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Been in the design mode for about the last... well, 6 months or so. This next week our office renovation should be complete and then we'll be moving over the next month. I can't wait to post before and after pictures- hard to believe it's even the same building. That project was a blast to work on for me because mom and I have designed it from the blueprints to the door knobs. The builders we have worked with have been tremendous and it's been a great experience.

I've been taking a furniture refinishing class at Under the Willow Tree in Pendleton, SC which has definitely been peaking my design interest. I have a hard time not dreaming of refinishing every piece of furniture in any antique store. I am trying to remember that restoration is often better than doing faux finishes, but man... faux finishes are so much fun and so in style now. The key is, on the more inexpensive pieces of your home, go big and fun; on the staple pieces of your home, go classy and timeless. It's much easier to replace a throw pillow or a mantle piece than it is to replace your couch and love seat or your kitchen cabinets.

The NEW house project has been a MONSTER, but such a blessing. It's been so neat to see how the Lord has brought everything together so smoothly. We are working with an incredible builder (again) and they have been so helpful in keeping things moving smoothly. Most of the "unsatisfactory" list from the home inspection has been addressed, and the place is starting to come together. Tomorrow the hardwoods will be installed in the den and kitchen, and then all of the floors will be refinished and will look brand spankin' old/new. I'm looking forward to walking in next week to clean surfaces.

I would also like to announce that this morning the new gutters were installed. I never knew I would be SO excited about gutters! Never. Knew.

Today mom has been laboring over the fireplace inside. I absolutely love the brick. I know it's very popular to paint interior brick right now (always has been) and while I love the painted brick look, the red brick in my den is just too pretty to put a brush to. I'm looking forward to using creative juices and making the mantle a piece of art. Not sure yet what look I'm going for, but I have a couple of weeks to think over it.

Yesterday I had a design appointment and am doing some consulting work with a lady here in Clemson. Carpet samples and color decks are going to consume some of my weekend. I'm excited and thankful for the opportunity to do design work on the side.

SO very thankful the Lord has given me some fun experiences in the last 6 months to use my training and really one of my great passions. . . design. So blessed to have the job I have and to be working in the finance industry, so thankful for my dad and his willingness to train me to think soundly and carefully in business, and so thankful that I'm able to use the design bone in my body on the side (as a bonus!). Very thankful.

Be on the look out for pictures of my crazy house-life. Pending. . .

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Progress on the house...

Before-- kitchen... 

After- Kitchen... closed in the window that overlooked the carport and moved door.

Before- Den looking into Kitchen

Current state... :) Den looking into kitchen

Dad has pulled all of the old caulk out and has re-caulked my bathrooms. He is awesome!

OH... and mom painted my door black!

The door that was once green is now BLACK to match the shutters... who would have ever thought of such a brilliant idea- to have your door match your shutters. :) Or at least coordinate!!

On we go! To paint the living/dining room!! :)

What fun it's been to spend this time with family (and friends) who have GRACIOUSLY helped through the process! Oh did I mention that my family has become a family of electricians? We changed out all of the Outlets and switches on Monday...

Learning lots! Having fun! GETTING CLOSE!! (HARDWOODS go in next week... AH!)

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Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom!!!

I'm so thankful for my parents and their example over these 31 years (though I've only known them for 24 years :)). I pray that one day I have a marriage like theirs. I've watched them over the years and I'll tell you I'm amazed at their love for the Lord first of all, and then their love for each other. Marriage is every day... it's ironing clothes, cleaning the house, changing the oil in the car, putting up ceiling fans, etc. And I'm thankful that my parents have continued to work together and have chosen to prioritize Christ, each other, and our family through the routine aspects of life. They are best friends- they really are, and it's evident every day.

LOVE my parents and want to wish them a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

This is the art work left in my living room last night... Bert Campbell loves Gretchen Campbell.
Some things never change. :)

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For those who live far away and want to see the progress... this is a little of what's happening at the house this week. :) Lots of changes are starting to take place... fans to be installed today and new outlets and light switches throughout the house. They should be fininshing the sheetrock project this week and next week the floors will be installed and refinished.

SO, this week we will stay busy in the evenings painting the house and getting the kitchen and bathrooms ready. We've re-caulked everything and are trying to get all of the surfaces painted so that when the floors go in we are DONE! The goal is for them to sit for a few weeks and have a REALLY hard finish.

This weekend mom and I stained the kitchen cabinets. I need to take pictures so that you can see them, but they look so different and I'm really pleased with them. We have considered painting them a darker color and re-staining, but I'm not sure we have the time to get that done. So for now, antiqued white will have to do. :)

SO... here are a few pictures to see the progress!

Dining room... patched and ready to prime and paint!

Moved the door from the kitchen to the dining room over a few feet...
Going to give alot more space in the "dining room" and make the long room in the front not feel quite so awkward.

Den looking into the kitchen. This is the room that has the paneling
that we are having sheet rocked in.



Before... gross... (it wouldnt have been bad except it
was just peeling away. The previous owners had covered up the ugly by
wall papering over the mess. Ingenious but not an acceptable fix for me.)



Sheetrock is in, door is moved!

Moved door... from the dining room to the kitchen.

Just need to show you the blue in the guest bedroom
Thanks to the Cutliffs for giving us the paint
for most of the house. WHAT a blessing!!!

This is my bedroom... green. SO excited to change the fixtures (fans, outlets)
and have the floors refinished. Love the color!!!

