outdoor seating?

It's likely no surprise to you that I'm dying to "decorate" our new outdoor space.  I'm just as anxious to do the same to the interior, but things are happening faster outside then in!

An idea came to me, and I think it's a pretty good one. Remember that set of bamboo thrifted chairs I own? You likely don't. That's because they have been sitting in the basement forever. I'm thinking now would be a good time to drag them out, and finally put them to use-on our deck.

Our deck might be the perfect spot for this pair of chairs. Somewhere to sit and sip our coffee in the morning :)

The fabric I have my eye on is from Lewis and Sheron and runs about $20.00/yard. Not super cheap, but I'd only need a couple of yards since the chairs are small. If I eliminate the back cushions (that tufted piece) and using a toss pillow instead, it'll be even less fabric too.

What do you think? Do you care for this pattern? I'm pretty sure I'd leave the bamboo natural. I considered painting them, but I like the casual look they have now.

I came across this image from Maple and Shade which has further convinced me that I should do it.

I know the chairs are not the same, but I think it'd have the same feel once they're reupholstered. 

I'd take that awesome planter too.  And those bistro chairs....so good!

deck update

Incase you're wondering...Things ARE coming along with the deck.

The guys (as in Cameron, and his super helpful brother in law, Jimmy) have spent the last few evenings working on it and are now screwing deck boards on. This is when it starts to actually look like a deck!

Our little man has to get in on the fun(Thanks Papa, for showing him how to run a drill!). He loves "working" with the guys! 

The cedar boards are all being installed using a tool that hides the screws.  It makes the deck look clean and uncluttered. So happy with it!

The stairs still need to be finished obviously, but it's starting to take shape.  The posts you see below are where we'll add a privacy screen of some sort.  That corner below the window is the designated spot for the hot tub (someday!).

Try not to look to closely at the bedsheet "curtains" or the old air condition unit in the window.  We have a central air system and have had it since we bought the house but it's yet to be hooked up! Too busy or something!

More pictures/plans coming-Stay tuned!

garbage picking....again!

I like a good deal as much as the next person. But I like free even better!

Last week, I noticed a box on the curb labeled free. It was just down the street, so I took the kids for a walk to check it out.  Sure enough, I found something worth bringing home!

It's a flush mount light fixture that was dirty, grimy and the wrong kind of brass. There's good brass and bad brass. This was the bad kind.

But, it was nothing a little matte black spray paint couldn't fix. After a super quick sanding with fine grit paper and a wipe down, it was ready for paint. I sprayed the inside of the base as well because you could see the white pieces through the glass, making it look cheap.

 
It literally took me 5 minutes to complete!

I did about 2 thin coats and then let it dry while I washed the glass piece with hot soap and water.

Sunday afternoon, Cameron installed it for me in Talmadge's room. 

While it's not especially spectacular, or even close the light fixture I really want for his room (it's this one HERE, but it's $$$), it does the trick, at least for now! 

 

We also installed these jelly jar sconces (read about that deal HERE) on either side of the windows. I think the new fixture is cute with the vintage looking sconces!

 

 As you can see, his room is now painted, the window is trimmed and a door is installed(which still needs to be painted). Up next is the hardwood flooring which we should be picking up soon to install.

 

It's come a long ways from this, don't you think?

 

 

 

Anyways, that's the story of my headed-for-the-garbage-dump light. Are you opposed to curbside finds? Cameron never would get too excited about the idea, but then I found him an almost new Weber grill on the side of the road a few summers ago. Now he's a little more open to my "free" finds!

 

all decked out!

Well there was no sitting around this weekend!

Saturday morning, Cam dragged me outta bed around 6am! So much for sleeping in. I whipped up some French toast (it's usually that or our favorite waffles) and Cam made a big pot of coffee to fuel us for the day! It was time to build a deck!

I headed out to the quarry for a final load of rock. Then we got a work out shoveling a total of 3 tons, which we spread out below the deck. There's a layer of heavy-duty landscape fabric under the rock which will keep grass/weeds from growing up through the deck and let water drain when it rains.

Over the memorial weekend (when we were supposed to build the deck, but didn't thanks to the never ending rain!), we had already rented an auger, dug holes (with help from family) and poured concrete to set the deck posts on.

 

 

 

 

 

Since that part was done, the guys attached the posts to the concrete and started building the structure.

 

 

 

They worked late into the evening Saturday night and made good progress!

