La Fonda with a Tree

A while back I mentioned that we had acquired a few additions of my Dad’s personal belongings that found a new life in our little home. Then I went silent about it, and left you wondering not only what those new things were, but where they are. I apologize for building the suspense and gently letting it die out. However, I hope to make it up to you through little reveals over the next few weeks. Of course, with other project craziness thrown in for fun.

Reintroducing: La Fonda. Everyone’s favorite color. (Obviously.) In case our dining room wasn’t funky enough with bright teal walls, an eclectic mix of dishes, and an antique dining room table paired with harp-back chairs… I added a tree.

Hello Mr. Ed! (Or Eddie if you are on a first name basis.)

Mr. Ed is a ficus tree that has been around probably longer than I have. He is at least 20-something years old… who knows, there is a possibility we are the same age. Dad toted Mr. Ed everywhere he went (well not on vacations, but to every house he lived in) and watched him grow, and droop, and drop leaves, and then grow some more. Ficus trees can be pretty fickle little dudes but this one has hung on.

In college I had a fake ficus tree with lights on it. We called it the party tree. You know, a party ain’t a party without a party tree. Now I have a real, living, and “breathing” party tree in my house. Talk about a good time!

I decided he would be a good addition to the dining room, one to add a little “life” to the room, and two, it was the only corner big enough to hold him.

We also added a small end table to the other side of the room (one of the nightstands of the master bedroom suite) that I am using as a temporary server and storage.

I sitll have high hopes for a small china cabinet in here, that would take its place, but for now, it works.

And a new light fixture needs to happen one day too.

Not Fun but Necessary

First of all, thanks for your patience over the next few days (and honestly maybe weeks) as I tweak the blog layout. I am working on giving Backseat Boone a fresh look, but I have not found a design I 100% love, so things could be a little sporadic around here for the next little bit. Sporadic in, it could have a different design every time you look at it over the next few days. Or it could stay just as it is now. Who knows? But that keeps things interesting, right? If you have a strong opinion on one of the layouts (whether you love it or hate it or think the colors clash, or just want to see something totally different, or wish I would just stop being so indecisive and making it happen already), let me know. I am not promising to take your advice, but I will at least listen.

So, the joys of home-ownership dictate that there are some projects that just have to be done. The ones that aren’t really fun, or exciting, or probably even blog-post-worthy, but yet are necessary to keeping the house up, running, and fabulous (or at least a fabulous work in progress). Today’s post is one of those projects (and because I know it isn’t fun or exciting, I promise to keep it short).

The basement: I briefly introduced it to you when I mentioned Ross’s roller blading adventure. Well, unfortunately this post has nothing to do with roller blades (because like I already said this post isn’t very fun). It’s about the door.

Hello Mr. Ugly:

Yep, that’s our original basement door. Well it is actually the whole back of the house pre-move-in (and pre-pressure wash), but we are just focusing on the door for now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the original basement door (as in 1934 original), now complete with water damage, inactive termite damage (we had it professionally checked multiple times… it is definitely inactive), ugly paint, and an aluminum foil curtain. No really… the previous owner had tacked aluminum foil over the window like curtains. Pure class.

Anyway, despite my lack of a zoomed in “before” picture, just trust me that it was a bad combination that made the basement lack in cosmetic appeal and in all honesty, a bit of safety.

So introducing, our new and improved door!

And yes, it still has the purchase sticker on the window.

Aren’t you just jumping up and down with excitement? (Insert sarcastic roll of the eyes here.)

But hey, it’s one more thing crossed off the ol’ (never-ending) to do list!

Raise the Roof

Doesn’t that title just make you want to dance with your hands in the air, singing “Raise the ROOF! ooo! oooo!” Just me?

Well after several days of d-r-a-m-a I am so happy to say we finally have a brand spanking new roof. Can I get “heck yea!”?!

But as you know, it wasn’t all fun and games and a magic roof appearing on my house (oh if only life were that easy).

Thursday morning I was so giddy with excitement as this was my view out my window:

Bright sunshine, blue tarps, and nasty shingles falling to the ground.

By noon we had quite the collection going.

Then the rain came down and the tarps went up, and for 30 hours we were the shame of the neighborhood

Womp. Womp.

But thankfully the crew was back, bright and early Saturday morning. As I pulled out of the driveway at 7:30am, they were pulling in, ready to make some miracles happen.

I spent the weekend out of town, celebrating a wonderful childhood friend’s wedding, but the Hubs held down the fort (and took care of the stressed out fur-kids), and sent me photo updates. He knows I love a good before and after.

When I came home Sunday afternoon I was greeted by sunshine and new shingles. I was one happy girl.

One more look at the before:

And the after:

What do you think? Much better, am I right?

A quick blurb on our materials: we decided to upgrade to an architectural lifetime shingle, as opposed to the 20 or 30-year flat shingle for several reasons.

1. The look: architectural shingles add a much stronger curb appeal with their dimension and features
2. The longevity: stronger shingles = longer life = we don’t have to go through this again
3. Resale value: One day, down the road, it will be an added selling bonus that we have a new lifetime roof

So let’s look back at the ol’ Operation: Curb Appeal check list:

• New roof
• Remove the old, faded awning off the dining room window
• Frame out the two windows where there used to be awnings
• Do “something” about the front porch
• Clean up the front steps: either repaint or pressure wash to expose original brick
• Install a draining system in the front
• Mulch and landscape
• New house numbers
• Paint the light post

Man it feels good to cross that off! Now I need a few uber productive weekends!

