September 3, 2021

1 comments

Well we have to start somewhere, so might as well start from one of the more basic projects being done at the house.  We'll be calling this house Avalon, and it was bought with not much work done on it by the previous owner, and whatever work was done, there were a lot of design choices that I probably would have not done, and then there are other areas that are in disrepair.  It's going to be a long project, and a lot to work on...

So let's start with the living room.

More...

This living room is wide and spacious, has a loft overlooking it, and a large arched window to let in light below.  The floor is lined with what looks to be Rosa Portugues style marble tiles with marble as base boards.  The gas fireplace is lined with a granite style tile, and a wooden mantle.  The door and window seen in the image are original installed.  The blinds on the large window didn't even work, so that's out, and the sliding door has issues with the rollers, so it's difficult to open the door.  Each of the outlets and the face plates are still original from when the house was bought.  The only changes were the switch plate covers that were changed to a preferred size metallic golden face plate.  The walls were peeling apart around the windows.  Seems there was some damage, or at least the owners never tried to paint the house.

The colors chosen by the previous owner were very confusing.  There's a vomit green color on certain walls, then have it cover a pillar, and on the back wall here there's a tan color, and then the ceiling had a dirty off white color.  

After some time with the paint rollers, Karla and I were finally able to get much of the weird paint colors out and make this area bearable to be around.  There used to be black out curtains in this area, but now with the white walls and light coming in through the windows, the living room feel much more inviting and livable.  There's a couple of areas that need touching up, but at least now the room feels livable.

Tags: 
About the Author

John

John is one of the editors and helped start up the website. He's a DIY handyman and likes working on automating stuff for the smart home - smart? lazy?... or both!

Check out more of our articles

My Synology NAS and Essential Packages for the Smart Home

Finding Synology NASIn the past way long ago, I was lured into the expensive black hole called photography.  I had one of the most popular DSLR cameras at the time (Nikon D90), and with it came RAW files that processing of large files on multiple computers brought about a new challenge.  Where to store all

Read More

Welcome!

Hey! Welcome to the site.  You’ve made it to the very first post!   Thanks for being here with us and we hope you enjoy the adventure as we go along on this journey of working on our houses and all the interesting stuff along the way.  We hope you stick around and join us for

Read More

Abode Home Security Review

Abode is a DIY security system which can be self-monitored, or professionally monitored.  With self monitoring, the system has integration with Google, Alexa, and Homekit, but with as little as $6/month Abode can be integrated into other home automation systems such as Home Assistant.  The real value comes in when going to the Pro monitoring.

Read More

It’s Summer! Time for Backyard Movie Nights!

Outside it’s nice and warm, and a small slight breeze.  Kids are out of school and weekends are great for coming together with the family and spend time together.  Kids are running around, and the adults are having their cocktail.  The sun is starting to set and it’s time to break out the equipment and

Read More

We usually have a lot of parties or gatherings here at the house.  Most of the events or gatherings usually start in the early afternoon and more and more people come as the time continues.  The sun sets and the backyard gets darker, but the party continues.  It’s time to switch on the lights.  Backyards

Read More

Switchbot Curtain Mini Review

After lights, one of the easiest and cheapest items to automate the house without getting a full upgrade of curtains is to get one of Switchbot’s Curtain Rod 2.  This curtain opener and closer that can open with your standard automation commands. Wake up in the morning to fresh sunlight without having to get up.

Read More