Fence it up, fence it in...

After jumping through hurdles to acquire the side lot next to ours from our country club we immediately began searching for a fencing company to build us a privacy fence.  Finding a local, reputable company was more difficult than we imagined.  We finally settled on working with Atlas Fence.  We had some issues with them but we are happy with how the final product turned out.  We wanted a way to keep in Scout Dog.  If you haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet (are we really friends?) she is a very athletic dog who can jump incredibly high.  Since having her we have constantly worried about her getting out of our current backyard because she's been able to climb, jump or push open the fence.  Now once we move to our new home she will have tons of room to run around like the crazy doggie she is.  Here's part one of the fence!

Posts going up!

Side yard becoming defined...

Add caption

One side completed!

Along the creek...

Moving closer to the golf course! 

Painted Beams!

One detail we really love about the home is the exposed beams in the living room.  The original beams were stained a very light color.  Since we are putting darker hardwoods throughout the home we wanted to change the color on the beams to match the hardwoods.  Fortunately for us, our contractor's wife is a professional faux painter and has been on the DIY network.  Here's a look at the before and after shots.  In the photos the beams turn out a bit darker than they are in real life.  The camera isn't able to capture the variation on the beams.  Hope you like the beams as much as we do!

Original beams and lighting in the living room.

Beams faux painted darker.

I think it's a nice contrast...

Major Bathroom Update!

Apologies for the lack of updates the past few weeks.  Truth be told not much was happening.  Apparently for the painters all of the wallpaper was too much for them to handle removing.  We also had an issue with getting a plumber out to the house so we could pass inspection for all the plumbing.  We now have new painters working on the walls for us and things are really progressing.  Since we have passed inspection for the plumbing tiles started going up in 3 out of the 4 bathrooms.  I'll list some before and after pics below.  The new tile has already made such a difference!

You remember the PINK master bath.

The Master Bath is no longer PINK!

Basement Bar: Before

Tile we used in Bar & Basement Bath!

New basement bar tile!

Gross basement bathroom: before

Basement Bathroom: Before

 New Basement Bath tile

Basement Bath Shower Tile!

Upstairs Bath Before.

Red tile & floral wallpaper!

New upstairs bath tile

How does it look?

Up close & personal...

First floor full bath: BEFORE

New tile on first floor bath

Clean and classic white!

That's all the tile that has been completed as of now!  I think the Master Bath may get it's very own post.  We can't wait to see how it all comes together.  Thanks for checking in!

Oh Right, There's an Exterior!

Just want to be here already! Beautiful pool area!

Gorgeous little rose garden!

Looking out over the rose garden from the pool.

I'm sorry guys.  I've been focusing most of the blog on the interior of the home.  But like I said on the first post, the exterior has been beautifully maintained.  During a period of time when the interior of the home is still a hot mess, let's take a minute to appreciate the natural beauty the property provides.  I cannot wait until we are there full time and I can really devote myself to tending to all these pretty plants!  There is an exquisite rose garden area on the other side of the pool.  There seems to be a row of knock out roses that are growing right up against the pool wall.  They are staked up against the wall to grow up alongside it.  It is so beautiful but Andrew and I had the chore of reattaching a bush that had come undone and let's just say we have a new appreciation for how sharp those thorns get! 

I wish this blog had a scratch & sniff feature!

I don't consider myself a green thumb but I do enjoy planting flowers and tending to them.  I hope with practice and lots of TLC I can get this little rose garden thriving!  And the smell of these roses?  It's just divine!  I cannot describe it any other way.  Maybe I can also get some practice in putting together fresh cut bouquets! 

Any idea?

Is this a cabbage rose?

 If anyone has any idea what the other roses in these pictures are - PLEASE share.  Any information on how to care for these plants will help me out tremendously.  I have double knock out roses at our current home and they are so easy to take care of.  I'm pretty 
sure that these other roses will not be as simple!

Andrew is working on his skimming skills!  A pool boy in training?

What 30 Years of Water Damage Looks Like...

Rotted wood threshold of Master Bath

What we found once the mud was removed!

Although the idea of gutting a home and starting from scratch has seemed overwhelming at times we are grateful to have been able to find any areas of concern and address them.  In the master bath we have discovered two issues during demolition.  As the workers were removing the majestic pink tile from the shower we knew that there were signs of water damage below the tile on the threshold.  What we didn't know however, was just how severe the damage truly was.  Once the mud was removed from the base of the shower we found out that there was some serious water damage occurring under the shower bed.  There are actually holes where the subfloor had weakened and then rotted away.  Awesome right?  At least now we know that our shower will be built on a solid foundation.  We also located some other water damage in the two guest baths near the tub area.  Fortunately, the water damage is no where as severe as in the master bath.  It won't be a problem to cut out any of the rotten subfloor and then replace it with new - perhaps slightly sturdier - subflooring.

Water damage near tub in guest bath.

Master Bath: Before

Another thing that has baffled the contractors is the subfloor the builder chose for the home.  In many places it's surprisingly thin and it doesn't utilize any tongue and groove planks.  Although there wasn't much water damage where the huge, raised, jetted tub once sat the contractor does not feel comfortable setting a tub on a subfloor that isn't substantial enough to hold it.  I'm grateful for this as I really don't want to take a trip down to the kitchen whenever I'm trying to relax in a bath!  So once we get the electrical and plumbing "rough-ins" in place an inspector can go through and approve everything.  Once we get the inspector's approval we can go ahead and start tiling the bathrooms!  So exciting! 

Master Bath: Currently!