Phase 2 Coming at You!

A looooooong long time ago, we had this crazy idea to buy a house and fix it up. 

We finished up Phase 1 in December 2013.  We had gutted our home to the studs and built it back from there.  But there is still so much more work to do.  After our two year "break" from hard core renovating, Michael and I are ready to jump back on the saddle and slap this horse on the behind and giddy up!

It's time for Phase 2: the garage and mudroom.

To refresh your memory, here is what we started with:

So for the last two years now, ever since we re-sided our house, our home has looked like it had a great big white appendage sticking out of it.

We also left part of the front of our re-sided house undone because we were originally planning to build a porch onto the house last spring.  Instead, we had a baby.  :-) So now, here we are, two years later... white garage, blue house, wonkey gutters and soffits..... and super cute baby! So I'm still calling that a win, for sure!

I haven't really talked much about it here on the blog because I've been waiting until we had more of a plan set.

So here's the plan:
1. Build a three car garage onto the front of our home. 
We have gotten a lot of advice from various people who have recommended that we go big... and that we won't regret it!  It is also going to have a second floor with plenty of room for one bedroom and lots-o-storage.

Here is are the plans for the garage.  It will connect to the house on the right through the mudroom.

And yes, my husband is awesome and drafted this whole thing out on Cad.  And yes, he measured everything out that we plan to store in the garage and worked it into the plan.


2. Tear down the current garage and build the mudroom, powder room, and laundry room.
This space is going to be so important for us as a family.  Currently, when people are over, the only suitable bathroom to offer guests is in our master bathroom.  It doesn't bother us, but it does make some people feel weird having to go into our room to get to the bathroom. Further, having a mudroom will mean having coat storage (which we currently do not have) and a floor that will act as a more durable place to track mud and dirt onto - instead of my pretty hardwood floors!

Originally we were not planning to build a laundry room in this space.  But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like we would regret it later if we didn't make it happen now.  I have always done laundry in a basement, so I wasn't really against our previous plans of keeping the laundry in the basement.  But then I had a baby and our laundry increased substantially.  And it is only going to increase as more babies come.  And these babies are going to be on the second floor of the house.  So, I'm sure you can see how having laundry on the main level might be nice.  Additionally, we are adding a very large storage closet, which I'm SO excited about. When we renovated, we eliminated a lot of small closets in order to make more space for our master suite.  I don't regret that decision but it has left us with very little closet space on the first floor.  This closet will make up for it! It will be large enough to act as a broom closet/pantry.  I can't wait!!!

2. Build a second level above the garage and mudroom.
We decided to add a second level to the garage, you know, because, why not?!  The second floor of our home currently is unfinished space.  Eventually, with this addition, the second floor will include 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, a playroom/family room above the main house.  Then, above the mudroom and garage, there will be an additional 1 bedroom and large storage room.  The area above the mudroom will be a hallway but I think it will actually be large enough to give it more of a function than just a hallway.  I'll figure that out later.  But what I do know is that it will have a laundry shoot from the 2nd floor to the laundry room.  Score!

The picture below is of our plans for the space above the mudroom and the garage.  The doorway all the way to the right leads to the space above the main house. 

You may also notice that there is a stairway from the garage up into that storage area.  We think that stairs will be a nice feature for the future to allow easy access to the storage above the garage.


4. Re-Roof the entire home.
Our roof is over 20 years old and shingles are starting to blow off.  Since we will need to roof the new addition, it seems like the obvious time to reroof the whole house.



5. Landscaping
Michael and I have done very little in the way of landscaping, unless you count cutting down lots of Walnut trees, then we have been VERY active! We wanted to wait until after the garage is added before we put any time, energy, and money into landscaping.  

6. Postpone the front porch addition
Super sad, but we decided that this addition really was not going to gain us enough functionally to have it so high up on the priority list.  So now, the porch will likely come after everything else we'd like to do (finishing the 2nd floor and basement). 

Michael and I started demo by taking off the remaining siding a couple weekends ago.  And now, excavation and foundation work to started this week. EEEK! So excited!

I posted a video of the garage tear down on Instagram if you are interested!

Can't wait to share more about the details and process as we go along!

The Great ScoutDoorsman Nursery Revealed!

