Out of Sight - Not IF I Can Help It!

The Pantry.

Not something we had planned to do.

I mean, we were building it and we hadn't planned on having a pantry.

It was going to be a place where the refrigerator was recessed 

and the rest of the space was going to be outside storage.

Then I came home and saw it framed up and said

"this would be a great pantry".

And Warren laughed.

He had just told his visiting friend that when I got home and saw it

I would say exactly that.

And so, a pantry it became.

And we are so happy for that decision.

Flexibility.

Key word in remodeling.

There aren't really before pictures to show as there wasn't a pantry before

but this is the back door where the pantry door is now.

I knew that I wanted to put excess (yes, I have some of those) dishes

in the pantry and while we were planning it out

a friend mentioned that she had this hutch that she wanted removed from her house ASAP.

It was perfect.

It had lighting inside of which Warren wired to go on with the overhead light in the pantry.

We worked the shelving in the rest of the room around the hutch

and it worked out perfectly.

Finally all the old jars I have collected have a home

along with the baskets - both wire and wicker-

and my old brass jello molds....

Warren did an unbelievable job on the floor

(I kept telling him that details matter as he was laying the tile)!

And then there is my "beloved" door...

he's so hard to leave behind....

The Heart of This Home

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home.
Well, if that is true, this house didn't have much heart.

It was small and ugly and yellow!  TOO MUCH YELLOW!

The walls, the cabinets. the countertops.  Yellow.
I use to like yellow now I can't imagine having a yellow kitchen ever again!

See what I mean?!

And look at the floors....

I had started to strip them of the old wax in this picture

and I was thrilled with the difference.

(I did it the day before we left on vacation to Oregon 'cuz that's how I roll :)

The new dishwasher and refrigerator

are already installed in this picture.

When we bought the house the dishwasher was portable

and the fridge was small. 

The stove was big. 

And there was a "wonderful" folding screen between the kitchen and dining rooms.

I had forgotten that until I saw this picture.

It came down immediately.

The kitchen looked like this for far too long!

Just this spring we decided it was the "next room"

on the list

and I was ready to jump in.

We were unsure at this point if we were going to stay in this house or move

so we both thought it best to make due with as much of it as possible.

We had already added on the pantry

(I'll show that in another post)

so we had plenty of storage.

Warren revamped some of the cabinets and made new drawer fronts and doors.

We had a new apron front sink installed, 

a polished brass faucet (of which I removed the lacquer so that it could patina), 

appliances, floor (this was installed just a couple of weeks ago),

the walls and cabinets painted white (my job),

and the most wonderful of all?

New quartz countertops and carra marble backsplash....

oh ya, new hardware and hidden hinges,

an antique schoolhouse type light fixture

and Warren covered the exhaust fan with style!

(I so love how that turned out)

The shelves came down on either side of the sink, instantly updating the look.

The cabinets to the left of the sink were then left looking strange as one bumped out weirdly.

Warren took the side off and changed it out with doors.

Almost looks like it was designed that way!

The cabinets over the fridge were added onto for depth as were the ones running

along the right side of it.

In this picture you can see the door to the pantry.

I chose an old door, with character.

I want to take this door with me.

It's staying.  Subject closed :)

On this side of the kitchen we cut a pass thro into the dining room.

Warren, again, added onto the depth to these cabinets and put 

pull- outs in all the lowers!

The cabinet to the left of the opening was made to fit the microwave.

I chose quartz countertops in a solid gray so they would go with this:

My tile!!!

I am so in love with it.

Warren installed it himself and did a great job.

It's a basic subway but the small details make the difference...

and this is the new floor.

We didn't change it much.

Before it was a black and cream colored check

and we switched to a dk. gray and white check.

The new check is a little bigger and softer looking.

I'm loving the new look of this room
 and the function is an added bonus!

Believe it or not, I actually have empty cabinets here and there 

since I have the pantry.  

It's got plenty of counter space I need 

and it feels airy and spacious.

And it's not yellow.

That alone is huge.

Being out in Front!

This first house belongs

to my sister Dori.

She was never interested in yard

work.  Her husband kept it mowed

and trimmed and nothing else much was done to it.

AND THEN, one day, she

asked me what could be done

with the front of her house.

I wish I had pictures.

It wasn't that pretty of a sight.

But both her and her husband, Mike,

were willing to get their hands dirty.

Literally.

And so we went from a house with  little detail to this!

Isn't  it beautiful?!

Shame on me for not having before pictures!

They had kept it in good condition before

but it didn't have much personality.

There were basement windows

that didn't need to be seen

and pipes and what-not

snaking their ways across

the front of the house.

Things that weren't going to be changed

and yet didn't look good.

So we hid them behind a great lattice

fence and planted plants growing on it and a flowerbed in front of it.

New pillars, front door and white trim

was added.

Cobblestone- lined sidewalk was installed as well

as a parking pad with a cobblestone

header and lights.

A sweet trellis greets visitors at the beginning of the sidewalk.

Trees that once had dead grass around them are now lined with borders and  rock.

