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Front Yard Landscaping

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In addition to some updates (removing the window blinds that frame the door, replacing the front porch light and door knob, painting the door and frame and cleaning up the trim), we started using a lawn care service that performs routine seasonal maintenance, which has really helped the grass and hopefully made the mole go away. We also finally finished (for now) the front landscaping. This has been a project we tackled little by little. We moved into this house in the fall of 2018 and the landscaping was not a priority. We have a certain style and prefer a particular kind of landscaping using particular materials and plants. But we did not want to tear everything out, haul it all away, and build it all back. We also did not want to pay for a landscaping company to do it. So I took my mother’s and grandmother’s advice; I lived with it for a while and saw what grew well and decide what I liked. I came to realize that I prefer partial sun/shade …

Neutral Patio Decor

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Initially, I bought pillows to coordinate with the fabric of the outdoor sofa. A little back story on the outdoor sofa: we moved from North Dakota where Colter (our dog) lived inside. He liked to lay on the sofa and in an attempt to successfully transition him to an outside dog, I decided that he needed an outdoor sofa. My mom took me to a discount fabric store where we found some outdoor fabric and foam and someone to make a bench seat and pillow covers. Matt made the sofa based on the bench cushion dimensions. Last year, I started ignoring the brightly colored sofa cushions and bought orange decor for fall and red and green decor for Christmas. The back door was an eye soar and originally planned to replace it but I eventually chose the cheaper option: paint. The front door is black so I decided to paint the back door black too. I sanded and scraped and painted the frame and the door. Matt installed new hinges and weather stripping. In addition …

Half Bathroom Remodel Complete

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It’s done! I just need a soap dispenser and a fancy towel. You may look at this and think, “that looks nice.” So let me remind you what this room looked like before. BEFORE Matt replaced the toilet last year but that was the only update we had done. The room was so dark and dingy. No matter how it was decorated, it was ugly. The cabinets, trim, and countertop had yellowed. It needed a makeover. I quickly recognized that a coat of paint would not be enough. The cabinet had to go too. Each stage of the demo brought a new issue to light. Removing the mirror-wall damage, remove the old sheetrock and replace. Removing the cabinet-more wall damage and bare concrete, repair sheetrock and add six more pieces of tile.  Move the toilet-water damage from old toilet leaks, repair sheetrock. While my Dad was in town he replaced the plumbing in the wall and installed an utility sink in the laundry room (on the other side of the wall). Matt is happy it …