Backyard Progress

We have made a ton of progress on our unexpected backyard project. There is still a ton more to do but we are loving it so far and trying to get in as much use out of it before it gets too hot out.

This whole project started because we spotted this beautiful gazebo from Costco.  To get to this point took about 3 months.  We extended on to our RV parking and we knew we wanted to have plumbing and electrical ran to it so other than that and the slab we did everything ourselves.

The gas fire pit came from Lowes.  I love it because the tank fits in side.  We always had wood burning fire pits before and would get smoked out the entire time so I am loving this gas one.  I couldn't find the chairs I wanted and I didn't want to spend a fortune so these will do for now.

I fell in love with this swing / hammock at Home Depot and bugged the hubs until he caved in.  I love that in adjusts down to become a hammock or can be left up as a swing.

These sconces came from Lowe's as well.  They are motion censored which is really nice.

The ceiling fan came from Home Depot and matches the ones on our patio.  The hubs added the board in the center so we had something to secure the fan to.  The gazebo comes with a hook in the center so you can attach a lantern but we knew a ceiling fan made a lot more sense for those warm Arizona nights.

Eventually when the hubs gets the kitchen portion finished we will wrap it in the stone below.  It looks very similar to our fireplace stone so it should all tie together nicely.

There's a lot more to be done.  We have some great ideas for adding storage to this area as well as some plants and other things to add some color to the space. 

 Stay tuned for more updates to what has become my favorite part of our home.

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http://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2016/04/april-before-and-afters.html

Backyard Update

On a recent trip to Costco we spotted this beauty and from there sparked a large backyard remodeling project.

We have been wanting to do a project like this for awhile but just hadn't pulled the trigger until we saw this beauty all ready to go.  The size of 12' x 12' was just right and the price was even better compared to what we have seen.  The hubs decided to extend the RV parking on the side of the house so that we would have plenty of room.  We also knew we would eventually be adding an outdoor kitchen so having plumbing and electrical ran to the area was a must.  The concrete guys came out one Saturday morning to prep the area.  Below is a before picture.

I am so excited for this project we have so many ideas from the outdoor kitchen to a fire pit area.  We only have a few months out of the year where you can really enjoy the outside without dying from the heat so I am ready to put this area to use.

Stay tuned for an update this project should be finished in the next few weeks.

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An Unexpected Bathroom Remodel

Originally we had planned to hold off on remodeling the bathrooms until after the holidays as we have tackled several projects this year.  Then we discovered a leak in the wall behind the vanity which forced us into a bathroom remodel.  At first we were just going to remodel the vanity area but after seeing it finished we are so in love with it that within the next couple of weeks we are going to replace the shower tile and refinish the bathtub.

Below is a before and after from when I painted the walls in a blue / grey color and the cabinets in espresso.  This was a temporary fix until we could afford to fully remodel the space.

 

We decided to keep the espresso color when we ordered the new cabinetry.  The hubs designed the cabinet with a trash can pull out and more drawer space.  The medicine cabinet I saw on Pinterest and asked him to copy it. 

 

The countertop is a granite called Café Crème and the backsplash tile along with sink, faucet and light fixture all came from Lowes.  I love the way it looks far and am so excited to get the shower done.  The backsplash tile will extend through the shower along with some beautiful tumbled travertine tile.

Stay tuned for pictures on the completed bathroom.

Christine :)

 

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 http://www.theidearoom

 

 

Living Room Update

I can't believe our living room is finally finished.  This project seems like it took forever and was definitely the longest most stressful of all so far.  Here is a before shot from before we moved in.

 

Like every other room in this house the first project we tackled was to paint the entire room.  We even painted the fireplace since we hated the red brick.

 

This bought us some time until we could afford to tackle this project. We knew it would be expensive and time consuming. To save money my husband built the mantle himself and did most of the prep work himself.  He wanted the TV mounted above the fireplace so he ran all of the wiring and installed the TV mount.  The installer also suggested that we cover the existing brick with the new stone.

 

I was planning on going with a cultured stone but once the hubs took one look at the display of the natural limestone he was hooked.  We had multiple delays due to problems with the quarry.  But once it was finally complete we replaced the carpet in the room. Once that was finished the hubs moved onto designing and order the built ins to go on either side of the fireplace.  Those took quite a while as the cabinet supplier was extremely back up but in the end it's absolutely beautiful and I love it.

