November - Already! OMG

Well I do have a few more things accomplished. Mostly small things.

1. Support beams for the ceilings of the upper and lower level.
2. Build the corners of the containers and glue them to the long walls.
3. Glue in flooring for the upper level, stain and sand it.
1. Figure out bathroom flooring & put it in.
4. Build the bathroom wall
5. Build the closet
6. Build transom windows for upper level
7. Fold & prime the corner lift pieces
8. Make the four handles for the container doors
9. Stain closet & Bathroom doors - convert to barn doors
10. Cut the roof
11. Prime the walls, roof & stairs
12. Paint the walls & roof
13. Make supports for the overhang/carport
14. Base & steps for house (cinderblocks? or skip this)
15. Landscaping
16. Posts & railings for roof patio
1. Roof patio decking? Tongue depressors?
17. Prime & paint posts & railings of roof patio
18. Make bifold doors for upper level
19. Make floor to ceiling windows for upper level
20. Make frames for all floor to ceiling windows
21. Make sink cabinet for bathroom
22. Make 'glass' door for shower
23. Tile shower walls & soap niche (revise soap niche)
1. Grout shower walls
24. Lighting.
1. Bathroom overhead (chains & bulb)
2. Over front door
3. On either side of bifold for roof patio
4. Kitchen pendant lights
5. Living room lights
6. Light in upstairs office
7. Bedroom lights
25. Furniture for bedroom 
26. Furniture for living room
27. Spider plants in macrame holders for kitchen window?
28. Install kitchen cabinets, faucet, appliances, backsplash & floating shelves
29. Install bathroom fixtures
30. Rugs & pillows
31. Books
32. Cats

Before I forget, the barn door wheels are like...grommets? I'm not sure, I got them a long time ago and lost the original packaging.  I've tried Lego wheels in the past and they didn't work nearly as well.  They're these things:

I didn't get as much accomplished this weekend as I'd hoped. Mostly because I spent what felt like half of each day doing something else.

But I did get a few little things accomplished.  Mostly things for the bathroom. 

Like the sink cabinet. I haven't put the faucet on yet. Mostly because I don't want to break it.  Faucets are one of those things I need to do very close to last because they can be really fragile. 

I decided to go with a grey similar to the kitchen cabinets. I painted the inside of the sink with a pearly white after sanding it as smooth as I could. The outside I painted with clear nail polish. The drain stop is a little brad with most of the pins cut down.

Some dark blue velvet left over from when I made curtains for my living room about nineteen years ago. (Yes. I hoard fabric. Among other things.) And some pearly white velvet. I think rolled up they make nice towels.

I've been thinking about a shelf for over the toilet. Something I could make out of the scrap wood I have with a mid century modern look to it.  I want to use it as a towel rack as well as a shelf so we have function and form.

And while I was thinking about that I made some shampoo, lotion, soap and cream bottles/jars.  

I used beads and metal findings from my stash along with earring backs and carefully sanded toothpicks. Drilling the holes in the toothpicks was one of the harder parts.

I want to get some brighter silver and paint over the darker silver metallic. I think it'll look nicer in the long run. But from left to right, face cream jar, soap pump, lotion pump, vase.

The vase I think will be nice on the shelf with a few cattails or some lavender. Have to see how it turns out.

But the other thing I did was re-do the soap/shampoo niche. I got some of the contact paper I used for the kitchen counter and the sink cabinet top and made a cardboard insert to replace the tiles. It pops more now and the bottles/soaps I put in there will show up easily.

And while I was at it, I painted the shower pan. I need to add another layer of paint but it looks good so far.

But that's pretty much the extent of my progress this weekend. Because as I said, half of each day was pretty much doing something else.

What was that something else you ask?

Good news!

We have someone who is going to work on the bathroom (finally). A different company.  Nice man and his brother, reccomended by the restoration firm that remediated the bathroom.

They came by on Saturday morning and we spent several hours talking about what we need done, what the insurance money would cover and the layout. They explained what would likely need to be reinforced in the flooring and what to do for the walls and everything.

Got the call with the quote this morning and went over it a bit. We're going to sign and give them half the money up front to buy the supplies and everything tomorrow night. And they hope to start as soon as the fifteenth. Which is awesome.

And they don't think it'll take more than two and a half weeks. Which is even more awesome.

Right now the only sticking point, and this has nothing to do with them and everything to do with me and my husband, is that we want to put a stackable washer/dryer back there instead of side by sides. Which isn't insurmountable but the washer door is usually very low and bending down is not my friend. (And bending is even less of a friend to my husband.)

So tomorrow we need to talk with the contractor about how to build out the 'laundry closet' and if it's possible to build up a little platform to put the washer/dryer combo on so the washer door isn't too low to the ground.

