Let the Sun Shine!

We're making so much progress!

Most of the windows have been installed.

What a difference.

We can actually see through them...

what a concept!

 

 

I was very happy to see the window on the right go...

it went down like a guillotine a few times.

 

 

It's starting to look better on the outside too...

 

 

 

We're well on our way to bringing this little house

back to her former self :)

Maybe even better than she's ever been before :)

 

ann marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Making of a Happy House

 

So this is where we started with the interior.

The first layer of carpeting...yes, there were two layers!

The first layer was authentic green/blue shag from the 70's.

Oh the memories that came flooding back to me...

the second layer was the brownish sculptured carpeting.

This is not for those of you with a weak stomach...sorry.

 

 

40 years of dogs peeing on it...be thankful this isn't smellavision.

I didn't even need a knife for most of this...

it was so deteriorated it just tore when I yanked on it.

Gloves and a facemask.

 

 

Overall, the floor is in reasonable shape.

The floors haven't been refinished before...the house was built in 1951.

My floor guy will sand them and then we'll decide on how dark a stain we'll use.

Next up was tackling the walls and ceilings in the Living Room, Kitchen and Sunroom.

 

 

Nicotine, tar and grease...40 years worth.

Once again, pretty disgusting...sorry.

 

 

Two full days of hot water and TSP...and a LOT of elbow grease...

Voila!

 

 

The beginning of a very Happy House :)

 

 

Same thing in the kitchen...

 

 

Before

 

 

 

After...we have a little sheetrock to repair/replace.

So, we are well on our way to making this little cottage happy once again.

 

ann marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark and Dirty....House, that is...

So,  we're getting started on our next project.

After all, we just finished our addition way back in October.

This poor little cottage needs love...lots and lots of love.

The following is what we're starting with.

I'm warning you...this is not pretty.

Let's start with the kitchen.

Gut job...total gut job.

 

 

 

 

From the kitchen we go into the living/dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

The paint color was ivory...

this house has been lived in by the same family since the 70's...

they have been smoking in here since the 70's.

Nasty.

Next is the sunroom.

 

 

 

 

 

There are two bedrooms and one bath...and a hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at these pictures on my monitor makes me think this house is very photogenic...

it's 10 times worse in person.

Here's what the front looks like without the ramp.

 

 

If you have any ideas for exterior paint colors, don't be shy!

There are a few reasons why we're tackling this little house.

It's in the same neighborhood that we live in...Aviation Heights.

It was built the same year our home was built...1951.

It's the same floorplan as ours with a few minor changes.

Last, but not least, this house is right next door to ours!

 

 

This should be a very interesting journey.

The House Next Door Project

 

ann marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Garden Happenings

 

My Morticia Rose...

she's really a Souvenir de la Malmaison...bourbon rose...

and gorgeous.

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Here you go!

 

Texas Redbud

 

 

 

 

a happy oak hydrangea

 

 

 

Early garden...sans squirrel activity ;)

 

baby cucumbers

 

baby summer squash

 

I also planted white eggplant, purple bell pepper, pumpkin, watermelon, and about 6 different heirloom tomatoes...

and all my herbs of course.

Should be a fun time in the kitchen in a few months...

if the squirrels cooperate of course :)

 

oh, and here's a sneak peek at what may be our next project...

 

 

 

 

 

ann marie

 

 

 

 

 

New Master Bedroom

This new Master Bedroom has such a calming effect

as soon as you walk into it.

It's quiet and soothing...not a bad thing for a bedroom.

As with everything else we added or changed while doing this addition...

it just makes us happy.

 

 

Everything in this room is either furniture from family

or something found on the side of the road...

the needlepoint stool at the foot of the bed...

 

 

 

Rug was a church yard sale bargain.

 

 

The oversized brass lantern came from the Habitat ReStore.

I just took the glass panels out of the sides.

 

 

I'm going to get the candle sleeves that Joan over at For The Love of a House

has used...will give it a more vintage look I think.

 

 

I finally found a place for my vintage Jacobean fabric.

I reworked the panels to fit my windows and also made box pleated valances.

I am very happy that I was able to use it in here.

 

 

The furniture was my parents'.

We were lucky to get them as hand-me-downs when they bought a new set

about 30 years ago.

I still love it.

I wish the headboard were taller.

Boxsprings and mattresses were a lot thinner back then.

Maybe I can piece the headboard with 2x4's so I can get the extra height we need.

It really is too pretty to be hidden behind pillows.

There's still some tweaking to be done,

but we're loving this room.

 

ann marie

 

 

 



New Guest Room

One of the benefits of our new addition is that we now have

two Guest Rooms.

This one is geared more toward the Grand Daughters :)

It used to look like this...

 

 

Here it is now...

 

 

We found the beds at an estate sale.

The finish was in horrible shape.

One bed had been stained a darker color and the other had parts of it that was sun bleached.

 

 

A little bit of black paint fixed all that.

 

 

 

This room is so cozy and comfortable.

 

 

We have gorgeous knitted throws at the foot of each bed.

Marc's mom makes these and we can't have enough of them!

We also have a dark grey one in our Master Bedroom.

Love them!!

 

 

Simple bedspreads...very old fashioned.

 

 

There's still some tweaking to do, but the girls are enjoying

playing in here.

We're enjoying not having all their toys

scattered all over the Living Room :)

 

 

Ok...we still get some of the toys in here.

 

ann marie