This is the "office"... the floor had a significant sag, so they have been
cranking it up to get it as level as possible. We think a heavy water bed overloaded the floor for too long and caused
the sag just in this one area. I feel like I've learned so much during this process... easy fix.
Neat to work with the contractor from First Class in Sandy Springs (Jeff Cutliff's business). They have been a HUGE help!

Just wanted to show you I got a new Thermostat!! I've been pretty excited about this. All of our ductwork under the house has been fixed and sealed, the air vents will all be replaced, and they installed this new little night light in
my hallway. :) We've been working with Hagan Heating and Air and they are incredible- if you have HVAC needs, call them!

That's all of the update you get for now. Lots more to come... loooots more! Been pretty exciting- if you're in the area, come by and see! Thanks to everybody who has pitched in to help in the project!!

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For those of you who've been curious what this house business is all about, I am posting some pictures of the pre-destruction phase of my new little abode. :)

First, let me say that the Lord has been so kind to work out all of the details of this house. I haven't been anxious to buy a place of my own and have loved living at home, and actually will continue to do so for the next little while. But the Lord just provided the right place at the right price (thanks to Jon Vosburgh for finding this for me!) and has worked all of the details out from start to now... and I know He will continue to do so as we complete the process.
SO, with that said, thank you to all of the friends and family who have helped me in this demolition (kind-of) project. Who knew with one little change there would be so many changes to follow... once you start, you just can't stop! It's been exciting!

Obviously, the front porch... with very large, overgrown shrubs. :) This is one of the
first things to go when spring hits. I hate to wait that long, but the boss (dad)
says there is a time to pull and a time to plant. :)

Living room/dining room:
 The door on the left far side goes into the kitchen. It will be moving
more towards the center of the room to create a natural separation between the two "rooms"
and to give a little more wall space in the "dining" room.

Den/small eating area/awesome room:
Gotta check out the GORGEOUS tile... Ronnie and Jon spent many hours peeling this stuff up (well, they bent
a really big metal tool taking it up... along with the original lenoleum underneath). Then we
had a big party and a few friends came and helped pull up the sub-floor. (some kind of party!!!)

Den:
Thanks to Josh for ALL of the help! He's been so sweet to let us borrow his truck to haul all of the
tile, cabinets we've destructed, carpet, sub-floor, etc... AWAY! Thanks, Josh! Right now
we have a nice insert in the fireplace, but we're going to be replacing this with gas logs for ease. Very
excited about that!!

 

Kitchen:
This is my cute little kitchen.
We will be doing some sort of fun something to the cabinets, replacing countertops, replacing the
gas range ... minor changes here until the demolition down the road. Hardwoods will
be installed here. . . can't wait to see them installed!

Kitchen:
This is the other side of my kitchen. As you can see, there is very little wall space for cabinets therefore
there is VERY little storage for kitchen items, so we will be doing al litte work here. The door  will be moving about 4 feet to the right, and the window will be sheetrocked in (along with the whole kitchen/den area) to allow for more cabinet space in the future. This is all in
preparation for the next phase of the remodeling process (which will not be an immediate change... give me a couple of years) :)

 

Master Bath: :)
This is by FAR my favorite room in the house! (haha... kidding!) I am learning to appreciate tile of shapes, sizes and colors, and the blue is starting to grow on me. (just wait till you see the yellow towards the end of this post....) This bathroom will eventually be remodeled completely, but until then we will simply be changing out the light fixtures and ceiling fan, installing a base cabinet where the pedestal sink is located, changing the mirror above the sink and then installing a medicine cabinet above the toilet. Mom and I have been taking a furniture refinishing class and have learned all sorts of neat finishes, and she has re-finished a base cabinet from Carrie's bathroom (they just remodeled...) and a matching medicine cabinet. It's going to be snazzy!



"Office":
The bedrooms are all very similar... but this gives you an idea. This room will actually become an office... but for the time being it is a furniture warehouse. The previous owners actually called and asked if we'd like for them to leave these things for us, so we were very thankful. Sarah has actually refinished the dresser and bed for grad school- I'll have to post pictures of what she's done- such a creative sister!

Guest Bath:
Yes, if you come visit me at my house, you will more than likely get a close-up of this gorgeous yellow. :)
This will also be staying for now but eventually compeltely remodeled. For now, fixtures will change... and we'll
enjoy a bright, yellow bathroom. I'm actually a little excited about working with the yellow!!



Guest Bedroom:
Day 1 the family was over helping pull carpet out of the bedrooms, trim bushes, trim trees, pull up flooring...
just the beginning of the work. :) So thankful for the family and friends who have already been
a huge help!

 

Note that the paneling will be sheetrocked in, and the desk that Jon is standing at has been removed... ceilings
have now been painted white and the beams will be painted the trim color.
All of the walls will be changing color, outlets replaced, fixtures replaced (not one fixture matches
another right now... it's pretty humorous!) , hardwood installed in the den and kitchen, other hardwoods refinished,...
LOTS of work to be done! (along with finding a new gas range, installing gas logs in the fireplace, . . .)

Never a dull moment during this process... never a dull moment at all!

This gives you a glimpse of what we are looking at right now. We've actually begun painting the bedrooms/hallway, we've removed the chair rail in the living/dining rooms and worked on patching those walls, the subfloor in the den/kitchen has been removed. . . and the contractor will begin his part in the next week. Lots of changes soon to come. . . very blessed and excited!!

(I apologize for those who read this earlier today... I just went back through and found SO MANY misspellings and type-o's. :/ That's what I get for trying to get a post up early. :))