BOMs Away - Last of the Houses & some Window Dressing

Welcome to the link-up for BOMs Away Mondays!

Where we share what we're doing on a BOM-type project 

so they don't stall out in UFO-land!

(Linky at the bottom.)

I felt spurred to finish up the rest of the houses for Journey's End for this week's BOM work, so I did just that!

First the Star houses:

Then the King's Crown houses:

Yes, I am a reader. The books in the left-most pile are the last of my choices to fill in the gaps for my 2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge. It's my third year doing that, and I like the way it expands my reading experiences. Are you a reader? Do you still read paper books, or prefer electronic reading?

And check it out! We just put up the first of the window treatments that I've been sewing:

 I'm super happy with it. I needed neutral fabrics that would play nice with different quilts on the bed throughout the year, and with the white Christmas tree we like to put up in the window bay, but not be so tame that they were "blah."

I have enough of the cream fabric left to make a nice bedskirt with scraps of the gray behind the box pleats, but first I have to finish the gray portions of the other two windows and get those stitched to their mounting boards. I've already finished all of those in the cream facing treatment.

I mentioned being a reader - Scott is, too, and we both greatly prefer paper books. This room is huge - some 20 x 15 feet with the bay window on top of it all, so we're creating a little library nook. Scott's going to make me some beautiful bookcases, but those have to wait until we can put up the rest of the crown moulding. (His power saw is hostage right now to the special custom fencing you have to make specific to your particular crown moulding to accomodate the compound angles you have to cut, and unclamping that would mean he'd have to do all the work of making that fence all over again.)

This will become a pretty library nook,
but for now it's just remodeling storage area.

But the crown moulding can't be finished until the professional dude does the work on the fireplace surround that will go in here from floor to ceiling. Scott had put on the skeleton wood for the mantle before we decided the bottom tile will go away. It does look like the old tile can be removed and new backing board installed without taking the mantle beginnings down (you can't see the space underneath it all in this photo).

I'm also in the middle of painting the 4 doors for our suite. They were a really banged-up stained oak treatment, with deep gouges from the previous owner's dogs that looked really bad even with restaining. I had to do a lot of fill work and sanding to get them in good shape before I started the painting. I'm giving them a nice texture with chalk paint before doing some wash work that I'll show later. The first door side (the inside of the closet door) turned out exactly how I wanted it, so I'm replicating my work on the doors that all show now.

I lost my saw horses for the day -
it would be a real pain to paint these on the floor.

The doors will get some architectural overlays in each of the panels that will have gold brushing on them, rather like a modified French Renaissance style that will coordinate with the detail work that will go on the mantel and the vanity. They'll also get new knobs in the French Renaissance style.

After all this is squared away, I'll also refinish the chairs in the bay window to pull that look all together. I wanted to get them professionally refinished and reupholstered, but I've spent all my remodel budget (barring the hold-back of the professionals' fees for the fireplace and the tub surround), so that's no longer an option. The fabrics I like are Not Cheap, and would be something just under two thousand dollars for the reupholster supplies and labor. But guess what? CHALK PAINT, BABY!!!  WHO KNEW THAT YOU CAN PAINT THE ACTUAL FABRIC, AND IF YOU USE THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE, IT LOOKS AND PERFORMS JUST GREAT?! I saw some actual pieces done up, and found the result to be perfectly acceptable in appearance and function for these chairs here. I'm telling you, chalk paint is my new love, after quilting. My preferences tend to a more polished effect than people generally associate with chalk paint, but the stuff is incredibly versatile depending on the techniques you use.

The work is moving along so very slowly, but every little step forward tickles my fancy so perfectly - I really look forward to a finished suite that I completely adore.  :)

~*~*~

But it's time for me to stop jabbering and let you share what you've done lately for BOM work:

Kate over at Katie Mae Quilts has joined me in hosting this meet-up,

and linking up from either end puts you on the party at both sides.