The Perfect Porch

Well, we did it. We created a SUPER outdoor living room on a budget and the best part is that it's all done! I think I want to move out here. Not only is it wonderful to be outside without the bugs (can I get an amen?) but everything out here makes me happy. And when family and friends come to visit it will be even better!

Rhett finished the electrical (well, most of it) before leaving for CO a few days ago, and when he comes home tonight he will come home to a beautifully decorated back porch. Here's hoping he likes it!

I balanced this heavy wooden table of my mom's (I used to eat supper here when I was the age of our oldest daughter- how cool is that?!) with old farmhouse chairs and a wooden bench that was salvaged from a farm about an hour away from where we live. I adore the mix and match look of these chairs, and they ranged from $22-$40. Special thanks to Jordan McCarter, aunt and cousin who I simply could not do without, for introducing me to the lovely shop from which they all came, Le Vie En Rose in Lenox Village. I bought her a beer for taking me there, but I'm pretty sure I owe her something more than that! What a super place. I pieced the chairs together in the store and I was also able to get them ALL for under the ticket price (tip: always, always befriend the sales person and then haggle!) When I did fundraising, I learned that the worst thing that a person can say is simply no, so what have you got to lose when you ask for a little cash off the price?

Detail of one of the antique chairs- love it! In the background you can see the tile. Our contractor had this tile sitting in his shed from another project and gave it to us for free. Of course, we paid for cutting it and laying it, but free tile is never, ever something you should pass up. Placemats from Target: $3.99 each.

A closer look at the old bench. Anything with history that makes your heart sing? Snatch it up! $75. I think three kids or two adults can sit on this quite comfortably.

Painted concrete steps? Yes, I know that was the first thing you noticed. I painted these last Sunday before church with our oldest daughter. I took a tile to Sherwin Williams, told them what I was going to paint, and 10 minutes later they had a pint of paint ready to match for about $13. Saved money on the labor, and it was easy and fun! This white chair I adore- $22. Small blue and white table (has a retro look when you get up close) was $32 and the antique kitchen scale that sits on top was a find of my oldest daughter. She's been weighing everything! We had the wooden bench and the throw pillows, as well as the lanterns, from our old house.

The kids corner! Both of the chairs are- believe it or not- Sunday school chairs from Donelson Church of Christ! Says so on the bottom of each chair. I assume they were discarded at some point and someone very clever painted them and sold them. LOVE. I got the mismatched pair for under $40. We had the art table and bench, and I couldn't resist moving the cardboard spaceship OUT of our house and onto the porch. :)

Two gigantic outdoor ceiling fans hang from each slope of the roof. Rhett did all the electrical so we saved a bundle- bless that wonderful man! Ceiling fan from Home Depot, and I assume it was inexpensive because otherwise Rhett surely wouldn't have bought it!

Aside from the toys of our youngest (!) nothing is more welcoming than fresh flowers.

Come have a glass of iced tea at Tara! If the weather's nice enough, we can venture outside the porch and sit in one of the fun hot pink kids plastic chairs (Container Store, $9.99) next to the slide in the yard. Looks like sunshine for the next week, so come play!

J'adore New Doors!

We are officially in the final stretch. In fact, the tile saw, the compressor, and other large (and noisy) construction equipment has been removed from the premises and it's just detail work from here on out (for this project at least). Can I get an amen?!

One of the last things on our checklist, as you might recall, was new doors. Not just new front doors, but a new back door, side door, and garage door entry too. Here's how they looked before:

Appealing, right? Did I mention that you could see daylight through the gaps between the doors and the walls? What about the need for a draft guard? Yeeesh.

I'm happy to report that they're all looking better now that they have been removed. Perhaps the biggest transformation has been the front door, though- take a look!

With details like the ones below, the front of the house is nearly perfect. Can't wait to post a picture of the finished facade.

Welcome home!

Curb appeal

Alright, I promised you some before and after shots!