It's a big day here on the blog.  Today's the day I show you what we've been working on since January. 

You all have been with us from the beginning, when we announced our next big project...

And when we shared with you that Baby Blough is a boy!

And now I am happy to announce that we are finished with the nursery well before our estimated construction deadline (and due date) of May 28th.

Remember where I was going with the plans for the nursery?  The Great ScoutDoorsman.

Well let's see how we did.

Here is where we started.  This room had functioned as our guest room/office.  It was not painted (just primed) and was left pretty much undecorated.

Because why decorate it when we were planning to convert it to a nursery as soon as the time came? 

And the time has come! (insert the I Love Lucy reference here)

You may notice that we switched up the artwork behind the crib.  A couple posts ago there was a world map hanging up there with the words "Adventure is Out There" painted on it.  I really liked it there until I started to hang the other artwork up.  Then the colors started to feel really off and the whole room just started to feel very word-heavy.  We had ordered these antique arrows from ebay months ago, figuring we could find a place to incorporate them into the room.  So when we took down the map, I tried to see if they would work in the space as either a mobile or as artwork.  The mobile didn't work out, but I love the way they look up on the wall.  Simple. and Boy. 


Speaking of Simple and Boy.  Check out the quilt.  My friend Emily made it for us!!!

It is absolutely one of my favorite things in the room.  Not only does it fit perf.ec.tly in the room, it means so much to us that it was made with love by someone that means so much to us.

 

The room's light is something that gave me a big headache.  I bought it at the Habitat ReStore.  I tried several different things to get it to feel right in the room.   I finally got it right when I started threading some twine through the wire in a herringbone pattern.

I wouldn't recommend that project unless you have lots of free time and are looking for a sore neck.

The curtain is the simplest curtain I have ever made! I'll tell you more about it sometime.


The swivel rocker was another element we agonized over.  Buy new? Buy off craigslist?  Well finally, after being failed by craigslist, we decided to invest in a swivel rocker from a local place.  We got to pick out the upholstery and everything #superfancy.  And for only a $30 upcharge, we had it coated with an upholstery protector #supernecessary.

 

Bonus: It's extremely comfortable. 

The wall light is IKEA -I wrapped the shade with more twine and spray painted the finish oil-rubbed bronze. 

Here's the very first thing we bought for the nursery.

I guess you'd call it a tool box of some kind, made with some tree branches.  It works perfectly for us to store burp cloths for now and books later on.

Turning counterclockwise in the room is the changing station.

My mom let us have an old hutch that was my grandma's.  We added some baskets below and on the sides for additional storage.  The top of the hutch was in a bit of rough shape, but nothing a burlap table runner couldn't fix.

We found this old butcher basket which worked out perfectly for the changing pad and other diaper changing necessities.

 

The artwork above is some vintage national parks posters that were available free online for printing.  So we printed them and hung them in IKEA frames. 

The box is his baby box, already storing memories - like the sign that I used to spill the beans to Michael when I found out I was pregnant!

And sitting on top of the box is something also very special.  Some of you know that Michael lost his dad when he was 7 years old.  Shortly after, a sweet lady took a couple of Michael's dad's shirts and made them into this little bear that they rightly named his "Daddy Bear."

Michael's mom offered the bear to us for the nursery and I didn't have to think long before saying yes!  It's so special (kiddo won't be allowed to play with it).  I love having something of our little guy's grandpa in the room.


On the opposite wall we hung the adorable little camp signs that were made for one of my showers by my Aunt Janet and Saint Steve. 

 

Is that not just the cutest rocking horse?  It is a locally-made piece gifted to us by my friend Kelly.  I just love it! And now Camp Blough can offer an equestrian program!  

The vintage picture is of a bunch of Boy Scouts taken in 1920.  We found it in our attic.  I love looking at all their serious little faces.  I also love how they are holding the American flag backwards in the picture. :-)

Finally, as you walk into the room you'll see that our bookcase is stocked and ready to go!

The baskets below will be great for storing extra blankets for now and toys in the the future.

 

Above, we have a nice selection of books thanks to so many wonderful friends!  And a couple other nick nacks I've collected.

This metal file drawer was another attic find and is now storing medicine and first aid supplies.  

That little car is actually Michael's dad's pinewood derby car from when he was a Boy Scout.

