Travel

Coming Soon! Travel posts....

Closet space

The last few years I have been going crazy over constantly going into the guest bedroom to get dressed everyday. The master closet has never been functional for us, we could only fit Geoffs clothes in there and a couple of pairs of shoes. It was nothing special. I was stuck with my clothes in the guest room closet or in a dresser. This meant it was much harder figuring out what I actually had to wear. Well, I finally cracked and tore apart the master closet. I bought a few items, reused every single piece I tore out and stressed over the new layout. After a couple days of hard work and a few gift cards later I might actually have a close to finished master closet. I only have a bit of painting to finish and a decision on flooring but it's way more functional now! For the first time in 6 years I have all my clothing in the same place!

I got two shoe racks to store both mine and Geoffs shoes.  Added bonus: here is enough space for Baseball hats!

I added more shelves on the right side of the shoe racks, My intentions for those shelves is to store all the master bedroom linens and maybe our big towels.

On the other side of the closet I built a shelf for all our pants.

This still needs to be painted.

It blows my mind a little bit that we can actually fit all of our clothing in this closet now. 

In other closet news, I also tore apart the coat closet at the front of the house. This is now able to store my jackets and all our board games in addition to Geoffs' coats that were already in there.

My goal this year to to add storage space to the house and make it feel bigger. Two closets down, one to go. I'm looking at your guestroom.

New gate

After we completed the deck we were no longer happy with how our gate and fence looked. The gate itself was leaning now, there were gaps in the fence which we never took care of when we originally built the gate/fence and we just were not happy with how it looked from the deck. We decided it no longer functioned how we had intended and we knew it was time to remove and rebuild it completely. I took a few hours one day to carefully dismantle the fence and gate. I wanted to reuse as much as possible. To my complete shock when we started removing the posts from the ground they completely sheared off at the concrete footing. Each post had rotted through. We hadn't even built this fence that long ago and it was already being destroyed by Mother Nature. We assume when we originally built this we didn't buy pressure treated lumber. This would explain everything. 

 

Once all the original fence was removed we began the rebuild. It took a bit more thought as to how we were going to layout the new fence and gate but we finally had a plan and started on it right away. Our neighbor Art had noticed us working on the rebuild and offered his help like he always does. 

Soon we had the new posts set in concrete and we moved on to building the gate. 

Dad and I created a frame out of 2x4's and attached the fence slats to this frame. We bought big bulky gate hinges and screwed those through the slats and 2x4's. We also cut the bottom of the gate to allow for a ramp that we are going to build and to make it level with the extended deck.

We also decided to extend the deck up to the fence and make extra room for using the gate and maybe to add storage areas.

I decided it would be a good idea to stain the fence and gate right away and it turned out great. I used the same waterproofing stain we used on the deck. I love the darker color. In these front view pictures you can see how we cut the gate for the eventual ramp. Hopefully we get to that sometime year next year.

Finishing the deck extension to the fence, adding the grilling area, and building the ramp are the next stages of this side yard. 

Building a deck

Our side yard has come a long way since we bought the house 5 years ago. We have slowly made it more our style and more functional.

Lets start at the beginning, shall we.

When we first bought the house back in April of 2009 there was a giant overgrown honeysuckle attached to the fence, a pointless stone pathway and a lot of gravel.

2011 we removed the honeysuckle, stone path and started moving gravel.

2012 we removed the wall when we filled in the pool.

2013 we added our garden.

2014 we added a big 200 square foot deck.

We also added some ranch rocks and more flowers.

We still have a lot to do to finish this deck but it is starting to come together. We are going to be adding a roof, a grilling station, a built in bench and we are going to redo our gate and fence section at the end. Also, on the to-do list is to build an 8ft table and possibly a sofa. Things are finally looking nice on that side of the house to match the beautiful courtyard.

A little kitchen update

I was just showing the kitchen to a friend using the blog and realized just how much more we have accomplished since I last made an update. It is crazy how fast things change without realizing it or I just need to pay attention to this blog more. Maybe I will make myself a little reminder once every couple days to write a new post, we'll see how long that lasts.

We have tile, a few new drawer fronts and doors, a functioning sink(!), installed dishwasher and trash compactor and a fun chalkboard.

Geoff and I laid the tile with help from my brother and father. SO much easier than I ever expected.

We are incredibly happy with how the tile turned out. The picture below is just after we finished grouting so there is a bit of haze going on there, but what a difference. We are so happy with our decision to lay the tile in that direction, it makes the room fell bigger.

