Kitchen Porch

Before:

It looks fine right? But get a little closer...

Fall 2010

The decking has been coming apart on the kitchen porch for a while. The stairs were nailed in, so we're constantly pushing the nails back into the boards with our shoes. The steps are loose and the posts are showing signs of rot. Then someone pointed out that the posts weren't actually holding up the roof, the ceiling was just resting on it.

Here's the porch mid-demo.

We found the old concrete slab steps under the porch.

The plan is for new square columns to match the formal front entrance, mahagony floor and stairs, and to widen the stairs.

I also want to replace the railings with a more victorian-styled balustrades, but we'll do those at a later time. The porch is only a few inches off the ground, so the railings aren't a code requirement.  The goal is to finish this before the "First Day of School" photo.

Number 14

 

One of the things on the list was to hang the house numbers on our front porch. We went to LA in Feb and I found these numbers at Liz's Antique Hardware, which is a really fun store.

I thought it would be cool to have them on the stairs, but they were too tall, so it went above. And Jeff power-washed the moss off the front walk. 2 items checked off!

The Summer List

June seemed quiet, but it was a month of planning, door shopping, family, end-of-school, and making a list. Above is a photo of the current list of things to do this summer. It has big projects and little jobs and we're trying to knock it out between trips to the beach and vacations.

I'll post pictures soon of some of the improvements, but I didn't want you to think we were doing nothing over here!

Happy Independence Day!

Source: ohiobarns.com via octobermoon on Pinterest

School's in session!

Got new lights for the playroom from Lamps Plus. They were on sale.  They really brighten up the room, which is good since they are off-centered in the room. Some day when this room bubbles to the top of the priority list we'll move the lights, but for now they are an upgrade.

Mini Bathroom Update

It started with a small crack in the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom.

So we did what anyone would do, and we make a big hole to see what was going on.

We found evidence of water dripping from a pipe.

Despite the fact that I secretly wanted to redo the Beechnut's bathroom, we were able to fix the leak with a new wax seal.

But since we had the toilet pried off, might as well do a little updating.

I found a nice light fixture at a going-out-of-business sale and we bought a new toilet. The vanity was existing and it'll do for now.

We painted the walls Benjamin Moore's Bridal Pink. Its a bathroom for little girls. They like pink.
We added a curved shower rod for a little extra roominess and hooks for towels or robes.

You can see the blue-gray fiberglass surround peeking out. Its just not in the budget this year to gut this bathroom, so I'm ignoring it.

The Beechnuts are excited, they love the pink bathroom. The total for the update came to just over $500, the majority being spent on the Kohler Memoirs toilet.

Bathroom Plan

I think the Beechnuts are going to get a new bathroom shortly. There is some water damage showing in the room below that we need to investigate. I am looking on the bright side, thinking this is great because the bathroom is really old and decrepit, but bad because I really wanted a new front door and french doors in the living room.

We're not going to move any plumbing or walls, but we might need a new window.
Here's the plan for the items we need to purchase. I'm going to keep it simple with hexagonal tiles on the floor, white subway tiles on the tub surround, and maybe go crazy with pink paint on the walls.

Girls BA by soabt on Polyvore.com