The Big Reveal

I'm well aware that I kept you all up to speed on the house progress until...well, the end. It was not to intentionally keep you all in the dark, I just simply have a problem.  I'm a perfectionist.  I didn't (and still don't) want to show you pictures until it felt a little more homey and 'finished'.  I have started to  come to the realization that in home renovating, nothing is ever finished or exactly how you want it.  It will still take time to fill all our seemingly bare walls.  I don't want to just throw things up for the sake of something having something on the walls.  I want to be intentional...something about newly sheet-rocked walls sends a wave of anxiety over me every time we put a hole in it.  (This might have something to do with my reckless, non-detail oriented husband who seems to always drill 3 holes when I ask for 1 one...like I said, anxiety!)

Some of you have made it very clear that the suspense is killing you, so for that reason, I finally took some photos. The photos had much more to do with getting to put my fall decor out & that I just cleaned house but that's beside the point!

So, without further adieu....  here it is!

Exterior 1/2 Bath

Office/Studio

Let us know what you think!

And on a final note, I am so excited about this awesome find from The Brown Shed this weekend!  Needs a bit of cleaning but it's going to be an awesome addition to my office & a fun prop for Paige Meyer Photography!

I know, it's been forever...

Opposed to popular belief we haven't disappeared... or stopped working on the house for that matter.   Actually it's been quite the opposite.  We have been doing quite a bit at the house, working, and well...life has just been a little hectic!

Here is what we have been up to:

These are not overly recent pictures but it at least gives you an idea of what we are up to! I promise I will post interior pictures of the house eventually.  Maybe after a visit to Warrenton for Antique Week things won't feel as bare ;)

We have been doing lots of showering for babies and brides, and going to lots of weddings!

Got to spend an evening doing this sweet couple's engagement session!  Bridals are coming up quickly and the big day will be here before you know it!

Loved taking this sweet baby girl's newborns!  Isn't she the sweetest thing!?!?

Last weekend we got to go help Nathans brother's family as they moved to a new house.  It was lots of work but of course we found some time for playing too as you can see :) I wish I had some pictures of my sweet nephew, Parker, that you met in my last post.  Unfortunately, I was too busy holding him and loving on the sweet little man, therefore no pictures...sorry!  Hopefully next time!

Other than that, life is just pretty boring...haha not! It's about to get even crazier so I am not making any guarantees for this blog. I have lots of sessions coming up this fall so you can keep up with them at  Paige Meyer Photography.  This weekend jumpstarts all the wedding festivities for Haley & Kyle's wedding.  We will also be celebrating Tori's Birthday.  Next weekend brings Dad's 50th birthday bash and shortly after Luke's 1st birthday bash will follow.  This fall very well might be a whirlwind but it will just make our vacation to Australia for Thanksgiving that much sweeter!

House Update: Final Details

We are getting really close to being finished with the house! 
(Yes, you read that correctly...)

There is only a bit more touch up painting and a few other odds and ends but after that we will be good to go!  Crazy, isn't it?!?

Now, on to some big accomplishments lately....

We now have a toilet!!!!  Woohoo!! No more dirty Jackson Street Park potties without locks on the door!!

We started painting the outside of the house---no more ugly siding!!  I was out of town on Saturday & my Mom filled in as the slave driver and was adamant that we would have a painted house before we moved in.  She's a mess but I appreciate her keeping the boys in line for me!!

This I why I love the $3 samples from Lowe's...some things turn out SOOOO much different than they look on the card! We went with the middle one!  The other 2 were too bright & dried way too dark.

I wasn't totally pleased with the rough texture that the floors had so I decided another light sand with the palm sander would do the trick and it did!  I think I will be much more pleased with the result now.

Final coat will go on tonight!

The garage is still in a fairly unfinished/ugly state but the house is looking gorgeous!!  
I love the exterior paint color and we even put the shutters on last night!   It is all really starting to come together which is making me extremely excited and anxious to get moved in!

Moving starts this weekend!!  Woohoo!

(Yes, I am aware that I used a ridiculous amount of exclamation points in this post but at times I thought we would never make it to this point...so I am just a bit excited!)

The Ugly Truth: Moving Edition

A few weeks ago my friend Natalie started a series called "The Ugly Truth" to help call attention to long overdue projects in hopes of turning confessions into motivation.   

To keep her company in her shame about her Christmas decorations that were (or are they still, Natalie?!) up in June, I'm going to share the current state of our bedroom in the midst of getting things ready to move....

The couch has now become my new dresser.   My old dresser is getting a facelift at the moment...

Yep, those are all the dust bunnies that were under my other dresser when I moved it out yesterday...

There are clothes everywhere! 

This dresser will soon get a makeover as well!

I promise we are not lacking in the motivation department so this "Ugly Truth will be taken care of soon! And hopefully this makes you feel better Natalie!

House Update: Paint & Light Fixtures

Ok...we are all going to have to revert back to kindergarten and use our imaginations here. 

Things are not finished by any means and I hate to show this part because we are so close to the end & I would rather you see it completed...

There are still lots of little details left to finish up so for now, just imagine the possibilities!

Living Room is complete for the most part

Kitchen is painted for the most part & fixtures are hung!

