living room project! pics! update! finished and decorated!

[cadrad]

Ok so I am horrible at posting pictures So I realize these are huge. I couldnt figure out how to downsize them.These are pics of my long ago living room project that was happening in say January/febuary of this year. The room is finished now. at the bottom are pictures of the finished room decorated for Christmas!There was an added wall that divided this 30' long room in half that I removed. You can see the outline of it here in the foreground. I had to remove an added layer of drywall so I could repair the water damage to the plaster and have a smooth level ceilinganother taking down the ceiling shot this shot shows the big hole in the middle of the roomthis is the smaller damage over by the fireplacethis is the big hole patched with drywallThis is the room on possession day 2009this shows the room with the finished radiator, ceiling, and woodwork and the first coat of green painthere is a shot of the prestripped fireplacehere it is strippedhere it is with the sconce wiring restored to the original spots and the huge plate glass mirror removed. I will try to get some other shots of the room as well as some finished shot up soon!
mantle view as you enter the room

same view from front hall as you come in

front end of room.

tight shot of the main tree showing the 300 + vintage 40's and 50's Shiny Brites I have been collecting since I was 8. also, the 500 pieces of old lead tinsel applied by hand and the vintage c-7 light strings with bubble lights, lighted ice, and vintage aluminum reflectors

another gratuitous tree shot

far end of the room looking towards the front hall from the door of the sunroom. notice the built-in bookcases I built and designed to match the fireplace detail

far end of the room showing the other wall and the doorway to the sunroom. i finally found french doors for this doorway, but I haven't installed them yet.

another shot of the same thing...

right side of sunroom built in bookcase and partial tree. these bookcases that flank the door are not original but are a good use of space and well built.

this is the same view shortly after moving in

a shot of the sunroom tree

[MrGrady]

Looks good! That's no small task stripping all of that woodwork (and the fireplace!)

By the way, what was your method for stripping the wood? I've had good luck with a heat gun so far.

[Hoosier Foursquare]

Looking really great. Can't wait to see some more pics!

[cadrad]

McGrady- This is my techniques for stripping- I cut and pasted it from an earlier reply to a similar question

" I do not like to use chemical strippers on my oak that I am stripping because I am trying to preserve the original stain color. If you use the heat gun to remove the majority of the paint, spray the area liberally with denatured alcohol and use a putty knife/dental tool/wooden skewer to pick out any big chunks (big being a relative term here) wiping frequently with a rag and re spraying as neccisary. use a stripping brush (like a nylon bristled oversise tooth brush) to scrub the grain to remove embedded paint while continuing to spray and wipe as nessisary. go over it a couple more times with progressivly finer steel wool and more alcohol and wiping. If you have been careful, you still should have some of the original stain color showing. let it dry overnight, then shellac. I like amber shellac as I feel it gives an nice rich old fashioned color. use a high quality brush for oil paints/stains. It is very easy to apply but VERY fast drying, so move quickly in smooth strokes, keeping a wet edge. after the first coat, get a stain chart from the paint store and match your color. Then go to Joann fabrics or the like and find a little bottle of acrylic paint to match the stain sample you selected and touch up the corners and nail holes and the like (paint spots) as suggested previously. apply a couple of more coats of shellac, going over each coat with fine steel wool as sand paper(no alcohol!) except for the final coat which you just leave alone. I have been avoiding the glass issue by painting the muntins a slightly darker shade of the wood color and then shellacking over them, which in my opinion looks pretty nice and gives some definition. shellac can be tinted using univeral colorants that you can get at any paint store. It can also be easily removed with denatured alcohol if you decide you dont like the looks of it or you mess up at first. It is relativly self healing, so scratches or missed spots can be touched up with an artists brush. this is how ive been going about it. hope this helps!"

[PowerMuffin]

Geez, great outcome. Love the fireplace and your windows are fabulous! I am amazed that the fireplace came out so well.
Diane

[Sombreuil_Mongrel]

Dude, you're amazing. The fireplace is great; what stripper?
Casey

[pqtex]

Those are beautiful windows, especially with the wood revealed instead of painted.

[cadrad]

casey-
I can't recall the brand- its the one that the home depot sells as its most common brand- you know, all of their chemicals are from this manufacturer.

[sooth]

Nice. I LOVE your house, so any excuse to see bits of it is a good one!

You've done an awesome job so far.

[cadrad]

ok I guess that since I edited this without making a new comment It stayed where it was, So I am bumping it to the front