Fireplace Upgrade

When we initially purchased this project house, we had no plans to remodel the fireplace.  Unfortunately, it just looked sad and old once we painted and put in new wood floors.  So, we took the old out and put the new in.  Below are the before, during and after shots.  We purchased the stone "stuff" at a local place in Granger and the mantel is a heavy, solid piece of wood (that we painted black).  We found a mill in Decatur, MI for the mantel and had the wood piece cut, planed and sanded there (all for the bargain price of approx. $100!).
We have loved all the upgrades, but this one has had the largest impact and was the cheapest (about $350 total).  If you have a fireplace and don't love it, only a few hundred dollars could change that.

Before:

During:

After:

I can even enjoy it from the kitchen!

 

Busy Few Weeks

It's been a busy few weeks with us.  We've been working on some house projects, but since we are starting our finishing touches it's going SO SLOW!  Pics coming soon of our new fireplace, though.

Trent has spent some time trying to get our storage unit whipped into shape.  Eventually, we would love to have pavement at the storage unit, but the cost is so ridiculous that it might be a few years.  In the meantime, Trent rented a bobcat and spent some time smoothing out the dirt/rocks/weeds.  Unfortunately, he had to do some of it during yesterday's storms.  He would pull the bobcat into an empty unit as a big storm would come through then do another 15 minutes of work after the storm passed.  This routine continued most of the afternoon.

While he was busy working, I was busy vacationing with a friend.  As you can see our past week was spent in very different environments.

 

 

What Happens When...

This is what happens when you don't pay for your storage unit.  We've had a great first, few months with the storage unit business.  However, the "Storage Wars" auction is just part of the business.  After many phone calls, letters, notices in the newspaper, etc we had to cut a tenant's personal lock off this past week.  Our lock is on the unit and the auction is scheduled. Never a dull moment.

Before/After

While our kitchen isn't 100% complete, it is very close.  Last night, I fixed dinner for the first time in this house (since I only know how to prepare 5 different meals, we should be on repeat very soon).  I'm definitely not a chef - so take this worth a grain of salt - but the kitchen is great!  It has tons of storage space, great prep area (if I were ever going to prep anything), and pretty appliances (that is how everyone shops for appliances....right?!).  The only thing left is new lighting.  What a difference 120 days makes.

Before:

 

After:

 



Big Purchase

Since owning the storage facility, we have had very few costs (huge relief!).  However, business ownership cost us a little this past week.  The storage facility was sold to us with a riding lawn mower....old, but working.  It didn't come as a large shock when it stopped working a couple of weeks back.  Trent checked on repairing it, but we ultimately decided to put it down.

In my mind, this was an easy choice.  We have a nice riding mower at our home (10 minutes from the storage facility) and we're at the end of September.  We should obviously take our mower back and forth for the 3-4 more times that the lawn needs to be mowed.  Clearly we should put off making a high dollar purchase until spring.  Trent didn't agree.  He felt that we should sell our nice riding John Deere to the storage facility and we should buy a new zero turn mower for our house now (since prices will be cheaper than in the spring).  Side note: since we bought this house in May, Trent has mentioned a zero turn mower EVERY SINGLE TIME he has mowed the lawn.  Apparently, when you have a large lawn these things move pretty fast.

Turns out he was right!  We got a steal!!!  Trent is thrilled since he was able to get his zero turn lawn mower and I'm thrilled because he's thrilled at how fast he now mows the lawn.

The Right Choice

Admittedly, we have made some bad calls on some of our projects.  Painting a bedroom midnight blue, staining hardwood floors black when we own a white cat, and purchasing a project house that didn't have a front or back door wider than 32 inches (meaning that we had to give away several pieces of furniture that couldn't fit) are just a few of our bad decisions.  However, this weekend we started on the kitchen tile backsplash and while the flat stack stone was a little different choice, we are thrilled with the end product.  So far we have only completed one wall - but the other wall should be done this week!

Starting to Come Together

As of this past week/weekend, the kitchen has started to finally come together.  Our appliances arrived and Trent was able to install the butcher block.  He still has a little sanding to do and several layers of oil need to be added - but it's really close. 

Still left (for the kitchen):  tile backsplash and new lighting.

