Deck Inspiration

While reading Houzz.com's post on Fabulous Patios, I was reminded of our deck-to-be.  With the beautiful summer evenings we've been having lately, we are so anxious to get started so we can enjoy our backyard and so we don't have to see this when we look outside our back door...

Or this while we're in our backyard...

Unfortunately we have so many other home improvement projects to do and the deck's pretty low on our priority list so it might not get done until next year.  But when it does get done, it will be big and amazing!

A Tip for Painting

If you need to take a break from painting (like we are right now), wrap your rollers tightly in shopping bags.  Make sure they don't have any holes.  Then place them in the refrigerator.  

They will stay wet and ready to paint for days!  

This way you don't have to clean out your rollers in the middle of your project, and it can save you tons of time!  I do recommend washing out your brushes after each use, though.

Window Trim in the Living Room - Stage 1

So this is obviously not the living room.  It's the window in our bedroom.   It's nearly identical to the one we're working on in the living room.  We were so excited to put trim up, we forgot to take a before picture!  Notice the plain, boring window?  No trim!

Here's what we have so far.  Derek pre-painted the MDF trim before attaching it to the wall.  It's so much easier to paint trim this way!  You don't have to tape!

His design includes beadboard beneath the windows.  It makes them look taller!

He's also spackled the joints and nail holes.  All that's left is touch-up tomorrow!

Paint

Another new development in The Handyman's House is paint in the living room!  We could only choose one color for the entire interior of our house so we picked a creamy neutral, Mason Blanche.  All our walls and our baseboards are painted in this color.  Nice, but boring.

So add some contrast, we picked a darker shade of the same hue for the walls in the living areas. Derek isn't quite finished yet, but it looks great so far!

The window across the room is casting weird shadows on the walls.  The actual color is in the middle.

Interior Paint

Another new development with our house is paint in the living room!  We could only choose one color for the entire interior of our house so we picked a creamy neutral, Mason Blanche.  All our walls and our baseboards are painted Mason Blanch.  Nice, but boring.

So add some contrast, we picked a darker shade of the same hue for the walls in the living areas. We aren't quite finished yet, but it looks great so far!

The window is casting weird shadows on the walls.  :(  The actual color is in the middle.

Mowing Our Lawn

Yesterday, Derek fixed the broken lawn mower I got for $10 at a yard sale and mowed the lawn!  Yes, I did know it was broken when I bought it, but I figured that even if we couldn't fix it, we'd only be out $10.  What a deal!

And it seems to have been a simple fix.  The plastic tank was cracked--the previous owner left gasoline in the tank through the winter--so Derek glued it with PVC glue and it held!  Since the crack is near the top, Derek is hoping that if he doesn't fill up the tank, it will hold for quite a while. 

Here are some pictures of our freshly mowed lawn.  It looks great!!

And here's a picture of how our curb appeal is coming along.  We're about halfway finished!!

We will cover the dirt on the left of the driveway with pavers and with wood chips on the right.

MDF Baseboards

When Derek ripped out the original baseboard, we decided to put in 5" MDF instead.  It looks great!! 

He is pre-painting the boards, nailing them to the walls, spackeling the nail holes and joints, caulking, and touching up with paint.

Baseboards!!

Today Derek started putting in our new baseboards.  He ripped out the originals when he replaced the flooring and instead of putting the boring stuff back in, we decided to put in 5" MDF.  It looks great!!  I can't wait 'til the rest of the house is done!!

Sod

Derek and our friend Jared laid sod today!  It's so nice to see green outside our windows instead of dirty brown dirt everywhere!!

We Have a Lawn!

Derek and our friend Jared laid sod today!  It's so nice to see green outside our windows instead of dirty brown dirt everywhere!!

Sprinkler System

Here's Derek with the sprinkler system he just installed.  Not usually a Derek-of-All-Trades service, but it sure saved us a ton of money to have him install it at our house!

Sprinkler System

Derek did a really great job on our sprinkler system.  He planned everything out just right and worked so hard to make it perfect!

Painted Appliances

Derek painted our white fridge and freezer black.  Our beverage cooler fits perfectly in between, and someday we'll have some built-ins so the trash will be in a pull-out beneath the cooler.

Painted Appliances

 

Derek painted our white fridge and freezer black.  Our beverage cooler fits perfectly in between, and someday we'll have some built-ins so the trash will be in a pull-out beneath the cooler.

Laminate Flooring

Before we moved in to our new house, Derek replaced all the flooring in the main living spaces.  The most economical way to have nice floors was to have Hubble put in carpet everywhere (even in the dining area, eww!) and then Derek would change it before moving in.

Now we have beautiful laminate flooring running through our entry, hallway, library, kitchen, dining area and living room.

Laminate Flooring

Before we moved in, Derek replaced all the flooring in the main living spaces. The most economical way to have nice floors was to have Hubble put in carpet everywhere (even in the dining area, ew!) and then we would change it before moving in.  Now we have beautiful laminate flooring running through our entry, hallway, piano room, kitchen, dining area and living room.

I love it!  Doesn't it look great?  Now we need to get the new baseboards up!

Planting Trees

We planted two trees in our yard.  A quaking aspen in the front and a peach tree in the back (Derek's digging the hole for the peach tree in the picture).  Unfortunately, the peach tree didn't survive.  We're keeping our fingers crossed for the quaking aspen!!

Our House 3/16/10 Part 2

Our House 3/16/10 Part 1