But honestly, it's a good problem to have. I'll take it over having nothing getting done and no prospect of anything besides nothing getting done any time soon.

First Week of Work & Last Week Of Insane Doll Housing

Fair warning, this is a long, picture heavy post...

Here's the updated list...I managed to cross a few things off of it. But I have less than a month and a half and I have the feeling that I'm going to be working up until the very end of the deadline.

1. Support beams for the ceilings of the upper and lower level.
2. Build the corners of the containers and glue them to the long walls.
3. Glue in flooring for the upper level, stain and sand it.
1. Figure out bathroom flooring & put it in.
4. Build the bathroom wall
5. Build the closet
6. Build transom windows for upper level
7. Fold & prime the corner lift pieces
8. Make the four handles for the container doors
9. Stain closet & Bathroom doors - convert to barn doors
10. Cut the roof
11. Prime the walls, roof & stairs
12. Paint the walls & roof
13. Make supports for the overhang/carport
14. Base & steps for house (cinderblocks? or skip this)
15. Landscaping
16. Posts & railings for roof patio
1. Roof patio decking? Tongue depressors?
17. Prime & paint posts & railings of roof patio
18. Make bifold doors for upper level
19. Make floor to ceiling windows for upper level
20. Make frames for all floor to ceiling windows
21. Make sink cabinet for bathroom
22. Make 'glass' door for shower (Do shower curtain instead?)
23. Tile shower walls & soap niche
1. Grout shower walls
24. Lighting.
1. Bathroom overhead (chains & bulb)
2. Over front door
3. On either side of bifold for roof patio
4. Kitchen pendant lights
5. Living room lights
6. Light in upstairs office
7. Bedroom lights
25. Furniture for bedroom 
26. Furniture for living room
27. Spider plants in macrame holders for kitchen window?
28. Install kitchen cabinets, faucet, appliances, backsplash & floating shelves
29. Install bathroom fixtures
30. Rugs & pillows
31. Books
32. Cats

Started the new job on the 25th. Very nice people, wonderful woman trained me for two days straight before she had to go back to the main accounting office and she's made sure I know that she's available for help.

It's weird being hourly but at the same time its nice because every salary job I've had, I've ended up stressed and working way too much.

The week before I started work I worked constantly on the Container House. It suddenly occured to me that I have not a lot of time left. But I'm slowly whittling down the list.

One of the big things was getting all the walls primed and painted. The concrete on my front porch is also primed and painted due to the spray paint and primer.

I still have a few other things that need painting and some of the walls need some touch ups but for the most part the painting is done.

I am happy to say that I finished tiling the shower walls and the shampoo niche. 

Grout and sealant is the next step.  I just finished the tile this weekend. And wow. Every time I do something like this I remind myself that they make really nice 'tile' wallpaper that will save my back and eyes.

But it's soooooo pretty...

Ahem...

The upstairs floors are another finished task. Mostly. I only need to add a little transition metal plate between the wood and tile.  I used a vinyl tile with a marble pattern for the bathroom floor and cut it into one inch squares.

The bedroom/sitting area got the tongue depressor treatment just like the main floor. 

I like how it looks so far.  The wood floor is a little darker than the downstairs but I think that's fine for a bedroom.

I built the bathroom wall. And tested out the barn door for it. So far so good. Still debating wallpaper choices. 

With all these cuts and angles I'm really grateful for the power saw. It goes through MDF really easily. It makes it a lot easier to use pieces of the kit's MDF.  Though I do need to keep the upper level as light as possible so most of the MDF is on the lower level.

The closet and doors took me a bit of time and ended up slightly wider than I'd originally pictured but I like how it looks.

I need to adjust one wall slightly to cover the gap made by the doors but other than that, I love it.

And just because I had them and I like the idea of a 'closet system' I got my little drawers and a cube shelf and tested out the wonderful shoes and purse I got from Patrizia Santi's store. Her original instagram disappeared so if you used to follow her go and find her again because she's got some awesome stuff out!

I might switch out the purse on the right with one from NOLA House just to get a bit more color in there. 

I tested out some more wallpaper but I still haven't made any decisions yet. I really need to bite the bullet and figure it out. 

I like the colorful aspect of the first one. It has a lot of the same colors as the floral one I like so much.  The last one...It's a little too plain I think.

The other thing I did was the angled transom windows for over the container doors and the exterior bathroom wall. Geometry and I don't get along but I managed to figure it out.

And the last thing... I started working on the cabinet for the sink in the bathroom. I'm bashing a Dry Sink House of Miniatures kit and modernizing it a bit.

I'm going to leave off most of the curved trim work and only use one drawer and the cabinet door. 

