Relation Restoration

  Here are some pretty views of the snow from the house.   We have been able to sled ride on the hill close to the road which was a lot of fun! The snow is beautiful but I am ready for spring and some more renovations.

Bringing Joy and Cheer!

I talked my husband into finally getting a real tree this year.  Going to the tree farm, picking the perfect tree and hauling it home on top of our car was the process I was worried about.  It all went very very well without any complications. Then we got the tree up in our living room.  Lets just say after undecorating and redecorating the tree twice of my antique ornaments its the tree that keeps leaning and is still bare of my ornaments.

Here are a few photos of what we have done so far for Christmas.

Here is the football tree for the boys.

I know that our home holds special memories for everyone and it is really special to me to share our new memories with you all.  It is a wonderful feeling that we will be spending another Christmas at GrandMary and Grandaddy Kens house!

Merry Christmas!

Things have seemed to slow down during football season.  Now that the season is over (much to my husbands dismay, mine not so much!)  we are moving onto the thing I love, RENOVATIONS!

Right now we are working on our HVAC. When moving in we knew that my grandparents had forced hot water/oil heat.  As I have heard it is a really really good heat over and over.  It is also a very very expensive heat especially with having to heat up to almost 3,000 square feet.  So with a lot of research and questions we have decided to install a heat pump.  This actually will kill two birds with one stone.  Below is our current out door air conditioner unit.

As you can see it is more then likely the original unit that was put in in the 70's. This should be easy right just install a new unit and be done.  Well is anything ever that simple.  Turns out the duct work is also from the 1970 and is made of fiberglass.  Who wants fiberglass blowing through your vents? Not this girl! 

This is a picture of our current duct work.....good thing we decided to replace it with the below duct work.  What a difference!

So a simple project has turned into yet again a more complicated project but when it is all said and done we will have a very efficient heating and cooling system.

Marianne*

The Front Door is the most important part of your home.  I have been going through a great debate with myself of what I want to do.  The house seems so dark with the brick and all the trees, I really wanted to give it a bright and cheery welcoming look.  As a kid we always came in the garage door entrance and I think I have confused people now by using the front door more.  I see many faces in my kitchen window asking me how to get in.  I shut my garage door more often then not and prefer it that way (its an eye sore...and yet another project). The front door needs to say come in this is our entrance!

With that being said I chose to replace the old door that had a large gap at the bottom which was not energy efficient.  I also was wanting a more sleek look and the hummingbird windows are not my personal style.  The old metal storm door was removed a few weeks ago.  It did not shut completely and was in my opinion an eye sore.  My son was able to easily push it open so it was also not safe.

Here is a picture of the door as it is now.

Here is a picture of the front porch that needs some sprucing up.

We are going to replace the light fixture, door, and add some flowers for a more welcoming entrance.

Here is the picture of my new door unpainted and sitting in my garage. 

Behind the front door is my new storm door that is a full glass panel.  I am in love with the look of it.  At my old house we had the storm door that had the screen enclosed and all you had to do was pull it down to open.   I loved the convenience but hated the large white bar in the middle of my door.  This new door will be able to change out to a screen but will still be pretty from the outside, really in my opinion that is all that matters!

My inspiration front door color.

Here is my new door, storm door and the replaced lighting

The landscaping is a whole other story (especially with all the rain we have had)  but for now lets just sit back and look how much better the new door makes the whole exterior of the house look.

Well this week is a big week for us.  We are closing on the house finally and it is the start of football season.  We will not be taking on to many big projects though the fall.  I am however excited to show you all the after pictures of the family room.

Here is the before picture of the family room.

Here is the after.........

I will say because of the dark cherry wood walls it was very hard to get decent light in the room.  I had to do them at night which as you can see didn't turn out the best.  I think I need a better camera...hint hint.

I love how everything has turned out.  Of course there is a few more things that need to be done but for now this works great for us.

You can see in the corner we have a space for our son to play.  The table is from pottery barn and it has drawers that pull out for storage.  He can drive his trucks at a good height.  When he is older it has taller legs so chairs can fit around it.

This is a built in with the cherry wood and a photo from the house looking at the packing house through the orchard.

The small table was a wedding gift that was hand made.  It fits perfectly in this space.

