april demolition brings...

...new may bathrooms? well, something like that. either way, my brother-in-law shaun came up for the day saturday to help robby knock out the original bathroom demo and install the new window. i was gone all day and missed all the fun (ha!) but i was giddy with the progress they made (with the help of andrew, too) and the results of the new window... for once i actually really like something i designed without any real hesitation. now i just can't wait for it all to get finished. 

i am using slightly more "retro" finishes for this bathroom since it is part of the existing house and the cool cast iron tub will remain. i ordered the tile today... white subway tile for the tub walls and 2" black hexagonal tile for the floor. i can't find a good image online of black hexagonal tile, but trust me- it will be cool. it better be... it is the most expensive tile we've used to date. but i've known since we bought this house that was what i wanted in there. it's also a tiny floor (only 30 sf) so i can justify it. here's the light fixture i've ordered for this bath. and the sink + cabinet (in white) from IKEA that we're getting this weekend in charlotte. it should hopefully all come together nicely. 

but for now, here are the photos from before and demo. enjoy!

BEFORE:

they wish this were for real... the chainsaw was for another project you'll see coming up. 

the chainsaw takes the stage: the old dying dogwood in the backyard came down. it was in a terribly awkward location and not in good shape. the backyard already looks much better with it gone. we have plenty of shade trees so this will actually open up a good sunny spot in the yard. 

boone assisting as usual... 

and here's the bathroom all demolished and with the new spiffy window! no more window in the shower!

the window has glass called "obscure" so no blinds are needed... it looks good on the inside and out. 

pic of the finished step on the deck... it looks great! robby also spread some mulch on the side yard. eventually that will be a patio. 

i am a happy gardener this spring.... my peonies are coming up! i just hope they bloom!

remember these? they've grown and have been moved, but they're looking great this spring. getting the yard to look good takes more patience than i really have, but i'm trying so hard. 

more on the deck...

so robby basically finished the deck today. just the little platform stair on one side is all that is left. and let me tell you, this deck ROCKS!!! here are some photos from today/tonight to prove it...

well, we start with important things here... boone and robby snoozing on the sofa this morning. so sweet. 

footings FULL of water from the deluge of rain we've had the past 3 days. 

i didn't photoshop this image at all... the sky was seriously this beautiful today!

me enjoying the deck. robby working on the deck. boone eating sticks on the deck. we are a happy crowd. 

more important things... puppy love on the deck. 

and a little robby love, too. 

playing on the deck tonight... hooray!!

doesn't it look awesome? i also love how you can see the blue paint swatches on the ceiling in the bathroom in this photo... 

yay for robby rocking the deck! 

365 and counting...

so today marks one year since we closed on the house and started work. i was going through all the old photos and decided it was time for a little slideshow to show the progression over the past year. it's a little long- i apologize- but it's a year's worth of work! i couldn't cut that short. robby and i enjoyed seeing all these together like this... and it also made us a little tired to see all that we've done. it's very rewarding to have such a tangible object to point to that shows our work over the past year. now, if only we can get it finished. 

*a little grainy on full screen, but i am much more impressed with vimeo's quality than youtube's!
1110 Watauga Street from rebecca necessary on Vimeo.

deck build

i'm keeping this quick because i am so tired, the bed is calling. basically- we got a big start on building the deck this weekend. the final result will be 16' x 16' and it's going to rock! 

not on topic, but i'm so happy to see our lorapetalum by the back fence blooming! this means hopefully, they will grow like crazy this summer... i was out early yesterday morning to get some yummy light. 

another early morning shot from yesterday... our footings are full of water. 

me being a dork taking a shot of the anchor bolts...once again, i like the warm spring light in this photo.

help arrives! sadie came with JB to assist... and do her best to keep boone from trying to play with her. 

despite the border collie in boone, he is not much for heavy lifting... 

good thing these handsome men are!

andrew came to help, too. 

i left the house and returned 4 hours later to this... they seriously knocked out some work. 

boone: site superintendent. 

where we started today...

at the end of the day, boone was happy to have somewhere new to rest his paws.

where we finished up... robby got a lot done today. i tried to help but i was so sore from helping to move all the lumber from the front of the house to the back that i wasn't much good. (read: wimpy)

the view from the back door looking out... we can't wait for the deck to be done!

in other news: we are approaching our 1 year anniversary of owning the house. so stay tuned for a little slideshow of everything we've done so far. and trust atlantic bank has officially become my favorite bank of all time... they gave us an extension on the construction loan terms so we aren't in critical-there's-no-more-time-left mode. once the deck is done, all we have to do is the other bathroom renovation. i say that like we're not gutting the whole thing... but hopefully it will go smoothly. either way- we have an extra 30 days so there is a chance we'll get it done. 

progress update

i know i'm totally slack about posting on here. i'd be surprised if anyone even still checks this... but just in case you do, here are some new photos to show the latest + greatest. 

here's the latest view of the kitchen. we finally got hardware a month or so ago... i will never underestimate the awesomeness of cabinet hardware ever again. 

a blurry family photo in the kitchen commemorating passing our final plumbing inspection!

the office is FINALLY set up! for my birthday i got stuff from IKEA to get my home work space finished. i'm still working on organizing, and we're missing doors for the cabinet in the corner there (and i need to throw out some of my models from grad school...) but it's so nice to have a real room to work! 

now we move on the bathroom. still not completely finished, but we're using it! the shower is awesome and wonderful and it is just so nice to have it. (the color is wonky in these two photos, sorry about that).

weird little detail shot of the shower... robby did a great job with the tile. 

daylight shots: more accurate color. 

the cabinets are from IKEA. we've learned that they have discontinued this line, and we are missing the 3 drawers that go in the smaller cabinet. we're not sure what we're going to do yet. we have the drawer fronts, so most likely we will have a cabinet maker build the drawers... which could be a pricey venture. so we're stalling. 

we reworked the closet and this is looking from the bathroom towards the bedroom and the other way around.

here's the closet re-do. it is MUUUUUCH nicer, much more organized, and way better. (thank goodness for IKEA!) oh, but we are missing that bottom right door... for the first time in our IKEA purchasing history we were shorted a hinge!? of all that we have put together, we really can't complain. we'll get back down there soon to get it... 

we decided to make a little custom piece to fill in the rest of the space in the bathroom- open storage for towels with space underneath for a laundry basket. we'll paint it white (eventually) to match the cabinets. 

now, we head back outside where we had to put up the soffit vent and boards last weekend. thank goodness for the gorgeous weather. my mom was here to do the rare documentation of me and robby working together. it's fun for all!

mom actually chipped in to help us cut some of the sheets of plywood... she's so helpful in so many ways!

the assistant (me) does a lot of "patient" waiting... 

... waiting with a sheet of plywood up on the ladder. no big deal. 

safety is always first on our job sites. great shot, mom!

last piece... 

mom holding the ladder for robby while i take photos. 

boone checking out the action. look at those whiskers!

job finished... the plan is to stain the plywood to match the fir back door. if we don't like it, we can always paint it. for now, though, we can pass final building inspection with this. (we hope)

you know we have to do it... 

whoa- this was an old school style marathon post. i hope somebody reads this!?!