The West Porch

There is a small porch on the west side of the house, just off if the den/dining room that attaches to the back garage door.  I hadn't given that area much attention.  Now, everyone knows how much I love old metal lawn chairs, so when mom and I found a white one last Friday at an estate sale, I couldn't pass it up.  I don't buy many white or light colored accessories for the outside because of the light colored brick on the house.  To make this chair pop I needed something different to surround it...

The west porch.

I had used the porch as a place to paint various items..

The end result..

The chair that started it all..

A before and after.  It was scary going red, but I think I like it!

Mailbox Decon/recon-struction

We decided it was a great day to take down the mailbox. The bricks up top were falling off and it wasn't the same as the house.

Land of Dolls

I walked upstairs at lunch today and found this in the guest bed. Thought it was too cute not to share... She makes me laugh!

Den update

I really need to start decorating the walls.

Panoramic of the den... after we rearranged the furniture.

Holly's Bathroom

I just realized I haven't ever put anything up showing the upstairs bathroom.  Other than a paint job and cabinet updates, I haven't changed much.

It started out with white walls.

I changed them to a medium gray, then painted the vanity just to give it a fresh look and changed the pulls on the vanity doors from brass to glass.  Since this will be Holly's restroom I was going for girly.

I should have bought stock in Target or the Circo Love & Nature theme at least. 

Office Space

One of the last room we hadn't touched was the office area.  It had become a storage room of sorts.  The hardwoods in this room were in especially bad shape, but I didn't want to cover up all of them throughout the entire house.  So I just let them be for several months.

Finally, we decided to clean it out and put it to use. We cleaned it out, leaving a very dark gloomy room.  The floors in this room were probably the worst in the house.

Cleaned and sanded... Still looking very bad

Dark and gloomy

I love the large window!

I wanted something that would brighten this room, make it unique.  I started searching painted hard wood and I found several that I liked.  It was difficult to actually pour the paint on the floor, cause there was no turning back.

Before and after

I will start on painting the walls tonight.  I can't wait to see how it brightens everything up!!

The backyard in March..

What better to do on a beautiful March afternoon than work in the backyard?!

First, with a little help from the massive tiller that dad loaned, we were able to till up a spot for the first garden.  It's a beginner, we didn't want to be over achievers.

Can't wait to start planting some spinach!!

The next project was built completely out of landscaping bricks we removed from the front yard when we pulled out the bushes.  A fire pit!  Free projects are the best!!

Don't worry, I did help some.  I supervised.. and gathered sticks!  Now, if we can just keep Duke from removing all of them and placing them back in the yard where he originally had them! 

The finished project.  I think it will be lovely with a fire.

Now it was time for a little decoration.  We still haven't hung anything on the inside walls, but that doesn't mean we can't hang stuff outside first.

From start to finish...

Updates...

For those of you that read my posts on occasion, I haven't figured out how to display the posts as "most recent edits" yet.  They seem to be in order of original posting.  I do update them when I change or add things to the rooms.

I have recently added an update "Kitchen .. Redo!" and "Tearing apart the lovely living room," nothing major, but a few updates.

I love posting to this blog.  It's fun to go back and see the progress we've made in such a short time.  We still have quite a bit of work left, but it's coming along.

I have come to believe that working on a project like this is good for the soul.  

Guest Hall

The hallway leading to the guest room and guest bathroom was very dark after the carpet was pulled up.  The original wood floors had a dark stain and the paneling was the same as throughout the rest of the house...Too dark!

I had some time during Christmas break and before I knew it I was painting the doors white.  One thing led to another and I got very close to having that area finished (painting, not flooring).

Hall before painting (furnace door)

The wood soaks in the paint.  It takes about 6 coats to turn a door white.  This picture was on about number three.

The original wood floors.  They need a lot of work, so I don't know what I'll end up doing.

The after shot...

I painted the walls Furry Ottertail, the same as the den.  I love the wide molding at the bottom in this section of the house.  I wish they were all this way.  Maybe someday!

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is huge.  I love having this much space.  Originally the walls were white and the moldings were a pale yellow.  The drapery on the windows were very nice and heavy, but I couldn't make them work with the new color scheme.

I painted the bedroom walls a very pale yellow (Aged Hazelnut, I think) and the moldings white. I decided to go with brown curtains.