Mission Complete

 I wish I could find a picture of what was originally in this space before we pulled it out.  The previous owners has put down a concrete shower insert and then built a counter top around TWO plastic utility sinks.  The whole thing was then "finished off" by stapling a grass mat skirting around it.Yep, it was  attractive.  NOT!  And while it had water attached to it, the drain in the shower insert led to nothing except the carpet underneath.  It was crazy! 

When we bought the house we were not exactly sure what we would do to finish off the space, but we KNEW the current set up had to go.  After a lot of dreaming we decided to do a mini kitchen and eating/game area that can accommodate guests or a live in renter.

Knowing the work needed was beyond our skill level, we hired an awesome local company, The Guild Brothers, to do the project for us.  They have been patient with my crazy whims and changes, and we have been so pleased with their dedication and work!

Once the cabinets were set, Clarke did install the beadboard/ship-lap on the back himself.

The Man Space

I have a love hate relationship with garages.  On the one hand, they need to be functional and hold all the STUFF.  On the other hand, I want them to look lovely and like they came out of a magazine.

Guess which side of the coin my husband falls on?

Holding all the stuff.  And trust me when I say, he has All. The. Stuff!

But poor guy has been so busy helping me with inside projects that he had put off his stuff projects "til later."

Well later finally came, at least for one project he had been eager to do. (In my defense, it is hard to get too much work done in the garage and you live in Arizona.)

Pegboard!  Clarke is a tool guy and now that he has a bit more free time than the Air Force afforded him, he is starting to amass some pretty cool tools and gadgets.  Hence all the projects he has done for me.  While we hope to add a workshop for him at some point, the third bay of our garage will have to suffice for now.

 

A work in progress but we are slowly getting there!

 

He added the pegboard, did a bit of rearranging and is happily adding things as time will permit.  It's a work in progress, but at least it is finally in progress!  Ask me how many screws and nails and such we have sorted in the past three weeks!

Blessings,

New Renovations Have Begun

When we bought this house we new it needed some things to be done to make it fit us better. That was part of the thing that drew us to it- the fact we could do some adjustments to better meet our needs.

One such area was the downstairs.  It has two bedrooms, one of which is currently occupied by our college son, Clarke's office, which is getting more use that we ever thought possible due to Covid, and then a living room.

For some strange reason the previous owners put two utility sinks in one corner and called it good.  Funny thing- they set them in a shower base with a drain, but the drain hole was open to nothing but the carpet underneath it.  Yep, genius.

So that went out pretty early on.

Clarke and I did some prep work, but with all the months of work we had done previously, we knew we needed help on this one.

The plan is-

New flooring put in one section of the living room and counters, sink, and fridge added to make a mini kitchenette.  A table will be added to the area for eating, or puzzles, and will make for a fun space for entertaining.  The space may eventually be used as rental, or for my mom, should she decide to join us.

 

The second part of the project involves this bathroom.  It is directly beside the larger guest room.  It housed one of the largest Jacuzzi tubs I have ever seen and one of the weirdest "steam" showers I have ever taken a shower in.  The first holds way too much water, and the second makes you feel like you are showering in a cave.

 

 

Both are on their way out.  A full shower with a bench will replace the existing tub, and the shower will be replaced by a short hallway that will go into the guest room, allowing direct access to the bathroom, making it feel more like a suite.  

Things have been taped off and demo work started last week!  Hopefully in about a month the work will be done!

 

 

 

I will keep you posted on the progress as I try not to pressure the poor guys to work faster!

Blessings,

Success!

This past week has been a good one in terms of house updates.  Slowly but surely we are making this house ours, but COVID shipping delays are still a battle we are fighting. 

Front door- still not in!

Entertainment center- not in either.

Thankfully the last cabinet for the kitchenette area we are adding downstairs came in, as did the butcher block countertops.  So funny story.  We opened the plastic protecting the butcher blocks to access the "instructions."  There, in step one, it clearly states one must stain or finish in desired way within 48 hours of opening.  Well, that wold be nice to have known BEFORE we opened them!  While that was on our list of things to do, our contractors do not begin work until the first of October so we thought we had some time.  

Seems we only had 48 hours!

So off to Lowes we went today and began staining! 

I LOVE how these turned out and am so thankful for a hubby who worked so hard on them.  

The flooring going in is a darker stain as well so I think they will look good together, while the white cabinets will help keep the area from being too dark.  Any thoughts on possible door knobs?

