battle today.

Before
Work in progress

Kill kill kill... You are Next!

Goneski. Doneski.

After

Painting Dining Room

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:54:00 +0000

I'm still alive. And my blog is still alive! I've painted my dining room yesterday. I only painted bottom half so it was not difficult. But it wasn't easy because Jake stepped on the paint and walked around the room with dirty paws. Here are before and after pictures.

Before

After

Before

After

My Light Post is Good for Something

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:29:00 +0000

My light post is powered by gas instead of electricity (my handy-man told me this), and I have no idea how to turn it on. So I used it to hang my flowers.

There is a Bulb for Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:02:00 +0000

One of my blog readers pointed out that I should use a clear bulb for my outside lighting for front door. I've never thought about how a bulb would make a difference. I went to HT to get a new clear bulb. When I was shopping, I realized, for the first time, each bulb has a recommended use on the label. Some bulbs are suited for table lamps and some are suited for ceiling fans etc. I had no idea... So here is the before and after pictures for the outside lighting. What a difference.

Before

After

How I Killed My Grass with Weed & Feed

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:50:00 +0000

I bought Sta-Green Weed & Feed from Lowe's because my lawn was not looking very healthy due to the dry weather. On the back of the bag, the instruction said not to use the product if the temperature is over 90 degrees. However, it did not say the reasons why.

Since I'm busy with school, work, and other things in my life, I have to do the yard work whenever I can. That weekend, the temperature was over 90 degrees but I've ignored the instruction and used the product. You can see the result in the pictures.

You can see where I walked to spread the Weed & Feed. My friend and the jury-rig master, Jared, said I've "burnt" my grass and I should wash the area out with water.

We had few rain storms since then and I was hoping that would do the job. Well, that didn't really work. It's been few weeks and my lawn is still looking the same. Oh, well. Maybe I should draw a picture of a dog next time.

Gardening Tips: Hide Unsightly Structures with Clematis

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sun, 27 May 2007 21:55:00 +0000

At least that was the idea. I've seen my neighbor's mailbox garden and saw that she was hiding the ugly mailbox pole with Clematis. I went to Lowe's today and got Clematis to copy the technique. Because I didn't buy enough of them, it looked pretty pitiful when I planted it. I don't know why I keep repeating the same mistake. It's important to buy plants in bulk! Here is the picture. Notice how the plant is accenting the black pole rather than hiding it....

New Wall Light

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Sat, 26 May 2007 23:46:00 +0000

I've finally replaced that ugly^10 wall light. New one was about $40 at Lowe's. Here are the pictures. After I installed it I realized that the wall light was too long and it was almost covering the wall plate. Oh well.

New One

Old One

Landscaping Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 11 May 2007 02:06:00 +0000

My friend, RP, helped me with cutting unwanted branches and bushes. He chop-chopped my trees like a super-hero but I was left with this mess:

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with the left-over. I was trying to cut them into small pieces but it would take forever. At least, Jake has new place to pee on.

Lili & Jake Kickin it

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:52:00 +0000

Home Unimprovement

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Wed, 02 May 2007 02:25:00 +0000

Because of school and work, I've been struggling to take care of myself and doggies let alone my house...

New Front Door, Great Curb Appeal

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:39:00 +0000

My new front door is in. It is a nice oak door. I've read horror stories about bad installation & leaky door so I asked my handyman to do installation. All I did was to stain and put semi-gross finish on the door.

I thought this new door would bring more contemporary look to the house. However, it ended up giving the house more traditional/serious/middled-aged man look. I still love the new door though. This door update costed me about $2000 for everything (I had no idea door knobs are so expensive! The cost of door knob was about $100). Here are the before & after pictures.

BEFORE - Outside

AFTER - Outside

BEFORE - Inside

AFTER - Inside

After. ( I need some landscaping next...)

Mailbox Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Miki) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:06:00 +0000

I planted new flowers by my mailbox because I didn't like what I did two weeks ago with it. Here is the after picture.

I've tried to make it look interesting by planting the contrasting colors (yellow and purple).

I've also planted the taller purple flowers in the back and lower pink flowers in the front to create depth (is this the right word? I don't know).

I could've gone crazy like this mailbox garden but I have papers to write and I don't want to scare my neighbor. They don't know that I am crazy yet.