The rest of the living room...

This is the South wall in the living room...it was my first and only attempt at putty...I thought, in all my infinite wisdom...that I would just putty those holes from the tacks and nails...this is two hours worth of filling...NOT HAPPENING...if I would have continued? I would still be standing at this wall filling holes....

There were too many...so in my newly acquired attitude of  "this is for the birds"...I primered over those holes...hmmm...paint fills them better than putty and I don't have to sand...don't know if anyone has ever used Kilz paint? Well, it is some thick stuff! Not my first choice in paint but where I live? It is the only choice...I did end up using caulk for the knot holes  and some of the big cracks...no sanding, just wipe off what you don't want with a damp rag...oh...and my wonderous ability with a caulking gun? I had more on my head than the wall...took awhile to figure out how to stop that endless stream of caulk coming out of the gun...sometimes? I am waaay short of brilliant!

This room took forever...I was really very tired of this room...I didn't have as much loathing of the basement as I did for that BLUE PAPER!

The floor in this room had some real damage...it was mildewed and buckled...instead of ripping it out we thought we would try heat first and see if it would "relax" to normal...a testament to how durable these floors are? An 8 inch tall bubble 6ft long did relax and went back to normal! And of course, the "Super Clean" treatment got rid of the motor oil and mildew...then 3 scrubbings with Ammonia....

took the rest of the finish and the hundreds of coats of paste wax out of the cracks and off the wood....

You can see the long line of mildew to the left...

I don't know if anyone has priced wood floor refinishing? Wow...$5800.00 big ones to have these professionally refinished...hmmmm...not happening for this chickee! So I got on the net and asked around...they didn't always have Varathane...what did Granny use?  No one seemed to know...there was information about using lye to scrub and paste wax to make it shiny but nothing about old floor finishes...I believe Shellac was used at one time and that is probably what was on these floors along with a few coats of wax for protection...but it had long since warn off...well the wax was still there in the cracks but the only finish I had was good old fashioned dirt! Your feet would literally turn black if you walked on this floor...

I lucked out one day and found an ingenuous woman who was in the same dilemma as I was...she had experimented with several things and found one that suited her and worked well...she had put a coat of plain mineral oil all over her floor, let it soak in and then did it again...following that with 4 coats of paste wax...WOW...her pictures? Made it good enough for me! Couldn't hurt...my floors were bare wood with nothing to lose...the floor "finish" costs me a total of 14 bucks...one bottle of 1.49 mineral oil and a tub of past wax did the entire floor. As it took place...the difference amazed me..they looked like brand new!

the floors testing the mineral oil...

Where the bubble was had deep black spots in it that no amount of scrubbing was going to get out, I tried bleach...lightened the a small amount...but nothing like I hoped...so I went and bought a small can of stain and mixed it with the mineral oil...it covered it all!..When the last coat of paste wax was on? I buffed the heck out of it all...and spent the next day and a half skidding across it in my stocking feet...no dirt...no black socks! Just shiny pretty floor...
I will get pictures of the finished floor soon...I don't have any as yet and have not ventured to the store to buy batteries for my camera!
My neighbor knocked on the door at this point...he walked into my living room and said "WOW" you put new windows in, it's so bright in here!"  "uh...no...I just fixed the ones that were here"..."I didn't even know that big window was in here! I have never seen it before and I have lived next door for six years!"

Before...

During...

After Day LIGHT!

After...Night time with only one lamp...

Sure made me feel better about the room! This is what it looks like to date but all the corners are stuffed with odds and ends...it is still very much a storage room as all my coming winter projects are in here...

This winter my future plans are to cover the furniture with white slip covers...build book shelves( I have the most beautiful window to use as a door!) and paint the china cabinet...I have found dishes that were made right here...someone's kids were cleaning out Mom's house and were taking them to the dump...in addition, I have been collecting pictures, making art and planning a rug...I also have a brand new set of french doors to put in the South wall and a full glass door to replace that horrible front door that is there. It is not original and the "window" is plexiglas!

I was in a quandary about the door in this room leading to the kitchen...it was so beautiful...and charming but it really served no purpose and took up space...I took the paint off of it and the original finish is in beautiful shape...so, I will let you all decide...keep it? or OUT?

This winter, as I finish things for this room, I will post new pic's...I picked up an Ethan Allen sofa for $20.00. It is fantastic shape and is super comfortable...I think white slipcovers will complete the cottage look? What do you think?