And a lot of the Boy Scout books were either Michael's or his dad's. 

I also found this printable that summarizes everything I'm feeling.  Every time I read it, there are tears.

Around the corner you remember the chalkboard that I painted and wrote out the Boy Scout Law.  And that canoe up top?... just something that my mom had.  Who just has stuff like that?!  

 I will show you how we organized the closet some other day. 

How about that adorable little felt campfire set that my sister gave us?! Also note the felt s'more and felt marshmallow on a stick.  How fun is that?! The twig stars were made by my Aunt Susie and Uncle Jace.  They used them to decorate their shower gift and I told them I knew I could find a spot for them in the nursery. 

We are thrilled with how everything has come together!  But here's the thing, what I love most about this room is the hand that others have played in getting it to this point.  I love that this room came together with the help of inherited furniture, family keepsakes and memories, and many many gifts (handmade and otherwise) from people that love us and love our little guy.  I look around and I see other people in this room and know this is just the first step in their part in his life.  What a lucky dude he is - to have so much love coming his way.

My heart is very thankful. 


Here's a source list from our nursery:

Crib: Wayfair (similar)
Rug: Home Decorators
Sheepskin Rug: Similar
Arrows: Ebay
Paint Color: Louisburg Green - Benjamin Moore
Light: Habitat ReStore, DIY'ed
Curtain: DIY'd from drop cloth bought at Lowe's
Swivel Rocker: Local - Larimer Furniture 
Ottoman: Wayfair
Large Changing Table Baskets: Target
Small Changing Table Baskets: Target
Changing Table Artwork: Free Vintage Posters.com
Frames: IKEA
Wall Light: IKEA
Book Shelf Fabric Bins: Amazon
Adventure Printable:  Oh So Lovely Blog
Quilt Inspiration: Pinterest
Felt Fire Pit: Similar on Etsy
Rocking Horse: Locally Made
Camping Signs: DIY'd
Planked Wall Tutorial
Crib Skirt Tutorial
Built In Bookshelf Tutorial
Chalkboard Tutorial


Linked to: Talented Tuesdays, May Pretty Preppy Party, Think & Make Thursday, June Before & After Party,

To see more about the nursery and how we organized it, click here. 

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Walnut Garland

Walnuts.  Walnuts and I go way back.  Well at least back to the beginning of when we first started renovating our home a year and a half ago. 

We found walnuts e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.

In the drop ceiling in the basement.  Underneath the tub, in the ceiling, between walls...

And inside of the big walnut tree that we had cut down. 

Every time we turned a corner, we found more walnuts.  So now, walnuts always make me think of our home. And that's not such a bad thing....because our home is very special to me.

Finding sentiment is not a difficult task for me.  I like things that remind me of feelings I had or memories I shared with important people.  And now, walnuts will always remind me of renovating our home and the people we did it with.  So about halfway through our Phase 1 renovation, I began to collect some of these walnuts - wanting to capture the memories and bring them into the future with us.

At the time, I wasn't completely sure what my plan was for using them or displaying them. I thought about making a wreath but I didn't want to have to glue them all, assuming, someday it would start falling apart. So I decided to make a garland which would allow me to avoid gluing the walnuts and would be easily undone someday if I ever wanted to do something else with the walnuts. 

So I took some twine and got a big needle and started stringin'.

Almost all the walnuts had enough openings to string the twine through -undoubtedly put there by the critter that had stashed them throughout our home.  The large needle made it easier to get the twine strung through the holes. 

I knotted the ends then used 3M clear hooks on the underside of the fireplace mantel to hang the garland.  Seems fitting to hang it at our home's heart and center.

 I'm just loving how the walnut garland fits seamlessly into our fall decor. 

Side thought: Do you think we should paint our brick?  Whitewash it? Michael is vehemently apposed. It reminds him of Purdue. I'm open to either idea.  I like brick, I'm just not convinced that this is the prettiest brick.  

 

Our love-hate relationship with walnuts has shifted soundly over to the love side... Or at least fondness.  We still hate walnut trees - at least ones that are growing in our yard. But we took care of that months ago!.. No more walnut trees in our yard and no more more walnuts in our walls.  Only on our mantel or in our desserts...on second thought, maybe just on the mantel! :-) 

 
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