Beachside Bungalow - Chopped Up!

My mini time since summer began has been very chopped up and disjointed. Getting our Covid vaccinations, my parent's visit, family gatherings and Russ working on an out of town project have all contributed to the wonderful chaos. However, having only tiny stretches of mini time here or there, I have been working on a vast array of side projects for the Beachside Bungalow and in a disorganized order. Hopefully, you won't find this post too jumbled or long as I try to get you caught up to where I am.

Front door stained and installed.
Peek-A-Boo to fireplace and staircase through front window.

A few weeks ago I had settled on the fixtures I wanted to use in the project, and I got them all taped so that I could apply a unifying color: black. I just love a house with all black hardware, so I thought it would be fun to have all the lighting fixtures match all the hardware.

Cutting thin strips of masking tape makes it easier to apply
to oddly shaped fixtures. Just keep adding strips until
everything is covered.

Taping scrap cardboard over plug ends and wires keeps the overspray away.

All the brass/gold is gone in favor of black satin.
Be sure to follow up the spray paint with a spray varnish.

I sprayed the hinges, knobs, door plates and locks, too.
Double sided tape works great to hold tiny bits in place
while spray painting. Be sure to varnish these, too!

Another small side project I worked on was the stairs. I painted the treads with acrylic paint to look as if they were the same wood stain as the stair landing and fireplace mantle. The stairs are made of MDF so traditional wood stain would not work. I also painted the risers in colors to match the green chevron shades on the living room wallpaper. You will only be able to see the stairs by looking through the front window on the porch, but when you do see them, it will be a fun and funky detail. The last two stairs are covered by the landing so did not need painting.

At one point I began working on the gas fire insert for the fireplace. I had collected some great sticks on one of our forest walks. I just loved the look of the bark for these fake gas fire logs. They look very much like my gas fireplace logs. I used a fire kit from Evan Designs. The 5-12 volt can be included with all of the other 12 volt lights in my project so there is no need to run a separate transformer. I printed the log grate with my 3D printer a few weeks ago when I was building the fire box.

I threaded the three bulbs around and through the grate and made sure they would sit flat beneath the logs. I glued the logs to the grate and each other with Tacky Glue. Once completely set, I added a coating of matte Mod Podge to the logs to ensure none of the neat bark would flake away with time.

View from the bottom of the grate.

The wires for the fireplace bulbs will exit the fire box out the back and then be threaded down through the floor of the house where I can run an extension to the power source. The back of the stairs lie on the part of the fire box that is missing. Luckily, you barely notice the funky adaptation in the completed fireplace! The prayers worked!!!

This is how the log rack sits inside the fire box. Notice how the powder room door has been stained, installed in the wall and had it's hardware added? That was another small side project that I fit in when I had a few mini minutes. Betsy - I added the hinges just because I love the look of them. They are for looks only and do not add any contribution to the functionality of the door.

Here is the back of the fireplace wall. You can see the tiny powder room this way and where the back of the fire box will be hidden behind it and under the stairs.

With the gas fire ready, it was time to add a "glass" (Lexan) panel to the front and then the frame. The fill pattern that is a natural side effect of 3D printing adds a neat detail to the frame.

Here it is after the glue has dried.

And in the room with the mantle added and the flames on...

And the video. Sorry for the loud audio in the background - I was listening to a Sasquatch encounter story!!! Yikes!!!

The keen observers out there may have noticed a light fixture installed in the stair landing. Also notice that the front door and window trim are stained and installed.

Yep - another chunk of mini time was dedicated to starting on the lighting fixtures for the first floor. I showed you in last week's post about the four "can" lights for this "open concept" first floor greatroom, but in addition, I added the stair landing fixture, the powder room fixture and two funky retro pendant light fixtures that will hang above the kitchen island. The girls even came by for a look at the progress! 

Kairi, the lady in the red striped top, has been the planned occupant for the Beachside Bungalow project since 2016. She has patiently waited A LONG TIME for her home and is naturally beside herself that I am finally making progress!

I have made a little progress on the second floor, but I'll save that for next week! Until then, hope you are all finding moments to make progress on your dreams!

xo xo,

Jodi