This Old House…The Story of My Home Renovation

 

This December it will one year since we left our city style brownstone in downtown Hartford for a house with a yard for our little one. We knew our new abode would need SOME work. At first I thought I would get everything done before we moved. Did I mention that was almost a year ago? Our renovation reminds me of an onion. Peel of one layer and there are hundreds more to get through and it stinks while you’re doing it!

We painted walls, refinished the floors and updated our master bath. It was the perfect candidate for one of those cable shows where you wonder if anyone still has a bathroom like that! Going through it was stressful as we moved in and out of rooms so workers could take over. We no longer needed alarm clocks. They were replaced by the break of dawn arrivals of various men with tools.

Once upon a time Dennis and I did much of the work ourselves. Since the arrival of our daughter Helena 19 months ago, taking time out to sing “Elmo’s world” has replaced reading do-it-yourself books. Though since we renovated our old house before, we have learned some tricks I’d like to pass along.

If you are going to hire anyone to do work I believe word of mouth from someone who’s had success is the best way to get a good result. Years ago Eyewitness News Anchor Irene O’Connor referred me to 

Patrick Moran of Moran Builders and Remodeling in West Hartford, and I’m so happy she did. Pat helped me design the perfect master bath while still keeping in mind our budget ( i.e. he didn’t suggest moving massive pipes just so I could put my make-up on on the other side of the room!) He comes along with his buddies Ed Blesso the plumber, Wayne Wosczyna the electrician and Paul Lenares the carpenter. Not only are they skilled but they don’t seem to mind that I change my mind a lot.

 

If you are not going to hire a designer I suggest you do what I did and clip lots of pictures of what you like. I found my dream bath in a the Renovation Style magazine and went from there. Pat and I knocked off a few things for cost but in the end I love my bath more than the picture. I used the internet to get great deals. I saved 50 percent by buying my tub on www.overstock.com  I found my sink at Green Demolitions www.greendemolitions.com in Norwalk for 15 dollars, brand new! They get samples from famous companies and sell em to you and me. They also harvest luxury kitchens and baths from renovations done by the Rich and Famous in Greenwich and plant them in your home. Speaking of being green, I had an antique desk I inherited from my college buddy who didn’t need it anymore. It was the perfect size and shape for a dressing table. George at West Hartford Finishing http://whfinishing.com made it white and durbable enough for everyday use. I love that I saved the environment and my wallet! Choices like that allowed me to splurge on a towel warmer from Mr. Steam. I hate the cold, and I hate doing laundry- so I love a warmer that heats the towels and keeps them from getting wet and musty.

If you have a quirky space you might need to use custom cabinets. We went to Village Cabinets in Bristol www.villagecabinets.com . Remember what I said about word of mouth? Denise D’Ascenzo used them on her kitchen years ago and passed them to on to us. The cabinet designer Steve Henschel helped us with a new kitchen in our brownstone and I knew he could work magic again. That’s exactly what he did. In old houses you don’t have the big bathrooms of today. Steve looked at my dimensions and came out with a plan to build a vanity that would look like my picture, fit in my space, hide all my hair products, and still fit our budget.

What’s a bathroom to do without tile. Enter Lorenzo from Marconi tile in Newington. He knew I wanted to keep with the old tradition of our home so we stuck to subway tile in the shower, and white hexagons on the floor. He still helped me add some spa like flare with rocks on the shower floor and some pretty aqua/blue ocean like glass tile above my vanity. He took my picture and made it real! Thank you Joe, the owner of Marconi. and Ina for helping me get all the tile at great prices.

To expand our master bath from its turn of the century shoe box size to a space big enough to fit both of us at the same time, we had to go into our closet. That meant we would have to build a new one! I used Steve at Affordable Closets in Windsor and our Stylist on Better Connecticut, Debbie Wright of Project Closet in Enfield, to maximize the space. Yes, I may now be able to even get Dennis organized!