I Had My Doubts

When Trent decided that he wanted to make the butcher block countertop, I had my doubts.  It's very specific and because of the style there is no margin for error.  None.  But as you can see, he pulled it off.  The counter still needs a protective coat of oil (probably several coats of oil) and a little more sanding, but it's basically done.  Trent will install it this weekend - with the help of some muscle (volunteers???).  Since there is nothing to reference the size in the pics, the sink cutout is 3 feet wide.  It's a big ole' chunk of wood.

 

Putting it Together

Trent has spent most of his evening time working on our butcher block counter.  It's getting very close and he may even start installing it this weekend (maybe).  Earlier this week, Trent found a local shop that had a sander large enough to handle the three big pieces.   He met the owner there (after work hours) and spent several hours smoothing it out. 
He first put all the pieces together to make sure it was going to turn out.

 

Then (after taking them back apart) he cut the hole for the sink.  So far, we are extremely pleased with how it's turning out!

 

50%

Our countertops in the kitchen are 50% complete!  The granite was installed recently and (fingers crossed) Trent is hoping to have the butcher block island completed this next weekend.

We are putting up a tile backsplash (a really cool one, in my opinion) that should complete the look of the granite.

Once we get done with the counter stuff, we'll be able to move on to new lighting and then (finally!) appliances.  We are currently having a small "discussion" in our home about what appliances we are going to purchase.  Doesn't every couple talk through the finer points of exactly how many cubic feet you need in a refrigerator?!

Butcher Block - In the Making

Trent is in the process of hand making our butcher block countertop (for the center island).  Truthfully, I've looked at many butcher block counters and thought I knew exactly how they were put together.  I was so wrong.  It's much more involved and complex than I ever imagined.  Add to this complicated process the fact that our island is so big that we couldn't even special order a butcher block counter pre-made...they were going to have to make/assemble it on site.  (This would have been helpful info to have prior to ordering the cabinet that makes up the center island.)
Thankfully, Trent has a plan and it seems to be going exactly as he had hoped.  The short description is that he's taken several pieces of maple, cut them to 2" strips and is gluing them all together (in 3 sections).  He will then glue the 3 big pieces together to make the final product.  And since I only took a semester of shop class in 7th grade, I'm not helping on this particular project.

Worth It

After many (many) projects, Trent and I have learned that we generally agree on what is worth spending a little extra on.  Probably one of the biggest things we both love, is having great lights/lights switches/dimmers/timers.  We love them so much that occasionally we will drive by one of our old project houses just to see if the current owners are still using the timers for the exterior lights (no, that's not stalking....we're simply checking on things).

Attached is a photo of the most recent lighting addition.  We had to replace all the light switches and outlets because they were beige...gross, icky, kinda' looks dirty, beige.  Through that process we decided to swap out a few light switches for some more "fun" ones.  This little panel makes certain that our exterior lights always turn on/off at the same time each night - and Trent only had to get shocked once during the process.

The Little Things

This picture doesn't seem like much, but it really is.  We now finally have all of the trim (and newly added toe trim) put back up in the house.  This means that furniture can finally be put back out!  Obviously, the first piece of furniture we pulled out was my piano - but that was really more about function than form (I needed to practice).

In other house project news, we have decided to try something new for the kitchen and we'll know very shortly if we're crazy or brilliant.  Up until this week, we planned on keeping some of the original countertops with this house (they are solid surface and nice looking).  However, after looking at countless Pinterest pics, we've decided that we should put new granite on the cabinets and butcher block on the island.  The problem is that apparently the "good" butcher block is just as expensive as granite!  Trent has decided that he can make this butcher block countertop and save hundreds (maybe even a thousand) of dollars.  He's ordered the wood and it comes in this week.  Stay tuned....

Amish Toys

We just had a new center island built for our kitchen and an Amish man named Andrew built it.  This isn't a photo of Andrew, it's his son.  My dad went with me to help order the island and he managed to "steal" a pic of the two year old.  I would normally say that he's just playing with the farm equipment...but there is a solid chance he's already working.

As for the island, we have it in the kitchen (close to where it will permanently be).  Once we get it all put together (dishwasher, sink, countertop, etc), I'm confident it will look perfect.  And since we had some extra space in the back of it, Andrew made 2 cabinets that are both 36" x 36".  Do you know how big that is?!  Huge!!  My serving dishes will finally have a home.

