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Dear friends, family, and specially Bill who’s working on an exciting project in Spain at this time (we miss you Billy!),
Here’s a report about how things are going regarding our Maple Tree farmhouse remodeling. Long story short: we’re right on schedule and super happy with how things are coming out. We should be moving there on March 1st, 2015.
But let’s rewind the cassette a little bit (I used to be an expert at rewinding cassettes with a pen/pencil, a hundred years ago). OK, the remodeling of the house consists on adding a room that will be a provisional studio for me (and a guest room), until we build a larger studio/guest house outdoors. Besides adding that room, which is being done by professionals, I decided to take on the colossal task of painting the kitchen cabinets all by myself. But more about that later.
What you see in these pictures is a view of the provisional studio from the outside, on the second floor. The windows are not installed yet, but they are placed strategically to enjoy the beautiful views that surround the house. Lucky my eyes! They’re going to spend lots of time enjoying those views.
Here’s another view from far away. See all those foot marks on the snow? They are Natalie’s, Diego’s and mine. Behind that big bed of snow there is a big bed of grass taking a long nap until the end of Winter. Isn’t that wonderful? How plants can go to sleep for months and then wake up as if nothing happened? Bears do the same thing, with the only difference that they wake up very hungry. Run for your life!!
Below you see the kids’ playground, which they use every time we come here, regardless of the cold. But let’s go inside since it’s getting too cold out here.
So, when you go upstairs to the second floor, there is a door on the right side of the staircase that takes you to the new room/studio. Before that room was built, there was nothing in there, nada, only air. So if you tried to go outside from there you would’ve experienced a free fall into the bushes. But now you can just open a door and find yourself inside a room. Very nice.
Below is a closeup of the door that takes you to the new room. See the little sign on the edge of the door that reads HUGHTBD ? Well, that’s a secret code… not really. The first 4 letters stand for Hugh, the name of our contractor, but the other 3 letters I don’t know what they mean. I’ve been trying to decode them with no success so far. But I imagine that the man who built the doors placed the sign there to keep track of what door was Hugh’s. Hugh’s door is this? Hugh’s! 🙂
Here we are inside the room. Do you like the decor? Well, no decor yet, but almost. This photo gives you an idea of what this room is all about. Basically a rectangle with some windows. Very easy.
Another view. The lights haven’t been installed yet. Besides the ceiling lights, we bought a fan/lamp to hang from the center beam. You will see it installed in the future. I can’t wait!
Another view.
And another view. Oh! The wood floor is already installed but it’s covered now for protection.
Below you see the walk-in closet where I will place art supplies plus clothes and other items such as myself, just for personal enjoyment. It is a quiet and relaxing area. Also perfect for playing hide-and-seek with the kids.
Another photo.
And another one.
So heeeere is the kitchen. Let’s stop here for a second. What you see below is a semi-chaotic room that I love so much! You see big pieces of rag covering the floor (some of it) for protection, different materials such as paint, sand paper… AND kitchen cabinets painted in blue-gray color. Yay!
I spent maaany looong hours re-doing our kitchen cabinets, from point A (sanding, sanding and more sanding), to point B (painting, painting, painting). Before I started working on it, I gave myself the task of becoming an expert at painting kitchen cabinets. So I read tons of tutorials from the most professional websites that I could find. The first thing that I learned was that every expert has a different opinion about how this should be done. But they all agree on some things: first, you need to remove all the hardware, then you must spend lots of time sanding, then priming, then sanding, then painting, then sanding, and then painting again. I did all of that over a period of about 8 weeks or more because I wanted to do it right.
The most important thing that I learned from this experience:
* Have you seen those TV shows where they transform your kitchen (including painting the cabinets) in 5 minutes or less? Well, more like in a day or 2. Doing the job right takes a looot more time than that. As everything else, for good results you need time, energy, focus, and care. I put all those ingredients into my kitchen and I’m loving the results, which will be more visible when the place is totally finished. I can’t wait to get there! It’s all a matter of cleaning now.
None of the things that you see there are in their final places, except the dirty rag on the floor. I’m kidding! I have just been bringing some things in so I don’t have to bring them all at once later.
That blue-gray color is so beautiful in person! I have to get you the official name of that color when I go back there. It is by Sherwin-Williams. The previous color was beautiful (green) but too dark. This one makes the kitchen look so much brighter.
OK, this is all I have for today. But I will be back with more in a year or two. I’m kidding! It’s a matter of weeks now before we move into the new house. I’m so excited! I’m loving our new life in Upstate NY. Each of us is happy and looking forward to the future.
Sending my love!
Elsita
hugh to be determined? Maybe they were not sure about the door?……:)…
Wow, Elsa, I ThOuGHT about refinishing my cabinets, and after researching like you , realized I was not up to the job!…li am amazed!…beautiful color!
