Downtown Luxury Slum

I’m finally back with some more updates on the Church Street House in Wilmington.

Remember that short-term rental permit that was initially denied, then approved out of the blue? Well it seems as though it was approved because the city realized they were about to lose their lawsuit to be able to enforce their permitting system. So basically we have a permit now, but it’s no longer required.

Now let me see if I can recall everything we’ve gotten done in the last month or so!

I painted the trim on the front of the house. All of the window trim, shutters, doors, and some of the porch details were painted black. I think it looked extremely gaudy and one of the neighbors said it looked Halloween-y. I wanted to brighten it up so I decided on Benjamin Moore Vanilla Ice Cream paint for the trim and porch railings because it’s just a lighter version of the siding colour, which I was able to match almost perfectly with Benjamin Moore Filtered Sunlight. I chose Behr Fresh Guacamole for the door and shutters for a touch of fun. I’m not sure I love the color so who knows, maybe I’ll try something else in a couple months.

Painting all of the details on the front of the house took a ton of time so I initially decided I would work my way around the rest of the house at a later time. However, last week I discovered a section of drywall under one of the side windows was bulging and felt damp. Upon investigation, I discovered that the exterior of the window was very poorly caulked. I had already done some caulking on the exterior of this window but many of the gaps were hidden because of the black paint. It turns out that black paint is a great way to hide black holes. Four of the other windows on that side of the house also had large gaps and one appeared to not have been caulked at all. So I’ve now primed, caulked, and put one coat of paint on the trim on that side of the house. I’ll have to get to the other sides soon since it seems that in this case, painting is not just cosmetic.

I also donated the cool old gas heating stove that was in the living room and had the gas line cut and capped so now I don’t have to worry about someone randomly turning that little yellow valve and filling the house with gas.

Andrew installed new luxury vinyl tile and a new toilet in the primary bathroom, and then I cut and installed new quarter round and a door transition to finish the look. I didn’t get a good picture of the toilet, but just imagine the most beautiful, non-leaking, unstained toilet with a soft-close seat.

I still need to get a few new light fixtures, but I decided to try to just revamp the rusty bathroom light fixtures. I initially ordered some Rub ‘n Buff but my horrible cat lost it in the couch cushions so I decided to just try spray paint. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

I also started on this mural in the dining room. I need to touch up a few details, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

I have been collecting furniture and decor so I’ll update you on that once I’ve got a couple of rooms totally ready.

I think that’s about it!