making the garden grow!

This weekend we had unexpectedly beautiful weather! What a luxury to see the blue skies and sunshine for two whole days in a row without any rain: let's keep that coming Michigan! We also had our first "free" weekend in over a month so we were able to get lots of work done in the yard.

On Saturday we spent a lot of the day weeding the beds around the backyard. We have had lots of rain recently so the garden bags we filled were supppper heavy by the time we were finished! Thankfully most of the big weeds came right out because of the wet soil so at least there was a silver lining. For some reason I only took before pictures of the weeding, probably because it barely looks like we have made a dent; we still have lot's more work to do!

     

Wasn't it just a lovely sight? Those beautiful dated rocks, fill the bed below the biggest tree in our yard and are currently below the swing near our patio. They are a mess: there is barely one layer of rocks left and the weeds just flourish... but are SO HARD TO PULL! Needless to say that was a labor of love.

We also did a lot of work on our garden plot where the shed used to be. On the Saturday before Mother's Day, Rob and I spend a good part of the day hauling dirt from the front of the house to the back to fill the huge hole (which was filled with water from all the rain). But after hours and many many full wheelbarrows we completed filling our new "dirt water bed". Honestly, when you walked on the newly dumped dirt everything around you would shift like walking on a water bed. Hilarious really.

Thankfully after a week of semi dry weather we were able to make leaps and bounds towards our raised garden bed plan! We detoured a little and made some changes, "best laid plans..." as they say, but overall we are loving the progress and can't wait to get some plants in the beds!

     

We actually built the beds last weekend and they have been stacked on our patio for the last week just waiting to find their home! We used treated 2x12's to make the boxes, which is nice and heavy and won't rot once all the soil is dumped. We want these to last for a couple of years so we decided to spend a couple extra dollars to get the nicer option. We ran out yesterday to get some mulch to spread once the beds were in place. We decided on the cheapest option with no added color so our two Australian Shepherds wouldn't get sick or be tempted to eat the mulch. So far so good!

Once we placed the beds and our (once again awesome) neighbor helped us stand on and pound them in to sink them a bit, we were able to lay down the landscapers cloth. It's about 24$ for 100 feet at English Garden's and we have lots left over. We decided to lay this down to prevent as many weeds as possible from sprouting through the mulch.

     

After laying the mulch around the edges of the beds to get the cloth to stay in place we decided that adding stepping stones would create a more substantial feeling for this area of the yard. We had paver stones piled up against the house that had been ripped out of the "original" front yard to make way for our beautiful new walkway. We are so happy that we hadn't gotten rid of these prior to making these beds, we like the way it turned out with them and we also saved quite a bit of cash on the mulch that would have taken their place!

This is what we have so far. Absolutely NOT finished but we are getting there! We are going to mulch out into the yard a bit (where all the "grass" is dead) to make the area look a bit more substantial. More progress should be made this week and we are excited for the final result! Stay posted!!

Side note: Of course the girls had a ball romping through the mud before it was covered; those are some happy pups! 

facelift

Well, when we moved in we thought that our home could not get more charming! We were convinced that it was as cute as can be. I mean look at it (through our first time homeowners eyes)!

Blue shutters, pretty trees, a white mailbox... all the makings for the cutest house on the block! We looked right past the weeds, tress planted WAY to close to the house and the minor issues that could be easily remedied and just basked in the glow of our new home! (As, we think, everyone should for a time after receiving the keys to a new house, it's big stuff people!!)

Post weeding, adding some pumpkins and mums,
adding a flag and moving the house numbers!

Shortly after the glow dimmed a bit, we started to notice that the house looked like it had been painted with a roller and only one coat was used, there were minor fixes needed to the front, the trim could use a paint job and the whole house needed to be power washed. All long term projects and we were so thankful that nothing was an immediate need; we could concentrate on the inside of the house for a while. After we opened our home to a garage sale for the first three days of owning the place, we realized that the front stairs were very steep and would be dangerous come icy weather. We asked my dad (Lindsey's dad) what the easiest fix would be... "Tear the whole thing out", he said.

He was right, if you can see in this picture - the bottom step was cracked, the wood was aged, and things were sagging a bit - all in all, not really a safe situation. And while we have homeowners insurance, we are sure hoping never to have to use it!

I'd say it was about a month after receiving the keys before I got a call from my dad...

Lindsey: Hi, Dad!
Dad: Hi, Linds! I've got a quick question...
Lindsey: What's up?
Dad: Well, I was just wondering if I could have free reign on the front of your house?
Lindsey: I mean.... sure! 

So that's how it started, a simple phone call. I wasn't sure what I had just agreed to but since my dad does the most beautiful landscape work I have ever seen, I was so happy that he was willing to work on our first home! I knew whatever he came up with would be amazing!

When I got home from Eastern Market with Mom (not more than five hours after the phone call), this is what the house looked like. Dad does not waste any time!

After dealing with rain, permits, pouring concrete before it got too cold and then tenting the whole yard to keep warmth on the stairs (and the workers), major progress was made. It took about a month from the picture above to the picture below. Once the stairs were all set and firm, the walkway was a piece of cake (or so they made it seem)!

 

Rob and I are so thankful that we didn't have to DIY this project and that my Dad has such a vision when he works. I never would have thought that our house could support this type of walkway but boy, was I wrong! The bushes that came with the house were able to be replanted, along with one of the trees (leafless on the left) which makes the whole picture so much more pleasant and I think this design makes the house look bigger!

We are so thankful to my dad who has helped us learn how to do lots of projects, both big and small. Thank you Dad! 

