Exterior Befores and Afters

Aaaannnd we're back! Long, long break! I've got some exterior before and after pictures for you to see. These pictures are taken almost a year apart and right around the same time of day. We started our addition on October 29, 2013. We are completely finished with our renovation. There are a few things that we will be doing next year but it has to do with the landscaping and not the permanent structure. So here we go.

BEFORE

AFTER

  

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

And there we have it! It's not 100% where I want it to be yet, but it's as done as it's going to be for this year. If you can't tell from the pictures, not only did we add an addition of an attached garage, but above that garage are two additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and a playroom. To the outside we resided the entire house, changed the color of the shutters, added stone to the front of the porch, and installed a new front door. Next year's plans include a new sidewalk, concreting the driveway and ripping out and redoing the landscaping. Also the entire side yard will be fenced in . All of those projects will require being hired out. They were on the schedule for this year, but by the end of the project the funds just didn't allow. :) We are extremely pleased and don't regret a thing we did!

The Bathroom Reveal!

Hey all! I've got a finished bathroom to show you! I'll leave a source list at the bottom of this post, but if I miss something and you have a question about something, just leave me a comment. On to the pictures!

As you can see these are the in progress pictures.

Annnnnddd all finished! Well finished ish. I'll still need to put a final coat of paint on the doors, and change the lightbulbs to clear ones. So it's 95% finished.

The vanity is from Ikea. I knew that I wanted drawers instead of cabinet doors. I find drawers to be more functional storage and since this is primarily my kids' bathroom, I wanted something that they could easily keep organized. I didn't want to see their toothbrushes, and hair brushes, and the like, always sitting out on the counter. This system makes it much easier to open a drawer and drop their things in. As a matter of fact, if I were to redo my kitchen again I would only have drawers, not cabinet doors, on the bottom.

The sink didn't come with the vanity but, it too, came from Ikea. It comes in different sizes and without the lip around the outside, if maybe you were installing it right up against tile. I also knew I wanted a one hole faucet. And I left off the plate that comes with the faucet. I prefer the cleaner look without it.

These vanity lights are actually exterior lights from Home Depot. The link that I included is not the exact lights that I used, but they are almost identical. I couldn't find the ones I bought. Dang I wish had some clear bulbs on hand!

As you can see in the picture, I chose to use hooks to hang the bath towels instead of a towel bar. Again, this was more about functionality than anything else. My kids aren't great at hanging up their towels yet, so in an effort to keep wet towels off the floor, I gave them each a hook and bought towels with a fabric loop so they would be easier for them to hang. Some of you might be questioning my white towels in a kids' bathroom. But fear not! I always wash my towels with bleach, so that's why the white.

And a little coral artwork. I always need a little something decorative in every room, no matter how small. These prints were actually the jumping off point for the room, and actually help inspire the wall color. Sorry about the terrible photo. The dark frames tie in to the dark framed mirror, and the dark knobs on the vanity, and provide a nice contrast to the lighter walls and all the white. And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the pictures. My kids are loving their new spaces, and I'm very satisfied with the way things are functioning so far. If I missed any details you want to know leave a comment and I'll answer the best I can. Next time I'll show you some finished bedrooms!

     Source List

• Wall color is Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams
• Vanity, sink, towels, and coral prints are from Ikea ( also see above links)
• Toilet is American Standard from Lowe's
• Faucet is Pfister from Menard's
• Floor is a vinyl remnant 

Stairs and Mood Boards...

Hey hey! It's been awhile! Progress has been happening, but not things that are noticeable. New water lines, lots of finish work on the drywall, plumbing. So today I'm showing you a couple pictures of the new stairs and the mood boards for the kids' rooms. The stairs post would not have been lengthy enough for its own post, so I'm combining the two for what will  probably too lengthy. ;) The stairs took a lot of engineering and lots of contemplation for the best location. It also had to be determined whether the stairs would be a straight run, or whether the would turn to the right, and continue into the playroom. So here's what we ended up with.

There were built in bookcases on the side of my fireplace, and that provided the new location for the stairs. A side note, these usually held family photos and decor items before I removed everything. I don't typically decorate with old paint cans.

Behind this tarp it's open to the garage. It was so weird!

And this is the work in progress.

