Xmas

Well, to follow "tradition" we did buy a tree. However, it's not like the tree most people would get. We feel it's better to buy a tree that can be replanted and appreciated all year round.

And of course, Yoda was there to help.

Bedroom Floors

Here are a few pix of our old bedroom. If you remember, we have been using it for storage of power tools and scraps. Well, the magical floor elf FINALLY got with it and started laying the floor.






Again, it's a different world with the new flooring. We still have to put up the molding and repaint. I'm thinking of using Ultra Pure White on the walls to make the floor stand out and using some form of lines or other design on the walls to add interest. We haven't given this room much thought, we've been very focused on getting the living room set up and ready to go. We've ordered some furniture, accessories, and rugs from EBAY and will post new pics as soon as we get everything set up.

Re-Design

As the floor comes to a finish, it is time to start playing with the furniture layout. Here we decided to break up the space from the dining room to the living room with the loveseat we got from Ikea. It has a nice look from the back, but on the opposite wall it feels too light with only the tulip chairs flanking the sliding glass doors. We're thinking about getting chairs that compliment the loveseat, possibly Le Corbusier, to balance the space. Also by adding greenery we can bring the outside in and make the space flow better. We haven't made any decisions just yet- we are waiting for the right pieces to find us.





Here we put our Wassily chairs between the first ever wooden bat table. Can't expand on that now, but it looks great with the chairs. We are also going to be building a new cover for the heaters to give it a more updated modern look.



So, I know there are only pictures of this one room, but we are working on finishing it up before starting other projects. It is a slow process as we are busy with work and the holidays, but it is a labor of love and it coming out even better than we planned.
Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

We Ha Mod Gets a Facelift

Well, we're almost done laying the floors, and what a difference it makes! I don't feel like I'm in the same place as I was two months ago. I've spent about a week and a half, on and off, laying the floors like a magical mexican elf, and they look amazing! A few more small cuts and some detailing and they will be done!

This is our latest set-up for our living area, so tell us what you think!!







Artie's table really makes the place feel like a One-of-a-Kind modern getaway. I almost don't want to think about moving in two years!




The thing we need most is a great seating area. We entertain a lot and need a functional layout that will maximize the space. We decided on this layout, with the loveseat along the wall and three chairs on the sliding doors that can be turned to face the TV. We put one more Wassily chair next to the loveseat to get a good balance.

Halloween = Laying Floors and Watching Movies

So after 5 straight years of hosting Halloween parties in Boston, Lil P and I decided to take the night off and work on Weha Mod. Our neighbor downstairs is in Mexico until Nov 4th and laying the floor can be quite loud at times, so we want to make sure we finish before she gets back. After some tricky corner cuts we finally finished the "office/guest room" and began working on the combination living room / dining room. After a few hours we were thrilled at the ease in which the boards were sliding together and the progress we had made.



We decided to stop around 10pm and watch old school 1960's James Bond. Great movies and amazing vintage mod furniture throughout. Today we will be working on the floors till 11am then heading out to Olive Garden with Linda, watching Lil P's dance performance in M-Town and finally rocking out at MoSUN.

Welcome to Weha Mr. Cricket

Today when we got home, we had a new pet. A cricket had made it's way into We Ha Mod. After searching high and low, I found him hanging out on the floor near the bathroom. I caught him in a glass and set him free.

Big Poopsie on the other hand was having some problems today... We bought a table saw for $99 at Home Depot....but you have to put the stand together...3 hours later, we still haven't been able to succeed. What ever happened to easy-to-follow instructions?!?!?!? He did finish ripping up the carpet though. He's so strong.

Update

So, I've been slacking on the posts, yes I know, but other than buying a loveseat at Ikea there hasn't been much to blog about.
Until now...

We have started laying our new laminate floor. If you remember, we got a great deal on a "special buy" floor from Home Depot (advertised at $1.49 a square foot!) and figured that about 60 boxes would be enough. As per condo rules we have to lay down a soundproofing material underneath the laminate so Artie found a great deal on a product called Silent Blue (check out silentbluepad.com) that is supposed to be the top of the line. So far so good.


The actual process of laying the floor started off with youtube.com research. For me, it's much easier to see how something is done rather than just read about it. The first few pieces I put down were pretty easy, and the cutting of the end piece went smoothly. We are lucky to have a chopsaw that is on loan from a friend to make our projects a little easier.

The second row was a bit tougher. Getting the rows to lock together is a bit of a pain- some go in easier than others. Carolyn came up to help, and it's easier to lock the pieces with two people.