Hi Kerin!
Hugh to be determined. I think that you decoded the code 🙂
Yes, refinishing the cabinets is a big job. The hardest thing was the amount of dust the sanding generates. I’m glad that I did it before we moved in. But I found out that if your cabinets are in very good shape, you can skip the sanding and instead apply a coat of shellac BIN primer. http://www.amazon.com/Shellac-Primer-Sealer-Killer-00904/dp/B00113UKQY That shellac seals everything and it works on any surface, not only wood. My cabinets had lots of wood knots that looked terrible (they normally bleed through paint and create ugly stains) but the shellac became a strong barrier. After I applied 2 coats of the final paint on the shellac primer, the ugly wood knot stains disappeared completely.
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
i loved this! My husband and I are in the midst of building a metal barn home…by ourselves! It’s so fun to record the progress. Enjoyed all your photos. And please come back and tell us the color of the cabinets. They are beautiful.
Wow Rae! Building a metal barn home is a huge project. I know someone in this area who built a barn by himself, out of wood. He saved tons of money and now he’s super proud of his creation. It must be a very rewarding experience. That’s how things used to be in the past, people used built everything with their own hands. That was also the case in the place where I grew up in Cuba. While working on my kitchen cabinets I thought a lot about that.
Wishing you and your husband a positive building experience!
E 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
Because you have painted your own cabinets this has given me courage to do mine. They are original to my 1962 home and were built on site at the time. No fancy brand but lots of wear and tear. At the time they were made they were painted a similar green of your kitchen. The next owner painted them a creamy light yellow, which is nice but is looking shabby. I wonder if I can put a primer on and skip the sanding? Research and advice will be needed.
Hi, Lyn! You can definitely commit to this type of project. It’s all about being very patient so you can enjoy the process. Your cabinets don’t seem to have too many coats of paint on them. That’s good! They seem to be a great candidate for skipping sanding. I have talked with 2 experienced professional painters so far and they both say that BIN, a shellac-based primer ( http://www.amazon.com/Shellac-Primer-Sealer-Killer-00904/dp/B00113UKQY ), is ideal to use whenever you’re working with cabinets that are in great shape.
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
to be delivered? I think to such a beautiful future home! I so enjoy your posts. best of luck and cheers, lucia
Thanks, Lucia! To be delivered makes a lot of sense. They delivered the doors to our house for Hugh.
Cheers!
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
Yes, I would go with To Be Determined, (or Decided, same difference, as we used to say when I was a kid!) The house is going to be wonderful – it had a beautiful soul to begin with.
Thanks, Amy! I saw Hugh this morning and I totally forgot to ask him the meaning of the code. I was too excited seeing the things that they’re working on now. They’re installing the windows and lights. That room is looking great!
Out of the tons of houses that we saw, all in different sizes, colors, and locations, this was THE ONE from the moment we saw it. There is something really special about it.
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
Your new house is going to be beautiful and a great place to make art!
Thanks, Ellen! I can’t wait to start making art in our new house. I have a lot to do there, specially for a big show that will take place in 2016. I’m so excited!
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
Hi Elsa! You haven’t even moved in yet and I can feel the LOVE! Your new room is going to be awesome and a haven for creativity. The kitchen looks great. I love the sink (even though it was not mentioned in your blog…I imagine your paintings all up and down the curvy legs).
As always, you inspire me and make me smile. I can’t wait for those summer classes!
P.S. I made a necklace like you taught me. It is fuschia. The children at school loved it. Now I have to wait until warm weather to wear it so it doesn’t get crushed by winter…
Hi Donna! I’m so happy to hear from you!
One day you will see the house in person during one of my summer classes 🙂
The sink in the kitchen is one of my favorite things. It’s very old but like new, in very good shape.
Congratulations on the necklace! Did you see how easy it was to make it?
Sending my love!
E 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..Our Maple Tree Farmhouse. Work in Progress.
Hi Elsita
Love hearing about the progress on your new home…very exciting for you. And so happy that you are enjoying New York and the snow…big change from LA
Right now it seems so far away but progress is being made. How lovely everything will be and spring will be right around the corner, too. Life will begin anew!
Just beautiful! Miss you and the family!
Oh, your kitchen is lovely! As is the whole house. You really can feel the love.
Hello Elsa, I love the new color of your cabinets…you were right about the original color, too dark. I am using a similar color on the cabinets of our new home, too, but it’s a very light pale blue. (I have utter sink envy, too! Not to mention the stove.) Welcome to our part of the country! I live in Rosendale, NY, not far away from your new home at all. I bet your kids are loving the snow after this blizzard! And congratulations on the remodel of your home–it’s looking really great! 🙂
This Maple tree farmhouse is looking great to me. Huge space inside and I’m looking forward to see how it’ll look after the work finish. Can you post update images of this farmhouse?
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