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Better Homes and Gardens Feature - Basement Renovation

10:49 AM | Labels: , , , , ,

Be sure to pick up the July issue of Better Homes and Gardens.


Inside you will see the article/pictures below of my recently finished basement.

Better Homes and Gardens / Photographer - John Bessler
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications
 
Better Homes and Gardens / Photographer - John Bessler
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications

The project took most of the winter to finish and also includes a bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom will be featured in Bed and Bath Makeovers which should be available soon. The overall goal was to make the space flexible to accommodate our ever changing family needs.

Better Homes and Gardens / Photographer - John Bessler
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications
  

Great care was taken to make sure this space fit into the overall design scheme of the rest of the house. I wanted it to look like it had been completed when the house was built seven years ago.
Better Homes and Gardens / Photographer - John Bessler 
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications


To that end, I used bead board, vintage lights and door knobs, matched trim, columns and doors to exising woodwork, changed the treads on the stairs from pine to oak and kept the walls the same color as the upstairs. I am very happy with the results and can't wait to tackle my next project.

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Fresh Cuttings

3:25 PM | Labels:



I have begun to enjoy some of my first cuttings from the flower garden. This vase holds some Minuet Peony and David Austen's Windemere Roses. I can't stop smelling them. Whether cut or in the garden, I'm often found bending down to inhale their delicate beauty. I can't breathe deep enough.



Still wearing my pajamas, I wandered out into the yard this morning. I went to see all of the Iris blooming in an abandoned flower bed by the barn. They seemed so resolute and so regal standing tall against the weeds and overgrowth growing around them.



Saying hello to them was a wonderful way to start the day.

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Green Living

9:05 AM | Labels:



When we bought our house, we knew we wanted to make it as healthy as possible, both for us and for the environment. The first step we took towards that goal, was to hire an environmental survey firm to establish potential health hazards (lead, asbestos) in our home. This is significantly important to people such as us, who were about to set off on a major home remodel.

The environmental survey firm, who came recommended by our local Health Department, started by coming out to do a site visit. We could have sent floor and paint samples to them directly, but I think it's most beneficial for them to come to you, primarily because they test everything - things that most people (including myself) would never even think to test.

They took lots of paint samples from all of our rooms, samples of dried up adhesive on our walls and flooring, samples of our several layers of linoleum, wall insulation, plaster and to my surprise, window mortar from our original windows.

Our results were invaluable and helped us navigate the next steps of our remodel. In rooms where paint contained any levels of lead, extra precautions were taken to not disturb the paint. For example, we plastered and painted over all of the glue marks from the paneling rather than scrape it off the painted walls, which would have created a lot of harmful dust.

We were fortunate in that the only asbestos found in our home was in the skim coat of our plaster ceiling in the living room and some linoleum squares found in a few of the kitchen cabinets. The skim coat was a practice used to soften the rougher surface of plaster and was often found in the most formal of the homes rooms. Due to the size of the living room, we chose to hire a separate firm to do an asbestos abatement. This firm was certified in asbestos removal AND proper disposal, which is also an extremely important component to this process.

The cost of the environmental survey was $840. The cost of the asbestos abatement (which included removing the living room ceiling plaster down to the lathe) was $1,000. Of course, two thousand dollars can buy a lot of things, but for the peace of mind of living in a healthy home, it was priceless.

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