Let There Be Light!

We have been busy, busy!  So much to do still and we are just trying to knock it all out, one step at a time.  This is a two part blog covering the paint on the inside and the electrical.  Woot, woot...we have LIGHT!! 

So, on to the painting. 

We originally planned to do a type of white wash effect so that the wood grain showed through.  You basically brush on white paint, then immediately wipe it off as much as you can.  It whitens the wood but doesn't completely cover it.  Test sample came out great.  The actual product....not so much.  :(

The pine didn't take the paint evenly.  And because it was drying so fast, you had to do small sections so you could wipe it off quickly.

It left lines and splotchy sections.  We just couldn't get it even.  AND....since we had already started, we had a good section of the walls looking like this...we were left with one real option...PAINT!

We painted the walls a flat true white.  The trim we painted a semi gloss light grey.  It's actually the same paint as the siding.  It just looks more grey against the white.  We painted the cross beams and supports the same grey.  It was a nice neutral color that would go well with any colors we used in furniture or accent pieces. 

The slight gaps in the wood where it was hand cut shows up nicely.  It gives the whole place the feel of a old farmhouse.  It really shows off that it was handmade and I love it. 

Bedroom area.  It was a pain to paint!  All the overhead wore my arms and shoulders out quickly. 

Bedroom window.  I like how the grey looks against the white.  It's so clean looking. 













And now...on to the electrical.  You can see the hint of pipe in some of the previous pictures.  We decided to run the electrical in 1/2 inch conduit on the outside of the walls in case we had to fix anything down the road.  I like the look of exposed pipe and my husband does a phenomenal job bending it. 

We mounted our small electrical panel in the hall back by the bedroom. 

Pipe running from panel to kitchen and branching off to the proper areas. 

And more pipe.  Running down the wall to where it will branch down for the fridge.

Area above the sink.  Outlets will be run on a GFCI circuit breaker.  The other box is a double switch for the kitchen ceiling fan and light.

Pulling wire.  What fun.  We ran our circuits and pulled all the wire for lights and fans.

Circuit panel before

Circuit panel after.  All connected and labeled up nice and pretty!

Track light in bedroom area with LED bulbs.

Ceiling fan & track lights in living room area.  LED bulbs, of course. It's hard to see but if you look into the loft area, there is a dark grey strip mounted on the peek.  That is a battery powered LED track light with pivoting heads.  We got them at Harbor Freight for $10.00.  Perfect for Storage loft light! 

Kitchen track lights with LED bulbs and fan.  It's a small 35inch fan but quite powerful. 

The fans are on a "quick disconnect" so we can take them down when we move.  We were worried about them swinging and banging into the walls when we hauled our home around.  We mounted a base plate that a threaded piece of heavy duty conduit could screw into.  We replaced the fan pipe with the conduit and attached a plug to the end instead of straight wiring the fan into the box.  Just unplug and unscrew the fan and it comes down easy peasy!

And to end...a picture of my gorgeous front door with the light switches wired in.  We will have a light mounted out front of the porch.

We now have light and can run a small heater to help keep the chill out of the house while we work this winter.  We are running off a temporary line to a powered barn right now.  It works and allows us to keep working when it gets dark or too cold.  

We are now moving on to the bathroom!  YAY!  One step at a time.  :)

Thanks for reading and as always..please leave us some comments!  We love to hear from you!