Shut the Front Door

As I alluded in my other post about our projects, we also recently took care of one of the projects that has been on my list since before we put an offer on this house. No, seriously.

It was one of the biggest things that I hated about our house.

This...

...Storm...

...Door.

I love our front porch. It is one of the things that sold us about this house. We love hanging out outside. We have updated the landscaping, added those shutters, changed the lighting, changed the house numbers, painted the bead board ceiling blue, and added cute little accents to make it welcoming.

But, that door.

Don't ask me why I hated it, I have no idea. I just thought it was ugly and needed to go.

I even tried to just update the door to live with it. I painted it red, hung a wreath with every season, bought new hardware, and highlighted the beautiful stained glass piece that the previous owners saved from the original house door.

But, that storm door. Ugh.

So, it was always on the list. Finally, Austin and I got around to going in and special ordering the door we really wanted (historic homes = special size, not found in stores doors). And last weekend, Austin and his dad started installing it.

I was so excited.

I took pictures. I did actually help a little...you know, reading instructions, finding "missing parts", etc.

The checked and re-checked measurements...

and checked some more...

I got bored and snapped this photo of my tea olives' growth. 

Yay for not killing plants! 

They measured some more...

I went and got them drinks and snacks...

They did some cutting and installing...
Did I mention we got to buy a hacksaw that day? 
It seems every project leads to a new tool purchase...

Installed all the locks and latches...and it worked!

 Doesn't it just look happier?

Also, please don't mind the reflection...

I was too excited to care about not being in the photo myself.

Before and After

Before

After

Our neighbors recently came over and told us how much they love it too. You wouldn't believe the amount of light that it lets into the living room now. Plus, the puppy, and someday baby, can see outside without jumping up on the door. Bonus.

I still want to add a door knocker of some sort under the stained glass, a la my YHL faves, just to balance things out a bit. And we need a new non-faded welcome mat. But all of that pales in comparison to this door being completed.

We love it.

...and it only took 20 months to get it done ;)

Outdoor Project Updates!

Well, we did get some project-ing done outdoors over the last few weeks. The biggest of which is our new storm door, which I am in lurve with. But thanks to Daylight Savings I could NOT get a good picture of the completed project this morning since it was still dark outside! Gah.

So that project will get its own post here soon. Yay!

In the meantime, here are some other things that we have added to the house/backyard.

To the right of the patio:

Raised bed for veggies and hanging planters for herbs. My veggies are starting from seeds inside at the moment, but my herbs have been moved out there since this photo was taken. 

I will get an updated one soon!

To the left of the patio:

Clothesline, which has since had the actually line added, and has a clothespin bag soon to be added as well...made by yours truly.

And, yes, I realize that our backyard needs desperately to be raked and that it looks like...well, dirt. But, those things (grass, landscaping, etc) are all in the works currently and believe me when I tell you that it is so.much.better than the graveled piece of land that used to be a parking space for classic cars.

Though some might think the classic car look is better.

Not me.

"Warm" Weather Projects

AKA, my husband the hero.

I just love this photo of him, swoon.

In the past two weeks, this guy has done all sorts of things for our home.

• Installed a new bathroom light fixture
• Painted the Mud Room floor and foundation bricks
• Installed a new light fixture in the mudroom
• Painted the hallway (using a 22 foot ladder and being REALLY high up...above stairs. I was scared for him.)
• Built a new set of stair for the mud room
• Ordered a new storm door to install next week! Yay!
• Replaced tons of outlets and light switches (they were all mismatchy, and I am slightly OCD...also 3 pronged outlets - yay!)
• Rewired bathroom light switch for a solely aesthetic purpose
• Tarred old chimney that may have been causing leaks into little sister's room
• Glued down loose pieces of approximately 100 year old hardwood floors

...and I think that's it. Whew. He did a lot. Love you babe, mean it.

And this weekend, he has volunteered himself for more!

Our backyard has already come a loooong way, but we are hoping to be able to actually get some landscaping and, dare I say it, GRASS out there this summer. 

Hopefully this weekend though Austin will be completing a clothesline project (for all those cute cloth diapers to hang on that will be coming soon to Casa Gage) and building me a raised vegetable garden! (just the bed, I will do the planting...I'm not completely slacking here.)

Last year I did herbs (in individual pots) and already have the seeds starting inside the house for them this year...but this year I am also adding veggies to the mix! I may also be tackling composting, but we will see how much I can really handle with baby arriving as well.

I am pretty excited for spring to come and for fresh herbs and tomatoes. 

Caprese from the garden anyone?

How Romantic

So, our Valentine's ended up being pretty romantical.

