Home Improvements

Since my husband moved in, a couple of weeks before we got married, we have had a constant stream of home improvement projects. We have done so much, and I am so thankful to have such an awesome handy man/landscaper/painter/construction worker/plumber/electrician (I'm sure there are some job descriptions I've forgotten. lol). He literally does all of those things and more. I  thought I would share some of our projects.

 It started with the front yard. The sidewalk was there originally, but the space between the sidewalk and house was nothing but grass. We started by cutting out all of the grass. Then we laid the landscape fabric down. We sat the retaining wall blocks on top of the fabric in the pattern that we wanted. Next we put the plants in.

Finally we covered it all with cedar mulch. Our house has cedar siding, so we thought that would be best. I really love the way it all turned out. It is actually very little maintenance...mostly weeding.

finished view from the porch

flowerbed to side porch

It has been a few years since this was done. Some of the plants have been changed or moved around, but it still makes me happy to see everyday.


We decided to create another retaining wall flower bed in the back yard. We did everything exactly the same as the front yard. I don't have a finished picture handy, but it turns into a half circle around the side of the house.

 I've been finding huge pieces of shale around the house. There were some around a tree like an old flower bed (the tree had grown up and knocked all of the rocks over). I had to dig them up. I decided to make a walking path. My husband says it's a path to nowhere, but now that we've built the patio it kind of leads somewhere.

 We also refurbished an old picnic table. We spray painted the frame black. Then we put new boards on the table top and seats. Lastly, we stained it with a really deep gray. I love it, and it is super handy!

 Next on the list was the downstairs bathroom. We painted the walls Aztec gold and painted the trim black. My wonderful husband put down the wood laminate for the floor. I found a chest at Kirkland's that we turned into a custom vanity. In the 3rd picture there is another cabinet, but it has since been replaced with one exactly like the vanity. We added a new medicine cabinet, a towel rack, and the hand towel ring. We also changed the overhead light fixture, and my husband added a light over the vanity.

 Upstairs we completely gutted the bathroom. There was a closet that backed up to the shower in the bathroom, so we tore it out too. Our plan is to make a huge walk in shower with a bench from the old closet and the space where the tub was. After we tore the closet out, we had to add another. There are still a few little things left to do: put up the trim and hang the last door. The double doors are for our clothes, and the smaller little closet is for linens and cleaning supplies. I am so happy with the way the closet turned out.

 Lastly, is the patio. We actually just finished this. We took a few railroad ties and framed it out. The yard slopes downhill here, so we had to add a ton of sand to level it out. The step is there because it is lower than it looks.We bought a paver maker, and set to work. When all of the pavers were finished we filled in between with some dirt and grass seeds. Now we are seriously watching the grass grow. lol We plan on putting up fencing along the front and side. I want to put some tall shrubs along the back. The way we'll always have the breeze blowing through.

I know there are other little things that we've done, but putting in a dishwasher isn't really picture worthy. haha I can't wait until it is summer. We will be spending so much time out on our new patio. I already have a DIY lounge chair picked out for my husband to build. :D