Sunday, June 21, 2015

Top 5 House Loves

There are a lot of things in our home that I love.  Family heirlooms, trinkets from memorable experiences, photographs of events long gone but not forgotten, and pieces my husband has built with his own two hands.

That's the difference between a house and a HOME. Minimalism versus these things bring me conflict sometimes, but mostly they bring me joy. They define our style, our space, our little world in these 4 walls.

For two whole years our house has been a construction zone.  Sometimes in the midst of tearing out walls and navigating the sea of tools, I look to a few items for normalcy. Things that are just FUN - not sheetrock, wiring or insulation! (For the record, putting up sheetrock is NEVER fun).

These are a few of my house loves that keep me sane with all these house renovations.


Anchor Hooks | Chateau & Bungalow in Newport, RI



Wall Sconce | Barn Light Electric



Dunes Painting | Meadow Brooks Studio in Westport, MA


Rope Knot Lamp  | Pottery Barn













Monday, June 8, 2015

Money Pit Monday: Rub A Dub Dub in my Claw foot Tub


This late night edition of "Money Pit Monday" is brought to you by Rub a Dub Dub in my Claw foot tub. 

Can we just talk about claw foot tubs for a minute? I am obsessed. Deep tub, sexy curves, flattering feet, and independent of any shower. I have dreamt claw foot tubs since the day we moved into this house and I saw the ugggllly tub & surround. I immediately starting Pinteresting ideas for the new bathroom. The design centering around a gorgeous claw foot tub! Everything crisp, fresh, and clean looking. Lots of bubbles, candles and solitude are in my future. 

Fast forward two years and my design ideas are taking shape. We ordered this 62 inch Acrylic Claw Foot Tub from Vintage Tub & Bath and we could not be more thrilled. We debated on a cast iron vs. acrylic tub and it came down to how it would be installed. Should we have a fight carrying it up the stairs or make it civil?? We went for civil - 60 lbs vs. 330. A no brainer in our case. 




This weekend was all about fitting the new tub, running the pipes, and storing it for a few months down the road.  Mixed in there with a little building of a another raised garden bed and talking about the "punch list", this weekend was a productive house weekend. I can see the bubbles in my future...

Any guesses where the new tub resides now?!








Monday, June 1, 2015

Money Pit Monday: Green Thumbs



Andrew and I were Hercules, Superman, and Wonder woman all at the same time on Saturday. We rocked our house day and spent 9 hours of blissful productivity bringing this place closer to the "finished product" (btw…does anyone ever FINISH a house or is that just some dream they put in brochures and real estate magazines?!?).

House days for us can go one of two ways. Thankfully, this Saturday we worked together like champs - no bickering, no meltdowns, no big surprises. These kind of days make house work on a beautiful Saturday not only tolerable, but down right enjoyable.

Just a few weeks back we had given up the dream of a beautiful raised garden with lush, green vegetables. It was just not on the priority list. We were running out of time. Stress was mounting. The bathroom was gutted.

And then, out of the chaos and "unattainable", we got motivated. We switched priorities. We found the perfect window in time. We cleared out, found space, and made use of some free wood.  In a matter of 2 hours we had a nicely raked, raised garden bed.

First stop on the Saturday morning rounds was the landscaping supply store.  We loaded up 2 yards of 1/2 compost, 1/2 loam.  The only way I knew this was from a gardening guru friend who has paved the way for my newest, most ambitious hobby.  In no way do I even know what loam is, but that's beside the point, we have it in our raised bed and supposedly it will be good for my plants.

After a morning of shoveling, sweating and earning my "green thumb", we had 2 new flower beds, a window box, and some plants sprouting from our raised garden bed. I finally understood what all the fuss is about. Why people garden…why they find peace & joy in working in the dirt…why I am encouraged to try and keep something other than myself, alive.  I am hooked.






I earned my gardening badge, next up was the waste pipe.  

I don't know whether I found it comforting that Andrew bought a book on how to install piping or not. When you are installing the poop pipes, you kind of want to make 110% sure that everything goes as planned.  This had me nervous. Again, it all could have gone one of two ways.

If you don't count me breaking Andrew's thumb while shoving the pipe through the roof and almost causing him to fall off the ladder, everything miraculously went as planned...Just continuing the reno memories...






A few hours later, we had a new 19 foot PVC waste pipe from the rooftop all the way down to the basement. I can now add installing poop pipes to my resume. My parents should be so proud:) 

That about rounds out Money Pit Monday this week. Next week's riveting Saturday plans involve more piping, maybe some wiring, and installation of the new exhaust fan. Big stuff people, stay tuned! 


 
Blogging tips