A Bit of SA in US ;)

There's a narrow strip of garden space on the one side of the house that had grass-like growth coming up that we couldn't identify and didn't really like the look of, so we planted a row of flower bushes native of South Africa called Fynbox, which means "fine bush" in Afrikaans.  They're so pretty and vibrant against the yellowish/tan stucco on the exterior wall. 

Entryway Tile Project

This project took about two weeks to do - from selecting the tiles and ordering them to lifting the old tiles to cutting and laying the new ones.  I'm glad it's over because we discovered that the entryway gets a lot of traffic from other points of the house, not just from the front door.

We chose a ceramic tile in light gray for the floor.  It's goes well with the white walls and is a nice transition into the living room which has a charcoal heather color on the walls.  Unfortunately, I don't have any Before pictures, but just imagine old, mismatched, rigid slate tiles and you'll get the picture.

Project: Entryway Floor - New Tiles

Slam Dunk!

Bye bye rusty, old basketball hoop!  Even before moving in, we knew the basketball hoop's days were numbered.  Aesthetics aside, it posed a problem as it was within an inch or two from a major electricity wire attached to one corner of the house, which made me quite nervous when winds were intense the other week.

Project: Goodbye basketball hoop!

Project: Craft Room

I finally have a permanent space to create things!  Things that involve sewing, knitting, scanning photographs, editing video, painting, drawing, and so much more.  Let the crafting/creativity begin!

Project: Craft room! - paint ceiling, walls; remove carpet; replace outlets and light switch

Milestone: One Month

This week marks one month - ONE MONTH! -  since we've been homeowners.  It honestly feels like our settlement was just yesterday!  The overwhelming shock of being first time homeowners and fear of the unknown has slightly diminished over the last month - just slightly.  We're now in a new phase of shock called wowzers, this house and all its projects are expensive with no end in sight!  But we're having fun and we have our very own space to put our stamp on, and that is priceless.

Some things I'm still adjusting to:

- Long-term renting has conditioned me to think all walls are shared and to be considerate of noise, volume, etc at all times.  I was playing music in the house and for a brief second forgot that our walls are no longer shared.  Not waking up to screaming kids and/or people talking loudly is both amazingly peaceful and strange... like there's an empty space that desperately wants to be filled with noise.

- Lots and lots of doors.  Little space, fewer doors.  Bigger space, more doors.  In and out, out and in.  Dr. Seuss would have a field day with all these doors! ;)

- Having a garage door.  It's an on-going relationship full of misfits and tweaking, but I'm determined to make it work.

- The kitchen.  It's definitely spacious but not very functional.  I'm still figuring it out.

- Random noises.  Some of them aren't so mysterious anymore but with every one I can label, a new one appears.  It's like a game.

Roofin' It

With the help of our neighbors who let us borrow their ladder, Thomas replaced the vent covers that protect the plumbing pipes.  I did not physically partake in this project, but I trust Thomas when we said it was not an easy job.  And I wasn't about to go on the roof to test it out!  The good news is that our roof and crawl space will be spared of damage from the rain and gusty winds we're suppose to get in the next couple of days.  And maybe the new vent covers will help us conserve some heat... maybe?

Project: Replace plumbing pipe vent covers

Switch It Up!

We started replacing some of the old school light switches and buttons with new ones.  In doing so, we've visited the lighting aisle at the home improvement store so many times that we are now helping other people find stuff.

The new switches complete the picture in the space.  They give the space a fresh, clean look and, most importantly, they work!

Project: Replace old light switches with new ones

Garage Door Drama

Not so long ago we were dreaming of the luxury of pulling in and out of a garage... then we became homeowners...

... and the garage door drama began.

Lesson #1 - Take someone who has a garage to the inspection with you.  And make sure you use it several times during the inspection to ensure it works properly.

I was pretty sure my garage door was possessed as it would not stay closed.  The garage door kept coming up no matter if I closed it electronically or manually.  This, as you could imagine, was a TON of fun! *wink, wink*

As it turns out, my coworker has a garage door repair business and he was very kind to make us his first appointment this weekend to fix it.  He looked at it for all of 1 minute and diagnosed several incorrect things.  We are totally grateful for this connection as he saved us a ton of time and energy.  In the end, he replaced the springs, added a brace to the top for stability, shimmied the rails with wedges for smooth operating, and oiled each component.  We even got all fancy and replaced the broken remotes ;)

Up next: tweak/fine-tune the other garage door to lengthen its operating life.

Project: Garage doom repair

In Progress: Bedroom Landing Redo

The landing at the top of the steps is at the beginning stages of a facelift.  Val helped us out again by painting the edges in white and Thomas finished painting the walls and ceiling in white.  The space, which is technically windowless, is much brighter.  And the outdated beige color is finally gone... woohoo!

We also changed the light at the top of the landing with our three bulb light, which seems to be perfect for the space.  It's nice to see how some of our interior pieces that we bought throughout our relationship are fitting into different areas in the house nicely.  As if they were meant to be :)

Up next: figure out the floor situation, paint/replace trim, decorate.

