What's taking so long???

As many of you know, I started this year with a huge redecorating project. The total plan includes the living room kitchen area, the dinning room and the master bedroom/bathroom. The first project is by far the biggest. The living room kitchen area. It’s the biggest space wise and it includes the most projects.

The project list:
Paint entertainment unit
Paint bookshelves
Strip and re-stain fireplace mantle
Removes dental molding from fireplace
Paint all baseboards and molding in both rooms
Prep all walls for paining
Paint focal wall
Paint recessed wall in living room
Paint all remaining walls
(Yep, three different colors… that’s just how I am)
Update ceiling fan
Attach wainscoting the ends of all kitchen cabinets
Attach wainscoting to three sides of kitchen island
Paint all lower cabinets one color
Paint all upper cabinets a different color
(Did I mention I like color?)
Demo useless built-in kitchen desk
Replace broken molding
Make new window treatments for three different windows
Make new pillows for couch

Ok, now that is some list, right? In the mean time I’m also maintaining (sort of) the rest of the house and trying to keep up with cooking meals, doing the laundry, grocery shopping and taking care of the three little monkeys that rule this house.

What they don’t show you on those home makeover shows is how all the other stuff is getting done or the 30 some people that they having doing the work. For the most part, I have done the lion’s share of jobs on this project. I occasionally get the hubby to help with things I can’t physically manage or he’ll take over with the kids after work so I can focus on a project or two.

None of these projects came without some sort of hurdle. Almost everything had some hidden problem that changed the time line or the budget or both. For example: The paint I used on the entertainment unit and the bookshelves takes 4 weeks to cure. The bookshelves have NOT yet fully cured after 9 weeks and will need to get a polyurethane sealant before the can be reassembled and used. The one wall in my living room had a geometric pattern painted on it that required several coats of painting, sanding, spackling and painting some more. Now that the cabinets are being painted they will also need to have hardware put on them for easier use. (I never had pulls or handles before and didn’t plan for them until I saw how challenging it would be to open without them. The paint just changed the way things worked slightly.)

Another time line set back was being out of town for two weekends and the hubby went away for one weekend. Then we had a week of school cancellations due to snow and then another week of two-hour delays. Then there is the issue of space. To paint the doors and drawer fronts, they need to come off of the facing and then I need a place to set them while they dry and wait for another coat of paint. That place is the dinning room table. This is also my sewing table. So if I’m working on a curtain that means no painting gets done and visa-versa.

So where am I now… I’d say that about 75 to 80 % of the space has been worked on however each project is only about 90 % finished. For example: The kitchen curtains have been made and are hanging but they need to come back down and get the final hem put in the bottom. Two of the new curtain rods are up but they still have shrink-wrap on them and they need to be cut to length and get the finials attached.

Thank you all for waiting so long for me to get done. I hope that by Easter I can give you the full before and after of everything but for now here are a few teaser photos.

The Blue...

The Brown....

The new wood...

The kitchen island...

The upper cabinets...

I hope that will hold you over for a while. You'll just have to wait to see how it all works together.