Our painter Frank Lapore in Rocky Hill made it all come alive with color. He is so meticulous he even polished and painted our old window hardware to make it new again. One thing I learned from him…paint the inside of your fireplace black and it will never look dirty!

I used the husband and wife team at Sang Hardwood Floors to make our 1912 floorboards shine again. I shopped around and they came in as much as 40 percent less than some of our quotes. Yet their work is priceless.  Last but not least, we did a story on discount drapes at  RL Fisher in Hartford.  I found beautiful things to dress up my rooms. They make custom drapes at ready made deals.  Check em out on Bartholomew street.  You already know their work since they make most of the drapes for catalog companies and retailers in the Northeast.

As a journalist, I like to learn about things that make my own life better and pass them on. So if you’re renovating try clipping some pics and build a great team. I can’t say enough good things about ours. Now I can relax in my new bath….until the next project. Don’t worry Dennis it won’t be for a while!

 

 

 

 

WHAT IS A DOULA?

My mother called her a “doul-loo” which, to me, sounds like someone who does voo-doo. My husband called her “Mary Poppins” because of her pleasing English accent. My friends said of she’s a “Baby Nurse” right?

Actually, Doula is a Greek word that means “mother’s helper,” and boy did Joanne Baker-Guerrette help me A LOT!

It used to be that when you had a baby, all of your relatives, who all lived in the same town, came to help you survive bringing a new baby home for the first time. Now, with parents and siblings living plane rides away, many do-it-all moms are left to fend for themselves. Let’s face it, husbands can’t help you figure out how to breastfeed, and many just don’t even hear the crying in the middle of the night, much less know how to make it stop! (Sorry, Dennis, but you have always been a good sleeper!)

We’ve all heard babies don’t come with instruction books, though a doula can be your own human manual. Mine taught me there are 5 S’s to keeping a baby happy: Shushing noises, Swaddling, Side/Stomach position, Sucking and Swinging. In fact, there was a book written by Dr. Harvey Carr on these principles called “The Happiest Baby on the Block.” (In my opinion, it should illegal to send moms home without a copy of that book!!!)

Joanne, my doula, teaches moms all about it at Hartford Hospital. A doula will work any hour of the day. She will teach you how to care for a baby, help with a feeding/sleeping schedule, help with nursing problems plus she’ll do the laundry and the dishes so you can get some rest before your bundle of joy wakes up again!

They think of things you don’t. For instance, Ms. Mary Poppins took one look at all the stairs in our old brownstone and set up a make-shift changing table downstairs. She told me I would never heal right if I kept running up and down. Sometimes, she just ordered me to take a nap and drink tea! (English, of course.)

A Doula is different from a baby nurse because many baby nurses will only care for a baby, but will not do any household chores. Your Doula should still be trained and certified in infant care. A good one will be able to help you with lactation issues and help with sibling adjustment problems. There are labor doulas as well who help you through delivery, but since I didn’t use one, I’m not the best person to ask about that.

As a reporter, I often have to become an expert in something in a short amount of time. As a new mother, I enlisted a doula so I could learn as much as possible from someone who is an expert. Thanks to Joanne, Helena sleeps through the night and Dennis and I feel like we actually know a little bit about what we are doing as parents! Some moms use them just for few hours for a couple of days for the first week home. Others keep them for much longer. I can only tell you we were so sad to say goodbye to our good friend.

If you want to learn more here’s Joanne’s Web site: mumstheworddoula.com

The Balancing Act

Hi everyone! Sorry it’s taken a while to get back to my blogging, but as many of you know, getting back to business after having a baby becomes a balancing act. I finally feel like I have a routine going and I am enjoying the “balance” of work and family. Helena is now four and a half months old and I can’t even remember what life was like without her. She has a killer smile and it melts my heart every time I see it.