Project: Bedroom landing redo

Bosch is the Name, Dishwashing is the Game

Meet our new dishwasher, Bosch.  It was love at first sight one afternoon at our local home improvement store.  Bosch looked particularly good with its sale price and charming features.  So we asked it out (bought it) and haven't looked back!

It works amazingly well.  I've never seen dishes so clean and glasses so shiny before.  And it's super quiet, too... like a mouse!  The rack design is also nice, with intuitive spaces for all types of kitchen and dish ware.  We're very happy with the product and it makes cleaning up after dinner so much fun.

Project: Replace old, inefficient dishwasher

I've Got the Power!

My stepfather, Ben, taught me how to correctly and safely replace electrical outlets.  And with this newly acquired knowledge, I'm on fire!  Pun intended ;)

Isn't the new one pretty?  And, yes, the orientation of the new one was done on purpose.  My hubby is very favorable of EU-like standards and ways ;)

Project: Replace old, yellow, two-prong electrical plugs with new ones!  

1 Bedroom Down, More to Go!

Our friend Val offered to help us with painting - thank you, Val!  We'll be painting every weekend until summer, so Val's help is truly appreciated.  Val did a great job and even helped us discover a not-so-nice nest of carpenter ants pulverizing the wood under the bedroom window.  This discovery led to a visit by a pest control service the same day to help us kill the buggers.  Carpenter ants work hard at destroying wood (mostly in moist areas) and then return to their queen.  The guy from the pest service was pretty impressed with us for finding the nest, which means we found the queen.  It's sad to kill such hardworking creatures but they aren't doing the house or our budget any favors - so die little buggers!!

We pulled up the carpet afterwards to find more oak wood floors in GREAT condition.  Yay!  We also replaced the outlets from two to three prong plugs.

Up next: determine ant situation/finish killing them if needed, paint base board, and decorate.

Project: Study - paint ceiling and walls, kill carpenter ants, remove carpet, replace outlets

 

Goodbye Old Carpet!

My hubby is amazing!  But we already knew that, right? ;)

I worked late a few days this week and on one of them, he took it upon himself to finish lifting the carpet in the dining room.  So sweet!  Now we don't have to spend time doing that this weekend.  And I'm so appreciative of his work because it is not easy or fun when two people are working together, so doing it by himself was extra work for sure.

Project: Remove carpet in dining room

Living Room Floor Reveal

The big reveal happened Sunday afternoon after we finished painting the ceiling and walls.  Thomas worked diligently at removing a TON of pesky carpet staples and nails.  We think the upstairs living room was last remodeled in the 70s or 80s and not touched until this weekend.  The carpet, light fixtures, air vent covers, wall color and cast iron railings scream OUTDATED!  We pulled up the carpet in sections and then proceeded to clean up the mat underneath which crumble to the touch.  It was a ton of fun... NOT!  But it was fun to do the project together from start to finish.  And our hard work paid off in a big way.

Project: Remove old carpet in living room, expose hardwood floors

All Weekend Paint Project

We started our first major interior project this weekend!  We spent two days painting the ceiling over the living and dining rooms and the walls in each space.  It's technically one room but it's very big (as our sore muscles soon discovered!).

We decided to skip the accent wall on the far end in the dining room section until we know what color we want it to be, so the entire space is one color for now.  A fresh coat of paint gives the space new life and energy it was lacking before.  And now we are one step closer to furnishing and decorating the space!

Project: Paint ceiling, living and dining rooms
Colors: Ceiling (standard white), Walls (Charcoal Heather by Olympic Paint)

Let the Projects Begin!

Today marks our first week as homeowners and we already started and finished some minor projects.  And although we've only spent two full days in the house, I know for a fact that our washing room is not going to cut it.  I keep knocking the cupboard door against the ceiling light.  It's placement is so awkward.  I've been keeping notes of little things like that for when I have time to fix them.

Project: Replace nasty plastic covered toilet seats.  I don't have a before and after picture of these, but you can use your imagination (they were gross).  Here's a pic of the new toilet seats in the shopping cart.

Project: Replace extremely old and broken garage door buttons.  Pics coming soon.

Project: Replace door locks.  This was just necessary.

Moving Day and a Snowstorm

We moved into our home over the weekend, loaded up a 26 ft. U-Haul and unloaded it all while it snowed.  A few people couldn't make it so we had a small crew, but a dedicated one at that.

Moving Day pictures:

Houston, We Have Hardwood!

We have hardwood floors under the carpet in the living room and bedrooms!  YAY!

We thought plywood was underneath the carpet, but we were wrong!  We haven't uncovered all of it yet, but we're hoping for good news all-around.  This discovery just hopefully saved us a lot of money.

Stay tuned for what looks like our first project :)

Let the Journey Begin!

We closed on our house earlier this week and we're officially homeowners (!).  Now, who wants to buy our house??  Just kidding!

I should point out that this process has taken place over the most brutal winter the Mid-Atlantic region has seen in a very long time.  Our first week of homeownership hasn't been free of any worries related to winter - we're getting the full experience (snow, ice, shoveling, and all).

