Ye Olde Red Brick House

I have started putting more effort into getting the dining room completed, so worked on the walls last Sunday and again yesterday (Saturday). I have been babysitting my two youngest grand-daughters every other Saturday and that is way more fun then paint stripping!  Look at these adorable faces....  I am starting to see an ending in site... and I am thrilled! Just the thought of being able to sand the walls gets me all tingly inside. I have been stalking Pinterest almost daily... not that I need more inspiration, but because seeing the photos of COMPLETED dining rooms, gives me that extra push to keep going. Cause, I have to admit, laying on the couch watching Greys Anatomy sounded way more appealing then inhaling Citristrip fumes yesterday.  My progress last weekend:  One panel and one drawer Yesterday: The other drawer and last panel I still have to finish this colonnade and the middle beam and I'll be done with stripping varnish!  So, so close!! Someday, I ca...

Nothing better then Sunday mornings, with a cup of hot coffee, my journal and a porch swing.  Time to strip some more varnish off the redwood today! UPDATED w/ photos This is the area on the left hand side of dining room. BEFORE AFTER 5 hours the corners are the hardest.... getting all the tiny bits of paint out of crevices, is very time consuming and NOT FUN AT ALL This is what the dining room looked like during my walk through. (red arrow is the same area as photos above)

I only worked on the paint/varnish stripping for about 3 hours today. I am so ready for this to be over with! At least I get to take a break from it next weekend, as it's Mothers Day.  I still have to clean 3 panels and the built in china cabinet. I'm excited for the day when I get to paint, because blogging about paint stripping is boring! 

I had this post in my drafts as Blogger would not let me upload photos or post for the past few weeks. I kept getting an error message pertaining to browser issues. After checking the help section of Google, I found that a LOT of people have had this issue lately. This morning, I decided to update my browser to Google Chrome; and now it works! My goal this weekend was to clean these four panels After lathering on the Citristrip with a paint brush and waiting for 30 minutes, I started scrubbing. Then cleaned off all the residue. It looks so much prettier now! I only have 2 side panels and 2 bottom panels to go before I'm completely done with this side of the room! I went and stocked up on Citristrip as is seems to be disappearing from my favorite stores. It is no longer at my Lowes or Orchard Supply. Walmart has the small bottle for $13, but I prefer to buy the larger bottle for $21 as it's twice the size. The only place I can get it now is at Home Depot. Hopefully they don'...

A lot of progress has been made on the wood stripping this April. I promised myself that I'd have a finished dining room in 2014, and I am bound and determined to make that a reality! Most of the paint is already stripped near the windows; it just needs major cleaning. I had used the heat gun, and it's just not possible to remove paint from crevices without scorching the wood. (I know that from experience and there are several black spots to prove it - lesson learned). Just a reminder of how nasty it gets scraping/scrubbing the citristrip goo. I hate window corners the most. Even with the tiniest little scrubber brush, it is very time consuming to get the paint out of the corner.    I found a surprise! All of the top windows move up/down, just like the bottom! I would never have known this as the top windows were painted shut. I got two windows completely stripped and cleaned. The wood looks so pretty! I have googled many blogs this month and have decided I'm going to try ...

I haven't stripped paint for several months as it's just too cold to open the windows for ventilation. It's a gorgeous 57 degrees today but feels like it's freezing inside this old house. brrr Today, I cleaned the last 2 sections of plate rails and also cleaned up some of the crevices. Except for the window frames, I am completely done with the stripping part of the dining room! Hoping to tackle the windows next weekend... however, Brittany is due on February 5th, I may be a little busy if miss Everly decides to come early. :)

Even though I haven't blogged about it, I did strip paint for 2 Sundays since my last post. My family and I also went to the mountains one weekend for my oldest daughters 30th birthday. It was nice to get away from the valley for a few days! My two daughters and grand-daughters: My progress: I only have that tiny little section on the bottom to strip! But, the cleaning of the wood will take several Sundays. I'm almost done with this side of the room!

Another Sunday, another day of stripping paint in the dining room. I lathered the first window up with Citristrip and let it soak in for about 30 minutes. I won't dare use the heat gun around my old glass. I got the last 2 panels stripped! Getting the Citristrip residue of the window took an entire hour and a half. I hate, make that HATE getting the residue off. I use mineral spirits. I am considering buying the stuff specifically for removing the Citristrip residue. It was pretty expensive.... but so is my time. The hardest part of paint stripping are the curved edges. If it weren't for curves, I'd get a lot more done in 4 1/2 hours!