House Reno- September 2024

 

Still a bit of learning as we go with insulation going

 in this month with inspections for that process.

The hole was cut through the brick in the family room

 for the door into the new office area.

                 Things are getting brighter and we can see just how

                      yellow the lighting was in the front hallway.

Insulation to dry wall.

We did some making of the studs

 to pray over and bless this new space.

More room for our loved ones 

and friends and neighbors.

Then the coating and the sanding.

AND the DUST.

So more of all of that process going on this month.

                        This is the lower level office space.

New door is cut into the shop space. 

All the plastic up for the sanding of the drywall.

Things are moving along.

The Reno Story- August 2024

 

Big story this month was seeing

the windows going in the great room.

Moved some dirt around.

Then Hurricane Debby arrived. 

The one evening John took 100 gallons

 of water out of our new patio while it was 

serving as our new "mini pool."                 

Then it dried up  and and things got finished up.

The two sides of the back yard.

One is on Instagram this summer.

Lots and lots of new windows.

The spaces will be bright.

Then the kitchen renovation started.

Empty spaces getting ready for something new.

We continue to have fun watching the process.

Highly recommend -

azrazoconstruction.com

Carport Update- Details- 2

The challenge of this remodel was the small side space

 that we had to work with on either side of the garage door-

 in order to allow a car to come inside.

 Yes, that really is the plan for winter months-

 does beating scraping ice off at least one car.

Chairs will go into storage and the hang out space

will be vehicle ready.

But, here in Virginia that is really only Dec, Jan and Feb.

So I had been looking for some kind of storage for this space.

Requirements? old, peeling paint

 and no more than 13 1/2 inches wide-

 and would like it at least 8 feet long. 

Need storage and also work

 as a buffet or beverage station when entertaining.

No problem right?

Started looking in September 2012, 

and then finally in a warehouse in Lucketts, VA.

 spotted this in a back room
 with 3 other huge pieces of furniture sitting on top of it. 

Didn't have my measurements along, but came home and measured and called them back and bought it over the phone.

                13 1/2 inches wide- and 10 feet 2 inches long.

Well, the view is a little slanted here

 but you can see here-- it is really very long.

All criteria met.

The story as best as I have pieced it
 together is that this dealer--- 
German Favorite Antiques
 brings these out of factories in Germany, dating pre-1900 and 

sends these pieces back in containers to the U.S.

They now sell out of this space in Luckett's, VA.
Rust and Feathers

Well, this piece has 29 drawers.
 It was very dirty and took me
 an entire day to wash each drawer
 and rub with soap on the edges
 and bottom to make it easier to slide in and out.

The hand made piece has the drawers

 all notched and numbered to match 

the correct space in the piece. 

All drawers are for DH to organize
 and bring tools in that he wants
 closer for use than the shed out back.

That may take awhile-

 till the job is done to sort and make that all happen.

Beverage station ready to go- 
the white container has coffee cups
 and the black container has wine glasses.
What can I get you?

And then this piece.
Bought on the same day from a dealer down the street.
And the story came together,
 in many phone calls back and forth
 to make this work with the delivery person.
 Who, I am not kidding you-
 his name is Tom Cruise,
 and he had to make 2 trips back and forth-
 because we were 1/2 inch too tall
 to make this delivery work in one trip.

But, my other  dealer-  Leesburg Court of Shoppes, 
fell in love with this industrial shelving unit
 and bought it from the German Antiques dealer.
The pieces both came from the same container delivery-
 same factory-
 in Germany-
Went to two different antique venues in Northern Virginia
 and then ended back together again in our carport.
Just love the stories that go with old pieces.

Come on over and sit a spell.
 A bit more sanding and some painting- 
 and our very favorite term-
"We're getting there."

The dark green metal settee
 we got by the dumpster
 in our daughter's new apartment building.

Just needed a few screws and as good as new. 
A comfortable space to sit in the Fall -
morning, noon, and night.

and a touch of Fall to complete the carport- garage
redo update.

Carport Update- Details-1

As I said before,  we are in PROGRESS,  but coming along in the garage space. 

 Sort of the compromise in the enclosure part was still being able to use it as "the Lounge".

We needed to make it work to help with entertaining and to use it as outdoor living space. 

 I love to sit out here when it is raining.

So a few pics today to let you see how things are coming along.

Potting table- 

well it actually stores the small clay pots

Old chicken coop on its side

and small shelves make it work well

Table beneath was salvaged from a home clean up project

 when the girls did a servant event with our church.

The organizers had thrown out the table

  for the trash- and my girls said--

"We know our mom would want that."

They were right.

Some of the silver dollars from this year's crop

Twine roll for tying up tall things in the garden

Old pool balls gathered in the glass container-basket

 wood box with collection of old carpenter rulers and dominoes

collected on an old wooden ironing board

vintage Cocoa Cola crate works to raise

 the Christmas Cactus for better display

garden tools gathered here for easy grabbing

screen doors- roadside trash- free

A wood sign with words of encouragement-

 think this was left over from Sara's classroom at Baltimore Lutheran

And that is a little bit about THE RIGHT SIDE of the Carport. 

Carport- Garage- One Year Update

Well, a year ago this weekend- ( Labor Day)

 we began the project of turning the carport 

on our house into a garage space as needed 

and also a more useable space for entertaining.

This is where we started-  With Hammer and Nail

yup-- This and wide open spaces

Walls went up and doors and windows went in

Then it got pink for a very long time

And DH  working on the "less pink" project
 and the crazy redo all of the time of what the wind kept tearing off.
Some cold bits of time trying to make progress on this side.

Took us a bit to find the exact right garage door we wanted
 and with the crazy slope of the cement -
 in every direction--
DH can tell you how much each way--
 had to have a custom door made.

And we wanted one that let in light
 And was also in keeping with some privacy
That came finally in January.

It looks like 2 big French doors from the front.
 A bit more of a welcome than many garage doors.
There were not any installations at the time in Northern Virginia
 so we just had to "eye it" and determine if it would look good.

Siding got finished and lights up help a lot.

Love the entry door from the front porch
so I don't have to "go all the way around" to get into the garage.

Then there is the insulation on the inside.

And drywall up and taping and mudding.

And tearing off the now interior siding to put up drywall.

And ceiling fan is up and running.

And so on our one year Anniversary,
I can say we are GETTING THERE.
And for a husband who gets very little blocks of time together,
and is figuring things out as he goes along- Well done.

Trying to gather the product information:

Lights- Home Depot- Hampton Bay-Cambridge collection
Ceiling Fan- Home Depot- Harbor Breeze- Tilghman Fan
Doors and Windows-Home Depot- Jeldwen with privacy blinds inside
Garage Door- Lowes- French Porte door
FrenchPorte- here on FB

Next post- a bit of the Story of the inside progress.