Throw Me Some Bead(board), Mister!

Alright, this is not a 'Moms Gone Wild' Mardi Gras post or anything- so don't anybody get the wrong idea here! (Ironic the bead reference though, as the hubs and I honeymooned at The Orleans in Las Vegas and actually have several strands of beads around the house as a fond memory of the time we spent there- and no, we didn't do anything 'special to get them'! You can easily buy them in the gift shop!) Regardless, I'm not passing out treats in this post... at least not in that regard! What I will bare though, is the awesomeness that is our new porch ceiling and the trials and tribulations (of course!) that we went through to achieve it.

Rot is GROSS!

If y'all remember my last post, you're very familiar with the hot mess of a house that we bought ~2 years ago. It was a foreclosure, so we got an awesome deal- but it has required SO MUCH WORK and we're still not done with it yet. {read: still a hot mess} Of late, we've abandoned the inside for the outside as we just can't take it anymore! The catalyst for this great migration to the outdoors was some wood rot that needed repairing and once that was fixed... well, it just kind of snowballed! *grins sheepishly*

We started out by replacing the front porch columns (they look sooooooooo much better!) and while researching the column wrap kits, I ran across this amazing vinyl soffit stuff that looks just like beadboard! This was an awesome find in so many ways:

1.  In our initial repairs of the house we had to replace quite a bit of vinyl siding and Tim got really good at putting it up so I knew he could easily do this
2. It is super cheap and I was totally able to find it local (and in stock!) so no waiting for shipping or paying freight charges!
3. It completely covers our horrible plywood ceiling on our front porch which was that rotten butter yellow color and had all the rusty nails showing (GROSS!)

   

   Horrible plywood ceiling- YUCK!

4. It goes perfectly with our modern cottage/vintage/urban/farmhouse design aesthetic!

I WAS SOLD!!

Of course, we had to go about it all the wrong way in the beginning! We started out by pulling off the plywood and realizing that our studs were not 16" on center as they should have been (our house isn't THAT old- that rule was in place in 1980 when it was built!). Then, in reading the instructions for the beadboard, we saw it needed to be nailed every 8-10" to prevent bowing, so we had to reinforce between the studs with 2x4's. {Commence unhappy hubby here}. This added an extra day (literally!) to our project, just to cut 50+ 14.5" 2x4's and toenail them between the studs to add the extra support. But that sure beat sitting out there one evening and having the beadboard fall on your head or bow like sailcloth! 

Extra supports between studs

In pulling down the plywood, a lot of our attic insulation fell out all over us (ITCHY!!!!!) and made a mess of our porch and garden. We had to make use of a roll of Lowe's housewrap and some Wild West action with a staple gun to keep the attic and its contents separate from us while we worked.

The insulation that stayed where it was supposed to!

Then, we had to fight the battle that is j-channel. I swear we needed to have engineering degrees from Georgia Tech to properly use this stuff- it was rough! By the end though, we got fairly adept at it. Again, we had several areas where we had to reinforce wood so we had somewhere to nail the j-channel. But once we jumped that hurdle, it all worked out well. Corners were probably more difficult than they should have been (sometimes we tend to overthink things) but we did the best we could and it turned out good enough for us.

It's really coming along!

Tim decided to run power out to each 'wing' of our front porch (it makes a 'T' of sorts), so that we could have a place to plug in holiday lights, fans, and/or other various and sundry items. While he was up in the ceiling messing with the power, he had to rework the main light box where the front porch light goes, because it was done all wrong. We were finally able to hang up the porch light we have had since we moved in- such an exciting day!

TA-DA!

All told, it took us about 1-1.5 months to get it all done, mainly because we could only work on weekends and holidays when Tim was off work. And even though there were a ton of learning curves, we couldn't be happier with the end result... BEAUTIFUL!

Still need to paint the trim and do some caulking- but overall it's GREAT!

Until next time... give DIY a try!

I'm Linking Up With These Great Parties!

