The Great Artistic Endeavor

As you enter our home, there is a large two-story foyer, raised dining room and stairs leading to the second story landing where you will find two guest bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. 

Finishing the remodel of the foyer involved many of these areas because they are connected. We started from the floor up.

Replacing the flooring throughout the first floor.

Remodeling the dining room just off the foyer.

Remodeling the staircase and second floor landing.

Before we started removing the floor tiles, we removed all the mirrors in the house – there were two rooms with complete mirrored walls, the dining room and an exercise room off the kitchen that would become our office. The fireplace had a mirror that went up 20 feet and the bathrooms had mirrors covering walls above the sinks. We started in the dining room.

They managed to remove all the mirrors throughout the house without breaking any of them. 

After the mirrors were off the wall in the dining room, our dry wall company had to come in and remove the glue.  (Note the old light fixture in this photo.) The wall required a complete layer of new mud and texture. It was an unexpected job. One of those "unexpected consequences." LOL

Next the old floors came out.

Some of the floor tiles came up in big sheets.  It was an easy job to remove the tiles.

Removing the tiles was one of the messiest parts of the entire project but also one of the fastest.  The tiles were loose and came up very easily. They were done with the entire lower level of the house in under 4 hours.

We loved the new floors from the first moment they started laying the new tiles.

The new tiles were fabulous.

Next new LED lights were installed in the recess of the dining room ceiling.

We took down the old light and medallion.

And put up the new light.

After the cabinet bases were built across the back wall, we had the granite installed. It is a beautiful navy blue color. 

Finally the cabinets were finished by our custom cabinet maker, GM.

The iron-railing staircase took the longest to complete of any of the projects in the house, three full months. They were possibly the most complex project and definitely the most artistic. JP was our carpenter for the stairs. He is a true artist.

The original staircase reminded me of a deck rail, all wood. The stairs were covered in carpeting and there were plastic green plants on ledges everywhere.

I had bags and bags of green plastic plants.

The stairs were first removed and then built back one part at a time. It was quite a process.

After the old white posts and rails were removed, the holes were filled. Then our staircase carpenter, JP began work on the new hand rail. First it was glued, curved and cut into pieces. Then the treads were cut and placed. After all the wood was in place, it was stained and sealed. Finally after the wood was stained, JP came back and put all the iron in place and secured it. Whew!

I saved a small cross section of the railing so I could remember how complex the process was. I keep it on a shelf in the office.

JP's first step was to cut the layers of railing to correct lengths. He then glued the layers together and clamped them in place so they would dry with the exact curve of our staircase. It was a long and labor-intensive process.

Work was done one rail at a time.

I was very impressed with JP's clamping process.  It allowed him to match the curve angle of our stairs.  Each rail was a different angle and it took a long time for him to get it just right.

The clamps were actually visually interesting when they were in place. One day I took an entire series of photos of just the clamps.

When the rails were bent and in place, they were sanded - sanded and sanded again.

Our cabinet maker, GM did the staining of the rails, treads and the front door. They all match. Again, this was a multi layer process.

For several days, the entire foyer was sealed off with plastic.

Each tread and rail had 4 layers of stain and sealer.

After the staining was complete, JP started inserting the iron rails.

JP and I did a lot of "on site" design decisions. Here he is using his head and all of his fingers to hold rails so we can decide on the configuration of the final landing at the bottom of the staircase.

We tried several configurations before deciding on the design of the landing above the foyer.

The landing at the top of the stairs looks out over the living room as well as the foyer. The railing on the living room side was easy. JP might not say it was easy but compared to the other work, to me it looked easy. LOL

The curved iron post in our stair design is called "Nautilus."  I think it is ironic because I love the ocean so much. I  did not know that was the name of the design until JP told me.

The finished stairs are beautiful and very dramatic.

After the stairs were complete, it was time to have the light fixture changed. The original fixture was plastic made to look like crystal. We almost kept it as the style has made a comeback recently. In the end we decided to replace with some real crystal and we are very happy we did.

The light arrived in a large crate.

Once hung, it really is beautiful.

The foyer, dining room and staircase were some of the most difficult work in the entire house.  However the impact as you walk in the front door is exactly what we wanted. It really is stunning.

