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    Home Improvement and DIY

    Drum Roll… We Bought a New (Old) House! (Part 1)

    October 24, 2022
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    YES, you did read that right!!!! 

    Hello there friends! I have been spending the last month or so trying to find a way to break the big news that we just bought a new house, but I couldn’t come up with anything, so  I finally just decided to write a simple blog post about it instead of waiting for some big elaborate reveal! Don’t worry, I am still blogging here at our yellow brick home and will continue blogging on with all the decorating adventures at the new home. It will be several months of renovations, painting and decorating before we move in. I will tell you all about our new home and why decided to move over the next several posts,  but I know you want to see it first!

     

    Here is our 1926 Craftsman Foursquare! It’s a diamond in the rough, loaded with understated interior charm and lots of potential outside too! I promise the exterior is much prettier in real life, and we have big plans to really add some major curb appeal. We think it will be a real show stopper by  this time next year! This pic was taken the first weekend after we closed on the house. Those big piles beside the sidewalk are almost 100 years of overgrown ivy that my husband removed!!!!  I love English ivy but it had completely taken over the house and something had to be done! We plan to paint the brick  in the spring (not yellow…) but we are still deciding.

     

     

    This side view is my favorite! The windows you see are part of the enclosed porch sunroom (one of the rooms that hooked me in!) I can’t wait to paint the storm window frames, add window boxes and corbels and pergolas…and oh, Christmas wreaths on every window…but I digress…

    *Note: The orange car will not be parked  where it is in this picture and there will be a row of beautiful burning bushes that are being transplanted along the property line later this week. The car belongs to neighbors who can’t park in their driveway currently as they are doing some home renos of their own. It’s always something when you’re a homeowner!

     

    Back to the painting, honestly if it weren’t for the ivy roots, we might consider leaving the brick unpatined with a darker, moodier gray as another the accent color…but I digress. We will documenting the ENTIRE process of making this house our home over the next months (years?) and I am so excited to have you on this journey!

     

    So here is a  quick picture taken from my car window to text to the porch roof to a roofing company (we are going to have shingles put on the porch roof to match the rest of the home.) I’d definitely recommend using a roof replacement cost calculator so that you know what kind of costs you’re going to be paying.

     I’d also recommend getting a home inspection done, in case you have high radon levels or another hidden issue. Radon can lead to damp conditions, which promotes mold, something you don’t want to have to deal with later. This is an easy fix with a radon mitigation system, but it’s just something that’s worth taking note of if you are moving into an older home. We had to mitagate radon at the yellow brick home before selling and it was a fairly simple process.


     I had so many great before photos on my phone, but I dropped it and broke it last week! I lost so many great before photos that I had specifically taken for blogging. Luckily my husband has some on his phone.  While we are looking here,  I think the shutters need to go. What do you think? Or at least a more “cottagey” style of shutters.

     

    This house has so much beauty and potential! We are starting with curb appeal updates while we still have some good weather. The front door seemed like the very best place to begin. We are going to be spending a lot of time relaxing on the porch, so it’s going to get some extra TLC.  It is 44 feet long with beautiful forest views to enjoy, just like our current home. By the way, we are still in our beloved historic neighborhood…on the same street even!)  

    *I am not worried about the address plaque because these days anyone can find anyone with a simple google search!

    *That powdery mess was a failed  Youtube DIY for cleaning brick with baking soda/peroxide DIY…

     

    Two weeks after closing here is how things are looking:

    Check out our first in-proeess and before pic of the door and the molding we added! The sidelights will  be stripped to the original wood  and refinished (here they are covered with citri-strip and plastic.)  You can’t see the pretty original door because it’s opened into the foyer (the room I am most excited to get started on!) You can also get a glimpse of the beautiful original stained beadboard porch ceiling.

     

    So much more to come…

    In the next blog post I will share more about how we literally walked straight in through the open front door of the house during an estate sale and knew it was meant for us. It has been a difficult decision to leave our home, but we feel certain the Lord opened the door for us to make this move in more ways than one.  (Thanks so much Debra for praying with me about this move!)

