The Takedown

It was feeling pretty gloomy today so I decided to take down the bars and tacky faux stained glass keeping the light out of the building. 

 

I'm pretty sure this glass hasn't been cleaned in the past decade. All it took was a razor blade, Windex, and some serious elbow grease.

The exterior of the doors need some serious lovin' and there is a pane of glass that needs to be replaced, but this will do for the today.

Hello sunshine. 

Windows, All of Them

We've got some classy windows in this here house. 

BOOM! Feast your eyes on these pretties. They have custom moving blanket insulation to keep the outside from blowing in. They don't close, because they are windows, they bring the outside in and how can they do their job if they were closed, duh. How about those fierce shades we have on the left window. I'm just bummed they are a one of a kind and not on all the windows. I particularly like the door to the right with the trash bag and tape transom. And who could deny the added security of a padlocked gate over a first rate plywood slab bolted into the opening. Who else has such a one of a kind beauty? No one, I tell you! But alas, it is time to bid these beauties a fond adieu and pricing them out has given me a mild aneurysm. 

While I bid out the project to a few other window installers I'll be pondering prettier and less costly projects. I know that paint comes at the end of the renovation, but thinking about that part of the project is calming rather than frustrating. 

Here's what I have so far:

Kitchen tile with Restoration Hardware Right White on cabinetry. Restoration Hardware Silver Sage for kitchen, living and dining room. 

Restoration Hardware Glacier on top or Pale Silver on bottom for bathrooms. 

Restoration Hardware Bay Laurel on top orSea Green for master bedroom. Wood trim as shown.  

I've decided on the hall color, vestibule color, and the second bedroom will most likely be which ever green doesn't get painted in the master bedroom. The second floor unit will be painted in some neutral tried and true paint colors that I've used several times before.

But for now, I'm getting back on track and working on bidding out our window project.

Snow Day

Cancelled! All of the appointments for the house I had set up for today got snowed out. So I moved onto a project I can do from inside, mostly.

Our house is part of a National Historic District. That qualifies us for a tax credit on all work done to the building itself and on our unit, as an owner occupied unit. It has been a lot of reading and paperwork to wade through but I completed Part 1 of 3 for the New York State Office of Parks Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit. It did necessitate trudging into the back yard to get a photo of the property from the rear. It isn't the prettiest of angles; most ladies don't particularly enjoy having a photo taken of their back side.

She's got a long way to go but with the help of the tax credit, we can hopefully get her looking like she did when she was a taut teenager. I'll be working on Part 2 this evening, along with a heavy dose of "Star Trek: Voyager". There may not be enough coffee ...