• Between Naps on the Porch (Metamorphosis Mondays)
• Boogieboard Cottage (Masterpiece Mondays)
• Alderberry Hill (Make the Scene Monday)
• I Should Be Mopping the Floor (Mop It Up Mondays)
• Keeping it Simple Crafts (Motivate Me Monday)
• Lines Across (Monday Funday)
• The Dedicated House (Make It Pretty Monday)
• Serendipity and Spice (Manic Mondays)

I 'Column' Like I See 'Em

I couldn't wait to show you the AFTER!

*Sigh* As much as I LOVE DIY projects, I do believe the NC summer is already starting to get to me. That, and the fact that we can't seem to ever have an easy go of any project we attempt. The hubs always jokes that we seem to be cursed in this arena. No matter what we take on- it's ALWAYS 5x harder! Like the fact that our house was apparently built by a bunch of crackpots who had not a care for state rules and regs (and probably paid off inspectors), so every stud in our house is not 16" on center. Some are 14". Some are 12". You get the picture. We've even found some load bearing walls barely capable of bearing a bag of groceries, much less our roof- so we've had to reinforce. It's just been a never ending process! But, like mama always said (gosh, did I just channel Forrest Gump?), 'When you own a home, you are married to it'. She couldn't have been more correct. However, our home is more like our fickle mistress because we are, of course, married to each other! :D

But I digress. We've spent the first two years working on the inside of our house and I'll post all that DIY goodness later, because it's still not actually done (that whole 85% girl thing, you know?). But here recently, we've gotten the wild hair to begin working on the outside of our home because it is just UG-LY! (Trigger cheer: U-G-L-Y- you ain't got no alibi- you ugly!) Everything about it is awful- the bricks are all tones of brown on brown, the trim is painted this nasty shade of rotten butter yellow (yuck!), the shutters and front doors are baby poop brown, the 3-tab roof (original to the 1980 house) is brown as well and in terrible condition- it is just GROSS!

The house was obviously owned by a bunch of manic depressives before we bought it. It needed HELP!!

See the ugly column?

Another shot of the awful columns!

One of the things we always hated was the columns on the house. They were so small and spindly (and also painted rotten butter yellow) and were meant to be decorative, although they were anything but. I kept pushing my hubby to replace them with 4x4 posts (because even though I'm an 85% girl, he's totally a 100% guy) but he was worried about how we'd get them out of the concrete and keep from losing the porch roof in the changeover (all totally valid concerns!)

So, we left it alone until one day inspiration came to us in the form of an A&E show, 'Fix this Yard'. In it, Amy and Alan have a homeowner with an ugly column (just one mind you, not four like us) and they used a column wrap to cover it up. Essentially, just a pvc piece that snaps around the ugly column and makes it look gorgeous! We were hooked!! Computer on... let's GOOGLE!! I searched the internet far and wide and found all sorts of them, but prices were.... well... pricey. So, onto the back burner it went until I got a wild hair to call some of the builder supply places in town and discovered one who happened to have a few left by Arndt & Herman, clearanced out, which worked perfectly with our budget (which is basically $0)!

Silly hubby!

The 'this isn't as easy as it looks' face

Filler wood

Now, here's where our problems started. Our columns were 3.5" per side- the new columns were 6". We had to come up with something to fill up the space. Which meant 2x3 and 1x3 and lots of chopping and screwing and hammering and nailing and cursing (on my husband's behalf). Please note, these columns DO NOT go together as easily as they claim- but when you finally figure out the ancient Chinese secret- they look AWESOME!! By the fourth column, we were pros.

The 'we finally figured it out' face

We knew the formula, had it down to a science, and got it done in record time. The best part is now I don't ever have to worry about rot or painting the columns again- I can just wipe them down with a cloth or spray gently with our pressure washer. Easy peasy! And now I have some butch columns on which to train beautiful climbing flowers to grow- I do so love climbing flowers!

So PRETTY!

So, although it didn't work out as easily as it seemed on tv (does it ever?) it sure was a heck of a lot easier than building supports to hold up the roof while we took out the columns to replace them. And it was a LOT less nerve wracking! So, I say it was definitely a 2 thumbs up DIY in my book! Thanks, 'Fix this Yard' for the stellar idea- much obliged!