This is the baby's room....KIDDING!!  WE ARE NOT PREGNANT!!   It is just more fun for all of us to keep saying this to Nathan because it drives him crazy ;)

Master Bedroom

The bathroom will be the same color as the Master.  The floors came out really well---unfortunately the pictures makes them look a little different than they really are.  I guess you will have to come see them for yourself!   

My favorite little man & his parents are coming to town this weekend so I'm not sure how much progress I will be making ;)

On the To Do List this Week:

• Install/Caulk/Paint Baseboards
• Finish lots of trim paint
• Finish painting the bathroom, hallway, & closets
• Install the kitchen counter tops!!!
• AND hopefully setting some plumbing fixtures...a toilet would be nice to have.

House Update: Floors Part II

First of all I want to say Happy 25th Birthday to my sister, Haley!
AND
Happy Anniversary to my sister, Tori, who is celebrating 4 years with her husband, Colin! 

(Thanks for marrying Colin and making cute babies!)

We have made quite a bit of progress since my last post.   Lots of painting, electrical, floor refinishing, and finish work has taken place!  We were incredibly grateful for the day off on Monday so that we could get some extra work done.  We are even more grateful for the help of my parents, sister, & brother-in-law to be, who gave up their weekend and helped us make tremendous progress.   

 

There is still lots to be done but here is some of the progress from last week.

We have air conditioning!!   It's having a hard time catching up because we are in and out so much but it's still better than the Texas heat!!

Before                                               Living Room                                               After

Master - Before

Before                                       Master Bedroom                                         After

Guest Bedroom After

Before                                     Man Cave                                      After

This is the kitchen floors with the leveler on it before we put the flooring down.   Next post I will hopefully have some after photos from the flooring Nathan installed last night.

I was a little unsure of what to expect when the flooring was complete but I was actually pleasantly surprised how well they turned out.  Fortunately, all of our hard work paid off this time!  I might have sat down and cried if not...just saying.

Check back for a post in the next few days---I will be posting some photos with light fixtures & paint on the walls!

House Update: Floors

Progress is still taking place and this week has really helped us see some light at the end of the tunnel!

Our focus last weekend was on refinishing the original hardwood floors.   Let me emphasize the word original because I am pretty sure the floors are the only thing we haven't had to replace completely. 

This isn't our first go around with a refinishing floors.  We also redid my father-in-laws floors last October which was a good learning experience for us.  Thanks for being the guinea pig Kenneth! 

  At Kenneth's we used a belt sander and had a few small issues with it so Nathan was convinced this time that a vibrator sander would do the trick, even though it might take more time.  Needless to say, after about an hour of using the vibrator sander, we headed back to Home Depot (don't tell my good friends at Lowe's...they would be so disappointed!) to rent the belt sander as well because we were hardly making a dent!

Here is what we started with...

The old linoleum left the kitchen floor in pretty bad shape.

Living Room before & during sanding process...

These would be the disgusting bathroom floors...

Left: Small Bedroom Before                                                           Right: Hallway going in to "master"

Master: Before Sanding                                                                           Master: After Sanding

House Update: Cabinets & Drywall

I am well aware that I say, "I know it has been a while" on every post I do lately...

We are working as fast as we can if that counts for anything?!?

These pictures were taken a little over a week ago.  I would have taken more this weekend but I highly doubt you would be able to notice a difference since I spent 12 hours straight on Saturday caulking, sanding, and wiping down trim to prep for paint. 

 

They aren't very noticeable changes so my Mom & I had to keep reminding ourselves that prep work pays off when the paint goes on. Sometimes you just have to give yourself pep talks to get you through the not so fun stuff...or dessert works just fine too :)

Cabinets are now installed, sanded, caulked, and ready for me to prime!

Crown moulding is up, walls are textured, primed, and windows are trimmed out.

If it makes anyone feel better, I did finally take all the stickers off this door this weekend too!

  

The bathroom is now framed up in the garage.

Bathroom is now textured, primed, bathtub is installed, and boards in the floor have been replaced.

Hooking up all the plumbing for the shower was/is the ultimate marriage tester...

   We survived (so far) but I'm not sure we enjoyed it and Nathan swears we will hire someone next time.

Concrete is poured and stained in laundry room.  Unfortunately there was no attempt to keep the floor clean while they textured, taped & floated.   Hopefully it all comes up with no problems!

All the finish work is done of the gable.  It looks much cleaner and finished now than it did before. And for those of you that the symmetry of the front windows is bothering, it bugs me too.   But I wasn't willing to give up the space inside on that wall and to be quite honest I didn't notice it until it was too late.   Nothing a little landscaping can't fix!  Anyone know a good landscaper?!? ;)

 

 

Plans for the coming week(s):

• We sprayed all the ceilings tonight so we can at least say something is finished being painted!
• Tomorrow we are planning to spray all the trim with oil-based primer...not too thrilled about that.
• Going to Ikea on Thursday to get the butcher block counter tops!
• Refinishing the wood floors is on the agenda for this weekend.
• Then, I can start painting walls & installing fixtures!

It's all starting to come together---praise Jesus!! 

I told Nathan we were finally getting the fun part. 

His response, "Yeah, the end!!"