So Many Updates For The Dollhouse, & More To Come!

Welcome to the 808th Metamorphosis Monday! Whenever I’m here at the Dollhouse, I always feel a lot of pressure to get stuff done, and get it done right now! That’s because my time is always limited since I have projects going on back in Georgia, too. The minute I pull into the driveway, I’m on the go. I usually have appointments set up with repairmen or tradesmen starting the very next day, so there’s no time to rest.

I’ve been here a little over a week, and during that time I’ve had the carpet cleaned in the basement (the only room with carpet) gotten an estimate for having a tree removed that’s blocking two windows on the front of the house, and had the locksmith out who lubricated various doors throughout the house, which included adjusting the latch on a small broom closet door that was permanently stuck hanging open because it wouldn’t latch. I’m so happy to not see that door hanging open anymore every time I pass by heading up or down the stairs. It’s those little things that wear on you until they are corrected.

I have ordered a refrigerator that is supposedly going to be delivered toward the end of the month. Good thing the current one works (except for a broken icemaker and two broken shelves) since delivery dates were over 2 weeks out. I went with this one that’s by LG, and thankfully it doesn’t have the linear compressor that has caused so many headaches for LG in the past. I purchased a 5-year warranty, though—just in case. I never purchase appliance warranties, but you never know with the refrigerators of today! You can read more about the one I’ve ordered here: LG Counter-Depth.

I’ve visited numerous Best Buys to look at widescreen TVs and audio systems for the basement, and possible stoves and dishwashers for the kitchen. I’m more confused than ever about the dishwashers and stoves, but the Best Buy Geek Squad guy who visited was great in helping me decide on what would work best in the basement. I’ve booked an appointment to have a new garage opener installed this week, and the desk for the office should be delivered on Wednesday. I’m crossing my fingers on the desk delivery. Last time, the desk I ordered made it all the way to Ohio, only to be turned around and sent back. No one can give me an explanation as to why that happened, other than to say that it may have been damaged so the delivery company returned it.

I also have an appointment to get quotes for having the garage floor finished the way I had it done back home in Georgia. While he’s here, I’m going to have him take a look at some of the various storage rooms in the basement. Pretty sure I’d like to have some of those done, as well.

I’ve ordered a new faucet for the kitchen sink, along with a new detergent and lotion dispenser. The plumber should be out sometime in the next week or so to install those. I went with the same faucet that I have back in Georgia since I’ve really enjoyed it, and it has held up well. This is the faucet that will be installed next week: Stainless Motionsense Faucet. Every day is like this—full steam ahead, but each time something gets checked off my long to-do list, I fall more and more in love with this house. I think she’s happy that I’m fixing her up. I feel a connection to those who have lived here and loved this house all those years before I arrived.

So, how did the basket that I ordered for the tiny guest bath work out? Here’s how it looks in the bath.

Do you think guests will know where to look if the need arises? I know it’s not the most convenient spot, but I just don’t like having TP visible in a stand on the floor, so this will have to do for now.

I brought one of my weather stations up from home to have here in the Dollhouse. The tricky part was finding a spot for the small, temperature-sensor thingy that goes outside. (Weather station is available here: Weather Station.)

Back home it’s tucked away on one of the shelves on the porch hutch, I think it’s in the corner behind Mr. Bunny.

There wasn’t a great spot for it on the front porch here, so I ended opening up the little lattice door that’s underneath the sun porch, and placing it on a tiny nail I added to a wood support there under the porch. Do you see the lattice work under the porch in this photo? There’s a little door there and the sensor is tucked under the porch. I think it will stay dry there, and since it is outdoors and not in direct sun, hopefully the readings it sends back to the weather station will be accurate. So far, it seems to be working great. I also hauled away two propane tanks I found underneath there. Turns out, those can be dropped off at the outside “AmeriGas” spot designated for that at any CVS. I think I’m finally getting to the end of removing all the stuff that was left behind by the previous owners.

This past week I repaired this wide drawer here in the ktichen. I should have taken a photo of how it looked before, but I just dove in and began working on it before I thought of doing that. At some point, something really heavy must have been placed in the center of the drawer, something the drawer bottom just couldn’t support. Or, maybe something was pushed in that wouldn’t fit because the bottom collapsed right in the center at the back. I found a big bolt, a rubber band and another item (forgotten what now) wedged in the back between the back wall of the drawer and the busted down bottom of the drawer. So anything that was placed in the drawer, immediately slid to the back of the drawer and fell out the gaping hole at the back. I finally got a chance to look at it this past week. I removed the drawer, pulled out the three items that were wedged between the drawer bottom and the back of the drawer, and using my fist, gently tapped the bottom back up and into place.

Not sure what caused that issue—is the drawer base/bottom that weak or did something else happen to cause that? In any case, I did a little research online and found that they make adjustable drawer supports for these big, wide kitchen drawers. I purchased a set and snapped this photo before I screwed them into place. If you have a wide drawer in your kitchen that could use some extra support, you’ll find this adjustable drawer support kit here: Drawer Repair Kit, Reinforcement.

