[ i found my inner green thumb ]

This past weekend, i threw my pink finger to the wind and dug right in - literally!

We decided to really get serious about changing the landscaping of our home (well, to be honest, there wasn't much to change. It sucked) and also add some curb appeal. It is only our third summer here, but last year we were knee deep in the nursery renovation and our home study. Since our plan is to move in a few years, we figured this was going to take some time and money. We may as well start chiseling away at it.

So here is the start. I have been begging Christopher to move that darn pink tree to the other side of the house. The plan is to plant bushes flanking each side of the entry. Where it currently was, it grows right in the way. It is pretty and all, but that wasn't a good spot for it.

So we had to first dig up an ugly, sort of blah (probably close to dead) shrub on the end. Here was our victory with the axe!

After much fighting (with the tree to be sure to not kill it in the transplant) and feeling sort of like Wonder Woman, here is the replanted tree. It really took that long, the sun had moved, so the photo is sort of dark.

We shaped the shrubs, and started sketching out a plan for the rest of the front. I *think* we have it and i'm so excited! We also had someone come look at the steps to estimate covering them in bluestone. He can also replace the columns for us all in the same day! I'm so thrilled and excited. It is going to be a huge change. And... we don't have to do the work! Quite honestly, i'm not sure who we thought we were by even thinking of attempting it. LOL

We also started some planting along the side of the house. We dug up all the old yucky stuff and started planting hydrangeas. You can see in the back where i still need to finish.

I'll be anxious to show the transformation throughout the summer, so keep your eyes out for updates. I then put away my green thumb and grabbed an aged bottle of Ommegang beer. Boy did that hit the spot!

Have a terrific Thursday!

Closet demo: Part 2

Well...the worst part is over. Thank goodness! After 4+ hours of demolition, lots of coffee (with 2 spilt cups), snacks, spats, 5 gallons of spackle, 6 full bags of garbage, scratches, bumps and bruises and 2 weekend assignments later and we are done! The only thing left to do is have the floor fixed and build the storage units. (that is the easy part though)!

This is what we started with as a reminder...

After all the new trim was made from approximately 5 pieces of smaller trim to re-create what was there, we were able to start painting!

Oh... how i love to tape

This is mid paint, getting rid of the awful shade of yellow

So, the moment we have all been waiting for....

As another reminder, Christopher mumbling i'm quite sure, although he never really came out with it..."what the hell were we thinking?"

Ta-dah!

The new trim

I have to give Christopher all (OK most) of the credit for the trim. I helped him design it to mimic the old 95 year old stuff, but he used his fun new corner cutting thingie to actually do the work. Kuddos to him!

Here is the crib (yes... filled with my purchases so far) on the wall. We both love the paint color and the crib in there more than we thought!

So, now the fun begins of decorating!

The last piece after getting the floor fixed is putting in the closet system. We have been comparing product at IKEA and Walmart so far as well as Lowe's. We haven't made a final decision, but this is sort of what we have come up with for organizing.

I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head and i can't wait to share! Christopher says our child is going to be one spoiled baby.. i like to call it "well loved."

Have a terrific Tuesday all!

Closet demo: Part 1

What a project weekend! It was great, and i must say, i am really enjoying these DIY home projects. I guess that is what happens when you are forced to figure it out on your own, rather than pay someone to come and do it! I have learned a ton though and they start to become a labor of love, much like my print design work.

Some of you might remember my post about wanting to open up the closet in the nursery because of the lack of space in that room. Well, we started this weekend, and it is looking good. As usual, we underestimated how long it would take and the mess involved. Thank goodness it was cool in good ol' NY. It took about 4 hours just to demolish and pull apart the wood work without ruining it. Our house is just shy of 100 years old and has the most beautiful original woodwork. We wanted to keep that and reuse as much as we could when pulling apart the closet.

This is what we started with:

It was fun to pull it apart, but like i said tedious because not only were we trying to save as much trim as possible, but the house is so old, that it is made of plaster and lathe. (good times i tell you)! The walls were so fragile, and yes, i accidentally went through a few times and had to patch.

Clemens wanted to see what was going on and kept trying to get close, but decided he would chill in the hallway before the vacuum got him!

Yay! We have the new closet opening!

The one thing we have to deal with though is filling in the hardwood where the frame was. This is the one part where we just might have to hire someone.

After spending about 1.5 hours in Lowe's, we got pieces of trim that are so close to what was there. Years ago, trim was built in large sections. Since so much is pre-fab now, and we need to match as close as possible to what was there, we have to re-create ours. Here is the start:

So all we have left to do is finish up the trim making the corner pieces and paint white. Then... the fun begins of putting some color on this bland wall!

We have finally selected our paint.

| source: Benjamin Moore - Robin's Nest #618 |

Hope everyone is having a superb day!

{ weekend assignment part 2 }

We finished our attic project! It really wasn't bad at all. Two Saturdays and about $300.00 and now we have tons of storage space, and an empty nursery (with the crib and accessories that i have purchased) that i can go nuts on now.

Here is the finished space:

Looking at the far end from the steps walking up

Looking back with a wide shot from the stairs

After we finished, we had to "wash" the ceiling down where there were small mold spots to kill it. That wasn't as bad as i thought either. Our inspector wanted us to do it when we first had our home inspection, but not being able to move around up there made it tricky. So we love our old house, but little things like that can get tricky at times.

It was a long day, so after we cleaned up, we took a ride to Jumping Jacks, a cute little drive-in practically around the corner and got a burger and fries. Dessert was a tough one, deciding between fried dough and ice-cream. I had a twist with sprinkles! Not much wins out over ice-cream i must say. Then we just hung out in the park for a bit. There was a salsa band Saturday night, but we decided to leave before it started.



So next weekend's assignment is to start knocking out the closet in the nursery and paint. I am also working on a design board for the room, so i'll be posting updates on that, so stay tuned.

Have a magnificent Monday!

What a weekend! We worked our buttocks off, prepping our attic floor. See, what we have now is similar to a domino effect. Really, it is. Our nursery is right now a "catch all" room. Not too much "stuff", but "stuff" that can't stay there.

Problem 1: We have a very damp basement, so we can't store too much there unless we want to purposely ruin it or have a permanent mold smell.

Problem 2: We want to do this with our nursery closet, but can't until we can get the coats and "stuff" out of the closet. Which means we need new storage.

Problem 3: When we moved in, we were more than thrilled that we had a walk-up attic as opposed to a classic trap down that i grew up with and was afraid to climb. But.... there were literally just 2 random pieces of broken particle board and about 5 dozen pieces of insulation that were tossed around like an enormous salad.

Solution: We decided we were going to finish off the floor with plywood! We would have the wood cut, sort out and nicely lay down the insulation and wha-la! A new floor. We could then move everything to the attic that is not needed in the nursery, and nothing has to get wet in the basement.

This is what we started with:

and this...

New Problem: The previous owner hadn't built up the entire subfloor. So we had way more work cut out for ourselves then we thought. We had to finish building the floor before laying any floor. It was probably 100+ degrees up there on Saturday too. But, we had to get it done, or we can't get the nursery started.

This is during...

I really got into it. It was just so hot, itchy, and humid up there, but i had never done any sort of construction-like work, and i kind of enjoyed it! I won't lie.

So after working on it for 12 hours. We had to stop. We got about 3/4 done, but ran out of wood and we were just over it on Saturday. Our hope it to finish this week. So stay tuned....

I also scored some adorable nursery accessories yesterday, so i'll show them off too once i take a couple of photos!

Have a terrific Tuesday!