Update, May 2013

So much time and energy has been spent on this kitchen. We spent the majority of the budget on this project on tile and a sink. We were so lucky to already have purchased the appliances with the house. The tile came out a little more modern than I expected, but I still stand by my choices.

Done: backsplash, new sink and faucet installation, demo/reno of passthrough including framing, drywall, paint, first five coats of paint on the cabinets, tile countertops, rewired lights and switches with white outlets, switches, new light fixtures and fan.

Left to do: a few more coats of paint and then polyurethane on the cabinets, new plate covers (custom sizes), paint trim, replace the linoleum with tile (a project including the whole house). Finish the cabinet doors.

A few photos of processes so far:

Remember the beginning.

Then husband doing demo work. I'm less precise, but more enthusiastic with a sledge.

He wields a mean razor blade.

Opening up space.

The opened wall before Sheetrock.

The old faucet.

The old sink was too flimsy for the new faucet so....

I ripped it out and bought a farm sink.

Then, I decided we needed ceiling medallions.

Then, while husband slaved away laying tile, I learned how to grout it.

With the tile in, those pesky cabinets look kind of unfinished, so I'm currently working on that.

Here is the kitchen as it stands now - we've made a lot of progress. It's amazing how many little things still need to be done.

Happy DIY days!

Ivy and the hundred ways I hate it

Ivy has got to be the toughest damn thing on this planet. Each weekend, we head outdoors to continue cleaning the ground at the new place. We tug and chop and plead and beg and cry and chop some more. At first, I hated the ivy and I wanted it G-O-N-E gone...but now, much like my acceptance of mucky children with unkempt hair....I've run out of energy. I'm thinking, and JDH agrees, that perhaps, like Harry Potter's hair, it just CAN'T be eliminated. So management and occasional trims it is.

JDH has been working like a man possessed on the tiers in front of our house. This requires a level of precision cutting of landscape timbers that I stay as far away from as possible. I was not built for engineering. Our yard has no grass...not a blade...but has been planted beautifully with azaleas and monkey grass that have run wild with the ivy and now, with my transplanted and well-loved roses and some hostas that were split for me by a friend. They seem to be doing well and I think my next step will be overwintering some bulbs for color in the Spring.

The two projects that must be done soon, and the ones that present the biggest problem financially and logistically are the gutters and the trimming of some gargantuan trees. We haven't yet figured out how we will manage this...along with rebuilding the huge deck...but selling a kidney is definitely being considered.

Till next time, keep your hands dirty!

-
The Smiths

So, let's talk progress.

While our children are convinced that this house was purchased solely so that they might wrestle naked and screech like wild things, we do, in fact, have some semblance of a plan and a few rules we are going to follow.

Rule #1: We will not exceed $20,000 for our renovation budget. If we do, we pretty much lose any chance we have at making a profit on this house, which was the second most important reason we bought it.

Rule #2: We are working toward energy efficiency and the use of up cycled and recycled materials. Hello, re-store, we are now hombres.

Rule #3: We will make our home a kind and loving place to live without compromising our investment.

Rule #4: We will find a way to get rid of the bees that attacked poor JDH (juicy delicious husband) on our very first day there. (And I am personally waging war on the 7,000 spiders and the 56 mosquitoes who alternately freaked me out or bit the hell out of my ankles.

Friends, we aren't in Preston any more.

Preston, in Cary, NC, is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is also beige, unforgiving, and entirely out of our price range. I'd rather buy where we are going, full of color and differences and yes, a smidge of chaos, than continue to rent a home smack in the middle of The Truman Show (google it). Below, find the before shots and then day one of painting.

Welcome to paradise!

Day 1 - 6/29/2012

After much consternation about a deed, we signed the papers to our first home. It is a 1970's split level, spider infested, one acre, wooded lot dream home. As wanna be weekend warriors, we plan to document for you as we wear holes in Lowe's floor, dominate Craigslist and Freecycle, and make Pinterest and Etsy cry tears of homage at our creativity and general thrifty savvy.

Prepare to be awed (or at least entertained) as we document the journey.

A and C