Starring: The Rosenfeld Cottage!

Okay, maybe HGTV didn't work out, but my little house is finding its fame and fortune, nonetheless! A friend of mine is shooting a short film, and needed a location that could pass for two different houses, one of which would be destroyed.  Luckily, my garage was on deck to be destroyed anyway, so looks like we're in business!

Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Director of Photography shooting the main character in my bedroom. It was more than a little strange to see a man who is not my boyfriend in my bed! 

The garage was previously just being used for storage, but got a lot of set dressing to make it look like a living room. And since that wall with the shelves is going to come down eventually anyway, I told them they could go to town on making it look like it was crumbling. There is even a "gas line" sticking out of it, that was rigged to look like it was on fire during filming!

I'm also planning on tearing out the ceiling, so the set dec crew ripped a big whole in that too.

Then they made it look as though a pipe had fallen from the ceiling, and water poured out while the cameras were rolling. 

The destruction continued on the other side of the wall, where they actually set things on fire! I was standing by with a fire extinguisher the whole time, don't worry.

The best part of all of this, is that we don't have to clean it up! It's all going to be demoed soon anyway! 

The glimpses I caught behind the camera looked really great, I can't wait to see my house on film! I will definitely post the link as soon as it pops up online.

Disaster Watch 2011: Hope was a False Alarm

You guys, we heard back from HGTV. It's not gonna happen.

They said they loved us both, but that the job was simply too big for their budget. I'm more than a little heartbroken about this, let us all have a moment of silence for opportunities lost...

...

Maybe the saddest part is that I'll never get to meet Spencer, my favorite HGTV personality of all time.

Spencer Anderson: this might be the first time he's ever smiled for a camera.

Disaster Watch 2011: Is there hope?

Since finishing my kitchen a few months ago, I've been getting the nagging feeling that something must be done about the backyard soon. In a moment of pure desperation, I logged onto HGTV.com and applied to be on any and all shows that could possibly result in a backyard makeover. And guess what... I got a response!

Last week, a couple of scouts from Design on a Dime came over to look at my house and yard. As soon as they walked in, they said my house was "adorable" and that they certainly didn't have to do any work on the inside! Is it weird that I feel like I now have a blanket endorsement from Genevieve, Vern, Sabrina, et al?

The guys took some measurements and filmed a few quick videos of Garrett and me talking about what we'd like to do in the yard (destroy everything). They were super nice, and told us we did a great job. Fingers crossed, we'll be getting some good news in a few days!

If you want to apply to be on HGTV, check out the shows that are casting, here!

Kitchen Update: Finally Finished!

The day has come! It's over! The kitchen is finished! Exclamation points for all!!

It was quite the push to the finish, especially since I stupidly invited some people over for a reveal a little later this afternoon (way to give myself a deadline! why didn't I just do it next weekend??). But in reality, it's nice to have something to aim for. If you I don't have a real motivation to wrap things up, projects tend to stretch into the "I'll get around to finishing that eventually" category.

Alright, enough of my jibber-jabber! You want to see the finished product, don't you?! Let's do a before and after!

The craziest part is how clean everything looks, haha! That was no easy feat. But just check out the new sightline through to the rest of the house...

Three weeks ago, that picture would have been of a wall! It's truly an amazing transformation. Now that it's done, I sort of want to do it all over again!

Kitchen Update: Subway Tile!

I feel like there have been more exclamation points used in these last few kitchen posts than possibly in this entire blog, combined. But that just goes to show you how excited I am that the finish line is drawing near!

It feels like every piece that gets done, completely transforms the look of the space. The cabinets, the flooring, the counters - each one was more exciting than the next. But now that we're on tile, it's beginning to feel really finished, and that has me using more exclamation points than ever!!

One thing (the only thing) that I was actually sad to rip out of the old kitchen was this luxuriously thick subway tile, on the old backsplash. I considered keeping what I could, and trying to find a match for the rest, but have you ever priced out that vintage tile? They're like $6 a piece!

Instead, I went with the same look for a whole lot less. Home Depot quality subway tile will have to do.

I have no complaints though, I think it looks pretty spiffy! And with a little sweet-talking and eyelash batting (and careful explaining), I managed to get Martin to do a herringbone pattern on the recessed vent hood. It was quite the brain teaser, but he did a bang-up job!

The ceiling plaster is also complete! As you can see in that picture, we left it a little rough and rustic. All the better to hide the cracks and dips, my dear!

We're really on the tail end of things now, projected to be finished by this weekend. I can't even tell you how ready I am to have my house (and my life) back. Not to mention ready to get my fridge out of my living room!

Real Time Kitchen Update

It's all happening! The counters are being installed as I type this very post! How freaking gorgeous does that look??

The sink and dishwasher aren't hooked up yet, they're just there for placement purposes. But I don't even care, seeing that counter go in has made the last few weeks of stress and dwindling bank accounts totally worth it!

Kitchen Update: Floor and Lighting

When you're gutting a room and starting over from scratch, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. It's not just paint colors and cabinet door styles - there are functional considerations in everything you put in a room. For example, take flooring. Most people have tile in their kitchens, which makes sense. It's durable, it's waterproof, and it's relatively inexpensive. What's not to love?

Well, my kitchen is now visually connected to the rest of my house, and I wasn't keen on having such an abrupt flooring. But I also didn't want to put hardwoods in a room that would likely see spills and mops on a regular basis. So after a little research (and a lot of HGTV watching), I settled on cork floors, from Lumber Liquidators. The color is very close to the oak hardwood in the rest of the house, but the texture is different enough that it doesn't look like I tried (and failed) to match the floors.

Plus it was pretty easily to install. Just roll out the underlayment, and click down the tongue-n-groove planks. See how easy my big brother, Monty, makes it look?

Once it's all in, the seams practically disappear into the pattern.

Cork is also supposed to be easier on the feet, and naturally water resistant. Martin was curious, and soaked a piece in a bucket of water to see how it would hold up. It was about 12 hrs before the particle board backing started to swell, but the cork didn't change at all - not too shabby!

My dad has also completed the relocation and installation of the new lighting. I actually bought one of these lamps way back when I lived in the Meganplex, to put in my kitchen there, but the wiring was so decrepit that my dad didn't want to risk shorting anything out by replacing the fixtures. So this sat in a box until it was safely in its new home, and accompanied by a new twin (from Ikea, around $60 for the pair!).

Flooring, lighting, cabinets, all done! Up next, we have a whole lotta tiling to do! Time to get grouty!