The Neglected Garage

This


Used to be inside of this. We inherited most of it when we bought the house. Nice, eh.


Now, you've even seen the garage. AND, I went by this morning and the junk is gone-woo-hoo!!

This weekend's project is to install the new carpet you see rolled up on the right side of the garage. That means more pictures!

The Rest of the Tour...

In a bit of a jumbled fashion, here are some pictures of the rest of the rooms and areas of the house I've not yet posted.

Starting in the back yard...
Entering the back yard from the side gate...
The entry to the house. Doesn't it just scream "Help me!" Give me your ideas for this space. I have some of my own, but need some more inspiration.
The living room which adjoins the dining room.
The bedroom and half bath that the kids will share. This will be our guest room when we have visitors as well. We are going to eventually buy a bunk bed that is twin on top/queen on bottom to put in there.




Celeste is modeling the hallway.
The full bath in the house. Yep, it's bad. But, the toilet works now!!
This is going to be the playroom, and then eventually a nursery.
We are making this room the master since it has the largest closet, and will be right next door to the nursery in the future.
Now you've seen everything except for the garage!

All In A Day's Work

I describe today as busy and productive!

Floors have been ripped up.
Landscaping is being reworked.
Second coats of paint have been applied.
Two toilets have been repaired.
Two lighting fixtures have been installed.
Tree limbs have been cut and piled.
Old carpet has been hauled away.

Here are just a few pics. Mostly all before photos, but you can see a picture of the front of the home at least.




This landscaping bed is no longer like this. My friend Melissa and I worked on making some simple changes. I need to post a picture, but am trying to decide if I should wait until it is completely done, or just show you little steps along the way. Think "less is more!" I wanted to do something that was a little more eye catching.

Caleb and I ripped out the carpets from all three bedrooms the other night. When we did, we discovered some significant water damage/rot. So, today, with the help of Jason and Matthew, the sub flooring got torn out in preparation for new plywood and new carpet.
It's a scary mess in there...but, somehow, it makes me feel better because I KNOW it isn't going to stay that way. It will be fresh, and new!! Yay!

This is basically how we left the house looking tonight. Hopefully, by the beginning of next weekend we will have it looking quite differently!!

And, now, with all this in our day, I'm remembering right at this very moment, that we were supposed to go look at this ranch house for our family to stay in over Christmas...snap...probably gonna have to do that tomorrow. Sorry Nita and Grandpa!

Kitchen Wall Color: Before and After

Before...

After...

Before...

After...




Before...

After...
So, there you have it! My first painting transformation. What's left to do?! We are painting the cabinets white, getting a black granite countertop (eventually), tiling the backsplash with glass tiles, changing out lighting fixtures, installing a new door to the garage, installing hardwood throughout the kitchen, maybe building an L-shaped cushioned bench with storage underneath in the corner for dining(that would require getting rid of our current dining furniture, and I'm not sure I'm there yet...), and maybe building in a large open display/storage shelf underneath the little bar extension because it isn't really big enough for stools. Yes, I know, we only have 5 years....and, all that takes $$, but I thought I would share my idea for the space anyway. A girl's gotta have a dream!

First Steps

The house is ours, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until new deeds do us part. Just like marriage...do we have any CLUE what we have just gotten ourselves into? Probably not, but we have done the best we can in seeking God's help, the advice of family, and the assurance of friends. We are so excited!

We officially closed on the house on April 28th! The first day we worked at the house, Caleb and I spent an entire day outside. The yard had been left unkempt for over a month and that meant lots and lots of tall, thick weeds. In fact, the landscaping bricks in the front yard weren't even visible because the grass and weeds had grown over so much.

This is a picture after I had mowed the front yard, so the bricks are visible! If you look carefully to the right side of this photo you can see a little bit of mulch. That is where I had already weeded. The entire flower bed looked like the rest of the picture shows. My forearms got a major workout that day!



This is a picture of the back yard after CJ had already pulled up the biggest weeds. He has actually has used the weed eater a bit in this photo. We had to cut the grass down to size before it could be mowed.



The next day we began to paint the dining and kitchen area. I am going to try to paint a picture with words for you here. The walls where an odd shade of pinkish cream. The countertop is bluish in color. The cabinets are brown oak. The trim was white. The door to the garage and above the countertops were PURPLE. All of this mismatched color in such a small space was, well, horrendous! Once again, the pictures just can't capture it.





I know the best part about before pictures are seeing the after pictures, BUT I don't have any yet! Sorry. :-) They will come soon.