We did have a few road blocks though. There are built-ins that we have to floor around which cause some wierd cuts. We got stuck on a corner and went back to Home Depot to buy a jigsaw to make those cuts that a chopsaw could not. We need some more practice with that one....
Also, we couldn't take off all of the molding (doors and some very small corners) so we have to cut a space underneath to fit the flooring under. So, yet another saw is needed. Artie's parents may have one we can borrow. Hopefully this is all we need to get us back on track.

Despite the small setbacks, the floor looks great so far! What a difference it makes already. When it's all finished (hopefully by the end of the week) We Ha Mod will have a totally different feel. For those of you who have seen "the before", wait until you experience "the after"!

Recap

So let me bring you up to speed...

Wednesday we waited ALL DAY for our new mattress to arrive, and right after it did we headed out on an IKEA adventure.

Once we got to IKEA (and found rockstar parking- thanks Carolyn) we were on our way to find inspiration. Right off the bat we saw a couch...white "leather" (and I say "leather" because at $399 it really isn't). It's a very simple, clean design that will go perfectly with what we already have.

I had originally wanted the Petrie sofa from Crate and Barrel as it is made of microfiber (which I hear is easy to clean) and very modern, but the price even with my discount was still over $1000 and right now that's a little too much to spend on something that I don't even plan on taking with me when I move.

Besides, I got a steal on the Petrie chair (see picture) and ottoman at the Crate and Barrel closeout sale for around $650 including delivery. It's cocoa, wicked comfy and just the look we want. It's a shame that I only got one.



While we were walking around we checked out some kitchens as well. Did you know that IKEA now has bits and pieces of their catalogue conveniently poised in appropriate sections of the store? This is the greatest idea ever because as we all know, trying to find anything in that catalogue is near impossible.
And I know I'm getting ahead of myself in thinking about the kitchen remodel...we haven't even started the floor yet.

What I really wanted from IKEA were curtain panels for the sliding doors. We checked them out, it's an easy thing to do, but there was a disagreement on whether they should go up or not. Not won. It's Artie's project now. Panels will go up somewhere else....

We also stumbled upon these fabulous floor lamps that were $39.99! Black and white plastic on two skinny legs with a heavy iron-like base. They were pretty easy to put together too and look great in the blue room.

Some of Artie's tables have made their way up to the condo as well.

There is a great coffee table made from bent aluminum and spray painted. The other is an end table made from soldered hollow rods of steel that were splatter painted. There will be many more pieces to come once we do the floors.

Redemption

So on Sunday we went in to the Middletown Home Depot to grab a few items. We decided to take a look in the flooring section just to see if they had the flooring at the lower price. Low and behold, they did! We spent about an hour with the head of Customer Service (Lisa) who was so wonderful and helpful when it came to explaining why there were 2 different sku's, why one was on sale, why she couldn't just give us the price difference, and that she would also sell us the 17 boxes that had been on hold for someone who never came to pick them up! She also talked us into trim and T-molding and told us that if we don't use it, just bring it back. It was a complete 180 from our last experience. We left feeling so satisfied that we could bring back 23 boxes of the higher priced product and get 23 boxes of the lower! When you're buying this kind of quantity, it makes a huge difference to save what you can. The only thing that sucked was that when we got home at 11pm. we had to go through 60 boxes and of course, the ones we needed were on the bottom. The Home Depot has redeemed itself and we now have an alli who we feel confident is there to help us. It all boils down to having GREAT customer service and taking the time (even if it's an hour when you close in an hour) to make sure that the customer leaves satisfied no matter what.

All we need now is some soundproofing underlay and we are good to go and get this project started!

Flooring

Ah, and then there is the flooring.

It is a laminate floor called Valley Walnut that Artie found on clearance at Home Depot. It is a great color- almost like coffee. We originally were going to do Ty Pennington "Sambucca" Bamboo floor from Lumber Liquidators, but stumbled upon this one.

Getting the flooring was quite an adventure. We went to Home Depot in Waterbury and picked up 24 boxes, Home Depot in Middletown to pick up 23 boxes, and Home Depot in Bristol to pick up 19 boxes. I have to say that we had THE BEST service in Waterbury and Bristol, and the ABSOLUTE WORST SERVICE EVER in Middletown (where we have already spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars). It was a very frustrating experience- the customer service ladies were rude to us and less than helpful. The problem we ran into was that there are two different sku's for this flooring. One is on sale for around $30 a box, and the other is not on sale at around $46 a box. That makes a huge difference when making a purchase of a total of 60 boxes. We found this out at the Bristol location from a very helpful young lady. So by finding this wonderful sale, we are saving amost $1500 and even more since we are installing it ourselves. We still need to buy something to put underneath to soundproof, but the project is going to cost a fraction of our original estimate of about $4000.

