Some More After Pics

BEFORE

AFTER








These are a few after pictures I took of my house this afternoon. As you can see from the before pictures we have worked on the front hardscape and landscaping quite a bit in the two years we have been here. First, we pulled out the old sidewalk that had been horribly cracked by our large maple tree. We decided not to spring for actual flagstone for the walk, and so instead we used the pieces of concrete from the original sidewalk. Then we filled in with the cheapest gravel we could find. We lined the walkway with landscaping timbers, and we also made two flower beds out in front on the little hill (that was a pain to mow) with the timbers. Of course, as you can see my plantings in these beds are sparse at best. I have no excuses really. All I can say is that next year will be better.

These last two are just pictures of some of the things I have on my porch, which you can't see from the sidewalk shots. The white chair I got at an awesome yard sale last year, and the blue pot and metal frogs were gifts from my mother in law.




















In other news, as of tonight we have started repainting the hallway and the living room. Repainting you ask, well, its a long story (as all things are with me of course), but to make a long story short, I hated the color of the living room/hallway from the moment we started rolling it on. However, there was no time for new paint, and most importantly no money for new paint. So, now two years later I'm finally repainting. I have been struggling with the color choice for awhile now, but thanks to the trusty Cottage Living Magazine I have been inspired. We are doing a three tone scheme. Its hard to explain so I'm providing some pictures. The first wall is far from finished (the darker color definitely needs a second coat) so this is a work in progress pic. I absolutely love the colors, and I think it will do lots for brightening up the living room and the hallway in the house.

After Pics!

Okay, finally I have some after pics. These are of the kitchen. My new puppy, Ryan decided he needed to also be in a few of the shots.
I cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom for the shots today, and I even made Daniel adjust some of the cabinet doors so that they looked just right. He was grumbling...but it was worth it.
Then we went to Target and got a few things for our bedroom redo. I'll have those after pictures soon also.
To tell you a little about the kitchen let me begin with the fact that the previous owner of this little cottage kept his dogs in the kitchen most of the time. I'm guessing that he left them in there for extended periods of time, because when we pulled up the vinyl along the wall there was dog urine that had seeped into the subfloor underneath the vinyl. We had to sand the subfloor to remove the stains, and then we primed the floor for the new vinyl tiles.
Along with the new floors, we also painted in the kitchen and made some other small changes. We replaced the refridgerator with a much larger one, if you got the space why not use it right? We also placed a cabinet in the corner beside the table which we use as a pantry. Soon, I hope we'll be getting something with a bit more character, but for now this thing works.
We painted the walls SW Clary Sage, which is a color I am absolutely in love with. The previous owner had the walls painted a forest green, and with only one window the kitchen was so dark. The lighter color helps alot, but what I wouldn't do for another window!
Okay, I know you've been dying to see some after shots, so I won't hold out on you any longer.

...While visions of crafty cottage blogs danced in her head..."

I'll admit it. I'll do it right now......I'm a perfectionist. There I said it. Lately, I've been perusing other people's blogs, trying desperately to gain some insight into the way in which they express their ideas and how they establish themselves in this "sphere" that I know little to nothing about.
I feel like I have a lot to say, but the perfectionist in me requires that my blog background, pictures, and banner be perfect before I can really start blogging. I feel as though I will not
be taken seriously without the shiny, slick layouts that I see on a lot of other blogs.
Alas, I am not the type of perfectionist that gains motiviation from my perfectionism. I am the type of perfectionist that is overwhelmed by all the options (I now have approximately 50 blogs in my Favorites folder) and I freeze, unable to move forward and unable to go back to my original plan of something simple and straightforward.
I really wanted to get some after pics for you guys this weekend. However, the house wasn't clean enough for me so once again I will put it off. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe the next day, who knows, but they will come.
Okay, I just noticed something. My blog says that its unlisted. What does that mean? Argh, something else I need to figure out! Blast, this is more trouble that I had anticipated.

Before Pictures -- September 2005

When we bought our house it seriously needed some major rehabbing. We have been working on it for two years now, and we still have a long way to go.
The two major problems at first were the awful carpeting throughout the house (including the bathroom) and the rotted floor in the laundry room. As you can see in the before photo slideshow, we had a lot of work ahead of us!



We didn't know whether the house had hardwood underneath the carpet until we started pulling it up on the first day of work. We were so surprised when we pulled up the corner of the carpet and there they were, the original hardwoods from over one hundred years ago! We can't be sure of what kind of wood they are, but they have a gorgeous red tint to them. The first pictures of the hardwood floors are also included in the before photo slideshow above. Some of the floors were very damaged and our "expert" sanders got most of the imperfections out before we began to polyurethane. We used a natural stain, but the floors are so old that it soaked it up and it became very dark. We still like it though, and we wouldn't have that gorgeous red tint without it.

The slideshow below shows some pictures of the work as it progressed and I have a couple of pictures of the floors after we had finished the polyurethane on them.



I hope you enjoy looking at the photos of the beginning of our cottage renovation. A complete set of after pictures will be coming soon! Don't turn that dial!

About Me and This Blog

This is a photo of my house from last summer. New photos coming soon!

As stated above this blog is dedicated to the community in which I have lived for two years now. My community is a lovely neighborhood of cottages that is all too often overlooked in the great city of Louisville, KY. There is a lot to be excited about around this community. People are slowly migrating back to this convenient neighborhood and revitalizing the neglected shotguns and bungalows that inhabit the area.

In 1905, immigrants from either Germany, France or the Alsace region of France built the original portion of my Late Victorian Style Shotgun. This portion of the house includes the living room at the front of the house, the first small bedroom, the larger than life kitchen, and the second moderately sized bedroom. By our calculations, the addition, which includes the bathroom, laundry, and master bedroom was built somewhere between the 1940's and the 1960's. This ignorance of my house's history is one problem I will be working on in the next year.

For further reading on Shotgun Houses

Wikipedia - Shotgun Houses

The main differences between my house and the houses described in the article is that there is a hallway in the front of the house that allows the front bedroom to be a private space, and the addition in the back of the house, which provides for a fairly spacious bathroom, a laundry space, and a small master, relative to today's standards.

To be continued....

Hawaii Countdown!

We have exactly one month from today until we take off for Hawaii.
I have picked out my dress for the wedding. Its a really nice black and white
strapless dress. I will also be wearing a flower lei. Daniel is wearing a white
shirt and black pants along with a lei.
We're gonna be taking a massive amount of pics so everybody's gonna have to come
over and watch a big slide show of them on the big screen. Of course we'll provide dinner
for everybody that comes!
I'm also very excited about traveling by air for the first time. Excited and kind of nervous actually... :( Hopefully, it won't be too bad and Daniel won't end up with my lunch in his lap. LOL. :)
We are planning on sampling the local fare... spam and eggs all around! No, just kidding. We are also gonna go parasailing! I can't wait to do that.
This is kind of like a honeymoon for us, since we never took one, so we are both extremely excited...
Next is swimsuit shopping....cringe LOL

My Grandpa Turns 80!

My grandfather turned 80 in April. This is a picture of the tough old guy. He has been a farmer, father, sawmill worker, and grandfather. My grandmother died 6 years ago. He hasn't changed a bit. He still plants a massive garden every year. We could all learn a little from him. He says that farming keeps him young, and that when he can no longer farm then his life is not worth living.
This year he has planted 8 rows of cucumbers!!! He is an amazing person, and I think he has at least 10 years left in him. Maybe one day we'll be able to send his bday into Willard Scott!!! Anyway, this post is dedicated to my Grandpa. May he live out his years in comfort and surrounded by family and friends.