Blog — "home"

The fence and pergola project is making some progress, but nothing to document at the moment. So instead of an update, I thought I'd show you a different project I've been working on. You could say it has been an ongoing project, but not nearly as painstaking and the back yard. When we moved into the row house, I decided that I was going to do a complete overhaul of our decor. Our guest room in the apartment really had no decor as it served as storage and office as well.

While our new guest room in the row house was temporary storage for a few things we needed to get rid of, we took care of that last weekend when the dumpster for the rest of the back yard concrete arrived. It felt good to purge all of the other junk from the house that we'd been waiting to take to the dump-- most notably 4 floor lamps that were lined up against the wall in the guest room. With those out, I feel as though I can finally share the progress.

I've turned to one of my favorite color combinations-- blue and brown. While the room is not finished and needs a coat of paint to get rid of the boring white, here is what I've put together so far.



Everything in the room has just happened into place one at a time. I found the clock at Uncommon and immediately knew it belonged. The dripping dark blue pitcher is a pottery piece I had thrown a while ago that somehow showed up on the night stand. I decided it worked so I let it stay. The bedside lamp was an impulse $14 buy at Target. I used a frame that was a Christmas present for a paper cut piece that I made to coordinate the room. The photos are my own originals that I framed using old frames I found around the house. The night stand was a cabinet we used in our tiny bathroom at the old apartment. I needed something for the guest room and it just happened to fit in that space perfectly. And finally, I sewed the accent pillows from fabric I found at JoAnn Fabrics-- they match the luxuriously soft and silky bamboo sheets I picked up on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond.

The next project for this room is paint. In fact, I'm hoping to choose some paint colors in the coming week. And one lovely part of this room that I failed to show you, is the exposed brick wall-- such a contemporary feature for an old row house.

Progress on the fence is now noticeable, and noticeable progress is the kind that I like to see. Andrew's parents were in town for the weekend with the intention of getting the ball rolling a bit more. While it was expected that more would get done than did, there was a bit of a road block. Two steel posts needed to be removed and apparently they were installed very well with about 3 feet of concrete going down. So the jackhammer arrived once more. Steel post removal and new cedar post installation ended up eating an entire day's worth of work.

Sunday was spent beginning to install the back wall of the fence-- I stayed out of the laborious portion for fear that I may not do something right (which is often the case in the other half's mind) and let Andrew's parents pitch in. It wasn't a job that required four people anyway, so I just enjoyed catching some rays of sun and documented the progress. As for today, the project came to a standstill with 100 degree weather keeping us inside to enjoy a cool air-conditioned house. The fun will continue next weekend.

Here's the progress:



 
 

All of the concrete that was sitting in the back yard is now gone. It has been replaced by a heaping pile of red cedar. Not only does it look great, but it smells great too! The lumber truck arrived yesterday afternoon, trying to squeeze through our narrow alley. That was not meant to be-- unless of course the truck didn't mind losing a side mirror or two. So the wood had to be carried plank by plank down the alley to the back yard.

The next step was digging post holes. This is clearly not as loud of a project as the previous one only by default because it didn't involve a jackhammer. Three foot holes were dug out and 6 by 6 posts were set in concrete. 6 by 6! Yes, rather large posts though the plan is to have a pergola on one side of the yard for some shade. The pergola will cover about a third of the space. The hope is to get some fabulous flowering vines to creep up around the pergola for a cozy green space. I currently have a Black-Eyed Susan started in a large pot with a trellis. I am beginning to think that this would be fully appropriate as it is the Maryland state flower. Their flowers are such a vibrant bright orange and when I think about the other options such as wisteria or roses, I would rather lean away from the frilly pinks and purples.

Needless to say, the back yard and fence is making some progress bit by bit.

Post hole-- don't fall in!

Cedar and cement mix ready to go.

The tools-- spade and post digger.

Red cedar

Posts!

There is a huge hole in our backyard.



The next step will be getting rid of that heaping pile of concrete. One option is to rent a dumpster for a day, while the other is to rent or borrow a pickup truck and haul it out in loads by ourselves to the nearby Potts and Callahan Company which recycles concrete. I'm looking forward to having a patio surrounded by my flowers and veggie plants, but it seems it will be a long time until that comes to fruition. After the concrete is removed there will be other items on the list: filler dirt, stone pavers, fencing to be put up, and pergolas to be built. I'd estimate another three to four weekends. But it'll be worth it in the end!

I haven't written in quite a while, mostly due to the fact that I was on vacation. Also due to the fact that this week we went back to school and that always entails quite the preparation to gear back up for the kids. I've really geared this blog toward projects thus far, so it really seems appropriate to jump back into the cyber world with a loud bang, so to speak.

Our latest project is a much less peaceful one than those I've previously written about. When we purchased our house last June, the only thing we did not like about the house was the designer concrete parking pad in the back and the lack of fencing. We never have a problem with parking in our new neighborhood and the parking pad is so small anyway that it is pretty much impossible to park either of our cars there. In addition, we loved having a patio with plants and a veggie garden at our old apartment. It was great to be able to have a small pocket of green space within the city. And it is great to let Lilah have some outdoor space aside from the park. She loves being able to nap outside when it is nice out. While the rest of the house was a complete rehab job and in great condition, we knew that this parking pad would become our huge project, soon to become our back yard.

So, the first step to making this our back yard is to tear out the concrete parking pad and a concrete block wall. We are definitely DIY-ers so Andrew set off this morning to rent a jackhammer to add to his sledgehammer and pick. After the concrete has been taken out we'll take it to a concrete recycling facility, get some filler dirt, put in some stone pavers, put up a wood fence, create a veggie garden area, etc. Needless to say, this will be quite the extensive project.

A few before pictures for documentation:




And I promise, next post will be a bit more peaceful! No jackhammers involved! What home have you been working on?