Surreality Television

Gus and I finished the front room demo/ front porch reno this week and happily bid farewell to the camera crew. It's one thing to have a camera literally pointed in your face for 10 hours a day, but a whole other ball of wax to have someone telling you what to do and say---especially with regard to manual labor. While being a tv show star was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I was more than ready to return to the office. On a high note, the porch looks fantastic!

We still have about a day's worth of finishing work, and furniture to buy (my favorite part of course), but the porch adds 128-sqft of functional and adorable living space to this old house. Gus grew up in a old farmhouse in NJ and says so many things about Harbor Farm remind him of that place. Now he says, because you can stand in the kitchen and look all the way through the house to Main St., it's even more reminiscent of his childhood home.   

Through all our days of hard work, Denise was forced to remain virtually silent--lest any outside sounds be carried over to the tape. She used her time to unpack and organize the kitchen, as well as fill it with its first aromas of slow food. I am constantly reminded of all my blessings!

Here are some pictures from the shoot: 

Before

Dark and Scary

Day 1 - Demo

Day 1 complete

Renovation Realities shoots Harbor Farm

Make sure you get his good side

But what I really want to do is direct

Finishing touches

Day 5 - Mostly done

Light and Airy

Thanks Mom-o!

Almost Done

It took a week, but I've almost hauled all the boxes in from the barn. Hard to believe I moved to FL a year ago with nothing but seven boxes and my suitcase. Having an industrial dumpster in your yard certainly makes taking the trash out more exciting, but the subcontractors should be done this week and with them the dumpster. The exterior painting is almost done too. There's a lot of 'almost' going on here---but that's always the most accurate way to describe finishing work.  

The most exciting event this week will be the installation of the shower glass! Just kidding, though I did design the guest bath around my vision of that single piece of glass. This week Renovation Realities starts filming the front room demo/front porch reno!!! 

Under the contract with the show, you're not allowed to alter the room slated for demolition prior to filming, so everyone has spent the past 9 weeks resisting the urge to peel off loose, termite-eaten paneling or remove the weathered blue shutters. At this point I am dying to bring the reciprocating saw to life and start swinging the sledgehammer!  

And yes, I am having a housewarming party, probably in March before the travel season takes over my life. Here's some pictures from the past week...

Love the residing on the right-hand-side.

Countertops and cabinet doors are next month's project.

So close to the inspiration room I scare myself.

Living Room

View of dining room (computer desk is acting as dining table).

Just waiting for the glass!

Come visit the Farm!

First Night

If I was only allowed one word to describe the first night at Harbor Farm I'd have to say 'spooky!' That probably sounds terrible considering how truly spooky it was before the reno started, but I've watched so many people wander in and out of the house over the past 9 weeks, that being there alone felt like trespassing. I kept imaging some random subcontractor walking in looking for the toilet!  

There are no immediate plans to unpack all the boxes since there is still a lot of dusty work remaining, like tile cutting, grouting, and drilling to install various doors, mirrors and hardware. There are actually no mirrors in the house---my Jewish funeral motif. Last night I got ready for a Superbowl party by putting makeup on in front of the wine fridge, this morning I did it in the truck. Steve Hughes, owner of Harbor Glass and Mirror, is coming over tomorrow to measure for the shower glass, buffet top, and all the mirrors. Steve and his wife Elaine have owned the shop and cut glass in their 9th Ave. workshop for over 20 years, and I am so lucky that Gus discovered them.

Here are some in-progress shots of the guest bath and Moving Day (Phase II).

Tub Deck with a View

Marble over the Tub Deck

...and even a tub.

Phase II Moving Day:

Habitation

Who needs rugs when there's brown paper?!

Phase I Complete

Well regardless of whether or not I was ready, moving day was Tuesday. Because the polyurethane was not yet dry on the floors, this is called Phase I of moving. In Phase I the movers took all the furniture and boxes from the little rental house in Ozona to the barn at Harbor Farm. There was so much going on the previous week (including uncertainty about whether I would actually have to vacate the rental on the 31st, if the crew would actually be working until that day, and a sick poodle) that I completely forgot to pack for the 4 days in between stuff going into the barn and me into a condo!  So far the washing machine in the condo has been getting a lot of use. 

Thanks Rocks Moving Co.!

I heart storage!

The floors will soon be dry so the movers will return on Saturday for Phase II. I'm so excited to spend the first night at the Farm! There is a laundry list of finishing work, including the guest bathroom (still no toilet in there), but I can't wait. The last few posts have been nothing more than pictures, for reasons of sheer exhaustion, but here are some B&As of the floors and new red roof. The neighbors love the color by the way---good thing!

Old Shingles

New Red Metal Roof

How to re-finish hardwood floors:

1. Enlist slave labor

2. Add cherry stain

3. Shine!