We've Been Painted - August 27, 2011

The outside painting has been completed.  The color isn't quite as unique as our last house, but we like it.

And we've continued our tradition of painting our front door some shade of red.

Now, it's about the front yard...

Lupe Has Finished Phase I - August 19, 2011

The first phase of the outside demolition has been completed.  Here is what the front looks like now.

Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done now.  I hope to put in a gravel path and a drought-tolerant garden.

Here is what the back yard looked like before Lupe.  Lots of big rhododendrons and ivy everywhere.

And here are some after shots.

 

We've left the hedge in front for now, but here's someone who'll be sorry to see it go.  This is the neighbor's cat, who spends most of his day lying in the sun in the front yard. 

The Inside Is Finished - August 10, 2011

The major work inside is finally finished.  No more dust, no more paint cans.  So here's a tour.

The living room:

The dining room:

The kitchen:

Our bedroom:

 The guest bedroom:

The office:

The exercise room:

We now have a week and a half of quiet, other than Lupe removing more plants.  Then the outside will be painted and it will truly be finished.

Today We're Green - August 4, 2011

We've now been wrapped in green moisture barrier, and we have all our new windows and doors.

Here's a look at our old front door.

The previous owners obviously lived in constant fear!

Our new NO FEAR front door.

On to the Exterior - August 3, 2011

Today was the beginning of the exterior work.  Here's what the front looked like a few days ago.

It's amazing how much destruction one man can accomplish with a pry bar. 

And we now have a big ugly bin in our driveway.

The back feels more open now without the corrugated wall next to the back door.  And without the back window awnings, the bedrooms are much brighter.

A couple of windows and doors are in, and if things go as planned, tomorrow they will all be in.

Another Room Finished - July 27, 2011

Well, almost.  The main bathroom is pretty darn close.  The baseboards still need to be done, and we have to replace one of the mirrors on the medicine cabinet that we broke, but otherwise it's looking pretty good.

We replaced the 1970's vintage light fixture and towel racks.

 

Lupe has just about finished the first phase of the front yard, and it's a huge improvement.  Our contractor plans to dig up the Japanese maple.  It's a nice specimen, but it just doesn't fit with what I want to do out there. Lupe is going to take a break for a bit until the siding is finished.  Then he'll start on the back yard.  The problem is our new windows and doors arrived yesterday, and they are leaning up against the side of the house.  We're worried that they might get damaged by branches going past and out the gate.

Now in Living Color - July 25, 2011

Today Ben got most of the ceilings and walls painted, so we're feeling more comfortable all the time.  The walls are not as colorful as they were in our last house, although I have added a little here and there.  We hung one of our paintings in the dining room and what a difference!

I finished painting the kitchen yesterday.  I still have a lot of touch-up work to do on the cabinets, but otherwise it looks pretty good.

Once all the painting is finished, the baseboards will be installed.

We've both been working at clearing overgrown plants, with David doing an awesome job in the front area.  But it's a huge job, so we've hired a wonderful young man named Lupe to do a lot of the work,  He started in the front today.  He has removed the mugo pine, the rhododendrons in front of the picture window, the junipers along the driveway, and part of the front hedge.  Tomorrow he'll return to do the back yard.  We're taking it in stages, so we can evaluate along the way.  We're already rethinking removing the pine trees.  The nastiest project is removing ivy both front and back, and Lupe is attacking it with a vengeance.