 

 

 

 

The Floors, The Floors, The Beautiful Floors

The wood floors on this project house are done.  As promised, here are some additional photos.  The pics don't do the floors justice.  The red color is solely my poor photography skills (the wood has no red coloring in it). 
Here are the specs on the beautiful floors:

 

Wood:  Hickory

Size:  5" wide planks

Extra Stuff:  Distressed with the "hand carved" look.  Obviously, no one carved out strategic chunks - it was done with a machine...but it still looks cool.

Price:  Kind of expensive (in my opinion)

 

 

As our blog states, we generally do everything ourselves on our projects.  However, Trent was gone for a trip to Nicaragua and we didn't want to stop all the work on the house.  Sadly, I have some severe limitations when using a table saw (that was required to put these floors in).  In an effort to help me keep all 10 fingers, we hired out the installation of the floors.  Best decision ever.  We hired Legacy Building Group, LLC out of South Bend.  If you are reading this in FB, I'll add them into the post.  If you are on the blog and want their number or info, leave a comment and I'll gladly provide it.  They did incredible work, showed up on time, cleaned up at the end of each day (it's like they could read my mind) and were extremely trustworthy.  I can't say enough good things about the whole experience!

And yes, Bailey decided to make an appearance in this last shot.

Rid O Rust

This product is officially my newest favorite item.  Ever.  When we purchased this project house it had rust all over the outside (brick, stone, siding, sidewalk, landscaping rocks, driveway, everything).  We actually considered not purchasing this home solely because of this issue...the rust was that bad.

Thankfully, the next door neighbor assured us that everyone in the subdivision has the same problem and they all use the same product each summer to remove/prevent it.  We hopped on board, placed an order, saw the price, almost cancelled the order, hit "submit" and paid the bill.  The product arrived, I immediately poured it into a large sprayer and went to work.  Magic!  No scrubbing, it doesn't destroy plants/grass, it's amazing.  The rust is almost all gone.  Sadly, we didn't listen to our neighbor when he told us to order 9 CASES of the stuff.  Therefore, we are awaiting shipment #2 to show up so I can finish some last problem areas. 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

Quick Update

Things are crazy here at the project house and the project business...crazy busy!  I'll get additional photos up soon, but the new wood floors on the project house are complete and they are incredible.  We are very happy with them!

A Little Hillbilly

We've gone a little hillbilly here in our household.  Since the new wood floors are in the process of being installed, we had to do something with the appliances.  All of the kitchen appliances are being replaced, but until new ones arrive we wanted to keep the fridge.  The sunroom is keeping its original tile, so the logical place to put everything was in that room.  Dinner table, buffet, refrigerator, washer and dryer.

In case that wasn't redneck enough, we're washing everything in our master bathroom sinks since it's the only place we have water.  I'm pretty sure after the last house we said we would never do this again...yet here we are.  Washing our hands, dirty laundry and dishes all in the same 9" sink.  There are simply not enough Clorox wipes for my life.

Kitchen, Be Gone!

This weekend we worked hard to get the kitchen demo'd.  We are planning on putting in a large island (instead of the peninsula that was there), new countertops and new appliances.  As everyone knows by now, our plans could change tomorrow - but, for today this is the plan.

As you can tell from the photos, we have no flooring right now (just plywood)...it's not terrible for a short spell, but having to always have on shoes in order to not get a splinter from the floor is not a way to live long term.

 

If You Squint...

We are getting ready for hardwood to be installed on the new house and it's SO exciting!!!  Obviously, all the previous flooring (carpet and ceramic tile) have to be removed prior to this (we decided to go ahead and tear out the fireplace while we were making a mess).  We have about 75% of the tile out and all of the carpet out...which means the funky smell is finally gone.  Again, we're living in this project as we do things so we move the sofa, chair and tv out every evening and then move them back in before we go to bed.  It's loads of fun.  I put down a couple of rugs (one of them was left behind by the previous owners so we decided to put it to good use) just so we aren't walking around entirely on plywood for the next week.  If you squint when you look at the pics, you can almost imagine what the hardwood will look like.

 

 

 

 

This weekend we plan on tearing out the kitchen.  We originally didn't plan on ever doing the "no kitchen" thing again after the last project house.  Unfortunately, this is the price you pay for a new kitchen.

I've had several people ask me if Bailey (cat) is doing well with another move/project/transition.  It would appear that he is doing just fine.