Friday, April 2, 2010

Yard Makeover

Yard Work Continues - Round 2

Now that Spring has arrived, we are ready to start working on our backyard. When we first bought the house in 10/09, we did a lot of clean up in the back. Recently, we had one of the Oak trees removed from the planter box - as much as I hate to remove trees, the two trees were competing for sunlight and one was growing over our neighbor's yard. Now the back corner has more light and the neighbor is happy!

Funny story - We had a low-hanging wire in the far right corner of the yard, which PG&E told us was a "dead" phone line. It was literally three feet from the ground so George decided to cut it a couple of weeks ago. Two days later, AT&T was at our door asking for access to our yard. Apparently, the neighbor behind us was having phone trouble. George cut their phone line! Whoops!

After the heavy storms in February and March, our pool fence is falling over. Now, we are working on removing the brick planter box and replacing the pool fence. We are also building a garden - we are constructing 4 - 8 ft x 3 ft raised beds to grow veggies and flowers.

Brick Planter Before




Orange Tree & Oleander Before & After Pruning




Planter Demo Begins - George went to Home Depot and came home with a 16-pound sledgehammer. I feared for his safety! Someone he managed to avoid crushing any body parts. We are removing the crumbling brick and concrete in preparation for the new fence.

Leaning Pool Fence & A View of the House


More debris to haul away - time to call Sergio!


George got tired...



Future Garden
I can't wait to have my raised beds! Trooper and I have planted seeds that are almost ready for transplant- zucchini, pumpkin, corn, and carrots!
Stage 1
Garden - Stage 2
We've planted broccoli and tomatoes in the existing planter box.


Pool Area Before New Fence


Saturday, December 19, 2009

Moved In - The Kitchen

Kitchen - Still Not Finished!

We still need to paint the cupboard doors and install new hardware. We ended up painting it Artisan - a reddish-brown color that matches the tile trim almost exactly. We added new light fixtures and did the walls a pale yellow. We would love to replace all the tile with new countertops and put in new flooring - maybe in 2010! I'll post new pictures when we get the cupboard doors up and the drawer handles installed.

BEFORE







AFTER







Moved In - The Boys' Rooms

The Boys' Rooms are Finished!

It is amazing what paint can do! We also replaced their windows and added carpet and ceiling fans. Trooper chose Jack Johnson posters for his walls and Finley got a Amy Krouse Rosenthal print (author of Little Pea) from Hicklebee's. Finley tends to want to play in Trooper's room!

Finley's Room - Before & After












Trooper's Room
Before & After




Moved In - Playroom

The Playroom is Complete!

The biggest change we made was to the bonus room off of the dining room. We knocked out a wall, closed up two doors, added a slider and drywalled the ceiling. The boys LOVE their new space and Lisa has room for her office nook so she can work while they play.

BEFORE & AFTER



Other Before Pics

The wall we knocked out -



We closed up the small door and replaced the window with a slider.



TA DA!






Moved In & Still Unpacking - Family/Dining Rooms

November 28 - MOVE DAY!




It has taken me awhile to update the blog - so much to do! But I wanted to post some pictures and tell about our new homeowner woes (like how 4 days after we moved in, our main sewer line backed up into the gutted master shower). Overall, we are happy with the house and are comfortable here. Now if only I had time to finish the master closet so I can have my clothes in one place (instead of spread out in the hall coat closet, Trooper's room, garage, etc.).


Family Room BEFORE


AFTER


Dining Room BEFORE

AFTER




Friday, November 20, 2009

The Master Bedroom has walls and color!

The Master

The master was gutted due to old crumbly plaster. We replaced the electrical, put up drywall and painted. Carpet was installed today and windows go in next week!
BEFORE







AFTER




Drywall Goes Up





Paint, Fan & Color!