We both grew up in homes with large vegetable gardens and got used to having fresh vegetables in the summer. For the past 4 years, we've lived in apartments, and while we tried to have some plants (tomato and strawberry) on our porch last summer, it just didn't work. I think we got maybe 4 strawberries and 2 tiny little tomatoes. So buying our own home also meant that we'd finally be able to have our own garden!
For the past year we've been trying to figure out where exactly to put the garden. Summer was almost half over by the time we bought the house, and we didn't actually move in until the fall, so we just used the time to scope out the sunniest spot in the yard. Luckily for us that spot happens to be where we have a big bare spot of grass. We think the previous owner had an above ground pool there for awhile and just never planted grass when he removed the pool.
R is concerned about the soil.. the house has been here for 240 years... who knows what is buried in the backyard. So we decided to build a raised garden. For now, we're planning for it to be 8'x4', and approximately 10" off the ground. I've also read that raised gardens help your vegetables grow quicker and better, because the sun can warm the soil faster and more efficiently, and you are able to control what kind of soil you use. So it's really a win-win situation for us.
We'll be building the garden tomorrow, but until then, here are some raised garden inspiration pictures. I like the little ledge/seat the first one has... seems like it would come in handy.
It's too rainy and wet here this week for any painting, so I'll post some pictures of my inspirations for each room. Today: Kitchen.
When we're done with our Kitchen it will have white cabinets, dark granite countertops, oil rubbed bronze hardware, yellow walls and a wood floor. As much as I usually hate red, I'm leaning towards having some red in the curtains.
I love this picture because of the large bump-out in the wall that reminds me of my own. I think that some day, when we put on an addition and I get a bigger kitchen, I'll do something like this.
This is the blue color I was thinking for the built-in hutch and fireplace. I just love how this looks!
I'm having the hardest time coming up with a design for our downstairs bathroom. The room is currently a full bath (with a tub/shower combo). The room is huge! When the house was remodeled to have indoor plumbing, they just turned an entire room into the bathroom. It's a strange space. Too big for a full bath, let alone a half bath, yet, what else would you do with the extra space? There is a utility closet right next to the bathroom, so I don't need that. I'm planning on using the lean-to and half of the existing bathroom as my pantry/extra Kitchen storage, so I don't need that. I can't come up with anything else.
If I just leave the bathroom the size I was planning (which is essentially half the size it is now because the back half where the toilet and tub are will become part of the pantry), it's still very large. And the window and radiator are pretty much dictating where everything can go.
There are a couple things that I definitely want to include in this bathroom. The first two are pretty simple requests. I want an elongated toilet (the toilets in our apartment seriously spoiled us.. we can't go back to normal round toilets) and a pedestal sink. I think that the pedestal sink would fit much better with the era and feel of the rest of the house. But that leaves me without any necessary under-sink storage. I found this picture online which I LOVE. The room is large enough that I could do this and not lose any important space. They put a wall about 18-24" out from the door wall, adjacent to the sink, creating cubby holes for baskets and towels. I love it! I figure I could have one small basket (maybe the top basket) where I could store simple cleaning supplies (paper towels, Clorox wipes, etc.) and the rest could have hand towels, soap, lotion.. It's open storage, which usually I find to be messy, but I think it could work.
The floor in the bathroom is currently painted white. I think I will keep the floor painted (though a new coat/different color). I like that the bathroom is its own space because of the different floor color. The whole house has wide wood flooring, but it's stained in every other room. I just need to figure out a color I like. I don't think I'm adventurous for stripes or a really bright color. I need something neutral...
We are obsessed with This Old House here in this old house. It's the reason I became an architect. It started when I was two years old and would beg my mom to put Bob Vila on TV. My mom always thought it was strange for a two year old to be so into home improvement, but always acquiesced. It was better than violent cartoons or something. I think it's because of the show that I am also obsessed with old houses. And DIY.
So you can imagine my excitement yesterday when my newest issue of TOH magazine showed up. I flipped to the first page and there in the index was a picture of a built-in hutch almost identical to my own.
The article is about transforming old furniture using simple painting techniques. The article is about the purple cabinet, not the white one in the background. But I just love how the cabinet is decorated! It looks so much like the one I have in my Kitchen, the one I'm having a hard time figuring out how to decorate (ok, so my Kitchen isn't done yet and I shouldn't be decorating it, but I can still think about it, right?). I love the baskets, and stacked plates, and framed picture, and bowl with flowers. I'm so happy I finally know what I want to do. Maybe I should even add a 1 1/2" piece of wood to the bottom of my shelves, to give them the appearance of being thicker, like in the picture..