Our first stop after settlement was to the home improvement store.  Yes, the shopping has begun!  No damage was done, we just purchased essentials like new toilet seats (old ones were gross), door locks, and, of course, salt for the snow that's coming.  We also ordered oil, which is very expensive (in case you're wondering ;)

It felt strange and overwhelming to step foot in the house later in the day.  Perhaps I felt that way because the space still feels like it belongs to someone else or because I was functioning on pure adrenaline from the height of the transaction that I had to shift my mental focus.  I knew I had to do something that would make me feel more attached to the house.  So I cleaned.  The first thing I cleaned was the kitchen sink, the heart of the kitchen.  I scrubbed the pale yellow sink trying to help the attachment process begin.  I don't know if I felt any closer to the house afterwards, but I felt a sense of accomplishment bubble to the surface when I realized it was my sink, not a rental.  It was a small, emotional victory enjoyed in the kitchen alone with the soft afternoon light pouring through the window.

Time to Pack

What are some things that make packing one's belongings into boxes just to unpack them again fun??  I wonder if there's a service that will pack up your stuff.  There must be.  I don't mind the unpacking part of the process.  That's ok because as long as the boxes are labeled with its contents then unpacking isn't so bad.  Slowly unpacking boxes in new living spaces gives you time to adjust to the space and figure out how you want to use it without being burdened by all of it at once.  

Ok, I need to stop rambling on about packing and just do it!  Time to pack these boxes!

What part of the moving process do you like?  Any tips for seamless and simple packing?

The Wait Continues...

The time between the offer being accepted and the closing date has felt like eternity.  Granted, we asked for a longer period of time between the two, but I never expected it to feel soooo long.  I think it also feels so long because it's winter and there's generally a shortage of outdoor distractions during this season anyway.

So, my friend and I did the next best thing to distract ourselves from the wait and winter - home decor BROWSING!  Yes, browsing, not shopping.  Big difference, but browsing is just as fun.  We went to Restoration Hardware and looked at every piece of furniture, linens, lighting, and accessories.  The place was empty because it was snowing outside so we had it pretty much to ourselves.

And then we found the Collins Chair...

So incredibly big, but also so incredibly comfortable.  This picture shows my friend who, although naturally short, couldn't touch the ground.  That's what's perfect about this chair - it's size.  We ended up taking our boots off to get the full effect.  We curled up, sat cross-legged, and even retrieved a blanket for the finishing touch.  I deem this the perfect winter chair.  I'm not sure how much I would like the leather in summer, though.

The price was another story.  At $1200 (including discount), we had our fun in the store and then carried on.  Waiting is a perfect time to dream...

Ideas Galore

The anticipation of having our own space to do whatever we want with is just so exciting.  The possibilities are endless!  I've been a fan and user of Pinterest since the beginning and have accumulated plenty of ideas for various living spaces - mostly living room, kitchen, and bathroom.  I've learned that its easier to dream of non-existent spaces than to implement ideas in real ones.  Now that my ideas can now become a reality, I've come down with a strong case of indecision.  Yikes!

With some wise advice from homeowners, we're going to take our time and try to get to know the house and how we use it over the course of a year.  So, the projects we want to tackle our first year have reduced in size.  Our list is subject to change but includes the below for the time being.

1. repaint the stucco portion of the exterior
2. paint/replace shutters
3. remove wall paper
4. install a fence
5. install a patio

I'll be keeping an on-going list of projects, both to-do and completed, on a separate tab at the top of the blog for progress sake.

What's your advice for first-time homeowners eager to get their feet wet in a pool of projects?

Up Next: Closing

A lot to read and much to do.  But at least it's the next step!

Home and garden shows

I noticed a home and garden show will be in town next month.  I'm eager to attend it but I also feel a little intimidated by the thought of it.  I'm used to vendor exhibits at conferences, knowing the best times to visit over a three day visit and what tactics work for both the vendor and the attendee.  My plan is to be prepared, even more than I usually am since I'm only paying for a one day entry.

Here's my list of preparations:
1. Eat a HUGE breakfast full of protein.  I may have to make my favorite omelet just for this occasion - veggie omelet with spinach, mushrooms, peppers and cheese.
2. Pack snacks full of protein.
3. Dress in a few light weight layers, no coat.
4. Wear the most comfortable footwear there is.  You know the shoes older people wear - typically one color with thick, cushy soles and have Velcro for fasteners?  Wear those shoes!  You'll be making a fashion no-no but you won't regret it at the end of the day.
5. Take a large, durable, reusable bag for brochures, toys, and trinkets.  This is key in having a successful time as there's nothing worse than being overloaded with print material and no place to put it.  I know vendors usually have branded bags to use, but I try not take them if possible.  I never keep them and then feel bad about disposing them later.

Do you have must-know tips on attending home and garden shows?  I would love to hear from you.

 

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, Life on Oak Street.  I created this blog to document our adventures in being first time homeowners - from moving in to the ups and downs of renovations and everything in between.  This blog may take on some other topics like craft projects and some recipes (you know, the ones that catch your eye on Pinterest that you absolutely have to try?) from time-to-time or when finances for renovations get tight.

So, keep checking this blog to read about our experiences as homeowner newbies.  I'm sure we'll both be entertained... ;)