Renovating a mid-century modern home
So we bought this old house last year. We knew there were some significant repairs and upgrades that would have to be tackled within the first couple years, but it was a great bargain in a terrific neighborhood. So far we’ve been able to put off the new roof and the new doors and windows. We also knew there were A LOT of cosmetic changes we wanted to make immediately.
It’s slow going.
Because it’s an older home with leaky aluminum windows and ill-fitting doors, we received shockingly high $400-plus utility bills. Instead of replacing the windows and doors, my husband began installing solar panels and battery banks. So far, the entire family room (lights, TV, DVD player and telephone) is solar powered. The ancient, forever-running refrigerator was “solarized” this past weekend. Utility savings are at about $100 a month.
We’ve replaced the funky, old Frigidaire stove with a sleek, stainless, Energy Star-rated stove. When we moved in, there was a washing machine in the kitchen, a clothesline in the backyard, and a rusty dryer in the family room closet. That hellacious setup has been vastly improved with the closet installation of a stacked, front-loading, Energy Star-rated washer and a fancy dryer.
The old woman we bought the house from was wild about wallpaper. Picture cabbage roses paired with pastel stripes. Imagine the bathroom’s aqua tile paired with navy blue wallpaper, and cranberry indoor-outdoor glued down to the aqua tiled floor. My favorite was the kitchen wallpaper of a 1970s vintage that featured overlapping patterns of pumpkins, roosters, coffee pots, and a cornucopia (literally) of various other comestibles…all in the classic avocado, rust and harvest gold color scheme. As if that wasn’t enough, another entire kitchen wall was covered in a faux brick Contac paper.
Every closet door has also received at least one layer of “coordinating” wallpaper.
It was a freaking horror show.
To date, I’ve taken up the bathroom carpet, removed all wallcoverings in the kitchen, master bath, and almost all in the master bedroom. Unfortunately, a lot of plaster came off too, so those rooms will have to patched, sanded and sealed before we can paint. We began painting the dining room and living room ceilings a few weeks ago, but then the drain tray under the air handler in the attic overflowed. Turns out no one had ever attached a drain to remove the water from the pan. Last weekend was spent installing the drain, patching plaster and applying several coats of Kilz to said ceiling.
After removing so much wallpaper, I decided to paint over the “lovely” tole-printed wallpaper in the living room. All loose edges have been re-glued, and all nail holes patched. The first coat of Kilz has been applied. Cross your fingers.