 

 

Cam and his brother in law Jimmy spent Sunday afternoon working on it again. Of course having a little helper around sped things up :)

 

 

As of today, here's how things look. It's a good size deck (roughly 30 by 15 feet), so it'll take some time to finish it.  The structural parts under the deck are all green treated wood, but the exposed parts will all be stained cedar.

 

 

 

It's shaping up nicely! Here's the drawing Cam made on Google Sketch Up. It'll give you a rough idea of what the finished deck will look like.  The tall posts you see are where we are going to add privacy screens.

 

 

Since the deck is so low, we're not required to have railings, so we wrapped the stairs around and also made them wider then usual.

 

Hopefully tonight we can do a little more work on it and I can keep sharing the progress as well as ideas we have for the rest of the yard!

 

Good ideas!

Need a fun, easy and cheap(bonus: it's functional too!)project for your weekend? I might just have one for you.

Maybe you already own a vintage trunk and it's just sitting around looking old, brown and dingy. If you don't, they're all over craigslist for cheap, or maybe you have a relative that would be willing to pass one along. Anyways, get your hands on one, then pick up a can of paint and pull out a paint brush (see my favorite brushes HERE). 

Rustoleum's enamel would be perfect for this project and they come in lots of fun colors.  I'm dying to paint one a bright color for T-man's room.  If you want a modern look, use a glossy finish and bold color.  If vintage, shabby-chic, and casual is more your thing, try a matte or distressed look. 

You could paint the entire thing, or leave some of the (likely brass) hardware exposed for a cool look.  A quick wipe down to remove dirt and grime should be all that's needed before painting. The aged condition of the trunk will just add character once you paint it.

Use your revamped piece as a coffee table, toy chest, bench etc. Now you have a surface for display (Unless you have a busy toddler who just pulls everything apart!) and added storage inside!

Inspired? Let me know if you do try this out! I'd love to see the results.

Have a great weekend! We're crossing our fingers the weather cooperates so we can finally build a deck!

may: where'd it go?

Yikes! This past month just flew by! So much happened, and so much is still happening.

As always, we've got projects left, right and center, but we managed to sneak a little fun into the month too. I threw a few pictures together in a collage of sorts to catch you all up to date.

From top R to L:

We took off for a little family get away to MO. It rained and was freezing cold but we still had fun between shopping, eating out, and a car show. And the pool. Can you tell how much little T-man LOVES to swim?

I managed to pull off a surprise trip to AZ and visit my family. It was insanely hot, so the kids lived off freezees, popsicles and ice cream :) My sister's boy, Braedon sporting a chocolate mustache!

The cousins loved being together. Talmadge and Braedon were inseparable. We often found them sitting together holding hands. I really wish my family lived closer!

Having a girl's night out to Cheesecake factory for appetizers and desserts! Even Serena joined in on the fun.

Cousin Emma "helping" bath Serena in the sink. She'd pull her step stool up every evening to give Nana a hand.

Papa even made it up from Mexico to spend some quality time with the kids. They had a blast with him!

Poor Cam. While I was gallivanting around in AZ, he was home hard at work. He made lots of progress on the trim though, and we've even started installing the baseboards in the basement. It looks soo good!

Here's more of his handiwork on our living room windows. Now I just have a million nail holes to fill and sand before we can paint.

Then there was the memorial day weekend.  We were all hyped up to build a deck, had rented the auger you see and poured cement when it decided to rain every.single.day! So the deck will have to wait.  As soon as things dry up enough we hope to get back at it.

I think we're caught up now! I'll share more plans about the deck soon.  In the mean time we're trying to get as much done inside as our FLOORING(!!!!) should be ready to pick up and install in a few weeks!

Weekend Recap

Here's a little of what our weekend looked like.

We made a bit of a mess inside....

 



....and outside!

(mmm...Melted ice cream and strawberries!)

So happy to finally have a few warm days.  Our little guy loves being outdoors (doesn't every kid?) and I've discovered he'll play for hours with a shovel and some dirt! Looks like that's how we'll be spending our summer!

The trim is coming along a little faster then I thought it would. The kids have gotten used to the noise of all the tools and can sleep right through it!

I also started painting over the weekend. There's lots of that to do!

And this little girl is oblivious to the mess and chaos surrounding her! She just lays there and smiles at it all!

How was your weekend? Fun? Productive....or both?