I sanded the top of the cabinet so that the vessel sink fit a bit better and I'll get some veneer to cover the joins of the shelves and sides.  I think I'll also get a piece of the 'marble' tile I used for the floors and do the countertop under the sink with it. Or maybe the white glitter contact paper I used for the kitchen counters. Still thinking about that one.

But that's some progress. Not a lot when I consider the list but I'll get it done.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Halloween!  And here are a few Halloween themed pics that seem appropriate.

The List

 Right now my work table (otherwise known as the dining room table) is a mess of parts, half finished components and pieces to make other dollhouse parts.

So I thought it might help to make a list of everything that still has to be done.

I changed the design slightly, I want a slanted roof for the upper level with transom windows between the cargo container walls and the roof. So I'm going to have some support beams there. 

I've seen container houses built on HGTV and the more of the metal sides you take out for windows and doors the more you compromise the structural integrity. So you need support beams to hold everything in place, level and plumb. 

So in no particular order

1. Support beams for the ceilings of the upper and lower level.
2. Build the corners of the containers and glue them to the long walls.
3. Cut first floor ceiling and second floor flooring - with staircase opening.
4. Glue in flooring for the upper level, stain and sand it.
5. Build the bathroom wall
6. Build the closet
7. Build transom windows for upper level
8. Fold & prime the corner lift pieces
9. Make the four handles for the container doors
10. Stain closet & Bathroom doors - convert to barn doors
11. Cut the roof
12. Prime the walls, roof & stairs
13. Paint the walls & roof
1. Wallpaper or paint?
14. Make supports for the overhang/carport
15. Base & steps for house (cinderblocks? or skip this)
16. Landscaping
17. Posts & railings for roof patio
18. Prime & paint posts & railings of roof patio
19. Make bifold doors for upper level
20. Make floor to ceiling windows for upper level
21. Make frames for all floor to ceiling windows
22. Make sink cabinet for bathroom
23. Make 'glass' door for shower
24. Tile shower walls & soap niche
25. Lighting.
1. Bathroom overhead
2. Over front door
3. On either side of bifold for roof patio
4. Kitchen pendant lights
5. Living room lights
6. Light in upstairs office
7. Bedroom lights
26. Furniture for bedroom 
27. Furniture for living room
28. Spider plants in macrame holders for kitchen window?
29. Install kitchen cabinets, faucet, appliances, backsplash & floating shelves
30. Install bathroom fixtures
31. Rugs & pillows
32. Books
33. Cats

As you can see, quite the list. 

Oh, the new Halloween movie came out this weekend so of course my husband had to see it. He streamed it so it played in my living room.  Thankfully I had plenty to do and could stay occupied. Horror is not my thing. He loves it.

I did get the ceiling and floor cut with a square for the stairs opening.  I haven't taken pictures of that yet because that's the only thing I've done with them. 

I spent quite a bit of time working on the transom windows for the upstairs. 

My biggest trouble with the windows has been making sure the exterior frames look the same for all of them.

I worked on the bathroom barn door.  I'm pretty pleased with how it came out so far. 

And as you can see above, I worked on the tile for the shower walls as well.

I went through my lights and figured out which bulbs would work for them. So that's good. No pictures of that because I didn't paint or anything but it gives me ideas of how I'll use everything.

I primed and painted the stairs. Always a good time right?

It's actually a metallic black but it's not as easy to see in pictures.  But while I had the black paint out I did the transom windows too.

I cut the 'glass' for the windows as well but they don't photograph very nicely. Darn reflections and glare.

Today I started thinking of how I would finish the walls. I can either paint them, or do a wallpaper or a combination of both. And since I'm doing the sort of updated Mid-Century Modern thing I started going through my scrapbook paper.

Keeping in mind that anything I choose has to work with the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom I used one of the shower walls to see how the colors would work.

I thought it would be cool to do a big floral on the wall panel and under the window in the living room area. And then something to match it on the other little pieces of wall area. Not that there's much with the windows.

I like how big the flower print is because the larger print is a bit more modern than the really busy look of the true Mid-Century wall papers.

And the variety of colors would give me a more options for furniture fabrics.  I'd have to use solids or else a print that looks really good with that floral but that's a concern for another day.

Still thinking about the flooring for the bathroom but for the bedroom, sitting room/office and bathroom... I could go darker and moody in the bedroom, though again, there isn't a lot of wall space.

Lighter in the sitting room/office and a medium shade in the bathroom?  Here are some of my options.

1. 
   
   
   
   
2. 
   
   
   
   
3. 
   
   
   
   
4. 
5. 
6. 

Number 6 is a little busy for me but I felt like I should include it.

I got a few other things done and was able to cross them off. This is the last full week I'll have to work on the dollhouse so I'm hopeful that I can get everything I need primed and painted built, glued and dried so any primer/paint doesn't make it fall apart.

Only about sixty days left! Ahhh!

How are all of you doing?