Progress Report:: Loft Stairs/Storage, Basement Acid Stain, and Pool Table!

Our newest addition.

We were experiencing a bit of a lull in motivation on house projects for a while there. I started a rock/boulder wall project and spent a lot of time in the garden and splitting/stacking firewood but had no specific projects I was working on in the house. Meanwhile, Warren was still doing odds and ends inside including making closet-space in the kids' rooms, but his heart wasn't into it. He was watching pool tournaments on YouTube every night, a man slightly obsessed. We always intended on purchasing a pool table but planned on it being a purchase for down the road. Yet I could sense that it was something we should prioritize for Warren's mental health and well-being. I also sensed an incentive program to cure that lull in motivation! 

"...but before we can get the pool table, we first we need to finish the loft stairs/closets, deep-clean the basement, and acid-stain the concrete floors..." The acid-staining was a project we weren't looking forward to, but Warren now had a fire lit under his rear-end. He had quickly found the perfect table. It was a used Aufhausen table in great condition, and it was a steal! We now had a three week deadline to tie up our loose odds and ends. 

We had to finish the kids' rooms closets because all the materials were being stored in the basement as well as the miter saw and table saw. This was actually a pretty fun project. I designed these closets to have lots of storage space and double as stairs that get you to the lofts in the bedrooms. Warren made my drawings functional and built them. Both closets involved a bit of framing, dry-walling, and painting. Since wood prices are currently absurdly high, he was very efficient with the plywood for the boxes/steps. The end-result was phenomenal! They add a bit of intrigue to the bedrooms, and I think one day the lofts are going to be fun spaces for the kids to have.

Acid staining concrete.... don't believe the internet when it says it is easy. What a tedious process! Clean, clean again, fill cracks, clean, etch, clean. Stain, clean, clean. Neutralize and degrease, clean, clean, clean, clean, clean. Seal, repeat. Polish, repeat, repeat. I won't ever to it again. Yet it sure transformed the space! "Wheat" was supposed to be a pleasant yellow, but the rusty red looks nice too.

Silky smooth floors to kiss your feet.

A few days before our pool table was set to arrive, we decided we needed an oversized area rug to put under the table. Turns out rugs that big typically have a several week lead time, and most stores do not carry area rugs as large as we needed. But we were motivated! I spent an afternoon scouring home stores in Bellingham. I found a few that were big enough, and the only one that was the right style and color was a $2000 rug! We would never spend that much on a rug, but it just so happened that the store was having a huge sale on all the rugs in stock. We still spent more than we initially wanted on it, but it is very high quality and looks amazing in the basement. I don't think I could have found a better color; it ties in the rusty red of the floor with the green of the pool felt. 

New floor, new rug, new felt, new love.

I suspect productivity will slow again for a time as the man obsessed with pool videos is now obsessed with pool. And pool videos. He is so happy though, and if anyone deserves a break he does! He has poured his heart and soul into this house, so he now needs to nurture that heart and soul with some pool.

Future pool shark.