I have learned I can survive on much less sleep than I ever thought possible. When I am awake, I get a lot more done. I have become a master of multitasking. As a news reporter, I thought I was pretty good before, but being a mom has given me super powers. I can schedule appointments, cook and/or clean with baby in hand. I used to get up an hour before I had to be at work. Now, I get up three hours earlier and use every minute. My morning is planned with the same vigilance our producers time our newscasts: 6 a.m., wake up; 6:03, feed Helena; 6:15, change diaper; 6:30, hope I can have coffee and read the paper while she plays with toys; 6:35, that doesn’t work because we watch Eeebee Baby instead!

Helena has become the center of our world. Even as I write this and prepare to anchor the news she is always on my mind. I guess, before she came along, I must have spent a lot of time thinking about myself or my wants. Becoming a mom makes you realize how much better life is when you spend your time caring for others. Dennis and I used to love to go to fancy restaurants and plan spontaneous trips. Now, we get excited about our daughter’s digestive accomplishments — from burps to the color of her diapers, this is now normal dinnertime conversation. We also spend a lot of time discussing her sleep cycles and why she will sleep eight hours one night and get up every three hours the next. The odds of figuring this out are probably greater than winning Powerball, but myself and many other moms will keep on trying!

I think the reason new parents spend so much time talking about the difficulties of sleep deprivation and other baby woes is because it’s harder to put the good stuff into words. I will try to do it here. Having a child flips a switch in your heart that lights up your world even on the darkest of days. Because of Helena I see the world from a new perspective. I laugh harder, worry more and love more deeply. She is a blessing that just makes you want to say thank you every day.

Special Delivery!

Dennis & Kara are the proud parents of a baby girl.

Helena Sundlun House
Born on Friday, Feb. 23

Click here for pictures

More to come as they settle down,

WFSB.com Moderators

Baby Blog

As many of you know, Dennis and I are expecting our first child. I find this to be such an exciting, albeit sometimes terrifying time! From changing emotions to changing sizes pregnancy is truly amazing. I’m 36 weeks now and fortunately baby and I are very healthy. Aside from the expected aches and fatigue I’m feeling great.

As any expectant mom knows, the two top questions are when are you due and what are you having? I’m due February 18th and we have decided to be surprised. Can you believe it two nosy reporters don’t want to know? I just think it’s one of the only great surprises left in life. Most people think I’m carrying like a boy, but lately I have been having feelings it’s a girl.

My mother is Hungarian and claims she has special intuitive powers, but even she is stumped.

Speaking of mothers, it’s amazing how different pre-natal care was for them. When my mother had me she only gained 17 pounds, smoked, drank a glass of wine every now and then and her Doctor approved. Women of her generation look at you with fear and bite their tounges when they hear today we are supposed to gain between 25 to 35 pounds at least! In addition to giving up any alcohol, I have also sworn of sushi, all of my favorite cheeses like feta and goat (apparently these can cause listeria poisoning?) and I try to be happy when I see the needle on the scale move up every week. At only 5 foot three I think I will tip over soon! I feel like I need a forklift to roll me over at night. I figure as long as Dennis still weighs more than me I’m doing OK! For those who are wondering, I guess I can tell you I’ve gained 31 pounds so far with about three and half weeks to go. My Doctor is happy, my jeans are being pushed farther back in the closet!

I’ve read every pregnancy book out there and I’m now moving on to What to Expect in the First Year. I was raised as an only child. Although, I have always had a deep love for children I haven’t changed a diaper since I babysat in high school! I know I have a lot to learn, but the Pediatrician in my child-birth class told all of us the first two weeks of life are like middle school, they don’t count. I will have some great mothers to call on for advice, from my own to Denise D’Ascenzo, Susan Raff and both of my bosses who are managing careers and young children. I will be taking maternity leave and if I can swing typing while breast-feeding I will try to keep you all updated on my adventures as a new mother.

I also want to thank all of our viewers who have sent in such amazing hand-made gifts. From crocheted blankets to knitted booties Baby House will be the best dressed kid around!

If you want to read about our quest to find the perfect baby name log onto Dennis’s blog.