I’ve ordered this extra wide, expandable flatware organizer (should arrive tomorrow) and I can’t wait to see how it looks in the drawer! I’ll share a photo of how it looks after it arrives. (Large Flatware/Storage Organizer is available here: Extra Large Expandable Flatware Organizer.)

Another item I purchased for the Dollhouse this week is a battery organizer similar to the one I have back in Georgia. Ever since I watched a news report about a home that burned down because of how the homeowner was storing old batteries in his garage for recycling, I’ve been keenly aware to not leave batteries rambling around inside a drawer. I think they determined the fire was caused by two 9-volt batteries touching each other inside the paper bag the homeowner had placed them in. I love being organized anyway, but the idea of a fire scares the heck out of me. This battery storage method helps me sleep at night. lol (Battery organizer is available here: Battery Organizer.)

Remember the solar lights I added to my walkway back home?

I had ordered an extra set just in case one ever got damaged, and I brought those with me to the Dollhouse on this trip up. I had planned to purchase another set and add them down the front walkway of the Dollhouse, but I wasn’t crazy about how they looked when I tried a few in the front yard. Then I remembered the back steps leading down to the circular patio. Love how they look here! Hard to see the one at the bottom of the steps in this photo, but there are four lights staggered going down the stairs.

I snapped these photos from an upstairs window last night.

Oh my gosh, I love how they look and they should really help when navigating those steps after dark. (Solar path lights are available here: Solar Path Lights.)

This post could be a million miles long if I share everything I’m doing right now. I’ll just have to spread it all out over a bunch of upcoming posts. One more thing that will be done early next week is an electrician will be coming out to add an outlet in the closet there at the top of the first flight of stairs. I love the placement of that closet. It’s just outside my office (over the garage) between the first and second floors, so it’s the perfect midway point for storing anything that I will use on both floors.

That closet is where I plan to store my Dyson vacuum. It should be easy to add an outlet in the closet since there’s an outlet (on the other side of the wall) here in my office already. That closet was once a coat closet. Someone added shelves at some point, but they didn’t anchor them properly and I found them all laying in the bottom of the closet with half of the shelf supports broken away. I’m turning it back into a regular closet and will share how it looks once the outlet is added for the vacuum. All the closets in this house badly need painting, another project for down the road. So, please try to not judge on the paint issues when I share the closets. Hahaha!

Speaking of the office, the desk I ordered should be delivered this week, that is if they don’t stop the delivery again and return it.

This is the desk that I’ve ordered—say a little prayer that it arrives in pristine condition. Ha! I’ve also ordered a large 8 x 10 rug that is returnable. So, if I don’t chicken out (it’s a pretty bold rug!) and return it, I should have some office updates real soon.

I’m getting ready to order plantation shutters for this room, too—hope to get that done this week. This room has windows down both sides. I’m going with the big 3-1/2 inch louver size since the window sills are nice and deep and can easily support that. Also, the 3.5 inch louver will help keep the view and the sunshine pouring in when the panels are closed but the louvers are open.

I love opening the windows in this room in the morning for the cross breezes, and I will still be able to enjoy those breezes with the shutters installed. Love how the sheers look framing the windows, so the new ones I purchased recently will stay. The sheers are great but they don’t work well closed since they block the A/C vents and returns that are located under the windows on both sides of the room. Shutters will also solve that issue.

I ordered this Kallax for the office closet, it just arrived this morning. Unfortunately, at the very last minute, Ikea canceled the doors/drawers that were part of the order, saying they were out of stock. I ordered 3 baskets that I think did get delivered in a separate box. I’m really disappointed that the Ikea system took my order for the other parts as if they were in stock, then canceled those parts this morning. I probably would have ordered at least three more baskets if I had realized that was going to happen.

The office closet light with its pull string is being updated next week, as well. I’m adding a light that will automatically come on when it senses motion, i.e. the closet door being opened.

There’s more, so much more I could share, but again, this post is getting so long. I’ll leave you with this photo of the “cold storage” room in the basement. I’ll be giving it a big makeover the next time I’m here, basically like the makeover I gave the crawl space storage room back home. I plan to paint the walls with bright white DryLock paint that’s made for basements, paint the floor with gray DryLock paint, and paint all the shelves with the bright white paint I used for the shelves back home. I just need to remember to bring all that left over paint with me on my next trip up. I have a feeling this was used to store canned goods. What should I store here? This basement has quite a few storage rooms, but this one is the most unusual with the shelving. More updates coming—some pretty, some practical!

Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday! Pssst: Did you know Between Naps On The Porch is on Instagram? You’ll find me on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch. Like to know when a new blog post is up? Subscribe for email updates (it’s free) and your e-mail will never be shared. Subscribe for free post updates here: Subscribe.

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