The Reveal

It's time to reveal our fireplace...

It's took just over a month to complete and we had a lot of headaches with it, especially with the mortar mix. See my rant about it HERE, but it was absolutely worth it.


*DRUMROLL*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

I'm going to post the progress pictures on Wednesday, in my House to Home post, but this will do for now. What do you all think? =) We absolutely love it, like I said..couldn't be happier!

It's hard to see, but on the L side when look at it, is a built in bookshelf and the middle area you see in the front is where our satellite box, dvd player, and ps3 are housed. We plan to get an electric insert, but the one we wanted is sold out at Lowe's, so we will have to order it online. Can't wait!

Signing off,
Ida Jade

Bona = LOVE

House to Home Wendesdays! ( a few days late)

I introduce you to my first experience with the Bona Hardware Floor Care System.

I. Am. In. LOVE.

It really did the job and is better than a swiffer of any sort. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but if you have hardwood floors, I suggest trying it. I got it for rather cheap at Home Depot for $23.97. This included the cleaner spray, the mop itself, and 2 different cleaning pads. One for picking up loose dirt and the other for actually cleaning/scrubbing the hardwood floors.



A before picture.

and another.

The first thing I did was scrub the floors. I know it's typically a "no, no" to use any water on hard wood floors, but no normal cleaner would have done the job. The floors were just a mess. So I took the smallest bit of Mr. Clean and some water, put it in a bucket, and went to work. Never letting the water "soak". I used an old towel to "dry" it most of the way and turned on my ceiling fans to help it dry even quicker.





This is a softer bristled scrub brush I picked up at Home Depot.
This worked well and didn't scratch up the floors at all so it did it's job.



I picked up this wooden handle at Home Depot instead of the plastic one they were selling along side this brush. It fits the same way and holds up a million times better.

After allowing it to dry completely, I broke out my new toy. I wish I had a picture of the first attachment, but I don't. I will say though that it is super easy to use and gentle on the floors. It's very soft and "fur-like". I had already swept and scrubbed the floors, but it picked up even more. I was rather grossed out.





My new toy.

The next attachment is to really clean the floors. You go along and spray the cleaner, which has a great mist to it. I don't know if some of you notice, but most cleaners drip afterwards in a spray bottle, but this one seemed to be very well made. I started at the far end of my living room spraying one "strip" at a time. About a 12' x 2' area and took the Bona and gently scrubbed.

After doing this about 3 times, my eyes were bulging. It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but my floor was practially shining. Beautiful! I was so estatic!

This is the first bit that I did. *Bliss*

All in all it didn't take very long and the finished product was heavenly. The floor dried almost instantly and could be walked on immediately after I was done. A 5 star product in my eyes, that every hardwood floor owner should have.

The finished product.

 

<3.

Signing off,
Ida Jade

1/2 Bath Transformation..

House to Home

I didn't really accomplish much today, so I thought I'd post more pictures of one of our first projects...the 1/2 bath.

When we bought the house it was a foreclosure that sat for about 2 years, the toilets had wax seals on them and began to leak from no compression. For some reason, one of the previous owners put hardwood floor into the bathroom. *smack head* Hate that! So it began to rot and so we, okay more like Josh had to pull up the floor, fix the leak, and put down new cement board and flooring. We also hated one thing about that bathroom,..the color. It was a really icky yellow. Let me show you..



Bleh!!



Ripped up the floor..



Put down cement board..



Painted (haha)..



Purchased a brand new marble countertop for $15 at the ReStore (love that place)..
It didn't quite fit, so we put down cement board on each side and added seashells from our honeymoon.
As you can see we painted the cabinets too.
We also took the leftover tile that was left by the previous owner (that is also in our kitchen) and put that up...



We grouted the tile (you can also see the flooring we put down in this picture)..



Added trim to the tile and this is the finished look.
Oh, and the counter we bought had 3 holes and our faucet required only 2, so we used the other and added a soap dispenser.

Since then we've added a few pictures, a stand above the toilet, a mirror, and we spray painted the lights (they were gold, and I hate gold!) I really should take a picture of it completely finished. (Maybe another time).

Signing off,
Ida Jade

A Year & A Day..



This beauty is ours. We closed on October 26, 2010. Hard to believe it's been over a year.

<><><><><><>

<><><><><><>

.............



Some work done to that same wall pictured above



Work done to the door way between the Living Room and Kitchen. Also, in the background you can see the shelves we have added.



.....................



....................



Purchased a new fridge, almost immediately after move in, since the home did not come with one. We were lucky to get one that matched the rest of our appliances and still get a good deal.



Painted the cabinets to a lighter color to brighten up and show off how large this kitchen/dining room really is. (Realized I don't have a completed picture of this yet, I'll have to take one soon)



Painted Dark Brown Trip and inside the "open" shelves for a different dynamic



No one ever uses the cupboards above the fridge really, right? Josh and I created this from the existing cupboards. It pulls out just like a drawer. We house our wine and liquor here. (Don't have a picture of this finished either).



Another favorite kitchen addition..a wine glass rack along with lighting underneath the cupboards for a neat design effect. =)



Josh designed and made this pot holder. I just love it! It goes so well in the kitchen. =)



Couldn't stand the yellow...



Painted cupboards the same color as the kitchen, added backsplash left over from the previous owner (same as kitchen, but we did a different grout color). Marble sink top is from the ReStore and we purchased it for $15. It was too short, so we added cement board and layed down seashells from our honeymoon. Not everyone may like it, but I simply love it.

 

We've actually done a lot more than this, but I have to keep the fireplace we are building from the ground up a secret. I will post when it's completely finished, I'll have a "reveal". It's amazing and I'm so proud of the work we've done, only some small details and it'll be done.

I will talk more about the specifics of the home and what we've done in my House to Home posts, but I just wanted to share some of the work we've completed in the past year. And like I said, there's a lot I'm not posting.

Some how it still doesn't feel real though. I know it's been a year and it definitely feels like home, but even pulling into my driveway or driving past the house throughout the day just baffles me. It's ours. We own a home. We're not throwing our money away to rent and we have a GORGEOUS house! I couldn't be happier with it. I always think, "You're not suppose to get your dream home on the first try." It really is though, granted we are changing things, but I love that about it. It's perfect and so unique.

I'm anxious to see what all we'll have completed in the next year. We have a lot of plans and we're working floor by floor. Hopefully you'll get to see the journey through my House to Home posts.

I love home ownership.<3

It is afterall how I got into Real Estate, and I'm quite certain I've found my career here. I love helping others find their "house to call home". It's a glorious feeling. Especially since I was able to find mine.

Signing off,
Ida Jade