Until next time... don't stop the DIY!

I'm Linking Up With These Great Parties!

• Between Naps on the Porch (Metamorphosis Mondays)
• Boogieboard Cottage (Masterpiece Mondays)
• Alderberry Hill (Make the Scene Monday)
• I Should Be Mopping the Floor (Mop It Up Mondays)
• Keeping it Simple Crafts (Motivate Me Monday)
• Lines Across (Monday Funday)
• The Dedicated House (Make It Pretty Monday)
• Serendipity and Spice (Manic Mondays)

Framed Fabric Art (or is it?!?!)

They say that necessity is the mother of invention- I tend to disagree. I'm of the camp that believes it is laziness that is the true mother of invention. Case in point: I have this swath of wall behind my front door- just a random piece of wall that doesn't really have a purpose, isn't all that great to look at, and doesn't do much good for anybody other than holding up the roof. (On second thought, I guess that is kind of important, huh?)

The infamous "random swath"

When we first moved in, I originally put up these weekly write-n-wipe foam core boards from Staples where I could keep up with the family's activities, thinking 'Oh yeah, right by the front door- I'll use these ALL the time!' WRONG! wrongwrongwrongwrongWRONGwrongwrong! Couldn't have been more WRONG! I used them for about a week, and then the information I wrote on them stayed up for the next two years- literally! (Apparently, my husband had a birthday every Thursday for two years straight- whoohoo!! Can you imagine the presents?!?)

Damage caused from removal

Anyway, I left those puppies up and they would probably still be up today if I hadn't decided to repaint. (More on that in a different post, but suffice it to say I picked an original color that was just too dark and after two years of living in a cave I needed some light, man!) So, when it came time to do the foyer, I did what any self-respecting wife and home remodeler would do- I ripped 'em off the wall without any concern for how it might damage the drywall. (yeah... not the smartest move I've ever made) Needless to say, I caused a bit of damage. {I know my mom is totally rolling her eyes right now}

Now for those of you who know me, and those of you who took the time to read my 'about me', you'll know that I love starting projects (but rarely relish finishing them). I'm an 85% girl (get it 85% done and it's good enough for me!) That 85% mentality totally kicked in right there. My mom or husband, surveying the damage, would have immediately gone and gotten the spackle and patched the damage (as would most of you dear readers). Me? Nah! Just paint over those puppies! Nobody's gonna see that- it's behind the door!! Only... once it was painted- you could totally see it. So for the first time in...well, forever... I had to admit that I was wrong.

Logic at this point would dictate- 'go get the freakin' spackle!' But again- why would I do anything logical? {Have your eyes rolled out of your head yet, ma?} I started trying to figure out how to cover up the damage without having to pull out spackle because I just hate spackle. (And the drying. and the waiting. and the sanding. you get the picture) I also knew that I needed some kind of bulletin board near the front door because we were moving our calender (which housed our small bulletin board) and we would no longer have a place for notes, mementos, etc.

It was at this point my Muse decided to show up and I thought 'Wouldn't it be cool if... I could make some kind of really awesome bulletin board- cut to size- to fit in this space? That would be so neat'! The swath of wall is really narrow so I knew nothing store bought would work plus we recently got new couches and I wanted to tie that fabric in, so whatever it was... I was gonna have to make. It was time to get my craft on!

I stopped in at my local Michael's and bought one of those long panoramic poster frames (with a 40% off coupon I spent a lot LESS which saved me MORE money!)  I promptly brought it home and applied several coats of black spray paint (I used all different sheens- whatever was on hand- because only the top coat really mattered to me) and then finished it off with an oil rubbed bronze (but it's really black) Satin spray-paint from Krylon. GORGEOUS!

Next, I popped over to JoAnn's Fabrics and was lucky enough to find an awesome fabric with 'my colors' (which was clearanced out- again, LESS money spent = MORE money in my pocket- so yay!). I also bought myself a roll of fairly thick cork. Once that was done, it was just a matter of putting the whole thing together.

