Tuesday, January 20, 2009

a mini-remodel....


Let me give you some background before I explain this picture...our house is one of those that we have little by little started to turn around and make better. In the midst of the changes, things have to be fixed because of the "idgits" that lived here before us and did things completely "bass ackwards". Got me?
Well, upstairs is a gameroom and the extra bedrooms. As you come up the stairs, you turn right to the gameroom and kids rooms. As of now, there is a slightly loose banister and the rods that are underneath (formal name unknown) that frame the staircase in a "L" shape. Very 70's, not up to today's decor.
Turns out before we moved in, the drip pan to the water heater in the attic (who puts one there, I don't know) overflowed and caused some water damage on the ceiling. No biggie at the time, easy fix. Time passed and we haven't fixed it (yet)...little by little it starts cracking more and more on the joints of the sheetrock. lovely right?
We decided it needed to be done and pronto as the longer it stares us in the face, the worse its getting. So we enlisted the help of Steve (my very talented father-in-law) and of course, Brian. This weekend begins the project of fixing the existing issue while making some small improvements ( i.e. extra storage space and something decorative).
So in a nutshell, they decided that a supportive fix to the problem is to 1. fix the problems inside the attic structurally, 2. add columns upstairs to provide added support to the ceiling on the outside. To which I say, "sounds great!" but I don't think columns will look all that great with the existing "rods" already there.
Hence, this is how the idea of what you see in my picture came about...I wanted the rods gone, a half wall built, and extra storage for the kids stuff.
...and voila! This is what I envision. Let's just put a disclaimer on this blog that I am NOT even close to an artist or decorator like my fav, Candice Olsen. Not even close.
(Stay tuned for pics of the existing, the construction phase, and the after....)
So, if you have suggestions, improvement ideas, and decorating sense, POST A COMMENT...I appreciate input since I am not a decorator, architect, artist... Thanks.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

It looks good to me...very clever. Will the base support the weight?

Misty Straley said...

Hello,
I found your blog through Ashley McWhorter's. Brian and I have known each other for a very long time...since elementary school I think. We even worked together at Texas Sports Med during my college days before I started teaching. You have a very precious family! Tell him I said hello. My little guy is 17 months old. You can check him out at www.mbstraley.blogspot.com I'm going to add you to blogs I follow...Your remodeling project looks like fun...we are taking one room a month in our house and making small changes to it. :)

Dana (aka Mimi) said...

It's gonna look great....I have no doubt! Are you going to make your bookcase with the same 45 degree end as the wall?.....just trying to envision....we've done enough to our house over the years that I am pretty good at envisioning the end product. Enjoy the blog and the updates. It was so great to see you at the shower....look forward to seeing the whole crew! Love you~ Dana