New Home — Week 40 Update

It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared a peek of the projects going on as we make this house our home.  Here’s just a few of the things we’ve been doing. . .  *  means a tutorial will follow.  Eventually 🙂

While there was still snow on the ground, we added some rugs to the tile floor.   This one is in dining room and looks like  the one in the back entry.  It’s a fun contemporary pattern.  The big front entry rug uses the same colors but in a more traditional pattern.  I’ve had a difficult time finding curtains.  These lined tab top curtains* are made from tablecloths!

We also began a big project in the fully finished basement, adding a wall of built-ins* to the  game room and a bigger one in the media room.  This one in the game room is almost finished and the storage is in use.  The media room storage is partly done.  Once the weather made it possible to work outside we put it on hold.  The outdoor work needs to be done, but putting storage construction on hold means the furnace room storage space is about to burst — seems we have hobbies  and other interests that demand space!  We do have our belongings at one address, however!

We kept the theme of black and white curtains in basement.  This is Bytes’ office, his bedroom has a black and white chevron and the game room window (above) has a black and white Greek key design.  The game room will be Wheel’s territory, with a file cabinet (already full to overflowing!), bookcases (stuffed) and a big worktable.  I’m hoping he will continue to share the worktable with me.

Our first outdoor project was to add two storm doors* to the deck. With 55 mile an hour winds on a somewhat regular basis during any given season, they were definitely needed!   Bytes and Wheels installed them — an easy project.

The Green Pentagon Shed got a black pergola to frame its door.  I am looking for white climbing roses but haven’t found any.  Or any ideas of a vine that looks great all year round would be welcome!  We reworked the entry to make it a ramp so the lawnmower is easy to move in and out.

We built planters* and  planter screens*.

And more planters!  The raised beds on legs were built from kits — we’re sort of experimenting with them.  This spot gets six hours of sunshine and has so far worked out really well for “salad” plantings.  The bigger bed* is sixteen inches high and so far has escaped the notice of the resident bunny.  It has 2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers and a pepper plant.  It was a rainy spring so we were rather late getting them planted.

This little patio is right outside the back garage door and is also the entry for the west gate.  We built it* to 1) help solve the serious drainage problem on this side of the house and 2) provide a spot to work out side for potting plants, painting or other such projects.   It makes a nice little hangout space too.

The pathway* and dry creek* were also built to help solve the drainage issue.  It’s still a work in progress, however.  We had very heavy rains two evenings in a row this past week, which clearly indicated a need for expansion and reinforcement. Done and done.  Hope the problem is solved!

This is what the space looked like in early spring.  We moved that innocent looking and very large pile of dirt on the right one shovelful at a time!  Many, many shovelfuls!!   It contributed to the drainage problem 🙁   We also built the big garden bed around what was left when we ran out places to put shovelfuls of dirt 🙂

On the east side, we also corrected some drainage issues with the little retaining wall.  Then we added stepping stone and plants to work with the existing Japanese maple.  I used pine bark mulch because I like the look with the stone on the house. However, it was quickly obvious that anything lightweight was not going to be ideal mulch material.  Did I mention it gets really windy here?   The stepping stones go from the patio to the east gate.

There are still lots of projects, indoors and outdoors.  We try to prioritize among the many on the list.  Getting the garage in order is the next step.    The guys are prepping the space so we can make it function better* and fit Wheels’ vision.  The cabinet matches the ones in the kitchen — it was sized incorrectly so has lived in the garage since the house was built, but I have plans for this baby!

New Home updates:  Changing colors      Solar tubes    Painting Progress     Home Update Week 7    Home Update Week 11    Week 19 Painter’s Progress   New Home Update Week 22  

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Charlene

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