A chain link fence came down

and opened the yard up to the neighbors who now come by to tell

them how wonderful it looks.

They, Dori and her husband Mike,

did the work.

I just laid out a plan.

And Dori?  a girl that once hated yard work is now known to be out in her yard often. 

 Loving it. 

Proud of it.

And they should be.  It looks amazing.

Next, we will look at another of my

sister's yards.  

This is Joni.  (I would tell you

that she is my older sister but

she hates when I do that!)

Joni is the sister that can grow plants like no other!  

We rely on her for help with knowing what to plant, where.

Again, I was asked to help with the layout and the hard scape ideas.

Before they had the typical sidewalk

that went to the front door from the driveway.

That was changed to a sidewalk coming from the sidewalk 

along the road

(where we all park when visiting).

The front walk is lined with a stamped concrete that looks like brick.

From the driveway there are now stepping stones for those that park in the driveway.

 A retaining wall out of sandstone midway in the yard was added to have a tiered effect instead of a boring front slope!

 The railing on her small front porch was removed, a new post put in and the porch area itself enlarged.

It is a wonderful place to sit, relax
and watch the neighborhood.
I know, I've been there!

Keith,  her husband, and Joni did a lot of the work here.  I didn't lift a finger other than to hold a pencil and draw out plans.

Didn't they do an amazing job?!

I'll show you her backyard sometime soon.

It's something to see!

I'm so proud of both of these sisters. 

 They, along with their husbands, have worked hard.

And it shows.  

And they both are reaping the rewards of a yard they want to come home to.

Be HER Guest

I'm taking a small break from showing you more pictures of my house.
I was going through some of my pictures
and I wanted to take some time to show you a
few places that I feel at home...

I've had the joy of working on some projects on each of these people's places
but actually all of these women did the hard work!

All though these pictures are from a couple of years ago
they still hold the same inspiration for today.

So before summer turns to fall, here is the outdoor spaces of my dear friend, Deb.

You're going to feel right at home too!

Isn't it a great house?!
Deb lives in Oregon in a house that was built in the early 1900's.
Her husband bought it without her even seeing it while they were engaged.
She moved from Illinois
to find a house that needed work.  (I think that is putting it mildly!)
They have been married for 37 years now and still live in their honeymoon dream!

It's a great house but I'm only taking you to view the yard today.

One of the benefits of living in the same house for so many years is the plants!
This Clematis was a mother's day gift, if I remember correctly, that was given to Deb 20+ years ago!

She had a trellis but recently changed to a paned door without the glass
because the plant had outgrown the trellis.
Isn't it amazing?!  So cute.

Now, come along with me to the back yard.
Through this wonderful gate.
Her youngest son built the gate and trellis that, once again, a beautiful Clematis grows on.
I think she's got a way with these plants!

Then follow this wonderful brick path (which I helped her lay!) to the main part of the back yard.
I wish I had a picture of the cute wood working shed that is to the right in this last picture.
She does magical things in there with wood....
beside the shed there is also a vegetable garden with a picket fence around it -
I know, shoot me for not taking a picture of that!

And then you come to her backyard.  Small but not lacking for things to look at!

She uses fun, old things to fill with plants.....

and if you prefer you can exit out the side gate!  this picture is taken from the outside of the yard.
The rod iron gates were given to them - only problem was that you could see right into their back yard.
Their road is fairly busy with people walking by and they wanted privacy.  A friend of theirs suggested this treatment and it worked!

She eats most of her lunches out on a deck (she's wanting to redo that so I didn't put up pictures)
during the summer and I've been one of her lucky guests for that.  Such a peaceful place to be.

She continues to do things to her yard.....  maybe next year I'll get more pictures!

Hope you don't mind this small intrusion into your life, Deb!!!

The Process

OH, you guys make it look so easy.....
Why are you selling the house for so much more than you paid for it?.....
Wow - wish we could buy a house that cheap....
That was fast....

Just some of the things we hear now that we are selling
so I thought I would give you a little of the "in between"
of before and afters that I have shared with you already!

I came across these pictures as I was looking for a particular one
and I thought I just had to share.  Hope you enjoy them!

The closets in the hallway upstairs had already been torn out and now the wall at the top
of the stairs was coming down....

Notice the fireplace brick has been primed but not painted and the walls were having wallpaper removed.  Wallpaper EVERYWHERE in this house....

The stairs are out!
This is looking from upstairs out to the front door.  The study is to the right...

Yes, we did use the ladder to go up and down for a while!  And we had a guest!
That is my friend, Deb Gerig in the dining room below.
The space behind the stairs had been opened up already in this picture and glass will
go in so that you can see into the dining room behind the stairs.
Warren is setting the newel posts at the bottom of where the stairs will be.

At last we can use the stairs!  It's still rough but it's workable!

I'm showing this picture so that you can see what it looks like from below when it was finished.
We feel like this was the most "worth while" project we have done on this house.  It's made the most difference in making this a unique but appealing place.

Time?  Yes, lots of it.  Money?  Yes.  Plenty.  Worth it?  YES, YES, YES!!!!

Hope you enjoyed the process.