 

The mantle since my husband made it with left over material and stain from the kitchen cabinets only cost us about $4.00.  You can't beat that price and it's exactly what I wanted. 

It's such a drastic change from the before picture.  I have so much more storage and more space display things I can't wait to decorate the area for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by

Christine :)

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Guest Bathroom Update

We knew when we bought this home both of the bathrooms would need to be completed gutted.  We also knew it would be one of the last projects we would do as there are other rooms that need to be addressed first.  This was driving me nuts so I decided to at least give our guest bathroom a minor makeover.  When we bought the house all of the rooms were painted very odd colors the bathroom was no different.  It had sort of  pink shade of paint and matching tile.

 My husband had his heart set on the tile that looks like wood flooring.  I often refer to my husband as Mr. Tightwad but not in this case.  Even though I work in the construction industry and was able to take advantage of a lot of discounts it was still pretty expensive.  We decided to extend the tile into the bathroom since it's right off the main living area.  I knew eventually we would replace the cabinetry with espresso cabinets so I decided to try and paint the existing cabinets.  This way at least when guests come to visit they aren't looking at the old worn out walnut cabinets when they use that bathroom.  The hubs took all of the doors, hinges and drawers off.  We used a sanding sponge and lightly sanded everything down.  These cabinets are over 30 years old so the finish was pretty worn off already.  Thank goodness because I hate sanding.  While everything was drying I decided to paint the room as well.  It's primarily my son's bathroom who is currently in the teenage everything needs to be black or grey phase.  We found a compromise and went with a blue grey color.  I feel like just in changing the few things that we did it drastically changed the look of the bathroom and bought us some time until we are ready to completely gut it.

I love the way it all looks for now but I can't wait until we can completely update it.  We have a lot of great ideas for granite countertops and a really nice tile backsplash.  So stay tuned for more updates!

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Custom Kitchen Remodel Update

We knew as soon as we bought this house the first thing we wanted to tackle was the kitchen.  Little did we know how much fighting and arguing would follow.  The hubs and I usually agree on everything and have pretty much the same taste.  That all went out the window as soon as the remodeling started.  My hubs is very opinionated and cares about things most men wouldn't so there was a lot of compromise on both our parts.

The hubs recruited the help of my son and started by sucking out all of the installation that was in the ceiling and raised up the ceiling to match the vaulted ceiling in the dining room.   There were so many wires and pipes running through that ceiling I couldn't believe it.  It was definitely quite the mess.




Here is a before shot of the soffit that was removed

Another before shot

Originally I wanted white cabinets but the hubs put the kibosh on that.  He is a carpenter so he insisted on seeing the wood and not covering it up with paint.  So I decided if I can't have white then I wanted a brown finish.  You would think I asked to reinvent the color wheel.  I knew I didn't want something with a yellow or a red finish but who knew that would be such a difficult thing.  I finally got the finish I wanted and we proceeded.

 

  We also moved the fridge over to the right so that it would no longer be sticking out into the hallway and added a much needed pantry cabinet to the side of it.  Hubs surprised me with some pull out shelves and dividers for some of my baking sheets and pans.

 

 

He also included custom organization items in the some of the drawers to accommodate all of the utensils and baking supplies.  I loved that I got design it myself and decided exactly how big the compartments would be.  There is nothing I love more than being able to get to what I need quickly and without digging around.

 

Our original countertops were a faux wood finish laminate that weren't even secure.  We opted for granite countertops with travertine tile backsplash.  The granite is called Juparana St Cecilia.  I absolutely love my kitchen it's not as big as I would like but I love everything else about it.

 

Thanks for stopping by

Christine  

 

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

 

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Our Very Own Fixer Upper!

We purchased this home a little over a year ago.  After months of looking and looking the hubs called to say our realtor had a house for us to look at.  After about 15 minutes he turned to me and said let's do this.  He really wanted a large yard and an RV gate which this house had.  It didn't have the kitchen I wanted so he promised he could turn the ugly outdated cramped kitchen into exactly what I wanted.  I spent the next 3 days having panic attacks.  It was built in 1985 and really hadn't been touched since other than paint.  Every inch of this house was screaming to be updated.  Before we moved in we replaced most of the light fixtures and painted the bedrooms and main living areas.  We have slowly been working our way through updating a little bit at a time.  None of my before pictures turned out very well so these pictures are from the original sales listing.

Living room

 

Kitchen

 

Laundry room

 

Stay tuned for the after effects of what was literally our blood sweat and tears.