The other project that got done was a new dishwasher installation.  What looked like a quick project took a bit longer due to the fact that at first it did not fit under the countertop.  After a moment of panic, mine, not Clarke's (who tells the kids and I, Pleasants don't panic), we got it figured out and installed.  We being mostly Clarke.  (I was too busy panicking. shhh, don't tell!)

 

 Before-

After-

 

We knew we wanted to change out the upstairs appliances at some point, but thought it would be a later project.  When it was decided that our white fridge was going downstairs, we knew we might as well replace everything at once.  At once being a relative term, seeing as how while all the appliances were ordered at the same time, only the dishwasher and sink have come it.  The three other pieces are scheduled for delivery in November.

Yes, November.  Don't even get me started.  It's a good thing the appliances we have work perfectly well or we would be up a creek!

Hopefully the sink will get put in this week, but until then we are taking today to rest a bit.  We hear cooler weather is right around the corner- you can find me on the back deck waiting for it!

Blessings,

No More Raccoon Garage

Yes, we had the garage painted black shortly after we moved in, but had not changed out the windows in them, so my kids told me they looked like raccoons.  Or pandas, depending on which child you ask.  I had all intentions of changing them out, but, as with all other things, shipping and installers were delayed. 

Finally, they came, and the difference is amazing.  I love them!

Now if that front door will ever come in. 

Other projects done-

Curtains for our dining room and our upstairs guest room.  Both were not high priority, but having that sewing project off my to-do list feels good. (OK, they still need to be hemmed, but it's close!)

I also finally got this quilt layered and quilted so I am ready for winter snuggling!  There will be a winter this year, right?! 

In preparation for two projects on our lower level, Clarke and I were able to take out this silly sink contraption the previous owners had put up for art projects I believe.  What you don't see is that when we bought it, it also had a woven grass rug around it.  Just having the thing pulled out makes me feel better.

This week I will be painting the back wall and column.  In a few weeks a kitchenette area will be added!  I am busy looking for a high table and four chairs to put where the card table currently is.  For now, Colby and I am using it for our puzzle space, but I am looking forward to having it set up for guests to use and movie night popcorn to be made.

The second project involves a bath room reno.  More on that to come!

As these initial projects start to wind down we are beginning to dream about our next projects.  Well, me mostly sharing my dreams with Clarke.  We will see where that takes us!

For someone who was a bit disappointed in having to let go of the building a house dream, I am enjoying making this place our own with updates here and there.  Feeling blessed that the Lord has allowed us to live His dream for our family- one we would have never imagined!

Blessings,

House Reno- Week 4

Just in case you were wondering, four weeks is a long time to work on a house.  A very long time.  But we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

At least of phase one. 

I have to admit, there were days this past week I did not feel like we were making much progress.  It seemed like I spent a lot of time putting things one place and then moving them, but looking back I can see more was done than I realized- thankfully!

So what was done?

• After three weeks of daily back and forth trips between the rental and here, we finally got moved over on Wednesday!  It felt so good to stay in place after the long day and wake up in our house!

Super thankful for all those totes!

• Movers brought over two loads of the final furniture that we felt we just could not do by ourselves.  They were a God- send!  

• Kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets painted!  The doors were taken back to their shop to be completed and should be returned in a few weeks.  Until then, they told us to pretend it was the "European style" open cabinet idea.

• Installed Colby's bathroom shower door.  That "1 1/2 hour" project, was NOT!  Just for the record.  Still waiting on the master shower door to arrive.

  

Before

Yes, still waiting for faucets to be installed!

• Installed more ceiling fans.  Three more to go!

• Installed closet system for master bedroom.  Also, not a quick project!  Let's just say my sweet husband is amazing.  And sporting a huge bruise and scrape on his back that makes it look like he got in a fight with a velociraptor.   

One of 16 boxes!

• Unpacked all the picture boxes.  Haven't hung one picture yet, but thinking about it.

Ashton is my decorator and was supposed to come up this weekend to help hang pictures and settle things in.  Unfortunately on her way up here, she was rear ended on the highway by a pickup truck hauling a construction trailer.  Praise the Lord she is OK, but she did have to turn around and go back to her place to have the car looked at.  So for now, I am at a standstill with decorating.  Not to worry, there are enough final projects to keep us busy this week. 

My hope is that by the end of next week we will be done.

With phase one! ;)

Blessings,