And now on to the mood boards! I'm going to show you the colors and some of the accessory items that will be making up the new bedrooms. My son is very in to construction. Way in to. And he received two construction equipment posters for his birthday. So those were kind of the jumping off point for his room. I also wanted a few industrial elements for him as well. When I started to imagine what these rooms would look like, I started thinking about things that would grow with them. I've never been in to themey rooms and things that scream juvenile. As you can see, he and I choose brown and taupe bedding. He is a boy after all, and I think he manufactures dirt in his sleep. The orange color is an accent wall (which is named Under Construction) that his bed will be up against, and the sand color is for the other three walls. I'm typically not an accent wall person, but I also wanted to temper the orange. So far I'm happy with it, but I don't have the room set up yet. One of the things I do really like about the orange is when the sun comes up it reflects around the room and it looks like a sun rise! I have to say, most of this room was my choice, with some consultation from him. He's a total boy and was happy with just about everything I showed him.

The princess was a different story. When we started to think about my daughter's room the initial color choices were either pink and gray, or lavender and gray. We hadn't made a final decision until one day I walked into Lowe's. And there was the lampshade in the mood board. I loved it! I thought it was perfect for girls room, and she liked it too. It had all the colors in it that I was thinking of using. So then it was on to try and find bedding. I was looking for something inexpensive, but cute. Again, not juvenile, but not something for an adult. I think what I found is perfect for what I had in mind. The paint color was a whole different animal. Because I had purchased the bedding first, I needed to find a coordinating lavender shade for the walls. What I had picked out first was too cool. The gray in the bedding is more of a warm gray. So we were walking through Lowe's one day, and my daughter spotted Pantone's color of the year-Radiant Orchid. Oh, mother of God. I liked the color at first. But once I saw it on the wall, yikes! I couldn't imagine four walls that color. And thankfully she changed her mind when she saw it on the wall. If she really, really wanted it though, I would've let her do it. And what we ended up with turned out very pretty.

I will be upholstering her headboard myself, similar to what is in the picture. I did my own a few years ago and I'm happy with how it turned out, and how it's held up. My son's bed is what I consider an heirloom. My grandpa made me that bed when I bought my first "grown up" mattress. It is queen sized, and we have since upgraded to a king. But I always knew I would be passing it on, and  I'm happy for my son to use it. The next time I show you these rooms, they will be complete!

 Source List

• Paint is from Lowe's
• Daughter's light is from Ikea
• Son's light is from Ikea
• Daughter's bedding is from Overstock.com in gray
• Son's bedding is from Ikea in brown

Drywall Y'all!

Hey everybody! The plan was to take a break over Christmas. But then the sickness came. And it hit hard. I was in bed with bronchitis for four days. I also contaminated my children, even though my mom was nice enough to quarantine them at her house. We are all on the mend now, with the exception of a lingering cough, that sounds like I have black lung after I wake up in the morning. So anyway, I have some pictures of drywall for you. Very glamorous I know! But it makes everything look like actual rooms now.

This is looking into the bathroom from the playroom. You can see the side of the shower and tub (with the numbers on the side) and you can see the framing for the pocket door.

Inside the bathroom. Directly across from the tub will be the vanity.

This is the view of the playroom from near the bathroom door. It's a touch dusty up there, as you can tell by all the dust orbs showing up in this picture.

Here's a better view of the kids' bedroom doors in relation to the playroom. The hole in the floor with the ladder sticking out is where the stairs are going to go. It took a lot of thought as to how those stairs were going to connect to the existing part of the house. And we didn't know if they would be a straight run of stairs or if they would need to turn. We ended up with a straight run, and that was what I was hoping for. The straight run gives a little more room in the playroom, and getting furniture up there should be easier.  

This is my son's room.

And a view of my son's closet.

And apparently I don't care about my daughter's room since I don't have pictures of it to show you. But it's a carbon copy of my son's room. 

So there you have it! It looks like a house now! There's probably only another three weeks of work to go at this point. That is, until we move on the ripping out walls in the existing part of the house. Until next time...

Boxing Them In...Interior Framing

Heeeeyyy yyoouu guuuuyyyysss!(name that movie) We have some crazy progress upstairs! Insulation, wiring, drywall! I'll show you all that soon. First, I'm going to show you a few pictures of the interior framing.

This picture is looking into my son's bedroom. That beautiful black plastic is the access door so the guys can get in and out. We still don't have a staircase, but we are very close to it. That doorway has been closed up and they have put the window in now that they have had the drywall delivered. I'll show you why they kept that mystery door there for such a long time in another post.

You can see the doorways to the kids' rooms here. Sorry the picture is a little wonky. I had to hold the camera in the air above my head to get an accurate shot. I'm vertically challenged, ahem.

This is looking directly into what will be the playroom. Hallelujah! A special place for toys and play things! I think this will be my saving grace.

To the left, behind the ladder, will be the bathroom. I know. It's kinda hard to picture. For me too. When the contractor needed me take a look upstairs so we could decide how the bathroom would be laid out, I needed him to lay down boards in the dimensions so I could get a better visual picture. 

