All The Gold in the World...Has Got to Go!!!

I applied a third coat of primer to the fireplace tile this morning.  And while I let that dry, I decided to take down and modernize the ceiling fan in the living room.  It’s original to the home (1991) and has that classic gold that I have come to adamantly oppose.  But because it worked great, already fit into the location, and had several more years ahead of it, I simply decided to spray paint the gold.  I had done a similar project like this to a gold light fixture in Cleveland, and it totally changed the look of the fixture.

1991 at its finest!

Just not a big fan!  hehe...you see what I did there?!

So I headed to Lowe’s go pick up some paint.  But after pricing ceiling fans (around $70) and spray paint (around $7), I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to put some overhead lights in my living room.  The room currently has none, and after testing out every receptacle in the room, it also has no switches that tie to receptacles for easy lamp use.  So that entire room (the main room) would have to have switches on lamps that would have to be turned on if you wanted light.  I didn’t like that idea.

So it was a no-brainer.  Add on overhead light!  And keep a ceiling fan, too!  So I needed a ceiling fan with a light fixture!!!  I bought one and headed back to the house.  I also purchased two recessed ceiling fixture covers...and that was a chore!  They only had one on the shelf down low, so I had to wait 20 minutes for the always-understaffed Lowe's to get a lift to get me one off the top shelf.  But I had a plan!!!

And it was pretty simple:  out with the old, in with the new!  Wow, what a difference!  Seriously, this house stuff is starting to get fun.  It also makes me realize yet again just how filthy this house was when I purchased it.  I think the previous owners were smokers!

Old fixture and new fixture.  I thought about painting the old, but for $17, it was just as easy to buy new!

I think this is supposed to be white...

Wow!  Guess which one I replaced...

The primer was now dry, so I started with my bold new grey!  It’s a very rich and dark grey but not quite black.  As it went on, I realized that it was a very bold change!  The paint went on easily, though, and the room was changing before my eyes.  Although I wasn’t necessarily sure I liked the color…

My bold new color choice!

The paint went on easy.  Starting with the mortar and edges again.

It's definitely different!

I also had an idea for a living room wall piece.  While driving home a couple of weeks ago, I found a toddler bed and mirror on the side of the road with a FREE sign.  I picked up the toddler bed, already sold the mattress for $20, and have the bed listed for another $25.  With the mirror, I decided to make it a piece in my living room...with a matching color to the fireplace!  So I cleaned off the old dirt and grime off the yellow and white mirror and added a couple of coats of grey!  It looks so much better!  I'm not sure where I'll put it yet in the room, but it should help pull out the grey look I'm going for.

The free mirror I picked up off the side of the road!

Given a modern look!

I decided to change the gold light fixture in the front entryway, too.  Ok, so let’s be honest.  Now that I’ve decided for modern, EVERY fixture on the bottom floor has got to go.  I just can’t do this gold!  I knew I was going to change some lights, but it’s such a change for a relatively cheap price.  I can really bring about modernizing the entire bottom floor for $500.  It’s a no-brainer.

The original gold light fixture.

And now here’s the fun (and funny!) part.  Two years ago I purchased a hanging light fixture for the home in Rochester.  But after hanging it, we realized it was going to hang too low and hit people’s heads.  But we had already cut the cord for the fixture, so it was no longer a long hanging light fixture.  So for the last two years, I had been trying to sell this light online with no results!  It simply sat in a box for the last two years.  Well, now I had a need, and this light fit the bill!  So I headed out to my garage, found the fixture, and started to mount it.  But since it had already been mostly mounted before, I was having a hard time with the instructions.

So Dad swung by in the afternoon while doing his town runs, and we figured out that I had a very important piece missing!  I was unaware that the second piece was going to be used, so that was my conundrum.  So after figuring that out, the light fixture went up...not so easily!  Gotta love these cheap China fixtures we buy!  Dad and I had a difficult time getting the wires where they were supposed to go in the fixture, but once we finally did, the wiring went easily.  And, again, what a difference!  This is the first fixture you see when you walk in, so it was important to change!  And I think it looks great!

