Working On The Storefront

We've now moved down into the store front, and have begun working on renovating it.

Up first is painting.

One of the great features of the store is that all of the windows are brand new. The whole space is very bright and open. However, the dark trim and dark ceilings have really dulled it down. So, we've started painting all of the trim and sills and doors and ceilings white.

It makes such a difference.

You can see the newly renovated entrance. It's waiting a fresh coat of white paint.

Looking towards the back of the store. Can you see how much of a difference a crisp, white ceiling will make?

Even Molly came along to help Aunt Jeanette paint windows.

Ryan in the stairwell going up to the apartment patching... everything.

Interesting fact about the store:

There is a lot of damage on the ceilings and on the walls in the store because there was actually a zombie movie filmed here called Dead Before Dawn. Christopher Lloyd was part of the cast!

Local paper, Welland Tribune described it as a "fast paced adventure comedy that follows a bunch of college kids as they accidentally unleash an evil curse that causes people to kill themselves and turn into Zombie Demons, aka Zemons." 

I'll take their word for it.

The Apartment - Coming Along

Just checking in with a progress report.

Above is a part of the adventure you haven't seen yet.

This is the cottage.

It's perfect... In a very run down and dilapidated way. It has so much potential though, doesn't it? It's off  to the back of the property and was previously used for nothing more than storage.

My parents have grand plans to eventually fix it up, and rent it out as a cottage.

I will soon take you on a tour through the inside.

Another feature I hadn't shown before is their balcony.

Sounds fancy doesn't it?

I was a little scared venturing out on it... in my knitted slippers... on a frozen steel roof. But with a little attention, it will be a lovey little spot off the kitchen to sit with your morning coffee and watch the boats go through the locks.

That's right. The canal is just in the distance. Right beyond this beautiful historic building.

And now for a few updates.

You can see above, that they've added a few more touches to the living space. Painting, curtains etc... It feels more like them.

They've also done a major update in one of the bedrooms; the really rough one that was being used as the work room. Due to a lot of ceiling damage, they replaced it with bead board. It instantly updates the room.

Now they will move onto patching and repairing the walls before painting.

They also ripped out the old carpet.

One of the biggest transformations I've seen was the bathroom. Remember the dated royal blue tile? Gone!

In it's place is a clean, beautiful bathroom.

I am so in love with the character of this building. It makes all the difference in the world!

Isn't the brick behind the laundry area just beautiful? My mom is nearly finished painting an old cabinet they bought back in the summer to house towels and things.

It's all coming along.

The Apartment - In Transition

I wanted to share a few photos to show you the progress that's being made in the apartment.

Things are coming together very quickly.

The living room and kitchen are nearly finished. Earlier this week dishes were being put away in cupboards and pantry items were being organized. Yesterday we went to set up things like the cable and computer. My parents worked on emptying the store and cleaning it.

There is a huge room off the back of the store that is housing all of their belongings. They are slowly just moving boxes up and putting things away. But until everything is done, it's at least out of sight.

There are still details that they are working on like hanging artwork and curtains and things. But I will show you that all in time.

For now just be amazed at the difference!

It's so nice when something so quickly starts to feel like home.

The kitchen cabinets were all deep cleaned and got a fresh coat of paint.

Taking a much needed break to enjoy a bowl of delicious soup that Aunt Jeanette brought.

How much do you love this doorway? It's probably one of my favorite parts of the whole place.

Even though the linoleum flooring had to stay, it took on a totally different look when the walls were painted. The colours of the hall and the living room match it perfectly! 

Like I said, the rooms still need their own personal touches, but that will all come in time. For now at least they all have proper beds to sleep in.

I love the colour of the hallway, especially with all the doors and trim freshly painted white.

A Painting Party

So how does one get an entire apartment painted and nearly ready to be moved into in one day?

You have a lot of help. A whole family of help!

Cabinets were cleaned and painted.

The transition was amazing!

A fresh coat of paint goes a long way.