Cork- glued to frame backing

I removed the glass and gave it to the hubs (maybe he could use it for something?). Used the backing from the frame to trace a template onto the cork- cut the cork- and then glued it on with super glue (holding it down with heavy cookbooks til it dried!) I used super glue because I wanted something that would work fast- I'm not known for my patience.

Don't you love the cute orange cube thumbtacks!

After the cork was done, I took the fabric and cut out the piece I would need. I used craft glue for this one (re-employed my cookbooks) and borrowed my sons' help stretching the fabric so it would be nice and taut. Once it was good and dry, I fit all the pieces back into the frame. At that point, I ran into a problem because the cork and fabric together were thicker than the original glass, so the hooks wouldn't hold the back in. No worries! I grabbed my trusty construction stapler and went to town! 20 or so 1/4" staples in strategic spots around the perimeter and that thing isn't going anywhere!

The Finished Product!

Lastly, I had the hubby hang it for me (because measuring and leveling aren't my strong suits) and.... voila! A convenient and useful bulletin board masquerading as a gorgeous piece of framed fabric art. So simple, so cheap (!), and covers ugly walls beautifully!

I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. It's been a loooong time since I've done anything crafty and my skills were rather rusty, so I'm glad it turned out so well. Now my appetite has been whetted to do so many other craft projects around the house- be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those posts soon! Tell me dear readers, what crafty thing have you done lately?

Linking up with these great parties:

• Between Naps on the Porch (Metamorphosis Monday) 

Go check out these blogs. Do it now. Do it!

All the House is a Stage....

...and all the men and women merely potential buyers! Okay, okay- so I totally defiled one of Shakespeare's most famous lines... but it was kind of fitting given the topic at hand... so, I went with it! And in case you hadn't guessed, yep- today we're talking about STAGING!

Now don't get me wrong- we (meaning me, the hubs, and the kids) are NOT in any danger of moving anytime in the next geologic era. Seriously, I told my kids the next time I move it will be from this house to the cemetery! During the past 7 years, we have moved five times.  FIVE TIMES!! I've always admitted to having a bit of the gypsy wanderlust in my blood, but even I think this is getting ridiculous!

This time, the person doing all the moving, is my sweet sweet Mama (hi Mom)! Her home is located a mind numbing 2 1/2 hour drive away, down one of the most desolate stretches of American highway- it's like the hallway in Poltergeist where JoBeth Williams goes running towards her kid's room and the hallway just keeps getting longer and longer- yep, just like that.

Now, we all know moving is never fun. And if anyone ever tells you they enjoy it, they're either lying, a masochist... or both! BUT, it gave us the perfect chance to utilize all the stockpiled knowledge we've picked up from shows like 'Sell This House', 'Get It Sold', and 'Designed to Sell' (just to name a few). Here's what we did:

1. Cleared out all personal effects and 95% of knick knacks- personal effects detract from your home and distract buyers and can potentially keep them from paying attention to the most important reason they are there- to view your house so they can buy it! If they spend all their time looking at your wedding pictures, they're not paying attention to your upgraded kitchen appliances, etc.
2. Painted the whole interior of the house a unifying neutral color- not always necessary, but definitely helps. A lot of buyers don't want to be burdened with the task of painting (or repainting) when they move in, so having a neutral color that appeals 'to the masses' helps- even if it's not necessarily a color you would normally choose. Remember, when staging you are trying to design for the buyer- not for yourself.
3. Cleaned the whole exterior of the house- pressure washed vinyl siding, cleaned up all landscaping, had pergola in backyard re-stained, replaced any damaged siding/shutters/lighting, etc- it's very important that your home have curb appeal. If it doesn't, a potential buyer may decide to not even bother with seeing the interior. Think about it- if they don't even want to be bothered with repainting the living room, WHY would you think they'd want to completely redo the front yard?!
4. Cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned- had the carpets steam cleaned, had the house professionally cleaned, had any issues like damaged linoleum replaced, etc. - I can't stress to you the importance of presenting a clean and uncluttered home. It allows positive chi to flow through with the potential buyers, it also projects a calming image and shows the buyers that you actually care for your home and take good care of it. It helps them feel like they are purchasing a quality home and not someone else's headache.