Dining room BEFORE

Dining room AFTER

Many people say they don't want a formal dining room. I realize the current trend is to only have one "eating" area however I personally love having a formal dining room. I just feel it makes those special dining opportunities more elegant and memorable. We do try to use our dining room often and it is very enjoyable. The wine coolers also come in handy.

Dining room cabinets along the wall also have wine cabinets on each end. 

The finished foyer is really wonderful. It is dramatic and still fun. The table in the center can change with the seasons giving me a place to be creative. The doors are the perfect size for pretty wreaths so the whole area is quite fun. Some of these photos were taken with Halloween decorations.

Foyer BEFORE

Foyer AFTER

The stairs are wonderful and we are very pleased with the effect.

The chandelier also shines!

Two of our rugs from the Middle East look really nice in the foyer.

At night the crystals in the foyer light twinkle.

So far everything was coming out the way we had hoped. And, to make it even better, we were still having fun!

Cheers,
Brenda

Making An Entrance

HI!

It has been a while since I wrote a blog about our home remodel. I hope you don't mind that I have come back to finish up the story.  Remember my blog has several purposes and documenting this big project is important to me.

If you do not want to receive these updates on our project, just let me know and I will take you off the blog list.

Life in our house has been very busy, but I FINALLY have a few minutes to complete the blog about the remodeling project.

Enjoy!
Brenda


Making An Entrance

I have always believed that the most important area of a home is the entrance. It sets the tone and tells your guests they are welcome.

The entrance to our new home in Florida had the potential to be very dramatic and after long discussions and much angst we decided to make some pretty big changes. New doors, new flooring, new light and the biggest change of all, new iron stair railings.

In this first blog about the entrance to our home I am only going to talk about the doors. The reason is that the stairs were so complex, they deserve an entire blog of their own. However the new doors are really nice and I don't want to overlook them.

Again, you need to realize that this blog has a dual purpose. ONE - to share with friends and family and TWO - to help me remember all the fun I was having doing this remodeling project, LOL.

The original doors were replaced with some that had more wood and were more dramatic. The final stain color matches the new hand rail on the staircase as well as the stair treads.

The old doors came out rather easily. 

Right before the old doors came out, this is how the porch looked.  Yes, that is a black toilet from our powder room.  

Doors and molding were stored in the garage.  We kept filling up and then emptying the garage with all kinds of building materials and supplies.

The doors came in a blonde tone. I was very anxious to get the dark stain on them.

Here they are installed prior to staining.

After staining.

Here we are putting on the new lock set.

I love the new entrance to our home and I am really going to enjoy changing out the flowers with the each season. WAIT - do the seasons change here in Florida?

BEFORE

AFTER

This is the fun part.

Cheers,

Brenda

Graduating Two Great Grandchildren

My parents are experiencing something not very many people are lucky enough to experience. They are witnessing the college graduation of two of their Great Grandchildren. Wow, how amazing.

I like to say I am also experiencing the graduation of two Grandchildren that are GREAT!

Mom and Dad are solid stock Midwest people. They live on a small acreage and still do all their own maintinance. They built their house. In fact, every nail in their house was put there by my dad, mom or a member of our family. One time I called home to talk to my mom (she was in her 70’s at the time) and she was on the roof helping my dad lay shingles. They are just “get it done” people.

The first graduation was for my grandson, BSJ.

BSJ attended the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree.

When BSJ was just a youngster I used to call him our first family geek. He always loved computers and constantly played strategy games. Every Christmas I search for a new game that will challenge him. He and Granddaughter MVL are nerds. This is actually a compliment. One time I took them to the grand opening of the Harry Potter experience at Disney World. Another time we shared the midnight opening of a new Harry Potter movie by texting together from a theatre in Virginia and a theatre in Florida AT MIDNIGHT.  Are we dedicated grandparents or what?

So how could we celebrate this milestone in a way that would show BSJ how proud we are of him? For daughter BHB’s college graduation I rented an entire beach house and the whole family came to celebrate. For BSJ’s graduation, I decided to do it again.

An added benefit was that my mom and dad love the beach, particularly mom. Over the years I have tried to invite mom to the beach where ever we happen to have a vacation condo. As you may know, I also love the beach.