Once the outside is all decorated for Christmas, we'll take an evening shot with the window open so you can see the tree inside too! 

Thanks for following our renovation, until next time - 

Lindsey

If anyone loves what my Dad did outside our home and would like to contact him about working on your home - please comment on this post with your email address and we would be happy to send you contact information for his company! You know you wanna :)

baseboards and caulking and tiling, oh my

Well we finally finished some projects that have been waiting in the wings; the end to two projects that honestly could have been finished weeks ago but it has been hard to get our butts in gear to finish. 

BUT WE FINALLY DID IT.

As you know, we put a walkway into an existing wall to create a dining room out of a bedroom right when we moved in. Doing this required us to take the baseboard moulding off the wall and well, it was never replaced. So now, almost two and a half months later, we replaced it. It's amazing how moulding can change a room (both living and dining room) and make it look complete! Project #1 COMPLETE!

The other project was completing the kitchen. We had replaced our cooktop and taken down the microwave which left an ugly un-tiled background for everyone to look at (for about a month and a half).

We looked around for tile to match the existing white but it's not just simple white tile, it's actually dimpled (you can tell in the picture above wherever the light hits the tile). This proved to be difficult to match, therefore, we just decided to get something that would "go" - it's ok in fashion, why not in your kitchen?

Since the space that needed to be covered was only about 34 inches by 6 inches we decided on a preset pattern that would match the existing tiles. The dark tile line of tile (as seen in photo above) is a forest-y green so we had to go with that family. We ended up with this seafoam, forest green, white and charcoal tile pattern.

We split each square into halves (6 inches high) and applied liquid nails to each individual tile (through the mesh on the back. 

We had to snap some of the tiles to make it fit better behind the cabinets: pliers and muscles were all it took to get the smaller tiles to break. Thankfully the breaks didn't have to be clean because they were only on the ends and were getting tucked away! 

Once everything fit properly, I was able to just start putting the tile up. We only ended up needing three sections, this was definitely an easy tile job. 

We had to add some random tiles and foam insulation so that the hood would seal properly. We didn't bother to grout these tiles since they would A) never be seen and B) were merely being used as placeholders.

After the tile was up and we let the adhesive set properly we mixed the grout and started sealing. We used grey grout since the existing tile was grouted in grey and we wanted to match as much as we could. We didn't even get close to using the half a bag (7lb bag) that we mixed even with the bathroom touch ups that we did - next time we'll know!

After about half an hour Rob sponged down the area to diminish any residue where there shouldn't be any. Once the wall was done it was all about the hood and therefore, I was tagged out of the renovation game - Rob and my Dad rewired, reinstalled and (thankfully) didn't even get electrocuted! ha!

The final step was to caulk around the new hood so that people - taller than myself - couldn't see the seam between the hood and the surrounding cabinet. 

In the end the tiling project ended up costing only about $30 and the only took about an hour (including waiting time)! I wouldn't call myself a pro or anything but it made me feel more comfortable for any future tiling endeavors! The guys might say that they will leave the electricity to the professionals from now on, but I think they did a great job! 

VOILA! 

Many thanks to Dad Brand for helping us with all our little projects!

p.s. the four dark dots on the tile in the "before" picture above were large sinkers and needed to be removed, leaving four large holes in the tile. I just added some caulk - as you can see in the after picture - and I am just waiting for it to completely set before removing the access! No more gaping holes in the nice tile! yay!

until next time, Lindsey

Do It Yourself Demolition

As frightening as "Do It Yourself" and "Demolition" may look when put together, we have a success story on our hands! phew!!

A week after we closed on the house, Rob and my (Lindsey's) Dad, started tearing a hole in the wall between the living room and the first bedroom downstairs. We had decided even before closing that we were more interested in having a dining room than maintaining our "three bedroom" status, so we are beginning to morph the bedroom at the front of the house into a dining room. This change wasn't hard to imagine as the whole first floor is - thankfully - hardwood which means no ugly carpet that we have to rip up and cross our fingers for something salvageable underneath, nope, only guaranteed outcomes for this renovation couple... ha! As if that is even possible! Just let us dream ;)

So after marking the size and shape that the walkway would be, they started cutting and hammering from the living room side - needless to say there was so much dust. Oh, and I forgot to mention that because the house it a bit older, the walls are plaster which creates a lovely layer of plaster dust on everything...

Here they have made it half way through the wall and you can see how the pictures
are hazy and there is dust covering the floor!

The plaster and wood was so old that by the time they made it onto the other side to start cutting through from the bedroom (soon to be dining room) the blade of the saw was visibly dull and sparking! They did finally make it through after only about two hours of work, I was very impressed. 

 

You can see in the picture above that they were able to finish the edges with the drywall and they did patch the floor as well with a long oak board. This photo was taken pre-stain when you can really see the difference between the old and the new! They cut the archway to look like the other arch in the room with the angled corners - my requests are always the ones that make things harder ;)

Here is a closeup of the arch now that it has been mudded - no, I didn't forget to paint the corners, the walls were white and the mud is tan colored!! Thanks to Bill for helping us with the mudding, we weren't feeling to confident about that!

 

So far this is what we are looking at every day! We are so happy with the way things are coming along and so thankful to the people to have been helping us with our renovation dreams! The last step for the walkway is to prime over the mud and paint - I have no idea what color that will be, I was going to leave it white for a while but if we have to paint it back to white anyway, why not be brave and choose a color?? 

All we can say is "So Far, So Good!" Stay posted for more and more and more changes to our little Royal Oak home. 

until next time, Lindsey