Once you've laid all of the above groundwork, then the fun can begin!

I have to admit it took a bit of convincing to get my Mom to agree to allow me to stage- not because I'm bad at it or anything (!) but because we went at it a bit backwards. See, we had to go ahead and move her here (where I live) which left her house completely empty. Once the house was empty, she didn't want the hassle of staging it and dealing with the upkeep (can't say that I blame her).

She tried to sell it leaving it empty for the first little while, but it just languished on the market. If the housing market wasn't still in such a slump, perhaps it wouldn't have been an issue; her house has amazing upgrades and is a steal at the listed price. BUT, it IS a buyer's market and upgrades or not- an empty house just wasn't selling.

So, after a lot of convincing I finally got her to agree to let me stage. We didn't have a lot of spare furniture and/or spare money (who does?!?!) to put a much into the house, so we used just bits and pieces we had that we weren't using in our own homes and stuff I managed to cobble together from yard sales. That and lots and lots of spray paint!  Gosh, I love spray paint! And here are the results!

ENTRY/LIVING ROOM

We didn't have living furniture for this room, so I just staged it with a few key accessories and left it open. The entry is adorable though!

KITCHEN

The kitchen cabinets were originally the horrible stock oak cabinets that builders love to use. Ugh! Mom did this french country style all by her herself! Replaced the countertops, laid the peel and stick tile (yep! it's peel and stick!), bought all new appliances, etc. So there wasn't much I needed to do- just a few things here and there!

SUNROOM

Again- didn't have a lot to use- but I think it looks great! A nice place to relax and have a cup of coffee! I took my two front porch chairs (Hampton Bay from Home Depot) and gave them a quick coat with some Oil Rubbed Black Spray Paint so they had a nice sheen. GORGEOUS! The cushions tied in beautifully with the rug from Mom's house and the French country cabinets in the kitchen. The cute stool was mine as a girl- a light coat of some happy apple green spray paint and this room was as cheerful as the sun shining in the windows!

 

MASTER BEDROOM

This is one of my favorite rooms in the house! We carried the french country theme throughout and made this a bit 'French Country Garden'. I love the stripes and flowers- looks so pretty! The only that would make it better is some plaid! Almost everything in this room received a coat of spraypaint- the old metal dresser I inherited when my husband and I got married. It has always been UGLY!! My mom actually thinks it's so cute now! And the side tables were Mom's when she and Dad were married but have long since gone out of 'style'- the two-toned look I gave 'em was a neat touch!

 FRONT BEDROOM/OFFICE

I wanted to stage this one as an office, since most homes these days have one in some form. Carrying the French Country theme but wanting to go a bit 'beachier', I brought in my mannequin form, turquoise lamp, and spraypainted 'distressed' desk (both yard sale finds!) The adorable chair was my grandmothers and received a whole new life with a coat of Valspar LaFonda Mirage Blue from Lowe's. LOVE IT!!

 BACK BEDROOM

This is my FAVORITE room transformation BY FAR!! My daughter refuses to sleep in her own room at home so we decided to bring her furniture and set this room up as a toddler's room. I was so psyched to see it all come together- I couldn't have imagined it looking any cuter!

Well, what did you think? Did it turn out as good as I thought it did? I was very proud of the back porch and the dining room as well (in fact, the dining room was my second favorite room I staged) but somehow I ended up not taking pictures of those?!? (How in the WORLD did I manage that?!) In any event, when I get back up that way to take all of this down (because yes, she does have an OFFER!!) I'll snap some quick pics and update the post so you can all see them... I know you'll waste away if you don't ;) Also, I'll post a few tutorials under my DIY page in a few days so you can see how I pulled off some of the projects. Keep an eye peeled!

Until next keep time...don't stop the DIY!