Wednesday, after suffering a demoralizing defeat only one day earlier, I sprang back to greatness and rehung the first of two doors, complete with new paint and freshly stained dark walnut trim. My first attempt at doing this ended with me flingin’ tools and cursing the heavens because I installed the bottom hinge first and quickly realized the door wouldn’t fit in the opening – top of the door was hitting the top of the doorway. Nice one jackass. I was then left with a bunch of holes at the bottom of my freshly stained wood that I would have to somehow conceal.
Though it’s still unfinished it’s a noticeable improvement from what it was. Still haven’t had anyone comment on it’s beauty (jerks) but my wife told me several time how great it looks. Naturally, her feedback is what matters most, though it would be nice if an “outsider” threw me some slight praise.
I got caught up in Lowe’s today ordering storm windows, a swing set, and setting up a fence installation estimate which will likely result in the purchase of a new fence which we desperately need. I also replaced a crusty old brass ceiling fan with a new oil rubbed bronze version, in our master bedroom. Didn’t get a chance to work on the shed so I’ve gotta get my act together over the next three days else I’ll be stuck with another unfinished project (#27) on my shoulders and that’s an extra burden that I’m unsure I can bear.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I was hoping to complete my Craftsman shed project this weekend, but I only got partway there. My focus was on the front doors and I was able to cut all but two of the trim pieces and scrape and sand the face of each door. I still need to stain all the cut wood and swap out the old with the new. I also found the time to put on the first coat of green paint to two sides of the shed thanks to the help of my wife and daughter, who by the way are both superbly skilled painters (especially my two year old). I ran into a rotten patch of plywood above the door that had to be removed and later I’ll patch it with a fresh piece.
In between my work I managed to grill some chicken for dinner, organize and sweep the shed, and entertain my daughter by handing her a broom and having her sweep with me. My random sound effects and child-like jibberish also seemed to hold her attention similar to a clown at a child’s birthday party. She gets the biggest kick out of just being out there with me and I love that she’s always asking if she can help.
With this being a holiday week, I should be able to finish the shed. If not then I am lame, no doubt. I’m sure there are people out there who could give a rat’s ass about a shed renovation, but I’ve kinda been enjoying it. I think even something as simple as a shed can add charm to a house and I’m interested to see if I can turn it into something that people will comment on.
“Hey, nice shed.”
Or, “Like your shed, looks nice.”
Or even, “Bitchin’ shed, man.”
We should all be so proud of our sheds. Don’t you agree?
On a side note, we have a real estate agent coming out this afternoon to walk through our house and give us input on where he thinks we should focus our attention over the next year or two in order to get the most bang for our buck. We have a pretty good idea what he’ll tell us but I’d like to have my hunches confirmed. We’d also like to know what he’d put the house on the market for if we decided to sell today. I’m looking forward to his comments for sure.
Here’s the standard floor plan that comes with the Larkspur, a Craftsman house I mentioned in an earlier post. Again, this home was designed by The Bungalow Company and since this is a “new” design that’s still a work in progress, there are no room dimensions, though the overall dimensions of the home are about 1700sq. ft. We think the layout is near perfect for our needs, though there are a few adjustments that we’d need to make before committing to this house:
1. Expand the kitchen in length and width to accommodate more cabinetry.
2. Remove the walls in the kitchen that surround the sink in the half bath. This will create additional space for kitchen storage.
3. Change the breakfast nook so it has three sides and is box-shaped rather than two sides coming to a point.
4. Make the space off of the living room, a dining room, which may necessitate the need to enlarge it slightly.
5. Expand the living room out a few feet.
6. Close off the door from the laundry room leading to the shared half bath; remove sink that’s positioned to the right of the toilet, which will allow some additional space to be gained in the kitchen; Remove walls dividing the toilet from what now becomes the large, private master bathroom; Insert a pocket door in entrance to master bath from master bedroom; Rearrange entire master bath to allow for a clawfoot tub, shower, two sinks and a toilet. This may require expanding the west wall slightly.
7. Add a small mudroom onto the back entrance of the house.
8. Add stairs somewhere that lead downstairs to the basement (leave it up to architect).
9. Add half-bath somewhere (leave that up to the architect).
Later, I’ll share some edits I made to the actual floor plan drawing that incorporates most of these changes. But wait! There’s more! I’ll also share the 2nd floor of the houseplan in my next entry. This floor contains two bedrooms and a bathroom which will be for the kids. I can’t even describe to you how great it would be to be able to put these ideas into action.
Over the next year or two I’ll be doing everything possible to make this dream of ours come true. I know that sounds ridiculously cliche’ and I’m smirking at myself right now for saying it, but that really is how I feel. Stick with me on this dream home journey of mine and I’ll fill you in on all the highs and lows of this process.
Man, this is gonna be fun…
About a week ago we finally had our house painted. It was a long time coming, believe
me. We’d been putting it off for the past three years while we continued renovating the inside of the house and it was tough doing so because when the outside looks shabby it’s hard to feel good about where you live. After all, it’s what people see as they walk and drive by. I think for many, the “dirty ol’ white house on the corner” had reached a point where it wasn’t even being noticed. It’s not that it was completely trashy, but it was dingy enough for folks to just start looking right through it, as if it simply weren’t there.And with the house finished being painted people we’d never met suddenly were stopping by to comment on how nice the place looked and how much of an improvement we’d made. Clearly money well spent and without a doubt it raised the value of our home significantly.
However, in the back (unfenced) yard stood a raggedy shed painted with our old house colors. Our house being on a corner lot meant the shed was visible for all to see and now it truly stood out sitting next to a freshly painted house. I had to do something. It had rotten wood among many of the trim pieces including the front doors, missing hinges, and old, flaking paint everywhere. The roof resembled a hobbit’s house, complete with moss and other forest growth. I wasn’t going to replace all the rotten wood – some of the plywood walls were a bit crumbly at the bottom, but I decided to just leave them as is. I would have had to do a complete tear-off if I wanted to replace all the rotted wood and that wasn’t going to happen. The idea was to simply make it look good for at least the next couple years, just enough time to sell our house and move into our dream Craftsman.
The first phase of my shed renovation took place this past Sunday. As you can see I replaced all of the vertical trim pieces on the left side and also replaced all the corner trim details with dark walnut stained cedar. Yesterday I powerwashed the entire shed and after I replace a few more trim pieces on the front, I’ll be ready to paint all but the front doors. This weekend I’ll swap out all the dark blue pieces of wood for walnut stained cedar, install new hinges, handles and lock latch. I’ll be pushing to finish the doors in a day, but with a two-year old vying for my attention, it may take longer. I truly think it’s going to fit perfectly with the home when its complete and for once I won’t have to put a bag over my head when I pull the lawn mower out of the shed.Oh the joy of renovations. Do you think I’ll get the same kind complements after finishing the shed? Everybody loves a nice looking shed, right? Right? Anyone?