Back Patio Project

This isn't a very good "before" photo but it's the best one I have post-digital camera. Our back patio has been in some state of remodel since we bought our home. This photo was taken in the spring about 3 years ago. By the hot tub we had one of those veregated fiberglass fences with a giant Virgina creeper that was the only thing holding it together. Once we decied to trim the plant back the fence fell apart. On the neighbor's side of the fence was this god awful thorny bush that was so overgrown we hacked the living daylights out of it. I still have the scars on my arms to prove it even a year after the fact.


This was last summer. The wavy concrete was our original patio and that's where the nasty fence and creeper were. We extended the patio to meet the edge of the front of our house and Nate framed up a fence.


This was taken this morning. I'm bummed I didn't get a photo of what our back stairs looked like. I'm sure I have one somewhere in negative format. As you walked out our back door you could only walk to the right as there was a black metal guardrail. It also had that lovely astroturf carpeting covering it.

Nate made it so sthe stairs are on all sides, much more condusive for getting out the back door. I especially appreciate it when I'm carrying a full load of wet clothes to be hung outside.


Nate banged out phase two of our fence project this weekend. I'm so fortunate to be married to a go-getter who works despite the intense heat lots of Keystone beer helps, I guess. We still need to stain the fence and extend it all the way up the back yard. We hope to get an outdoor kitchen, fireplace, slate covering over the patio and stairs and new patio furniture in the future (next year, fingers crossed). Look for more 'Better Homes and Gardens' -type - after photos then.

Kitchen Painting - January 2007

I was getting the serious blues from all of the cold, foggy weather we've been having. I looked at all of the white walls in the kitchen and decided to do something bold. Here's our kitchen before we painted. It's naturally cluttered to give the "After" photos some real drama.


We think the previous owners just painted the walls a primer white.


This is our first "After " photo. This set of cupboards was actually yellow while the other ones were an antique white. We were chuckling because everything that was yellow (cupboards) we painted white and everything that was white (the walls) we painted yellow.


Here's my bold red mini wall. I love it! I still need a few wall hangings on it but haven't got there yet.


Ta-dah! It is a bit more cozy now. Nate acually did most of the paniting. We had another chuckle again re: the fact that we picked 1970's McDonald's colors. Yellow, brown, red.....

The actual colors we used are from Sherwin Williams: Vermillion, Sole', Navajo White and Cobble Brown.

Next up for painting is the Don's Plumbing Office. We have some lovely poop brown shades we'll be using for the walls, which is just fitting for a plumbing office, don't you think? We'll post that project when we finish.