Out with the old...

In with the new!

But I was not done!  I also mowed the yard, and I'm happy to say that even that is looking better!  Some of the seed I put down has taken (albeit in the holes from the aerator only, it appears!), but the yard is definitely looking more lush already.  So I'm eager for spring to see how I can tame that!



Starting to look healthier already!

I also scooped up all of the old wood chips from the front of the garage.  This is where I had the worst termites, and the wood was piled way too high along the foundation making it easy for termites to move to underneath the siding.  So I pulled the chips away from the house, dumped them far away, and then smoothed out the dirt below.  I will put this into grass (a good thing to do now, but I had no seed!).

The old wood chips thick with termites.

Taken away and ready for grass!

I also tackled the front "circle" of woodchips.  I figured they used to have a flagpole here, but I couldn't guarantee that.  Well, until I removed all of the wood chips, and guess what?!  Found a flagpole base!  I don't think I'll put a flagpole up, but we will see.  I am all about having the most amount of grass in a yard.  I think it looks better that way.

The circular mess of nothing.

All hauled away.  This will be grass.  But look at that flagpole base I found!

My painter was back to start on the upstairs (woo hoo!), and I headed back inside to keep on going!  What a productive day this was becoming!  I added a second coat of grey to the fireplace, and I'm still trying to decide if I like it!!!  It's so dark!!!

The second coat is added.

It's bold alright!  Not sure if I like it or not!

And then I decided that I didn't like the ceiling fan I had mulled over for about 45 minutes at Lowe's.  It was the best one from there, but as I told Mom on the phone, it just didn't "wow" me.  So I decided to head over to Menard's to look at their selection!  And am I glad I did!!!  For as soon as I walked down the aisle, I said, "THIS is exactly what I am looking for!"  They had a wonderful selection of trendy Hunter fans, and instantly I knew that I liked them.  I dwindled it down to two fans, and I finally made my selection (with Mom's approval as she shopped with me on the internet!).  Gotta have that woman's touch!

I headed back to the house and started the installation.  Well, sorta.  I am timid when it comes to electricity, and I quickly realized that I had a switch on my wall that I wasn't sure what it did.  I don't think the previous owners knew what it did, either, as it was left blank.  (Seriously, this house and living room has so many switches that they are idenitified!  ha!).

Yet another reminder why I painted the ceiling...as if I needed anymore!

I didn't have any testing equipment to determine if the switch made the wires live in the ceiling fan, and I just didn't want to take the risk of working with live electricity.  So I did what was best and called Dad!  After determining that I really had no way of knowing if the wires were live, he and Mom (thanks, Mom, for the recommendation!) decided to come out.  I took time to mount the various blade parts of the ceiling fan while they drove out, and then Dad and I tested wires when they arrived.

The unknown switch actually controlled my ceiling fan lights!  Woo hoo!

And we were both thrilled to learn that the unknown switch actually controlled the ceiling lights in the living room!!!  The ceiling fan (that had no lights) actually had a switch that activated the wires in the ceiling fan box!  So I was going to have a switch to operate my fan lights, something I wasn't even planning on!  What a win!

So we spent probably an hour and a half installing this somewhat simple, somewhat tricky fan.  But what a difference it made!  I LOVE it!!!

The new ceiling fan and light!

In one day this bland living room has gone to modern!  So fun!

This is one of the best days I've had yet.  Yard mowed, mulch moved, ceiling fan installed, entryway light installed, fireplace updated, mirror updated.  I am loving the forward momentum on the look of the house.  Just a month ago this living room was yellow, very smelly, and dirty.  Now it's grey, clean, and modern!  This is when house-flipping really gets fun!

This morning...

And this evening!

Here's to hoping the rest of the projects go smoothly, too!!!  Or at least as smoothly as can be expected!  I finally headed home around 9:30 P.M. after being at the house since 9:30 this morning!