Reflecting Our Style

You may remember the very first shot of our living room, in all of its terrible, ugly glory:

Yea, not great. One of our very first projects was ripping down that mirror on Day 1 of home ownership. Although we liked the concept of the giant mirror over the fireplace, we didn’t like this particular one, with its ballet-studio-meets-bachelor-pad vibe. So we have had a few different arrangements up top, but were always on the look out for the perfect mirror replacement.

I have found the trick to “finding the perfect piece” is being patient. There have been a couple of other mirror contenders over the past several months, but none came home with us. They were either not quite the right size, or needed a paint job (which I was willing to do if they were less expensive), or when I found the most perfect one, it was a tad bit overpriced. But I kept waiting, hoping to find the perfect mantle companion.

This weekend as we were out running errands, we passed a World Market store and Ross asked if I wanted to go in. I mean seriously?! That’s like asking if a kid wants to go into a candy store. And thankfully, this is one home goods store that fits both the Hubs and my style, so it wasn’t like I was torturing him.

In the very first isle, we stumbled across a hunky, chunky, metal, mirror with faux nail head accents and it was just the right size. The mirror caught both of our eye, we both knew instantly it was perfect, and then crossed our fingers that it would be the perfect price. Originally $139, marketed down to $69, and then with a little red clearance sticker deeming it $39.99. Holy moly what a deal! We later found out that the red clearance sticker wasn’t supposed to be on the item, it had been placed their by accident, but as this was the only one in the store, they honored the sticker’s low, low price any way.

So we took that sucker home and plopped him up on the mantle.

It’s all in the details.

Notice Ridley lounging on the chair in the reflection. That’s where he spends 90% of his life. Ignore the ugly green blanket… he sheds a lot.

I love how it matches the same shade of “rusted black” as the heavy light fixture in the reflection (below), and the texture and style matches our framed Portland Bridges artwork on the other side of the room (you can sort of see it in the image above).

It was definitely worth the wait… now I just need a few more decorative items to put in front.

Are you currently looking for that “perfect piece?” Have you ever found a lucky clearance item?

Curb Appeal Fail… An Open Letter to My Neighbors

To the families who live across the street, the neighbors who drive by, and the joggers and puppy-walkers of central Durham (yes, that includes those who don’t pick up their puppy’s poop out of my yard):

In my attempt to beautify the front of my house, for not only my enjoyment but yours as well, I have failed you. I have turned my house into a unfinished, tarp-covered, ladder landfill. And for that, I apologize.

I hope that one day the rain will stop and the project can continue. (Although it is not in the forecast to do so until Tuesday.)  I hope that my crew will work diligently and efficiently in between rain storms. I also hope they don’t get struck by lightning in the process. More than anything, I hope that the blue tarps wrapped around my house contain a magic force-field that will shield my house from the impending doom known as Tropical Storm Andrea. (I wish instead my friend Andrea was coming to visit. That would be much more enjoyable.)

Until then, my neighbors, please turn a blind eye in regards to the eyesore that is my home. I also hope the mini dump truck doesn’t kill my yard.

Sincerely,

Your Embarrassed Neighbor

P.S. In all seriousness, we are super stressed out that a thin layer of tarp is the only thing protecting our house from the 3″ of rain we are expecting to get today. Please keep your fingers crossed that we don’t float away.

Operation: Curb Appeal Phase 1

Ok y’all, after MONTHS of talking about it, the time has come.

A few days ago we got a special delivery in our front yard:

It felt like Christmas, except instead of reindeer-led sleigh and a satchel of toys it was a big truck delivering a pallet of shingles. But when I walked outside and saw my “present” you would have thought I had stepped into the North Pole. There may have been some squealing… and a little dancing.

So after the shingles sat in the yard for a few days (building suspense and waiting for the weather to break) the contractor called this morning and said the crew would be here in an hour. And now there is a crew of men on my roof right now… seriously… right now.  I feel like I am in a tornado. Shingles are flying off the roof, Henry is hiding under the bed, Eisley is walking around panting and barking, and Ridley… well his simple brain just tells him to walk around the house wagging his tail.  Between the neurotic dog and the hammering it should be an interesting day.

Oh and did I mention that there is a tropical storm making its way towards Durham in a matter of hours? Talk about pressure.

But I am trying to let the professionals worry about that, and we are going to take a few minutes to say good-bye to the ugly roof.

Good-bye roof… I will not miss your discolored shingles, your moss gathering slopes, your prone-to-leaking valleys, or your lifting up edges.

I am sure glad that is out of the way… now bring on the curb appeal!

Operation: Curb Appeal

Although it has been a little quiet on the blog lately, there have been big things going on in the Bowden household. Well, actually, big plans…. nothing has actually happened yet.

Last week we decided on a contractor who would be our new BFF for the upcoming months. We have several quotes in the works and are working on a timeline that is feasible with our budget, our crazy busy summer schedule, and of course the weather (you gotta love the sporadic afternoon thunderstorms!).  Although we are all about the DIY and getting our hands dirty as much as possible, there are some projects that are best left to the professionals. I mean we probably could rip the old shingles off of our roof and add new ones, but honestly the thought of Ross and I hammering on top of our house doesn’t seem like the best idea we ever had.

So, it is finally time to tackle the outside with Operation: Curb Appeal.

We have big plans (big, big plans!) that we are so excited about, and I will of course fill you in every step of the way.  Here is a look at what we have in mind for the next couple of months:

• New roof
• Remove the old, faded awning off the dining room window
• Frame out the two windows where there used to be awnings
• Do “something” about the front porch
• Clean up the front steps: either repaint or pressure wash to expose original brick
• Install a draining system in the front
• Mulch and landscape
• New house numbers
• Paint the light post

Now that the list is out there, it is time to start crossing things off! Stay tuned!

P.S. Hi Katie Dight!