Feathering Ye Ole Nest

[CuttingEdge]

Katie and I figured, since we can no longer add to the nest, and with four daughters already (6, 13, 14 and 15) we minds well feather ye olde nest instead.

The biggest issue was our master bedroom, it was completely utilitarian, and while functional...very boring too. So I made a new closet for me (4x 9 ft), keeping her closet entirely for her and her shoes (12 x 8 ft). Then we removed a exterior door, and two windows. Behind one, I built a new headboard, then built (2) matching bedside tables, all in barn-wood. Then Katie added some new lamps, and lights over the bed for reading. Finally we added a new 6 foot patio door where a former window was. So I think that greatly improved our bedroom. If nothing else, our cat likes the bedroom more now!

That took me 8 days to do, and cost about $1550 with the door, lamps, etc.

Then I turned my attention to the main bathroom.

We only have 2 bathrooms here, so we decided to rip out a single sink and vanity, and I built a new double vanity instead. Our house is a timber frame, so we like the rustic look, so I built a vanity to match, then ripped out the drywall and put in shiplapped boards instead. Redid the drains so that I had two instead of one, then added old fashioned gate valve faucets. So now (2) teenaged daughters can use the bathroom at once.

That took 4 days, and cost $850...

You guys can be the judge on whether it was worth it or not, and if you like the home improvements.

[townlineterry]

I like it.

[gaspumpsam]

Very nice!!

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Me likey!

Stan

[dtoots1]

Beautiful and just exactly what is needed. i cannot see paying thousands to someone else when whatever a person has available to work with will do the job and last a lifetime and longer as well as being beautiful. Good Job!

[CuttingEdge]

Beautiful and just exactly what is needed. i cannot see paying thousands to someone else when whatever a person has available to work with will do the job and last a lifetime and longer as well as being beautiful. Good Job!

Thanks...

One thing you might notice, or at least now that I mention it, is the baseboard. I use a lot of wood that comes off the farm here so that means I am limited on wood types. For instance, we have very little oak here, but have plenty of white pine, so I use what I have. It is a lot of extra work because there is felling, limbing, bucking, twitching, sawing into lumber on the sawmill, planning and cutting the boards to length...just to get boards that I could get from a lumber yard. But of course it is cheap.

So...since I have to use wood types that I have growing here, I decided to keep my home from looking like a spec house, I would spend time doing things. Well the baseboard "flows" around the rooms, sweeping up in curves and cut-outs. Our bedroom has shamrock cut outs in the corners, while my daughter's room has hearts. Another room (a spare room at the time...to which I hoped I would have a boy), I put in tractor cut-outs. But there are also peacock feather cutouts on the doorways and stuff too. So that is how I made my house unique. You can see some of that in the pictures.

[CuttingEdge]

Regarding pictures...you might notice the picture over the headboard. That is actually of Katie and I.

We dressed up like the 1940's one day, and went to the local railroad station that has been used in a lot of films because it still looks like the 1940's. Using a cheap camera believe it or not, on a tripod, and using the self-timer, we managed to get a lot of pictures, but this one really came out well.

Like if you look at the buildings rim just above the bike on the right side, you will note the photo is perfectly plumb and level. But by coincidence, Katie is holding the umbrella exactly at a 45 degree to the wainscoting on the wall behind her too. Everything came out really well.

By the way, Katie's clothing all came from Goodwill (a thrift store).