Here is  our awesome sink and faucet, we lover the single basin!

I was able to install all the baseboards, and on the right I started building the shelf.

Dishwasher and Trash compacter are installed.

Still have tons left but we will get there one day!  ;-)

Slowing down

We have been working hard trying to get the kitchen finished before moving on to any other projects. We have finished: tile, appliances, cabinets, counter tops, sink and faucet. Now I am working to get the breakfast bar with shelves built.

The shelf has started off with a few issues. I am having a hard time getting my brain back into building mode again. I have felt very defeated the last couple of days because of this shelf, it has been very frustrating. I forced myself to walk away from the project for a few days because I feel like I am trying to rush the project just to get it done. I need to slow down and look it over more.  Luckily, I am forced to stop for a bit until some items I ordered come in. It is probably a good thing, I am now forced to reconsider some of my decisions. I rushed installing the base pipe supports and definitely paid for it. Garrett and I got them installed  fairly quick and I was so excited to have it finished. I placed a random board on it to make sure it was level and this happened...

We forgot about the outlet and did a perfect job of splitting it in two.  I have considered  lowering the shelf (Geoff says no), raising the shelf (I don't really want that) and finally notching out the shelf for access. We will most likely be doing the third option.

While we kill time waiting on the shelf pieces I have been working on other small but important items for the kitchen. I can now focus on the finishing touches that will make the kitchen unique and feel complete. Garrett and I removed the center of one of the old cabinet doors, that way we can have glass cabinet doors for two of the upper cabinets. I am pretty excited to get these done. 

As you can see here, I still need to sand it down a bit and stain the frame to match the cabinetry. Additionally, I need to route out the back for the glass to sit in. I really feel like this will add some character to the kitchen, well at least some visual interest. 

Kitchen update...

Happy New Year!  2014 holy mole I can't believe how fast 2013 went. I swear I just started on this kitchen... O WAIT! that was 2012.. OOPS!

Well yes I am still working on the kitchen but I have made ridiculous progress on it since the last time I posted about the kitchen. (Sorry for the iPhone photos I will get better pictures up when I am done with this project. Hopefully that is soon.)

We completely rearranged the whole layout. Moved the fridge, moved the range over so that it was centered with the window and sink that are across from it, moved the pantry cabinet and added a new appliance. Thanks Joyce Ann for the trash compactor. 

Yes those counter tops are concrete and yes we made them :) They have been awesome so far!

This is where the refrigerator used to live. Now we have the pantry and a little wine cubby that we built.

We moved the drinking cabinets  to the left of the microwave and now you can see where we moved the refrigerator. (Excuse the messy counter tops I am in the process of painting the interior of one of the cabinets.)

I promise that sink is not really going to be blue! that is just the protective cover on it because we have yet to install it.

 There are 2 blank spaces on either side of the sink, the closest one is for the trash compactor and the other is for the dish washer.

I have a bunch more photos to so you but I thought a quick little update would be nice. :)

This weekend we are planning on doing our tile so once that is going I will try to post more pictures! 

Office Shelving

     In Mid July I finally decided it was time to create some sort of storage unit for all of our books, knick-knacks and memorabilia. I went online and searched around for a few ideas about what I could DIY,  not surprising there were a ton of options. I fell head over heels for one in particular though, this awesomeness over at The Brick House.  I was in love! It has been a long time coming for this project, why we are just getting to it I will never know... O wait I know there has been a kitchen to work on as well as a garden. Ha!

     Of course I over think every single project before I even start buying or building anything. I started off with a drawing on paper and figured out how many of each piece I would need. It took me a good two weeks to pull the trigger. I did some research, by research I mean look at all the other blogs that have built their own versions of this shelving unit, and found a portion of them saying to try and find better deals online for the steel pieces. I did even more research to find the best price possible for all the pipe. I found a website that had everything I needed for cheap and with free shipping if I bought $50 or more. Yay! The website is Zoro Tools and they were great their website is easy to use and they shipped everything quickly.

Here is the box with all the pipe fittings.

Once I had all the steel I slowly started to build the shelving unit, starting with the bottom and working my way up the wall. 

I rounded the corners of all the boards, sanded them down, stained them and put 3 coats of polyurethane on each one.

Slowly I was making progress.

It took me a lot longer than I was planning on taking. I am sure me being slightly OCD with the stain and poly had something to do with it.