When we bought Tara nearly two years ago, it looked like this:

As of about 5 minutes ago, it looks like this:

Yes, it's the same house. The shutters went on today and if you've been following this blog for the past few months, that leaves only three (major) things left to do: gutters, tile, and doors. There's always something to do around here, but we're almost done with this huge chunk of renovation, and I'm ready to sit back and enjoy it!

The shutters have made a substantial impact, but unfortunately they seem to highlight our need for new front doors.

Luckily we have two pine doors in our garage waiting to be painted Rustic Red, and those will take place of the *ahem* special barred glass doors and the doors behind them that sport those lovely octagonal windows.

Personally, I can't wait to get those on, but doors are last on the list according to our contractor. So, I'm forced to sit back and wait. In the meantime, I have my large pots already filled with seasonal color and a Tennessee state flag just waiting to be on display once this front porch is finished.

A new hue

The painting has begun, which means the countdown to the completion of this huge renovation phase has begun too. After another week of painting (trim and detail work), our friends will begin to lay tile, put up screen, and replace the garage doors. All the other doors to the house will be replaced, too (including those truly unsightly iron doors on the front) and shutters will finish our new exterior.

And no, I haven't forgotten about the before and after pictures- I hope to get to them this weekend. For now, enjoy our new hue!

Scotty begins to spray the primer over our brick. Some shades of brick are lovely, but Tara was not so fortunate. No problem to paint, though!

Won't the azaleas just pop against this greige?! I can hardly wait for next Spring! Be sure to notice our happy yellow lab in the left side of the above picture...

Hopefully with this picture you can compare the old brick on the right with the new color on the left! Oh goodness you'll just have to come visit...it looks so much better in person!

The new paint color looks great with our new roof!

It's starting to come along on the backside of the house, too. What fun to anticipate what is coming next!

Fixing the dome on our little home!

The new facade is coming along...

The next step will be to knock out those pesky (and crooked) front steps and replace them. I know the guys who are working on our front porch aren't looking forward to jackhammering those steps up, but they have to go. More pictures to follow!

Now you see it, now you don't.

Before we can even begin thinking of a new roof, we have to add something else to the house!

Tara's aged back deck has never been a favorite. It's too hot in the summer, with too many bugs swarming. It's far too cold in the winter to eat or sit outside (though our oldest loves making it a hockey rink of sorts when it snows). Until now, the back deck has functioned best as a hangout for neighborhood kids and a place to pile all the toys.

Not anymore!

When in doubt, tear it down :)

We found a load of treasures hidden under this fifty year-old porch. Fortunately there were nice concrete steps and the pavement under the deck had been *fairly* well preserved. There were also fifty years worth of hockey pucks and even a baseball (pictured below) which thrilled our kids (and our dog, who was able to retrieve several tennis balls). Finally, our contractor, Frank, noticed a complete possum skeleton (not pictured below- you're welcome).

Here's what the back of our house looks like today:

We're thinking of a screened-in porch. Wait, who am I kidding, we are officially adding a screened-in back porch! Picture it! Great ceiling fan, a little heater or fireplace, dinners outside nearly every night. Relaxing with the kiddos and reading in the summer...ahhhh. I'm so excited! We had a wonderful porch like this at our last house and it is the number one thing we miss the most. I'm ecstatic to bring it back.

Getting our wires (un)crossed

I don't think I've mentioned it before in this blog (just in case a reader happens to work for codes), but Tara came with a few...challenges...with her wiring. Nothing is wrong on the inside, I promise, but the wires that run from the meter to the electrical poles are a different story. I bet you've never thought of it, unless you're Rhett, but take a second to go outside and look at the wires that connect your electrical meter to the large poles on the side of your property.

Go ahead- I'll wait.

Ideally, you had to look up to see them, right? And they're so high you couldn't possibly touch them (zap!), right?

Not at Tara.

The pole you see is, shall we say, precariously tilted. In fact it's tilted so much that if you're standing in our backyard you can- if you want to get shocked- reach up and touch the wires. While it's been great fun for the neighborhood kids to toss footballs over the low-hanging wire, it's not quite safe.

