Showing posts with label Home Renovation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Renovation. Show all posts
December 23, 2010

Fun Fireplace Flare!

Talk about a random project---this is exactly what happens to us in the winter! We are cooped up inside the house while it is freezing outside, not to mention it gets dark SO early now, so what do we do...head over to Home Depot or Lowes (of course) and see what we can get our hands on!

This time in particular Home Depot was having a GREAT sale on the mosaic tiles that come in 12" x 12" sheets--they were half off! Now, before we get carried away and start buying the whole lot of these to do our kitchen (something we have REALLY wanted to do), we decided to test our tiling skills on our fireplace first....

Success! Basically, $20.00 later and starting/completing a project from 8pm-10pm on a work night--voila! Seriously, this was such a simple project and so worth it! It adds a splash of color and definition to the all black fireplace, tying in the colors of the room nicely! Definitely recommend! We will for sure be doing this to our kitchen at some point!

Fireplace Before (2008)


Fireplace After (2010)
November 4, 2010

::ribbit:: FROG is DONE!

Since the day we stepped foot into the FROG while touring our house, we decided if this was to be our house we would use this huge, 2 car garage sized finished room to be our Family room...And just to put a plan in action, after we purchased the house and moved in, we drew up plans and taped off our ideas for what we envisioned to be our custom built cabinet and bookshelf space.

FROG 2008
Well, I'm SO SO proud to say, that TWO years later, we have put this plan into motion! Since we had everything drawn up and priced out years ago, it was just a matter of finding the time to pull it together! All I have to say is WOW! For a little over $500, we were able to put this plan into action!

We started by hard wiring the internet wires and cable we knew we would need to have there. We then created a base for the cabinets to be placed on. This was probably the most time consuming part of the project because here we learned about the importance of accurate measuring and keeping things level. Since we were going wall to wall, we also learned that the corners in our house are NOT perfect 90 degree angles, so you have to accommodate for that.

Base work
The next part was fun...placing the cabinets on our base we created! That really helped illustrate our vision! When then worked on the counter top, ceiling board (our ceiling has the annoying popcorn, so we covered it for this built-in), shelves, and finishings (molding).

Placing Cabinets

Prepping Shelves

Prepping Shelves

Eventually, after a ton of caulk, liquid nails, screws, nails, kiltz, white paint, wood and saw dust in the room, and hammered thumbs, our FROG came to life and is even better than we imagined!

Completed Built-ins!Some shelf decorations
Now we have all this storage space, and just in time, too (because everything has to be moved out of our computer room to this room for the nursery)! We will eventually put a TV up here and this will be our new family and gathering room!
October 21, 2010

Garage Fit for a King!

A garage is the man's layer right? Well trust me, my husband jumped on the opportunity to make his space the perfect getaway complete with all things MAN: TV, Tunes, Dart board, Tools, Sports Equipment and Outdoor Gear. And he didn't just organize his garage, he made it a place that I actually enjoy sitting in and hanging out! Forget the tool gas fumes, this garage is where it's at!

When we first moved into our house 2 years ago, nothing was finished in the garage. After I got a good grounding on some of the house projects, JD jumped in and started to focus on his beloved garage....again a project that consisted of a lot of learning and firsts (that is what first homes are for right?!).

Garage 2008
He started with insulation and putting up drywall in the garage. Wow, what a difference that makes!

Drywall Up

He then purchased a kit (on sale, of course!) for finishing the garage floor. This is my favorite part--I think EVERY garage should have floors like this! I can actually walk barefoot and not worry about black bottomed feet!

Then it was time to organize--this consisted of hanging shelves, arranging tools and building a cabinet to organize garage items and also provide a nice surface for projects. The cabinet/work area is such a great way to hide the garage clutter-but this cabinet doesn't just serve as a storage provider...it is also our personal, home made, regulation size... SHUFFLEBOARD TABLE (another post for this).

Shelves
Mural (for fun)
Work Bench/Cabinet Storage/Shuffleboard Table
With all these fun things in the garage---why even go inside?!
October 14, 2010

Hot Tub Time Machine

My husband and I are regular Craig's List shoppers! You can seriously find some GREAT deals--some things just need a little TLC and you just have to have patience with searching and finding the deals.

Our latest guilt-free Craig's List purchase is...a hot tub! Yes, I know, a hot tub?! This person was wanting to get rid of a perfectly working, 6 person tub...only requirements were we would have to remove it from his deck and the framework needed some finishing work on it, but all in all, great condition!

Well, if you know anything about a CL purchase-you have to act fast on the deals! This makes for a somewhat impulsive buy (because let's face it...a hot tub was NOT on our list of things we need at the moment or on our never ending project list), but again, we couldn't pass up the price so we shamelessly made the purchase!

This hot tub, bought in March 2010 has been an ongoing project and quite the learning experience---a lot of firsts on our end! First, we had to find a spot for the tub. This meant we had to transplant some plants (a first!) and pour a level concrete slab for the tub to sit on (another first!).

Transplanting

Preparing the Grounds
We then got 6 friends to help pull the tub out of the previous owner's deck and place in our designated tub spot. The following months consisted of redoing the side boards, wiring the hot tub to 2 breakers (a big FIRST!), learning about hot tub care and chemicals (another first) and ensuring it works correctly (luckily it does!!).

Transporting Hot Tub

Wiring

Refinishing
We are so happy this 6 month project is completed, and just in the nick of time for the upcoming Fall/Winter weather!! :)

Complete!

Only downfall, is I will have to wait until after February to enjoy the hot tub, because in the midst of this project we found out we are expecting our first!! A little girl--which means one thing...more projects in the mix!!
Related Posts with Thumbnails