Even though we both said we weren't going to do anything, I came home to a lovely arrangement of flowers and a card, and I pulled a card and the Mumford & Sons CD out of my purse for Austin.

Hydrangeas and Tulips, oh my.

But then, then he gave me the most romantic gift of all.

A trip to Home Depot to order our new storm door for the front of the house.

That man sure knows the way to my heart.

(Seriously though, I have wanted this since we moved in.)

Photos in 7-10 business days when it gets here!

Happy Valentine's Day!

On this, the last year of our time together as just a couple, Austin and I will be celebrating by continuing our home renovation project that we started this weekend.

It may involve our mudroom.

Maybe.

And there may be some pictures to come soon.

Just maybe.

Until then I will leave you with this, the stock photo of the new light fixture we (read: Austin) installed this weekend.

Isn't it dreamy?

Here's to spending Valentine's Day with the one you love...no matter what you are doing.

Project: Patio

A long, long time ago...I can still remember...

(Points if you now have American Pie running through your head...alright, alright! Here is the link, don't hurt yourself searching for it)

...when I posted about these photos about destroying our coal bin and old sidewalk in order to put in a patio.

Well, that patio is in!

Austin started by digging all the ground up and laying down  some  a hell ton of stone to make it level...

Oh yes, once we got rid of the coal bin - guess what we found? No siding underneath! Yay! So, we had to special order siding that looks like our historical siding, but isn't actually made from the same materials {coughcoughasbestoscough, seriously see here for more about it}and repair the window sill to our laundry room... none of which has been painted in any of these photos. The hubs has since gotten it together and painted...

ANYWAY, back to the patio.

This was the original pattern - very square and neat...then we remembered that our house is almost 100 years old and isn't so square itself...so plans changed.

Oh hey Bings - did you want to get in the way help?

That's a good boy, kick up all that gravel that Austin spent smoothing out into a level surface...he will be pleased. (Note that I took a photo instead of stopping him)

Once we realized that our house was not square, we (read: Austin and his man friends who were helping) went back and off set every row a bit, which I love so much more.

Once the pattern was set for real, it was time to put down some sand stuff...apparently it acts like cement and seals everything and keeps the pavers from shifting too much, or something.

A few days later, once all the edging stones were in place, our "little" patio that I had requested turned out to be this 200 sq foot beauty.

The stones are wet from spraying down that sand stuff one last time...the little pavers seem to hold water longer, so it doesn't really look like a checkerboard. They are all the same color and finish. Also, those are free chairs the previous owners left behind - score!

See those edging stones being finished along the, erm, edge? Now of course it is all finished and the house is painted, the only thing left is to replace that back door and hang a light fixture (that we already bought) to the right of the door. (I wish we could move that power box - maybe someday I can convince Austin to do it)

It already looks so much more finished than this photo - I will get one up once the door and light are installed - but still, from a gravel filled backyard complete with coal bin to this? All on our own?

We are feeling like home improvement rock stars.

Our Navy Bungalow: Fireplace Project

Welcome to this episode of "Our Navy Bungalow". (Just go with it).

When we moved in, the fireplace side of our living room looked like this:

{If you remember from this post, this is not our stuff. 

Except Dennis. He was our Realtor.}

After a few days in the house, I spent a few hours and a few brain cells applying 10 coats of chemical stripper and tons of elbow grease to remove 13 coats of paint on that mantle. When Austin came home, I made him stain it. Then one day I couldn't stand looking at that flat, gross, red color of the bricks and I painted it. 

I know! I know! Sacrilege. Anywho, it came out like this:

It still wasn't my favorite, but it was so much better.

Then, we painted the living room blue.

The fireplace still plagued me. The proportions were just so off. So, I designed a project.

Project code name: Mantle

Some of this...

A little of this...

And a little more, there...

and a fresh coat of paint on the bookshelves....

drum roll, please...

and we have, our new and improved...

After

{feel free to click on these for larger photos}

Le sigh. I love it so much more. What do you guys think?

Just for fun, one more Before and After side by side.

Life's tough

You see, I have been searching all over for a sideboard for our dining room that I am in LOVE with. Inspired by some others' recent finds I decided to hit up Craigslist and came upon this beauty for $500, right here in VA Beach.

It's crying out for a home in our bungalow! Le sigh.

It does call for it's own movers though, and my husband is well, incapacitated with the whole appendix issue thing. But I may call on it anyway.

While I waver and over think {as I always do}, my friend Lindsey in GA took a little look around the Atlanta Craigslist. Look what she found for $100 obo.

You have to be kidding me, right? 

Granted, the mirror is covered on that one so who knows what the condition is underneath. But still.

Life's not fair.