I think it all it took me a few weeks to do, I am sure the next one that I build wont take that long now that I know what I am doing.

Detailed shot of the steel support.

The Side Yard Garden

We finally took on the side yard and made ourselves a little garden for chile, tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.

As you can see we still have a long way to go in the very back part of the yard. Those are all weeds back there, but we have made great progress.

Adding Some Seating

I have been having a really hard time with the living room seating arrangement, simply because I could not figure out what I wanted in front of the fireplace. While I was at my parents house I noticed two old chairs that they had planned on taking to good will. I decided that they could work in my livingroom and took them home with me. They looked really outdated, especailly next to the fireplace. Yucck to the slate surround and our decision to paint the mantle brown.

After looking at one of my favorite blogs (Better After) I realized that I should just refinish these two chairs into something more my style. My inspirations were these guys, here and here. Once I decided on the direction I wanted to go I ripped apart the first chair. 

It came apart very easily. Next I sanded the frame, primed and painted it white. By doing so it really made a huge difference, gone is the 70s/80s fuax wood.

Next up was reupholstering the seat and backing. The seat cushion was very easy to work with since it came off, the seat back on the othher hand was a little bit more tricky. 

After the seat back was finished I started on the second chair. Here they are in front of the newly repainted fireplace. The house is going through a small transformation. I have slowly been painting all the trim, doors and fireplace white. It has really helped the house feel more open, your eye is no longer stopping on all the grey and brown. 

Dining room progress

Now that I've been able to live in the house for a while, I've made a few changes and added items to the dining room to make it feel a more grown up.

While I was in California in May helping my sister, I was able to grab a few goodies from Ikea. These curtains really make the room feel taller and more finished. I also added a few new pieces of art to the walls. The lily painting was at my parents not being used and both the Van Gogh prints are Geoff's. On the right side, I added three square picture frames that still need to be filled with some colourful artwork.

It amazes me how much this room has changed over the last couple of years. Replacing the light fixture made a big difference and now with these curtains, everything seems to be coming together.

The last item on the dining room list is replacing the floor, I cannot wait for the tile to be gone.

New Desk

This weekend we worked on small projects. I worked in the courtyard, cleaning it up for spring. Removing last years mulch which had faded and molded. I also planted a few new plants, some pansies and a few ranunculus. It is starting to look a lot better now that we are having warm spring days.

We also built Geoff a new desk. It's not finished yet but it is getting close now. He really wanted a tall desk that he could stand at, so we built it very similarly to how we built the workbench in the garage. A 2x4 frame attached it to the wall studs with a solid surface top. There is still one more top section to cut to complete the desk. After that we will need to drill a few holes for the wires, possibly staining the top and paint the 2x4 frame white.  The office is far from finished as always projects seem to evolve as you go. We plan to replace the tile flooring with a wood floor as well as replace all the trim.

Also on the list of things to finish in the office is a wire containment system.. Any idea?

Four Day Weekend!

 I am very happy with the progress that we made on the house this weekend. Some of the projects have taken a lot longer to finish than others. The backyard has definitely been a long running project and I am sure it will be for a while. Over our four day weekend we ordered a dumpster and hauled off all the concrete from the backyard. Almost all of the concrete was from last April when we removed the swimming pool. It was a lot of work and thanks to all the help from our family and friends we got it done. The final total tonnage for the dumpster ended up being 9 tons. I can hardly believe that we moved that much concrete into that dumpster but we did.

While Geoff and our friends moved all that concrete, I stayed inside and helped my dad install our newly finished wall cabinets.  I cannot get over how great it is to have storage space again. Here is a picture of the two cabinets that we are using for all of drinking glasses. The plan is to put glass inserts in the cabinet doors and have glass shelves.

Also on the list of projects was a workbench in the garage. We are really bad about randomly throwing tools in places and forgetting where we put them. Having a place for all of our tools is definitely going to be a nice addition. I painted the wall the night before and in the morning we built a frame out of 2x4's and mounted those to the wall studs. For the top we screwed down a piece of OSB. We also mounted a shelving system. We haven't finished it yet and we still need to organize all the tools but its a great start.

The last two things we did this weekend were finally installing the baseboards in the guest bathroom and also adding two shelves to the cubby. We still need to add the actual top to the shelf and paint them white but we can do that another day.

How was your Presidents day weekend? Get any major projects done?