We have some good summer memories of mom with her Great Grandchildren at the beach. I took a big envelope of photos of both grandkids to have out and enjoy during our celebrations. Some of these were from our beach trips.

Our beach house for BSJ’s celebration was right on Atlantic Beach just down the road from UNF. Mom and Dad flew out a few days early to spend the time with me, Hubby D, BSJ’s mom ASJ, as well as Granddaughter MVL who flew out just for graduation – she was still in the midst of finals.

It was a great time.

BSJ's mom was lucky and her seat was directly next to his row. She had a great view!

Granddaughter MVL, Mom, BSJ and Dad.

We are very proud of BSJ and it was wonderful to see him enjoying the moment with friends and family.

The graduation ceremonies started in the morning but BSJ's (Engineering and Computer Sciences) was at 4PM. After the ceremonies, we held a cookout on the patio overlooking the beach with friends and family. It was very special and a memory I will cherish.

Mom, me, my daughter and BSJ - Four Generations.

The next day after a long walk on the beach picking up a few more shells, we left the beach and drove to our home taking mom and dad along for a few more days of relaxation around the pool.

Mom and MVL for one last stroll down the beach. On this day, there were not very many shells.

The second graduation took place in Oklahoma where Granddaughter MVL attends the University of Oklahoma (OU).

MVL graduated with Special Distinction with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering degree. MVL was also chosen 2018 Engineer of the Year for Architectural Engineering and was asked by the Dean of the Engineering School to carry the banner into the graduation ceremonies for the Gallogy College of Engineering, School of Civil and Architectural Engineering.

Mom and dad live close to OU so we held the family gathering at their home out in the woods. It was great to have so many family gather to celebrate. Those that could not attend BSJ’s graduation in Jacksonville also joined us in Oklahoma so we celebrated his graduation one more time. Party, party, party – this is fun!

MVL’s mom and brother came to Oklahoma from Oregon for MVL’s graduation even though grandson MB had to give up attending the National finals for a competition he won for Alternative Energy. His team came in second in the State of Oregon and went on to finals in Chicago. His mom moaned that her two smart kids were competing against each other for the limelight.

The gold collar signifies she graduated with Special Distinction.

There are benefits and draw backs to having our celebration at my parent’s home. Remember, we just stayed with them 3 weeks ago when MVL received her special award.

I feel really guilty that they do so much work in preparation and again after we leave. I have tried to to hire help for them but they insist that they can do it and do not want help. I do all I can while I am there, but they just keep on working.

The biggest benefit of seeing Granddaughter MVL and her friends at my parents home is that it is in a more casual and relaxed setting. MVL brought several friends over each night and they also came to her party on Sunday.

One night we even had a bit of karaoke at the piano.

Graduation was on Saturday and because of the size of the graduating class at OU, it was staggered into several ceremonies. MVL’s ceremony was held at 7PM that night. There was no time after the ceremony to hold a party so we opted for an “open house” the next day. This just happened to be Mother’s Day as well.

We had 4 generations at our celebration AGAIN. This was just too cool.

My mom, me, daughter MB and the graduate, MVL.

Son BJB surprised the family and arrived in time for the party and Mother's Day (YEA!!!). Here he is with both of the graduates and his faithful dog, Blaze.

MVL is already into her graduate studies and we will be doing this celebration again next May when she receives her Master’s Degree.

The parties are over, Hubby D is flying to California for work and I am on my way back to our home in Florida. Whew, I am exhausted!

Because Hubby D will be gone all week, I don’t have to cook for several days. After the marathon family gatherings over the past 5 weeks (I cooked for the crowd with mom every meal) I AM SO EXCITED.  I can replace the worn nail polish on my fingers and maybe hit a few golf balls.

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. As I am posting this blog, we are into what I call our "Birthday season." Son BJB, daughter BHB and I all have birthdays within 10 days of each other. We traditionally have angel food cake and home made ice cream for our birthdays. I will need to go on a diet when I get finished with all the cake and ice cream this year, but it is yummy!

The orchid was a gift to me from BHB and I made the cake to take to her birthday celebration!