House Exterior Update

It is about time for an update on my house. A lot of our to do list has been accomplished, but we still have a ways to go!

I took this picture in the middle of my landscaping installation. As you can see, we are almost done with the exterior painting and the concrete work is finally complete. We have made even more progress since this picture, but I am still waiting on sod. Until the grass is in place, the house won't look much different than it does here.

And here is the guest house right after the landscapers were done. I am really happy with how everything is turning out. And now for some before pictures so you can see the difference.

This is a screenshot from Google Street view, which shows basically what the buildings and property looked like when we closed. So much concrete!

This is a close up of the house after we had spent some time working on it. As you can see, the windows on the right have been replaced. I decided to install new wood windows wherever there were metal awning windows. We also opened up the front porch, which really changed the look of the exterior. You would not believe how much more light we get in the front room now as a result. Obviously, both buildings have been entirely repainted and the all concrete removed and replaced with a new driveway and sidewalk design. I finally have a front yard. Now if it would just stop raining, I would be able to get some sod!

Who Knew Driveways Required So Much Thought

You may have noticed from last week's post that my driveway is in rough shape. You may have also noticed that my front yard is primarily concrete.

As our focus turned to the exterior appearance, it became obvious that we need a new driveway. We also need an irrigation system in order to grow grass instead of weeds. Efficiency dictates that we tackle both projects at once so that the irrigation crew has as little concrete to go under as possible. Here are a few inspiration pictures for my new driveway, keeping in mind that it will go from the street to the carport. Instead of having extra parking in front of the house, I am extending the driveway to the left (according to this picture) into the side yard so that we can have something more attractive than a parking lot for a front yard.

Houzz

Houzz

Curb Appeal, Stage 1

Now that we are relatively settled inside the house, I have turned my attentions outward. Here is the facade of my house, or at least it was until recently. Many of the old houses in my neighborhood have front porches that were closed in with awning windows a few decades after being built. I prefer a more original look, so J and I did a bit of demo.

Much better, right? There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but I am saving that for my carpenter. I wasn't interested in watching J take a sledgehammer any closer to the columns than he already did. And in the pursuit of efficiency and good timing, we did all the work the day after Halloween. Why remove the Halloween construction paper bats when you can just yank out all the windows?

Console Sinks

A quick update on my house before I get into comparison sink shopping: we were supposed to close last Thursday, but the bank and title company still have some paperwork to finish. The delay is entirely ridiculous, considering our offer was accepted Christmas Eve, but I am hopeful that we will officially own the house this week.

Since we have have been waiting weeks to get started on my 1930s house, I have had plenty of time to start shopping around for my bathroom project. One of my first projects is to renovate the main bathroom of the house. I have already purchased stained glass and an old metal cabinet, but am holding off on other purchases until I officially own the house. Here are a three sinks (and three price ranges) that I have considered, in order of when I discovered them.

Fitzgerald by DXV

I first saw this sink when I was in St. Petersburg with my mom. We went into Ferguson to see what higher end options are available. I liked the sink, especially when the sales lady said I could order it in a wider size. We have about eight feet of wall space to work with for the sink, storage, and toilet. I want to occupy a bit more of the horizontal space so that the bathroom doesn't look barren.

Good news is that Ferguson can deliver most products in about one week. The bad news is that this sink is 28 inches wide and it turns out that we can't actually get it wider. For those who are interested, the DXV website says the list price is $1260, but Ferguson had a lower price in their show room. I believe it was around $1000.

Gramercy by Restoration Hardware

I began a google and pin marathon for console sinks after getting home from our shopping trip. I came across this beautiful sink which is 36 inches wide. It is a bit more contemporary and less traditional than the DXV sink. It is also quite a bit more expensive at $2395. I didn't love the price, and I especially didn't love the longer lead time. Restoration Hardware doesn't guarantee quick shipping! Also, I didn't want to worry about the marble top being etched by toothpaste or cleaning chemicals.

One more note about Restoration Hardware in general. Don't buy anything full price! You can usually catch a sale for various departments and get 10-40% off or wait until Friends and Family for 20% off everything.

Luciana by Signature Hardware

I came across Signature Hardware by searching for console sinks similar to Restoration Hardware. All of the console sinks I liked would be delivered about a week after placing the order, putting it in the same time frame as purchasing from Ferguson. Most of those sinks are also priced at $700, including the one above. This one happens to be the overall front runner, although there is a more angular sink from Signature Hardware that I might prefer. I like that this sink has more surface area for storing soap and tooth brushes; it is 30 inches wide and the vertical pieces will keep our stuff from falling off the side.

Keep in mind that for most console sinks, you have to purchase the faucet and plumbing separately. And since your plumbing will be exposed under the sink, you can't just get the normal cheap stuff (sorry J).

Bathroom Renovation Antiques

Even though our closing date was shifted back by a month, I have been making progress on my bathroom renovation. I've either chosen or narrowed down options for a lot of the big stuff with the help of my mom and sister. We are still working on the lighting situation (no lighting luck on the antique shopping trip) and I am waiting until we officially own the house before purchasing anything new. As I explained before, there is nothing original left in the bathroom and I don't want to overwhelm the space with brand new everything. So I have picked up a handful of antiques/old stuff that will probably be used in the bathroom.

My bathroom has a giant window that needs to be replaced. I wanted to do something interesting, but a custom made stained glass window costs was more than I wanted to spend. My sister and I found three of these windows at the Barn. The current plan is to have a normal window installed in the bathroom and hang these stained glass windows in front for more privacy and also because they are pretty. By the way, the Barn has a room full of stained glass windows at great prices in case anyone else is looking. But you must set your windows up by the checkout desk quickly. We saw one man purchase at least 10 windows and a woman purchase 6! And make sure you search for matching sets. None of my windows were next to each other so it took a bit of digging to locate all of them.

The bathroom is actually quite large but has no storage, so mom thought I should find a piece of furniture to use rather than reformatting a neighboring closet into a linen closet. I had assumed that the search for bathroom furniture would take a lot longer than it did. J and I found this cool kitchen unit at Habitat on Saturday and I got an awesome deal! I paid $100 and it is in great shape. The missing drawer is actually only missing for this picture. J was examining it because it was originally for storing flour. I did a bit of research to discover that this is probably a hoosier cabinet, but I forgot to search for markings before dropping it off to store with the rest of my thrifting purchases. Overall, the metal body needs sanding (thanks J!) and painting, but I won't be doing anything to the enamel counter.

Of course, we won't know for sure if these things will work in the bathroom until we get in there and start trying things out. However, I will definitely find another home for the windows and I already have a back up plan for the cabinet. I think it would be perfect in a laundry room, which we will eventually be building. Don't worry - there is a laundry area in the house, but I disagree with the former owners' idea to put it in the middle of the other bathroom.