Here is the whitewashed fireplace again.  I added a coat rack and a place for shoes since this is my entrance from the garage.

We also have the new furniture from Lazy boy that I absolutely love that matches perfectly with the new rug and linen window panels from Country Curtains (http://www.countrycurtains.com). The chair is actually a recliner.  I wanted something comfortable but not bulky, this chair works perfect.

Everything really ties in together with the kitchen.  I love the Aqua blues that helps to lighten up the space. 

I am so excited to share this post with you all.  It has been a hectic couple of months.  I am sure my husband has not enjoyed the lack of cooking that has been going on.  I do however believe I made up for it this weekend.  We had both sets of parents over and my grandmother to break in the remodeled kitchen. 

                               Our Plan for the Kitchen

Keep the footprint, the cabinets (which had been put in in 1996) and the farm house sink.  I had to do a bit of rearranging of the cabinets in order to get my large peninsula, dishwasher, new stove and microwave.  The kitchen before had brass hardware, white appliances, green counter tops and a green and pink flower boarder.  I wanted to make it more sleek with clean lines and a classic feel.  We added stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, chrome hardware and two new cabinets.  We had to have the cabinets made from Fertig Cabinet Company since we could not find the same style.

Here are some before photos.....

             What you all have been waiting for the after photos.....

The granite above  is New Venetian Gold.  I just love how it pulls everything together.

These are the drawer pulls that we got from Lowes for around $3.54 each.  It makes a big change for such a little price.

Here is the new peninsula that replaced the table height counter.  I just love how it looks! It is a great place to prep while I am keeping an eye on my son.

Above  is looking in from the family room at my new dishwasher, new refrigerator, new upper cabinet (that will soon have glass) and new lower drawers that we had costume made to fit the space.

Looking into the family room from the kitchen. A great view of my new stove and microwave.  Look for my post next week about the family room.

I just love everything about our kitchen. Thanks to everyone for all the help especially my father-in-law and husband who worked hard to get everything done on time. We still have a few more things to do but for the time being I just want to enjoy it!

The fence process has been long.  After going through three fencing companies with very high prices we decided to order the fence ourselves.  Thanks to a friend from my dads work we found a man that put theirs in for a much better price.  The process did however take a lot longer then it would have if we had hired a fencing company.  We had to measure for each end post, line post, corner post and gate posts.  We then had to decide on each gate opening and each fence section. We all now know way to much about fencing. 

We went through http://www.usavinyl.com/mansfield4.html.

The fence we purchased was Mansfield 4' X 6" wide black aluminum. I am very pleased with how it turned out. USA Vinyl was great to work with.  It was a long process between having the gates on back order and then the trucking company forgetting to load the fence on the truck.  We finally got all the parts and called the installer.  After a week of phone tag we finally set up a time and it was installed within 5 hours.

In my opinion it looks like it was always supposed to be there.  I am very pleased how it turned out and glad we went the way that we did. We saved around $1,000, which has helped in the many other projects we have going on.

Check back next week for the big kitchen reveal.

We have been on vacation and so things had slowed down a bit.  This week things are picking up.  We have our fence being delivered today, finally.  The sink is to hopefully be fixed tomorrow and the counter tops are being put in next Wednesday.  We ordered a few new cabinets and are putting in a dishwasher and a microwave above the stove.  We are also going to have a large peninsula added next to the stove.  I get so excited just thinking about it.  Hopefully everything goes smoothly.

Here are a few photos of what is going on in the kitchen.

A glass cabinet will be put in this space and the dishwasher will be added under the counter.

The new microwave will be put above the stove.

This is where the peninsula will be added to replace the built in table. 

Everything is coming along.  Here in a few weeks the kitchen should be perfect.  I can't wait.

The short story of the basement is that since we sold our house so quickly (within two months of being on the market) we had to move most things from the upstairs into the basement of the house.  Let just say when you live in a home as long as my grandparents did you accumulate a lot of stuff.  I will let you see for yourself. 

Here is a before picture.

While we were on vacation my mom and aunt were very very busy. 

The basement needs a complete gut job but for now it will just be a storage area.  Eventually we will take up the flooring, paint, replace the ceiling tiles and one day be able to use the space for picnics like we did when we were kids.

