Blue Bay Cottage: Home, Etc.

I was going to try a new cookie recipe and blog about that. However, I have lost the use of my oven as of last night and don't know when I'll be able to cook with anything other than the microwave. The result? This post about my old house, painting projects, and other random things going through my head :)

Anyone who lives in an older home knows what it's like to always wonder what they'll have to fix next. Anytime we decide to take on a project that's purely cosmetic, we worry a little bit about spending the money because that's the perfect time for something expensive to come up that needs fixing. Case in point: we replaced all of our windows and siding and shortly after had a plumbing emergency. We repainted the front porch a new color and bought a rocking chair only to have the oven break the next week. While old homes do come with that unpredictability (and money-pit potential) they also come with a lot of really neat details and quality craftsmanship that can make them worth the headaches they may cause.

Our home is old (it was built in 1913) and small (about 1100 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom) and we are only the 4th owners in its nearly 100 year life. We've done a lot in the almost 6 years we've lived here--replaced all the windows, the roof (thanks hail storm!), and the siding. We've repainted almost every room and had the bizarre textured walls in the kitchen sanded and painted. We've replaced some flooring and appliances (like the washer, dryer, and dishwasher that all broke. In the same week.) One thing we haven't done is address the trim. We have a lot of wood trim and it's all original, which makes it hard to mess with without feeling a little guilty. The trim is everywhere--crown molding, baseboards, around every doorway and window, and it is DARK. We have dark wood floors and the trim is the same color so it ends up making the whole house dark, no matter what I try to do to brighten it with furniture, accessories, and lighting. We experimented a few months ago by painting a built-in cabinet in the dining room white to see if we liked it.

See that dark trim around the windows? That's everywhere. Also, let's not discuss the dirty windows. Or the terrible lighting in this photo.

The results were amazing--just painting that one area made the entire room seem bigger and brighter. We decided we liked it enough to paint all of the trim around the doorways and windows so we got an estimate a few days ago. We were all set to move forward and then, surprise, an electrical issue came up that needs immediate attention. And money. This is the reason for my non-working oven situation.

We decided we're going paint the trim ourselves. After I painted the cabinet I swore I would hire someone to do the trim because it took a lot of time and what felt like 17 coats of paint (it was actually 4, which is still a lot). The wood is so dark that even with two coats of primer there is some bleed through. One way to combat this would be to use an oil-based primer, but we want to make sure the whole project is done with either low- or no-VOC paint. So, in two weeks, Charlotte is getting shipped off to Grandma & Grandpa's and Chad and I are going to spend the weekend painting trim and trying not to get frustrated. I really do not like painting. It's one of those projects that sounds fine in theory, but then 10 minutes in I'm silently (and not-so-silently) cursing the project and wishing I'd hired someone.

This past August we decided to repaint the porch ourselves. This project would have been more enjoyable if it weren't for the 9,750 spindles that needed chipping, sanding, and two coats of paint. Yeesh. I am very happy with the results though, and proud that we did it ourselves.