It all started with a mouse

Do you ever just put up with stuff around the house and let it bug you each time you look at it, till it gets to the point that you just don't look at it any more?  I never used to, but in the last couple of years, my house has been neglected. 

See what I mean? All of our shutters were peeling,  the worst were up on the 2nd floor, so I just never looked up.  But when the ones right by the front door started to get worse and worse, it became hard to avert my eyes.  

Then, we were invaded by mice.  Yes, what do mice have to do with shutters?  Well, I guess these nasty little poo droppers just seriously got my attention, and when I started to clean up after them, I got kick started into a deep cleaning mode and went berserk over all of my house, including those peeling shutters.

  I moved all the furniture, cleaned behind it, and then did a couple switcharoos with a few doodads and some stuff on the wall in my bedroom.  That got me thinking how much I always hated the curtains in the bathroom, so I whipped up a new set with scraps and lace.  I then ended up buying a new spread, and a couple of rugs for my bedroom and sewed some pillows to match.  While I was rug shopping, I finally picked up some paint to redo the breezeway and these shutters.

Its been a crazy couple of days, but worth it.   I think that since our remodel plans have been up in the air for so many months, I've been just letting stuff slide, thinking I'd take care of it all at the same time, after the remodelling. But then, I realized how hard it is to live with the mess of ripping out walls, and thought, I should have some areas that were all done and nice to make myself feel better while living through the horror of having half a kitchen.

 Sugarwing's Daddy dropped by while I was scraping the ground level shutters and offered to do the higher ones for me.  I have a terrible fear of heights and was going to just continue with my policy of never looking up when I pulled into the driveway. 

This kind of peeling is fine.  This is an old shutter that I have hanging on the wall of the house for decoration by the back door of the studio.  When I bought it to paint roses on, the peeling paint was one of the things that drew me to it.

But this is a whole different story.  This just looks like no one loves the house. 

Years ago, I made these shutters myself.  We'd taken down an old garage and saved the wood. I cut two pieces the length of the window, marked a triangle shaped notch in each, cut it out with a jig saw, then lined the notches up to form a diamond and screwed small boards across them.  It was simple, and free to do, since I already had all of the wood.

I know they aren't perfectly straight, but for me, the old wood and simplicity of them compliments our old house and helps make the new addition fit in with the older half of the house.

More redo pictures to come! 

And in case you were wondering, I think all of the mice are caught.  Twinkle helped, she is a good hunter.

Comments

[Kerryanne English]

The thought of mice makes my skin crawl... so glad you got them all Karla. look forward to seeign more photos of the re-do.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne

[Mitzi Curi]

I love those shutters! It's depressing to shop for new ones. They're made of plastic....

[Tami Hacker]

I need to be inspired to redo my rooms, but hopefully not by mice or snakes. Anxious to see you redo pics!
Hugs, Tami

[Maija]

The outside will look amazing with a slap of new paint on the shutters!! What a treasure they are- handmade by you!!!

[Kim Gillian]

I love your Pillow cases and the shutter you painted. Beautiful!
-Kim

[Sheila R - Blessed and Distressed]

I need to be inspired to do a major deep clean around my house, but you can keep the mice. I love your shutters! I can't believe you made them... (oh, yes I can). What a great idea!

[fairyrocks]

Fresh paint and someone to do the high parts, Happy renovating, and yeah, mice are only cute in cartoons and stamps...
I do have those areas, one is a glaring broken tile on the kitchen floor...its been there too long...
Thanks for the kick in the renovator mode.

[barbara]

I could not be more impressed that you made those shutters! I wish Sugarwings' Daddy would drop by here - the cobwebs on the side of my house mark how high I am willing to go.

[Sissie]

Your shutters are going to thank you for giving them a new face. They are looking prettier all ready.
Love the lace on the pillow slips. Very pretty.

hugs
Sissie

[jeanie]

I always love your redo posts. This is fun. Sorry about the mice. We deal with it at the lake. Over the fourth, Gypsy gave me a lovely dead furry gift in bed. Thanks heaps, Cat. I was so zonked I put it under a wastebasket and dealt with it a couple of hours later!

[Laurie]

Oh yeah, Twinkle was born to catch those mice! I'll be it invigorated her, too! The shutters looked nice before to me, but they look lovely after!

[Elaine L.]

I hear you on the mess and stress of remodeling. We have been so busy. Luckily we are not having to do the work. But, it's hard finding the best price and people who will do good work and decide on colors, etc.

It is going to be so much fun seeing your kitchen remodel.

~elaine~

[Karla Nathan]

It has taken us months to get the design settled and get bids. I talked to a lot of contractors and was shocked at how few got back to me!

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