While we're putting on a new roof (yep! we decided to move the meter box. Turns out, it's not that difficult. It takes about a day of work from your local electrician (sidenote: when he says "This won't be loud at all" he means it will be ear-splitting).

Voila!

New electrical and everything. Once an inspector comes by, we can hook this puppy up and there will be no more scary wires in front of your face when you're in the backyard!

Looks like I'll have to buy the kiddos a volleyball net.

Bringing the outside in

Before I start to fill you in on the exciting facelift Tara is getting (Heaven knows she needs it!) I wanted to share some pictures of some of our Christmas decor. Yes, it's past Valentine's Day, but this might inspire you for next holiday season (or simply remind me of things to do once Christmas 2012 approaches).

I struggle with bringing the outdoors inside in wintertime. It's easy to do in the summer with fresh flowers, but the colder temperatures and depressing lack of color in the wintertime make decorating with live plants difficult.

Fortunately, we have a holly tree! I love magnolia leaves too...but using those would have required black clothing and a flashlight as I would have had to scurry down the street in the dark and steal branches from an unsuspecting neighbor. Rhett and I don't condone stealing, so if you're not going to pay for it, at least ask someone before you approach their landscaping with scissors.

Our back deck served as a staging area:

And after a few clever snippings, holly brightened up our home!

Easy, simple, and done in 30 minutes. Now that's something to make merry about!

A new year brings new renovations- big ones!

Anxiously awaiting to see what's in for Tara in 2012? Wondering where on earth we've been or if we've given up the remodeling dream? Honey, please. We took a few months to catch our breath and now we are back- with some big projects under way!

Check back after this weekend to see what's new (and read a little about some of the fun things we did over Christmas!). I promise, the wait has been worth it!

Daylillies!

I'm not one to extol the virtues of delayed gratification, mainly because I have zero patience. However, when the rewards of hard labor present themselves so beautifully at last after months of work, it's hard to resist being excited about them!

When we decided on a location for the treehouse, Rhett and I uprooted a good number of mystery bulbs to clear the land. I'm thrilled that the bulbs I replanted in the front beds have turned out to be lovely daylillies- and they're gracing us with their color and beauty this week. Happy Summer!

More to come!

Progress!

No, really! We've made more progress on the treehouse. If I couldn't see progress like this, I would definitely think my husband was having an affair with a cicada, becuase he's been spending a lot of time outside.

All this to prove that while the posts may have slowed lately, we've still been working. Take a look! Should be ready to play in tomorrow :)

They're Here.

No, not the cicadas, though that seems to be what everyone is talking about.

Those cicada creatures are already driving me bananas in fact. I can hardly hear myself type! Our oldest daughter has become slightly obsessed with collecting the shells, the sight of which absolutely gives me the willies. Yuck! The idea of a bug that comes up every 7 (or 13) years to only sing loudly, mate, and die is gross.

Fortunately, more than cicadas have arrived at Tara. Fairies! Yes, fairies. Don't believe me? They've taken up residence in the backyard on the old birdfeeder.

They've even created a little sign- how quaint!

Our oldest daughter hopped inside a few days ago to tell us that she's seen one- maybe two. She reported to me that they're far too quick for me to actually get a good look at, but if I'm lucky I might be able to see a glimmer of sparkling dust. How fun!

I love to see something magical come to stay at Tara in addition to the deer, bunnies, and variety of birds.

Message to the fairies: Welcome! Message to the cicadas: GO HOME.

Tara in the Springtime

Was it Cole Porter who sang "I love Paris in the Springtime. I love Paris in the Fall"?

That was because he'd never been to Tara or the words would be slightly different. I love TARA in the Springtime!!

Tara isn't the prettiest girl on the block, but when the flowers start blooming she sure looks a whole lot better. And on a 75 degree day who doesn't want to sit outside on a hill and enjoy the fresh air? Allergies be damned.

It's about time to dig up my pansies and plant impatiens, but for now I give you a few glimpses of Tara in the Springtime.