Normandy Park Restoration

Getting started on painting the existing cabinets.  They are in pretty poor shape so this is only a temporary paint job.  I figure I'll live with these cabinets for about a year or so.

Finally finished the rock work on the entry:

Finally got around to putting the cedar siding on the back entry alcove to the garage.  Here is what it looks like with one coat of paint on the ceiling. I still need to do the trim around the door.  I'm not sure if I'll do trim at the base of the siding or not.  It will all get painted.  I considered staining it, but not sure if it would look right or not.  Also ran short on siding doing the back wall, so I'll have to go buy more.

Track lighting is done and the basement is cleaned up and ready for some work:

Finally got rid of the ugly brass chain light in the dining room.  Was looking at fancier solutions, but decided to go with a simple paper globe

Working on lighting ideas for the basement.  I'm putting track lighting behind the ducting which you can see here: All the bulbs are the same, the color difference is due to the paint color on the wall.  I have another 8' track waiting for a joint to be installed which will extend the track all the way to the far wall, and then I'll spread the  cans out a little. However I need something that provides better overall lighting for the rest of the area.  Hard to really judge because the walls are dark right now, but here is a recessed lighting idea that I'm leaning towards: The only downside is that these are shallow mounts, and the par30 bulb is about flush with the lip, so it glares if you look up a bit.  I'll look at some Par20 LED alternatives and see how that works out.

Since I won't be using any of the existing kitchen cabinets after renovating, I'm playing with some color ideas to tide me over while working on other projects.  I like this one:

Next door neighbor had some extra retaining wall rock that they gave to me, so I used it to build up the side of the water feature. Previously it had just been open dirt, which allowed the water and mud to flow over the sidewalk.  I'd intended to fix it, and getting this extra rock was a perfect opportunity.  Still have a large area next to the entry that I need to figure out, but no rush on that.

The back door on the house was a cheap, hollow-core door that had seen better days.  Just by chance, there was an unpainted solid-core door in the basement, that had been left by the previous owners.  I painted and mounted it. I used oil-based paint, and assumed that letting it dry for 48 hours would be enough, but I'm still getting a little paint sticking on the door jamb, so I might have to repaint it at some point.  However, for now it's a much more solid and secure door for the house, and much better looking too.  Now if only I could get around to finishing the rest of the paint on the house.  That's coming soon.

Wanted a cheap dining room table with a mid-century look to it.  Found this set for $250, w/$45 delivery. At some point I'll replace it with a really nice setup, but for now, with the danger of the dog chewing, and all the projects going on around it, it works well.

Finished painting the beams and window framing on the dining area. Took the picture early in the morning so it looks really dark, but it has lightened up the room a lot.  Really need to do something about that light...