Painting

It almost seems as if all we do is paint....
So far I've spent about 30 hours painting. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint per wall. It's a lot of work, but once it's done it will look amazing. We've chosen to use Sherman-Williams paint exclusively because it is high-quality and what professional painters tend to use. Also, if you set up an account with them you can be eligible for discounts. Behr paint from Home Depot just doesn't cut it anymore. It's what I've used in every other place I've painted, but once I used Sherman-Williams, I'll never go back. It goes on beautifully and they make special bases for certain colors. We've chosen to use Online (gray) for the living room, Calypso (blue) for the "office", Tricorn Black for accent walls, and Lime Granita (light green) for the bedroom.
One great thing about this paint job- we are putting up bamboo "molding" that will be the same colors as the walls so we don't have to be super-neat. We were going to paint the bamboo black, but decided that if it is the same color it will make the room look more cohesive. If the molding is the same color as the walls, it will give off a seamless look without being too distracting, especially since the bamboo is very non-traditional and has a lot of texture and character. If the molding is contrasting, it may make the room feel heavy, smaller, and the walls appear shorter than they really are.

Ghetto Fridge

And here's the kicker....
We don't have a fridge either. It died two days after we moved in!
So now we have Artie's sister's mini fridge from her dorm room. It's tiny and barely holds anything. There isn't even room for ice. So this is how we chill our champagne (it doesn't fit the bottle either). Yes, I know it's G-to-the H-to-the E-T-T-O, but we have to make do with what we've got. And you do have to admit that it is pretty funny.

Kitchen

And this is our lovely kitchen. Notice the convection oven right over the stove top. The best thing about this set up is every time you cook, the vapor condenses on the underside of the convection oven and drips back down into your pot of previously delicious food. EEEEW. The vent (which is pretty much useless) is that drawer-like looking thing on the top. Well, I no longer like to cook because of this awful arrangement and I also think that whoever came up with this bright idea should be fed to the lions.
I can't wait to rip it all out and start over.

Office

Before and during: "office"



Overall,, the layout of the place is pretty good. We knocked out one partial wall that was put in to hide the office/second living area. It was about 3 feet in length, but it made such a difference when it came out (see first picture).
The demo was done by Artie and our friend Mike, who also installed our recessed lights. There is something to be said for using your resources...most of the time you know someone who can help out with a project you've never tackled before. And most of the time it will cost less than hiring a contractor. Mike has definitely been a huge asset to us and we are so thankful to have a fellow do-it-yourself friend willing to help us out.

Although demo is fun, it is important to remember to be safe and absolutely sure you know what you're doing. Always check first before knocking down walls and beams that they are not structural supports, and know what each breaker goes to before doing any electrical work.

Master Closet

Before and during: Master closet removal.

Master Bedroom

We started by ripping up the carpet in the master bedroom. It was quite a process, especially in a peach colored room. We also knocked out the closet that the previous owner built in as there are his and hers walk-ins right around the corner. We are going to use the nook for either an office or seating area.
This is one of the last rooms we will get to before we get to the dirty work of re-hashing the kitchen and bathrooms.
I have begun priming- the paint color is a white-greenish-yellow. It's bright and happy and will look great with the new floor.
After months and months of looking for the right place, we came back to this one...
It's not much to look at and had been on the market for quite some time.
It would take the right people to be able to see past the dirty carpet, lack-luster appearance, and old-lady-with-pet stench.
We saw a blank canvas.
We got a great deal.
We got right to work.
(We also spray painted the walls because hey, when will we be able to do that again?!)

Ghetto Fab

Well, the ghetto fabulous air mattress has finally sprung a leak. Can I just say how NOT fun it is to sink into the floor in the middle of the night just to fill up and wake up on the floor again in the morning.....

Once Upon A Dream

Once a long, long time ago I slept in a real bed. Since we've moved in on August 1st, we have been "sleeping" on an air mattress. I say "sleeping" because anytime either of us moves, the other can feel it. Now I'm starting to get a little aggravated that I am not sleeping well anymore- and I can sleep ANYWHERE. Damnit, it's time to get a bed!!!

I totally love my place. Now that we have some furniture and fun paint, it feels very comfy and finally livable (you just have to look past the nasty-ass carpet). I also looked up a table that I've had since high school (found it after my grandma died) and it's actually worth about $150! Wow. There's nothing like free money!

09.16

On July 31st we bought a condo in need of some TLC right on Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, CT. After a month or so of living here, we've finally started this blog. So far we've knocked down a few walls, ripped out some molding, installed recessed lights, and have been painting, drinking, and more painting. Almost done with the painting and never done with the drinking, we've moved in some furniture to try and decide where everything should go. As soon as I get up off my lazy ass I will post some pictures to show just how far we've come. There is still a long way to go, but hey, one day at a time!