The Year of Basement, Backyard, and Baby

When the basement project ended earlier this year, Grant told me that I had to "cool it" (direct quote) for a while on home renovation projects.  One, basement renovations are not cheap; Two, we were simply exhausted from the constant flow of workmen in the house; and Three, we were sick of the utter chaos of boxes amongst which we lived for too many weeks.  And, last but not least, as many know, we are expecting our first Baby Bartlett in December and decided that we needed to get our life and finances in order for that new arrival.

But, then spring came...and the jungle that was our backyard would not stop haunting me.  I cringed at the sight of it - broken concrete from the poorly constructed original patio, life size weeds that fought valiantly to survive, out of control ivy, a decaying fence.  Being pregnant I didn't have the energy to keep up with the craziness back there and frankly, both Grant and I lost interest in even trying. We were tired of the small cosmetic fixes we had been doing for the last four years to make the space presentable.  The yard just needed professional help.

To me, December still seemed far enough away that there was no rush to decorate a nursery.  Why not keep the renovation momentum going? Why sit still? Wouldn't it be nice to add an entirely new backyard "room" to our house which will give us more space for Baby Bartlett and all of his/her stuff?

The first step was success in my brilliant salesmanship to convince Grant that the backyard just couldn't wait any longer.   The second step was Grant's financial wizardry in finding a reasonable solution to affording such a project. The third step was finding a contractor...which was easy (enter Sean Sutherland at Rosemont Landscaping and Lawn Care: http://www.rosemontlc.com/).

Like the kitchen and the basement we knew that any renovation to the backyard would make the space look better.  But there were essential elements:

1. Gut the yard of the old concrete and weeds
2. Grade the land better and install a proper drainage system so that we would stop getting pools of sitting water in the yard every time it rained (aka man-eating mosquitoes)
3. Replace the rotting fence
4. Install a new patio and retaining wall (which could couple as much needed seating)

I have told all who will listen that the best part of this renovation is that no workman ever needs to set foot in the house...the mess stays outside where it belongs.  The added bonus is that our transformation will be finished in less than two weeks from start to finish. This means plenty of backyard enjoyment this fall and plenty of time to be finished before Baby Bartlett arrives.

So far kudos to our incredibly hard working crew.  They are religiously here from about 7:30am - 6:30pm and even worked last Saturday in a downpour.


So, after day three...here are some pics!

Before - Side Yard

Before - Gate

Before

Before

Before - Side Yard

Before

After Day 1 - Side Yard

After Day 1 

After Day 1



After Day 1

Day 2 - Trench through the side yard for new drainage 

More Day 2 Trenching

After Day 3 - Side Yard

After Day 3

A Basement Story: Day "Too Many"

Well, the basement journey is complete. It has been for a few weeks, but I have been lazy in doing my last post.

The end of the process was a little rocky. A lot of little outstanding finishing details went untouched by the workmen a little longer than we anticipated - pipes from the new plumbing banged in all of the wrong places, grout in the new tile needed some more sealant, the hot water heater broke....

But, we do have 400 gloriously new square feet of living area which make a world of difference in our already tiny little house. I am not a basement person. That is, I am not the type of person who enjoys spending much time in rooms without natural light.

But, I must say, our basement hardly feels dull. The best compliment I have received about the basement is that it doesn't feel like one...mission accomplished! It is amazing what recessed lighting can do.

 I made a point to decorate the space with many of my favorite things so it would feel friendly, familiar, and special.  My favorite photograph of the helicopter amusement ride on the Rehoboth boardwalk hangs proudly in my new laundry room along with fabulously weathered shutters from Grant's great-grandmother's old barn and framed pages from my grandmother's old Singer sewing machine books ( PS - my most favorite treasures inevitably find themselves in my laundry areas and bathrooms...they are by far the most fun rooms to decorate). I chalk-painted my grandmother's bedroom mirror in a yummy Annie Sloan yellow and used her old wooden ironing board as a table behind the sofa.  The tall wardrobe at the base of the steps was a piece of furniture from my nursery as a baby and now serves as great overflow kitchen storage.

Grant and I are now officially sick of having workmen in our house. Unlike after the kitchen (when we were ready to jump right into another home renovation project), we are finished with interior work...for now.

