The Most Beautiful Door

The Most Beautiful Door
Originally uploaded by ourraisedranch

 ok…maybe not…but for us, for now, it is…

Like most raised ranch houses, ours has a 2-car garage underneath. I am not fond of them for several reasons — not energy efficient, risk of fumes in the house, and it’s a good waste of space.

We have a detached garage that has more than enough room, so in the grand scheme of things we are going to eventually recoup these garages into living space — ideally the kitchen and family room

In the meantime, we had no good access in the house. The “front” door is actually near the rear of the house, and the sliding door isn’t that practical, since you walk over ledge and it can’t be unlocked from the outside.

Of course the day I finally convince Mike to do it, and arrange for some help, it POURS! Mike, my step-dad Al, and step-brother Jamey were good sports about it though.

 

 

So, thank’s to a scratch-and-dent door, some lumber, and Tyvek — problem solved. It’s right off the driveway and a great entrance for the winter. We’ll be insulating the inside of these walls, shortly…but in the mean time I have my door.

Phase 0 – Painting Update

Well, it’s been awhile…life off the ranch has been crazy with work for both Mike and I…on the ranch, the family got hit with H1N1. Everybody seems to be back at it now. I have several posts lined up, so hopefully the content will be steady for at least a little while…when I can find the time!

While I’ve been gone, I (not we) did some more painting in order to get the place comfortable before we start a major renovation and possible addition. We have a designer working on that now, so that’s exciting!

But here are some Before and After Pics:

Living Room — Prior was 1 coat of cream paint put on in 1973 with no evidence of a primer! This short wall was painted a Ben Moore color called “Nacho Cheese” — read, NOT YOUR BEST PAINT COLOR! Trim is a mix of off-white and white, but I left it that way. I hate painting trim, and it’s not that noticeable in the short term.

I used Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan on the outside walls.  On the dividing walls, I used Baby Turtle.

Just this weekend, I finished painting the kitchen. The layout of the house is kind of odd, and there are two walls that you don’t see at all until you are in the Kitchen. I went outside my comfort zone, and used Benjamin Moore Mexicana. The trim is Baby Turtle and the other two walls continue the Lenox Tan.

I used Benjamin Moore Baby Turtle. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do.

All that’s left now is to paint our bedroom. Friends went to IKEA today and picked us up a desk, since the computer is now on a card table and some new bedding for our bedroom. I’m not using the bedding until I get the room painted, so I might just start that this weekend.

In our bedroom, I’m going to test out Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint, since these walls will be a challenge!  It’s supposed to cover any surface with any color in no more than 2 coats.  What better to test coverage on new drywall and red paint!  In theory, it should save me the primer coat….and, I’m going to use my new favorite color — Baby Turtle…

Slow Down — You’re Moving Too Fast

Well, we decided we needed to focus on getting moved in before we focus on with the renovations.  After a month, we still have stuff in 2 storage containers, at Harry & Anita’s house, and our garages.  So, we need to deal with that before we open up any more cans of worms.  We also really don’t know where to start and really need to sit down at the same table and come up with priorities and design ideas.

On the Phase 0 front, I did finish painting the living room and 1/2 of the kitchen.  An interior designer friend of mine helped decide on the color for the kitchen.  Going to go subtle change with wrapping the Baby Turtle around the inside of that wall.  I was thinking a red for some kind of “pop” when you enter the kitchen, but subtle may be a better route.

A little bit at a time…

Phase 0 – Bathroom

The upstairs bathroom was so gross, it still isn’t great, but it will do.  A major cleaning that started with taking out the framed tub glass doors and scraping the tub.  After a thorough cleaning, I gave the walls and ceiling a coat of paint.  The window trim hadn’t been primed or painted, so I gave it a coat of primer just to get through…a new shower curtain from Target and some accessories and wow!  it’s livable

Before:

 

After:

 

….don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for the day to rip that nasty old vanity out!

Getting Started

Well, we’ve started looking at floor plan options starting with the upstairs.  Looking to fit a master bedroom w/bath, 2 bedrooms for the girls, a bathroom, and a sitting area where the fireplace is and access to the back deck.  It’s a lot harder than it looks.  I’m used to looking at office spaces, locker rooms, classrooms, and conferences rooms, so it’s a lot different thinking.

On Phase 0, we now have a working stove (yeah!), and I hope to paint the living room this weekend….and continue to find a home for all our stuff. 

Also, trying to get to the bookstore to get a tree/shrub identification book…the plantings we have are that puzzle that my curiosity wants me to try and find out.  I know the yard is our last priority, but human minds love puzzles and solving mysteries.  I photographed a lot of stuff, which I’ll get up on the Garden Mystery Page if anyone thinks they can help out.  They’ll be on Flickr, too.  OurRaisedRanch setup its own Flickr  account, but nothing’s loaded on it….stay tuned.

New Twitter Profile

just setup a Twitter profile for the house renovation stuff

Our Raised Ranch

Phase 0

Phase 0 is all the things we are doing to make the house comfortable for us in the short term. This includes cleaning out all the crap that the people left behind, immediate maintenance needs, and making changes that make living here in the short term easier.

We first tackled the girls room:

Before and After:

From House Originals

From Phase 0

bathroom is almost done, but needs some finishing touches.

and we had some help last weekend cleaning out the overgrown flower bed out front. It’s looks pretty choppy now because my mom, gram, and Auntie Ilene did a combo weed and cut down for fall, but I can’t wait until spring to see what comes up.

From Phase 0

Home Sweet Home

Well, here’s the start of it. On Friday 9/4, we closed on our “new” house. It’s a ”beautiful” 1973 vintage raised ranch. We fell in love with its location, its land, and its 3-car detached garage. The house, not so much. I guess when the real estate listing featured a picture from about 200 yards away, that should have been a sign. But we saw beyond that…we saw past the rotted siding, dated interiors, whacky floor plan, and the general ugliness of a 2-story box. We saw beyond the improvements that the previous homeowners tried to make themselves which only made it worse. We moved in last weekend, and are in the process of what I call Phase Zero – the things we need to do to make it livable for the next year or so while renovations happen. So join us on this journey where I hope to share our ideas, frustrations, and successes. The hope of what might be lives on!!!