One last picture. This is the view out one of my son's windows. It's hard to see, but in the summer when the trees are in full leaf, it's going to feel like a tree house in his room. I love that! :)

Second Stories

Hi all! We have a second story! Well, technically you have to climb a ladder and through a window to get in it, but we have a second story!! The gas company made it out this week (finally) and moved the meter, so we are now ready to have concrete poured for the floor. Unfortunately it looks like it will probably be spring before the driveway gets poured. Wah waaaahhh. We've just run out of good weather. Had the gas company moved the meter a week ago, we'd be golden. No such luck. It's not overly important, it will just be a mess. And now, on to the pictures!

The chimney had to be removed  because the second story will overlap this portion of the roof. We do have a fireplace, but seven years ago during our first remodel, we had converted our traditional wood burning fireplace to one with ventless gas logs. So there was no longer a need for the chimney. Money well spent, by the way. That fireplace puts out a ton of heat! Early last March we had to replace our furnace, and that fireplace kept the house in the mid sixties for the week it took for it to be installed. That, and space heaters. It was still too cold for my kids and I to stay here, but it was ok for the husband and the dogs. ;) 

What the?! I can see where the windows will go!

The longer window opening, in the above picture, is the access area they have been using 

to get in and out.

This is the back of the garage. You can see the door opening for access in and out of the garage to the backyard. And above on the left, is a bedroom window. To the right of that, somewhere in the vicinity over that man door opening, will be a bathroom window. We had to make some amendments to how the stairs are going up. Therefore, we couldn't make a decision as to where the bathroom window was to go yet.

And a roof!!

Magic Tarps

Hey hey! Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but last week there wasn't any work being done. The reason for that is because we were playing a waiting game with the gas company. We needed them to come and tell us where we could relocate the new meter. They came on a Wednesday afternoon and we discussed the project, and they decided what would need to be done. Now, let me just tell you, this is not something you want to have done. Avoid it if you can. The reason I'm telling you this is because it is very expensive to have this done. Once upon a time, you could hire a licensed plumber, or if your contractor was licensed with the proper qualifications, they could make the adjustments to the meter and new line accordingly. That is no longer the case. My particular natural gas carrier has now taken back ownership of the gas meters on YOUR houses. That makes them their property and you are not authorized to make any amendments to them. That has to be taken care of through them. You, the homeowner, are responsible for the lines that run to your house though. So, once the gas company comes to survey your project, they determine what the cost of this will be. And the way they determine the price is by footage. They have a predetermined scale that states three feet and less is a certain price, over three feet to twenty feet is another price point, and goes on from there. We fall into the over three feet category. And I won't tell you exactly how much it was, but I will tell you it was over a thousand dollars. Ouch. Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil. But that did not make writing that check any easier. Once that was taken care of, we could move on. Then it snowed. So, inclimate weather makes for no work. But then the following day, this showed up!

A bunch of them, in fact! Windows, and shingles, and lumber, Oh My! There is magic under these tarps. Since the lumber arrived, the guys were ready to start framing. First, they removed the siding from this end of the house.

They will be removing all of it once the addition is ready to be sided, so they can side the whole house all at once. Can't wait to show the colors! And there will be some stone too! After they removed the siding, they needed to set a temporary electric pole. As you can see in the above picture, the electric pole and meter are on the side of the house we are building on to. The new permanent home for them will be on the back of the garage. So they set the pole. Then you need to have the power company come and connect the electricity to your pole. This also costs money, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to what the gas company charges. And just an FYI, my contractor was told that the power companies are changing their policies to be similar to what the gas companies are doing. Luckily, we made it in before any of that goes into effect.

This only took about 15 or 20 minutes to complete. Once we were up and running again, this is what happened.

This is what it looked like after about three hours.

This was the end of the first day of framing. They removed the siding, set the pole, and framed the garage walls in one day.

I couldn't believe how much larger the structure looked after getting some visual boundary lines!

Here we are so far. We are ready to move up to the second story!

I'm so stinkin' excited about this little back door, I can't stand it!

This is the door that people will use to enter the house from the garage. The garage is attached, but technically, you won't be walking straight into the house. This opens on to the porch, which is covered, and large. So there is plenty of room, and you are protected from the elements. I had the option to have this open directly into my living room, and I chose not to do that. It wouldn't have been a good fit for our lifestyle, and to be honest, it didn't match my vision. And it would've completely interrupted the flow of the room, as well. Having never built anything from scratch before, I find everyday of work fascinating. And to me, what's under those blue tarps really is magical. Have a great weekend!

*Lumber and materials were purchased from Keim Lumber