Anyone who has seen our backyard knows that the great outdoors is calling our next project. Stay tuned....

A Basement Story: Day 16

And we are finally making progress! After LOTS of waiting for the first inspections then one failed plumbing inspection (minor issue, easily corrected) we have finally passed! Now the fun work can begin again.

I told one of the workers yesterday that I am really over the building phase of the project and am antsy to decorate...desperate to quite frankly. I feel like if I don't start executing some of these ideas that have been buzzing in my head for months, I will explode.  At least a dozen websites are currently holding multiple items in my virtual "cart," and so I now get daily email reminders prompting me to buy, buy, buy what's in those carts.

Patience Internet sales teams...all in good time.

So the floor in the main room is finished and the beadboard is almost placed.

It is really is amazing how good lighting, dimension/texture on the wall and  light/attractive flooring can make a room seem huge! Very pleased.

Love, Love!

Taking a small break in the basement story to post pics of a simply beautiful outdoor pot design that I saw when we visited the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, MD last weekend.

It is really tough to make winter gardening beautiful, but this design just struck me as exquisite. I noticed the topiary first, which was interestingly done...and upon closer inspection, saw these delicate little birds' nest tucked atop the birch twigs.  Just spectacular!

By the way, white birch is apparently super popular right now, because sleeves of it blanketed every vase inside the Inn.  

A Basement Story: Day 7

After an exciting, whirlwind first three days in the basement re-do, we have hit the doldrums.  Since the middle of last week, each day has been marked by small achievements...holes cut into the ceilings for recess lights, new outlets installed, doorways constructed.  All tediously important, but (sigh), no sexy before and afters to display.

Such is remodeling life as we wait impatiently in line for the City inspectors to pay a visit to our chaotic abode.  Walls are half done because the inspectors need to make sure the electrical wires in the wall are A-OK before the rest of the drywall can be installed.  The bathroom remains a rubble-mess until the inspectors can make sure the plumbing is done well enough to avoid a toilet, sink, or shower disaster.  So, the contractors are sort of spinning their wheels each day to tackle small projects while waiting to finish.  Since they seem bored, I offered them a To Do list of a hundred little things that need to be done in the rest of the house, but I didn't get any takers...or at least not any that would do it for free.

The two sunshine spots in the work over the last week are:

1. The stacked washer and dryer.  Hello 27 more inches of space in the laundry room!
2. And, our new stairs/banister, which are beautiful and WAY better than what we had...even before the paint.

Stay tuned...until then, some more pics

A Basement Story: Day 2

First of all - apologies for the long blogging hiatus.  I am slightly embarrassed that my last post was over a year ago.  It has been a bizarre personal and professional year to say the least and so my creativity consequently ebbed and flowed - way more ebbing than flowing.

So, last night we came home from a movie to the scent of fresh wood dancing through the house.  The smell of progress, of realized dreams, of another item checked off the house To Do List, of anticipated, but nonetheless terrifying chaos.  

The basement renovation has reached a point of no return and has taken off with a vengeance. 

Grant and I begin this adventure a little wiser than before the kitchen renovation process, but still pretty clueless.  We just ask a lot of questions (well, I do) and I often get blank stares from the workmen before they catch themselves from saying out loud, "you really didn't just ask that?" They wouldn't dare say it, but I know they think it. 

Renovating our basement has its pros and cons over a kitchen.  For example:

Pro: We can still cook normal meals, having functioning appliances, etc.  

Con: When the only access door to your basement is in the kitchen, the kitchen sort of becomes the construction zone - aka: you can cook there, but it never feels clean.  

Pro: We can close the basement door and not look at the mess

Con: It is soooooooo messy, dirty, dusty.  And anyone who barely knows me, knows that I hate mess. 

The basement started last Friday and already there is incredible process.  Broken up concrete for the new bathroom, incisions all over the walls for new electrical wiring and outlets, new sinks and toilets impatient to be used ...exciting stuff.  Fingers crossed it all gets finished with no (or few) catastrophes.

And now a few pics to sum up the last few days...

BEFORE

DAY 1

Same view as above, but no more walls!

DAY 2

Same view as above w/new walls

Our shower will be here 

Framing of our new bathroom