Do you ever feel like there are too many options in the world? If so, DO NOT attempt to pick out new counters. Or just make sure you’ve got a wifey with extensive internet research skills. (And if you don’t, hands off – this one’s mine). Here’s what I learned from Sherry’s quick crash course. Laminate and marble were immediately out of the question. We already had laminate and wanted to upgrade to something more natural and less plastic-y. And as gorgeous as carrera marble can be (we loved it in our inspiration kitchen), it eliminated itself from the mix thanks to being much too expensive (about $100 a square foot) and not nearly as
Growing Some Grass In The Backyard
Eons ago we promised you updated photos of the new grass-tastic backyard after the Craigslist success story. Well, the grass has FINALLY decided to grow, so instead of sitting around and waiting we can post these pics for you. Here’s the before- which was perfect for our backyard wedding, but waaaay too much work to maintain: So we put an ad for free bushes and gravel on Criagslist, and this is what we were left with: Now that the grass has finally filled in, we have a wide-open (and super easy to maintain) yard that’s perfect for Burger’s bug hunting expeditions: It’s not exactly “lush” but it’s getting there, and by next spring it’ll be
A House Tour On Video
You’ve seen plenty of photos, but it was ’bout time we got all 21st century up in this mother. Here’s the minimally-anticipated world premiere of our first video house tour. Sherry plays Vanna while I take on the role of Spielberg…and keep an eye out for a cameo by Burger. Enjoy it HERE on YouTube.
Finding A Discounted Sink For Our Kitchen Renovation
We scored an inexpensive stainless steel undermount sink for our kitchen renovation and used a coupon code to save even more money. Wahoo!
How We Saved $200 On Our Kitchen Faucet
We scored a discount faucet on ebay for our kitchen renovation. Here’s the rundown.
How To Fix A Leaky Pedestal Sink
The weekend kicked off with what seemed to be our biggest plumbing project ever. Mainly because it required turning off water to the entire house (which involved me sticking my hand down a muddy, bug-filled hole in the front yard with a tiny wrench as my only weapon.) We were fixing a small leak the floor guys created when they re-installed our bathroom pedestal sink. It couldn’t be fixed by simply turning off the water under the sink because that shut-off valve was the very source of our problem. And the last thing we wanted was a leak onto our new floor. Luckily, we had been able to temporarily tame the leak by turning off
Updating Our Laundry Nook With Bamboo Blinds
Here’s that washer & dryer update that you’ve all been asking for. Yesterday our fab front loading washer & dryer (which ended up being floor models due to Lowe’s SELLING THE ONES WE ALREADY PURCHASED!) arrived in near perfect condition. In fact, the dryer is flawless and the washer has only a tiny scratch on the top that you’d need a magnifying glass to locate. So all in all, we’re actually thrilled that Lowe’s messed up and sold our new models since the floor models are just as nice (and ended up saving us another 150 bucks, bringing our total discount on the washer and dryer to $500- amazing!). In fact, they told us we
Choosing Mocha Oak Wood Floors From Lumber Liquidators
We got gorgeous new mocha oak flooring from Lumber Liquidators- here’s the whole rundown for you.
Old School
Remember that old wallpaper we found after demoing the chair rail in our dining room turned third bedroom? Well, over the past couple of weeks we’ve uncovered some other “interesting” design choices made by the original owners. For instance, when the kitchen cabinets came down we found this toothpaste green paint under the sink: And when the floor guys took up the layers of linoleum on Monday, they revealed the original faux-brick flooring (to match the faux-brick backsplash, maybe?): I can’t even wrap my mind around how this floor and the paint looked with the knotty pine cabinets and “green monster” appliances. But the kitchen wasn’t the only room showcasing questionable patterns and colors. This
Target, sigh.
It is mind-boggling that Target has not even been mentioned thus far into our blogging experience. It is our home away from home (along with Lowe’s) and has provided us with many a piece of furniture that we adore. In fact, our Thomas O Brien media console, two leather storage ottomans, dining table, Magnavox flat panel TV and gorge Victoria Hagan end tables all hail from Tarjay (the French pronunciation is tres chic, non?). And last night we made out like bandits again. We returned home with a swank leather Parsons chair for my desk ($99), a stainless steel floor lamp ($29) for our light deprived den, and this ironstone serving platter ($9) along with
Our Hardwood Floors Are Installed!
Put a fork in ’em, cause they’re done. Actually, on second thought, please don’t get anything sharp or scratchy near the new hardwood floors. It took two full days, but the floors are officially in and officially awesome. It’s mind-blowing how they (along with all the wider doorways) totally enhanced this part of the house. It looks completely and amazingly updated…well, except for the still-gutted kitchen. Here’s documentation of the transformation: Old linoleum covered in construction dust… is now glossy hardwood. 4 different foors in 4 different rooms… become only 2. There’s plenty more to share about the flooring adventure, but it’ll have to wait because right now we’re enjoying our “new wing” too much.
How Lowe’s Can Ya Go?
7:30pm, Monday- SHERRY: Floors are looking great so far, right? JOHN: Definitely. You agree, Burger? (Burger stands in silent agreement) SHERRY: Do you think it’s weird that there’s no baseboard here against the brick? JOHN: No, it’s fine. SHERRY: Yeah, you’re right. It’s fine. 11:00pm, Monday- SHERRY: I’ve been thinking, it is weird that there’s no baseboard there. JOHN: What? No, it looks fi- SHERRY: TOTALLY weird. JOHN: Okay. So what do you want to do? SHERRY: Get a baseboard and have the floor guys install it. JOHN: But the floor guys’ last day is tomorrow and we can’t buy any baseboards tonight because Lowe’s closed an hour ago. SHERRY: Can you get it tomorrow