We interrupt this productivity: Boob light phaseout complete!
Flooring progress has been slow and mostly more of the same. I decided to take out a few more damaged floorboards in the front bedroom; we’re better at it now. And reinforcing them from below, a two person job, hasn’t started yet. Instead, I did a floor reinstallation dry run in the back bedroom to see how much more I needed. And even though it’s all pretend, I can totally see the after in my imagination. Just squint a little until the spray foam looks like walls, the floor looks sanded, and the sawhorses look like a dresser.
Then, with some idea of how much more flooring I needed for the room, I needed to go to Philadelphia Salvage and buy the rest. Luckily, they have an excellent match. I came up with 45 square feet or so, but decided to up it to 60 to make sure I had enough for more patches in the front bedroom and to finish the back one properly. I didn’t count the closet in what I needed, so any extras, along with the damaged boards I rejected for the rest of the room, will go in there.
So then I got to the salvage yard and got impatient with calculating the usable surface area of every random width board I was buying. I was also getting through most of their in stock inventory of boards that match mine. So I left with about 42 square feet. They have another location with tons more, so I’ll be back there to buy the rest of what I need at some point. It’s all for the best though; I discussed with the owner how much damage will sand out, and what he said assured me that I have more in the reject pile that is good enough to use. And this way, I won’t have to spend an extra dime.
But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean I walked out of there with extra money in my pocket. I made up for less wood by impulse buying a light fixture.
Is this a practical purchase? That’s a good question. It appears to be a flushmount, which is what the room requires – the ceiling is low at about 7′-9″. It includes no mounting hardware or anything to cover the electrical box in the ceiling, so it’s going to require some rigging. And I’ve been hesitant about bare bulb fixtures in the past because energy efficient lightbulbs are usually ugly. And 6 lights is excessive for this small room. And it’s the fanciest light fixture in the house in a room that I’m going to have furnished like a cabin (see rug and buffet/dresser below). I bought it anyway. And it will be awesome.
The good news is, I now have enough decent lighting (maybe not all wonderful, but all decent) that I will have no boob lights in the house! You know, these. Note to Home Depot: selling these in two packs is not helpful.
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The floors will be worth the work. Mine are identical, and so far they’ve impressed me. What are you using to finish them? As for the light, it’ll suit the house (I have piles of them waiting for love if you ever want more). Did it come with the canopy and threaded rod and finial? There’s one brand of led that works well for the early electrics, it has small, plain round bulbs, nothing space-agey – I can look up the brand if you want.
No, my dad found me a finial out of his hoard that’s a little bit too shiny but close enough to blend in. I might faux antique it a little bit. And I took a threaded post off one of the boob lights that came with the house, and it’s just the right length.
And regarding the Edisonesque LED’s, please send the info my way! As for the lights that need love… are you seriously offering me anything ?!?! I’ll definitely consider it! I’ve been thinking about visiting Pittsburgh sooner or later anyway.
Glad you found those missing bits, that’s usually the hardest part! And yeah, lights, I would have to sell them for a token amount, but I’m pretty sure they’d be prettier than home depot boob lights, and cheaper than a salvage yard? I’ll track down the LEDs in the next day or so…. As your laugh of the day though, can you believe it wasn’t until we went to patch our floors that we noticed the boards were different widths? Oy….
Ha, ha! Two boob lights per pack! Despite my wishing to purge the house of them during my breast surgery recovery, I still have one in my hall and one in my enclosed breezeway/mud room/foyer. (It was one of the neighbor cat sitters, Joey, now 14, who decided two years ago that the entrance off our kitchen should be called a “foyer.” We were so embarrassed by its decrepit appearance paired with the fancy name that we painted the dark ceiling and walls a cream color and put in an old Oriental style carpet and a lace curtain in the window. The entrance is now as welcoming and bright as it was in Joey’s imagination. I think he may be a future interior designer or at least a DYI homeowner with good taste.)
Speaking of good taste, I do like the light fixture, Chad! Maybe you should get rounded LED bulbs, which don’t look as bad as those spiral things. They are expensive, but they will last for years and years.
Do I understand that you are going to hang it with bulbs facing down?
And the electrical box in the ceiling can be covered by a plain medallion–the fixture itself is too fancy for a Victorian one–which you can fashion out of a circle of thin plywood, just slightly smaller than the diameter of your fixture. Paint it the same color as the ceiling. Then drill a hole in the center just wide enough for the wires to come through. You are rewiring the fixture, right? DH suggests you get a plain metal box cover in the electrical department and paint it the same color as the ceiling. Just be sure the wires are covered with something so they don’t chafe against the metal.
I also like your “coolonial” (as Pam K. would say) buffet used as a dresser. The side cupboards meant for dishes and tea sets can hold shoes or stacks of folded t-shirts. Very cool.
Mary Elizabeth
Well tell ya what… the circa 1951 Colonial foyer light that I’m going to put in my vestibule may not be quite right for the house. I’m putting it in because I want something decent, but I can keep you in mind and pass it along if I decide it’s not right for me in the future.
And as for the ceiling canopy, each light has a wire (and the wires are already fairly new) that comes right out and then is sort of loose and free. I’d like to run them behind it. For 3 bucks I can buy an aluminum pizza tray at a restaurant supply store, drill holes through it, and have a nicely sealed space for the wires to run between the rim of the tray and the drywall. I’d paint that to match the ceiling. This idea is either brilliant or ridiculous.
And about “coolonial,” yes, the fun thing about this is that the other piece I have for the room is mid century modern from my other grandmother’s dining room. Same era, same room, pretty much opposite styles.
I’m with you on all of the hard work and $$$$$$$$$$$$ you are investing in this Reno but please can you show one room that is Completed on every post you post-otherwise I get very depressed cause your progress is looking like the Aegean Stables myth-never-ever-finished. I know its going to be gorgeous in the end but lets see a teeeeeeeeeeeeeny tiny bit of end. Thanks-
P.S. It can be the same room every post
I wish I could show you what you’re asking for, but I’m not doing this house room by room. So many of the walls had to come down that I’m going to hire professional tapers to finish the drywall joints. All at once. This means that I’m hanging drywall everywhere in the house. The flooring project is happening now just because I was sick of moving the pile of floorboards around to access walls and drywall them!
Anyways, I think the work is slowly progressing towards things that give instant visible improvement. But like I’m going to paint all my trim, and then it’s all going into the basement until the floors are done. Annoying, but that’s the breaks.
Very sorry Chad- I will stop being obnoxious and wait patiently for the reveal. If hard hard work, money and dedication can do it the reveal should be wonderful!
Well, if it makes you feel any better, part of why you’re not seeing a reveal is that I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s going to take forever no matter what and decided to slow down and sometimes do fun things unrelated to the house. And… I’m probably going to take a nice break in between making the house completely habitable and doing any work beyond that. So you might see a not-quite-finished house furnished out of my grandparents’ attics and decorated like a college dorm room. No photos of perfectly staged decor. Well, maybe in 2017.
I like your new light. The reveals will happen when they happen!
I might give a quick update on life with the reno.
Always nice to get a pretty trinket whilst in the midst of chaos and upheaval. Love the fixture. If it’s too bright you can always install a dimmer. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music