It has been six weeks that we are in our new home and i couldn’t be happier. i wake up early every day with excitement knowing i have some kind of project waiting to be done and i can pick and choose which one i want to focus on each day.
I am in so many different directions, trying to accomplish too many things at one time, working until i ache at the end of the day, yet loving every second.
let me break it all down…
first of all, hurricane milton made a surprise appearance in the neighborhood in the form of tornadoes. We have experienced hurricanes in the northeast, but never tornadoes. several of them hit within blocks of our house. i am just amazed by the strength and damage they have caused; a metal dumpster landed on a roof. A local horse farm was taken down to the ground, horse trailers mangled with just the tires left. it has been a very humbling experience.
The only damage we had was a 40 year old bougainvillea that was pulled out of the ground in our driveway.
the good thing was that i was going to cut it down anyway so it worked out perfectly. Bougainvellia are beautiful but incredibly invasive. They grow very fast and have huge thorns and are very painful to trim. My vision for the driveway circle is a simple version of a parterre garden. I brought my well from the other house from Design Toscano and will make it the center focal point and then plant topiary and sunpatiens around it.
cleanup is almost done and then the fun starts.
Meanwhile, inside is getting lots of updates..
the Man Cave got a new floor and some new furniture. We ripped out some very dated audio visual components and had a massive flood from a pipe but ripped it all out and replaced with wood plank floor.
We hired Empire Flooring to do the job and i Couldn’t be happier. they did it in a very timely manner and for a really great price. it is a wood laminate. it looks and feels like a great quality hardwood floor.
The man cave is a very big space. it is over our two car garage which is about 25′ x 25′. Hubby is making it his office and a bar/tV room.
That meant it was time to start looking for pieces to buy.
We started with a really nice bar unit with 3 stools on Marketplace for $400
We bought a recliner sofa floor sample for $495 and a beautiful recliner chair from Habitat for humanity for $295 to complete the space.
I found two Ralph Lauren nailhead chairs for $200.00
Now I just have to repaint; the dark green has got to go.
meanwhile the steps leading up to the mancave were pretty primitive as they are located in the garage and not to code.
I had extra flooring planks so I purchased an electric Brad nailer gun to attach them to the steps. It is the best tool ever! No hammering and cord free.
I’ll also put a hand rail, to finish it, as eventually we’ll open up this space to the kitchen.
In the living room, I’m finishing up the fireplace redo.
this photo is from the original house listing, showing the fireplace painted black. I painted it off white and also Lightly brushed the stone to hide the bright orange and brown tones.
The fireplace is woodburning, but now is not usable as, the stone chimney fell down and was not replaced. The homeowner just capped it off! look at the right of the photo where the stone is. That is the remaining base of the chimney. It was about double that height!
I decided to buy an electric insert that simulates a fire. The unit also throws heat but it would have to get pretty cold for me to put it on.
The metal frame of the box was black and very dark so to lighten it up i searched for 6″ tiles to fill in the top and bottom. I found exactly what i wanted on etsy, 12 hand painted delft style blue with charming flowers and farm animals.
i used liquid nails to attach them, let it dry, then put spackle instead of grout in between.
i also bought some hand carved wood appliques on Etsy to apply to the flat face of the mantel. musical instruments, laurel wreaths and floral swags are all very typical motifs found in Swedish and french antique furniture.
My grandparents had given me a beautiful original watercolor by the american artist arthur weindorf. he was a friend and associate of my grandfather, who was the lead architect for the city of new york under mayor john lindsay. I actually have several of his paintings but this one is very special as it reminds me of a Monet. It is thousands of tiny brushstrokes in many shades of blues and greens.
It is perfect right on the mantel.
for now, the fireplace is buddy approved!
and speaking of buddy, he now has his very own custom eating area complete with a portrait of him painted by my daughter, a champagne call button and a look alike butler!
Meanwhile…
the back patio is finally getting some attention. The pool cage has not been cleaned or repaired since the 80’s. It is completely dry rotted and needs to be rescreened. i’m waiting on the estimate for that but i have been putting together all the things i already had that will go out there.
The patio probably has not been cleaned since the 80’s either so for five hours on thursday, that’s what i did.
bEFORE
AFTER
Oddly satisfying…
I’m still working on unearthing the stone path that goes from the side to the front
I was able to dig up some kind of old gizmo that did something of what i don’t know, but it is quirky and looks cute sitting against the house for now.
i learned that our former inhabitants liked a good game of beer pong, evidenced by all the cups and balls found in the piles of leaves.
i also learned that what i thought were limes are actually lemons! I found out the hard way by trying to eat one.
The most IMPORTANT thing, though, that i have learned is to never walk on any grey sand in the grass. I have learned the horrible wrath of fire ants. Coming from new york, i never heard of them or knew what they were. they are mosquitos and bees in one tiny little bug and attack in the thousands. They bite, sting, swell, itch and burn. They come out so fast and can cover every inch of skin from the ankles down in no time. I will now be wearing knee socks and boots when i dig.
remind me again why i’m doing this???!!
Castle & Cliff 