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

Think Before You Downsize

In 2015, my husband and I retired, sold our house in Georgia, packed up everything we owned and moved to Alabama.  We wanted to be closer to our grandchildren. There was one request to our realtor; the new house had to be on water.  We had previously owned a little weekend place on Lake Sinclair but this time we wanted to live full time on the water.  We were perfectly content with "downsizing" too.  We looked at so many brand new beautiful homes but each had the same problem:  Bad water!  Shallow water off the dock and in some cases not even navigable during the winter months. It seemed that the best lots with good deep water were already occupied by older homes. This is why we bought a "fixer upper". 

Now after downsizing and living in our "new" house for 18 months, we have decided that we need more room!  Yes, you are reading this correctly.  We need more room! After promising that I would never ever again live in a house while remodeling, (drumroll) we are at it again. 

Here is the plan: We are adding a new garage with plenty of storage for my husband's tools and converting the current garage to a family room. 

This is a computer generated picture of how the new family room will look.  Kudos to my son for designing this using TapGlance.

This will be the view from the kitchen. 

The work has begun and I cringed when I saw the driveway being broken apart.

Seeing the chain saw attack the brick sidewalk hurt too!

I wish we had done this during the original remodel so my piece of advice is:  Think before you downsize!

 

A Farmer's Market Makeover

One day while browsing around Hobby Lobby, I found this decor item on a kiosk in the center of the store. What actually caught my eye was the metal wire top.  It wasn't on sale and after looking at the price, I passed, hoping that it might eventually go on sale.  If you have the Hobby Lobby app, you can check each week to see what is on sale so when I found that all metal/home decor was on sale at 50%, I made a trip back to see if this little gem was still there.  It was!

I did not like the wood tray.  It was too dark and the lettering was too big.  My husband even told me that he thought it was ugly.  I really liked the wire though and I knew I could "fix" it.
When you are a DIYer, you have plenty of paint on hand so I didn't have to purchase a thing.
The color I used was Slate by Sherwin Williams. After it dried, I dry brushed it with Antique White. Then I sanded it just a little with a fine grit paper. You can see that the letters are very faint now.

I then brushed on a dark antique glaze.  Once the glaze was applied, I wiped some of it off.  You can get the look you want by just brushing on more or wiping off more. In this picture you can see the difference after the glazed is applied. The right side of this picture is before the glaze.

The glaze that I used is from a business in Woodstock, Georgia named Rethunk Junk. The owner makes all of her paints. The great thing about her products is that they can be applied directly over any item without sanding it first.  No it is not a chalk paint.  That is why I like it so much.
Here is the link to her website:   www.rethunkjunkbylaura.com

These Hyacinths were on sale at Walmart for $1.00 so I couldn't pass on that!  I placed them in these teacups and added some moss. 

I really like how it turned out. It looks more, as they say, "French Country Chic" instead of "Farmhouse Country"! 

A "Busy" Kind of Project

Development of fine motor skills is important for toddlers and preschool children. Hands on activities stimulate a child's senses and encourage critical thinking.  Do I sound like a teacher?  During my 30 years of teaching school, I observed that children learn from "hands on" activities because it promotes application skills.  Have you seen "busy boards" or "sensory boards"?  Pinterest has so many ideas for them but they all looked like boards for boys.

   

We decided to make a girl's version for our granddaughter for her 2nd birthday.  We refer to it as our girl prototype. My husband built the base and then I sanded and painted it white. It needed some "girl" color so I taped it and painted pink stripes. 

Behind each door we placed a picture of each side of the family.

My husband then added all the goodies: latches, wheels, bolts, springs, etc.  All the little things that will promote tactile learning and dexterity of those little fingers. 

I painted the back with chalkboard paint. 

Then we had the real test of this little busy board prototype. 

I think it passed the test!  Now we have to make one for our other little granddaughter.  Our oldest even asked if we would make one for her without "baby" things.  Hmmm.  What would we put on one for a seven year old girl?  I need to do some research on that one.  Sounds like another prototype is coming soon!