    Five weeks after first walking in, and here we are ripping out carpets, knocking holes in walls, (carefully, using safety precautions!) restoring the original 1926 front door, adding gorgeous moldings, cleaning like mad, gutting the kitchen and baths, and planning and dreaming of the beautiful home this will be in the not to distant future. It is not in bad shape at all, but it needs love, so much  ike the yellow brick home did eight years ago.  Since we aren’t moving just yet, I haven’t allowed myself to get upset about leaving our current home. There is a small possibility we might not even sell it, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

     

    Well, I hope you are as excited as I am and that you will stick around for this home makeover and moving journey! I will be back to blogging much more regulary now, as there will hardly be a day that goes by that there will not be something new to share. I will document in weekly progress posts, so be sure to subscribe by email if you haven’t already. I would love to know your thoughts or any ideas you may have too!

    Thanks for visiting today!

    Amber

     

     

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    Home Improvement and DIY

    Which Home Improvements Take Priority When You’re Trying To Sell?

    August 13, 2022
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    When you’re looking to improve your home, one of the most important guiding principles is to make sure that you keep your purpose in mind. Are you improving it so that you feel more comfortable and at home? Because you want it to meet your changing practical needs? Or because you’re looking to sell and want to get the most money that you can? If it’s the latter, then certain improvements are going to be much more in sync with those goals. Here, we’re going to take a look at a few that you should keep in mind. Read more

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    Home Improvement and DIY

    Home Decor Hacks Anyone Can Use

    August 12, 2022
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    Everyone wants their home to look nice, which sometimes means changing things around the house. The thought of that could be anxiety-inducing, however. You mightn’t know where to start or what to change. Then there’s how much it could end up costing you.

    Nobody wants to put up with that. Thankfully, a few home decor hacks can make it much simpler and quite affordable. Three particular options can be quick and easy to do, especially once you know what you’re doing.

    While you could need to put a little bit of effort in, it’ll pay off dividends in making your home look and feel more comfortable.

    Home Decor Hacks Anyone Can Use: 3 Quick-And-Easy Options

    1. A New Rug

    If you have wood, stone, or tile flooring, you’d be surprised by how much of a difference a nice rug will make on the room. Picking up the right option is essential to this. There are more than a few options to choose from, such as Amber Lewis rugs.

     

    Choose pillows and other decorative accessories to coordinate with the rug for a cohesive look.

     

    Birch lane area rug

     

     

    2. Chalkboard Drawing Board

    Did you know that you could turn an entire wall into a chalkboard? Doing so doesn’t need to take as much effort as you’d think, as all it needs is a special chalkboard coating. While this will be more expensive than typical paints, it’s still a quick and easy home decor hack to make a room look nicer.

    Less than Perfect Life of Bliss

    With this, you can draw on the wall whenever you want. You’ll change its appearance with ease without needing to worry about any more costs. If you want, you could even go with a whiteboard option instead.

    3. Painting A Feature Wall

    A feature wall ties a room together while drawing more attention to itself and making everything look a little nicer. It also helps to add a sense of more space when you’re in the room. You don’t need to put too much effort into this, and it can be much simpler than you’d think.

    11 Magnolia Lane

    Simply painting it a contrasting color from the rest of the room could be all you need. When you’re doing so, it’s best to follow a few rules of thumb. The most notable of these is to make sure the color you choose is darker than the other walls. Doing so creates more depth and makes the room seem larger.

    You could even add a few highlights or patterns to make it look nicer.

    Home Decor Hacks Anyone Can Use: Wrapping Up

    There are more than a few home decor hacks you can use to make your home look and feel more comfortable. Figuring out where to start can be difficult, but each of the above can be welcome changes to your house.

    Before you know it, your home could feel completely different. Since the above shouldn’t take much effort to do, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from taking advantage of them.

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