Three Years of Renovations

Today marks the third anniversary of the day we officially moved our furniture into our "fixer upper".  You can search back to my earlier posts (before I started my instagram account) to see the renovation of the main part of the house.  So much more has taken place since that original move in day so I will share some of those projects.

We built a new garage with a pergola and lots of landscaping.

We converted the old garage to a family room and added an entryway from the new garage. We realized that we downsized too much. 

New pool liner, concrete and rebar fence

New built in bench for "alfresco" dining

New boat house and dock railing

Back yard entrance privacy fence

Cedar corbels above the front windows

New trim above foyer coat closet

Whew!  All this was done in one year by Mr. Fixer Upper and our wonderful craftsman, Lambworks Home Improvement. Well, we started 2019 off with a bang because we began another renovation project. We say that this will be our last but I won't make any promises.  We never did much to the upstairs, except paint and new carpet, because we  lived in the upstairs while we did phase one of our major renovation on the main level. (That is a whole other story that I do not recommend for anyone) We have been putting it off but decided after Christmas to go ahead and jump in. 

New board and batten leading up the stairs

The guest bath is what I am most excited about. This is my design board.

The vanity is the Home Decorators Collection from Home Depot

Good news!  The vanity arrived today after four weeks so now we can get this project completed. 

Stay tuned

Hedgescapes and Boxwoods

Recently I was asked by Hedgescapes, a company that specializes in commercial artificial shrubs and hedges, to review one of their products. Artificial boxwood wreaths are very popular so I chose the 24 x 32 oval wreath.

I was wowed when I opened it!

Look how pretty it is in our entryway.

If you are also looking for maintenance free landscaping go check out their products.  You can find them on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Houzz. 

It's Been A Long Two Years

I have been very lazy about updating this blog because it takes time to write and upload pictures plus I have to use a computer. I have found that a lot of bloggers, including me, are posting to Instagram instead.  It is easier, quicker and can be done anywhere in a matter of minutes using the iphone. I am still going to continue to post our DIY updates on this blog but will use Instagram for quicker updates. You can follow me @pattispeachbasket.

Today is a major milestone with our "fixer upper".  Exactly two years ago on this date, the dumpster arrived and we started the renovation.  A lot has happened in these past two years and you can go back to previous posts to see the process.  For four months my husband and I lived in the upstairs of this house while the major renovation was going on with the main floor and basement. This tarp covered the stairway to our living quarters. It was messy! I kept a pair of clean shoes in my car and would change into them anytime I went out. 

I never thought I would be so excited to see a dumpster arrive. This is the way the house looked on November 2, 2015. It was a dreary cold day!

My husband and I have always been DIY'ers and we seem to always have a project going on so we will probably continue to have something happening at this house as long as we are living here. 

Today I am taking you on a tour of part one of our "fixer upper".

This is the family room as we first saw it with our realtor with the previous owner's furnishings.

And now the transformation. 

No more blue tarp!

This used to be the garage.

New mud room.

This was originally the back deck.

Now on to the upstairs which was our living quarters during the renovation. This part of the house did not need as much work so we basically just did some cosmetic changes. Paint, lighting, carpet and HVAC. 

There are three bedrooms upstairs so we converted one of them to a home office.  Mr. Fixer Upper installed a built in desk under the windows which look out over the lake.  It's kind of hard to get any work done when you have this view. 

Since we raised two sons, I finally have a "girly" room for our granddaughters. I am still working on the decor in this room. 

Both of these guest rooms already had built in window seats with storage!  We simply painted them white.

The outside of the house had a big transformation too. The white Georgian columns are gone and hello cedar! New paint, craftsman shutters, front door, landscaping and a new spacious garage that I will share later. 

I have kidded with my husband about how we should name this place 

The Dunnworkin Cottage at the Lake!

Stay tuned for part two of the tour of

Dunnworkin Cottage