Here is the back furnace room.  I am impressed it all got done in three weeks  this room was completely full.  At one point you could not even step into the room.

My mom and aunt did a great job!  Thanks for working so hard. I know it was tough growing through so many memories but we will be making many more in this house.

Okay, I feel like I have just been writing about the pool.  It was such a big project and took a lot of our time.  We have been in the process of renovating the kitchen we just need the extra cabinets and the new counter tops and it will be "almost" complete.  I can't wait for it to be done and for my sink to work which is still in the works.  I have resorted to washing dishes in a bucket and pouring the water out in the laundry sink.

The big project that my father-in-law and I tackled last week was cutting bushes and tree limbs in the front yard.  Everything had been overgrown and most of the bushes had holes in the inside so just trimming them was not working.  I tried and after about 15 minutes with the trimmer and no progress we decided to get the chainsaw out.  I did not of course use the chain saw.  My father-in-law was the operator and I directed. 

Here are some before photos of the front yard. 

This is after we trimmed everything. 

We are debating on removing this tree above.  The roots have really gotten into the driveway and taken over the front yard. Maybe a small flowering tree would look pretty here and some grass!

I could not pass up this view when I was taking pictures.

We still have a lot to do but it is a work in progress and I am please how open everything looks.  Now you can actually see the house.  I know my mom has pictures of the front yard when they had their wedding reception here.  I will post photos soon to show you what the yard looked like in all its glory and hopefully we can bring it back.

As kids we all had a great time enjoying the sliding board.  If it was getting the bucket or the hose when Grand Mary wasn't around so we could slide down it fast.  The slide was one of the most enjoyable things I can remember as a kid at the pool.  The whole family knows the story of our uncle who went down with it dry, which was a horrible idea and he paid for it.  I find myself telling newbies to the pool don't forget to wet the slide completely or it will peel your skin off.  What a way to scare them! 

Anyways on a lighter note the slide has become a fun and exciting way to enjoy the pool. Upon moving in the slide was a bit worn for the wear and was completely unappealing. Thanks to a family that lives down from us who has the same exact slide we were able to find out there secret. With five cans of spray paint and my father-in-laws spray paint expertise it looks fresh and new. 

This is what he used.

                Before~

                   After~

We did have a test run after it was dry to see if the paint would come off on your swim suit.  The first time it did but the second we were good to go.  The slide is beautiful! Now its on to the next project.....hopefully the fence will be up soon but for now.......

This is not the right saying for our problem but I thought it deemed appropriate.  We knew moving in that our kitchen sink was clogged.  The day we moved in we had a plumber come "fix" it.  Two months later we still have a kitchen sink that is not properly draining.  First we had air blown through the pipe. Second we had water. Third we had the vent on the roof replaced.  Fourth we had a plumber tell us that he had no clue how to fix it.  Finally the Roto Rooter guy came to snake the drain today.  In hoping for the best, that the sink would finally work.  We now have a non working drain/sink that we have concluded is rotted and is draining into the foundation of the basement. The next step (hopefully the last) is to break into the foundation and replace the rotted pipe.  I hope this happens quicker then the last two months.  I need a  properly draining kitchen sink then I can hook up my dishwasher and no longer have to wash every dish!

Here is a photo of the view of our front yard looking out the kitchen window.  Washing dishes shouldn't be this hard, look at that view! 

Still loving our house even without a kitchen sink,

After moving, our first priority was the kitchen, family room and laundry room floors.  I picked out the ceramic tile looking Vinyl Airstep Advantage from Congoleum Corp, 88031 and we were set.  Then the floors in the family room were taken up.  We knew that there was some termite damage, but oh my did we have a mess.  The sub floor was falling apart.  We had to replace most of the family room sub floor.

Here are pictures of the process that spanned over the weekend so we had holes in our floors that were covered up by boards.

The holes brought a whole new problem, a mouse. It got on our Kitchen counter and stuck on a sticky mouse trap.  I had to be the one to dispose of it since Brian was already gone for work.  Lets just say I was screaming and Jackson was laughing and screaming with me.  It was terrifying, but Jackson seemed to enjoy the process and thought his mommy was playing!! 

The finished product.  I really love the way it looks and it is comfortable under foot.