Backyard - Progress and Reflections

Is this yard ever going to be finished? Here is where we started.

1st day, 2007

Kitchen cabinets piled up, 2007, temporary tent

Awning not built yet

Tree removal and wall building

Using old pavers to build walls

2010 April started with a great makeover. Removed old brick wall and bought pavers to build a new larger half circle for plants.

Both half circles built, half way done with pavers. Gravel will go in between.

Almost ready, now we are just waiting for the plants to grow lush and green.

Wooden Tile Wall

We used to have a mirror on that wall but decided to move it to a better location. I have heard that it's not recommended to have a mirror facing the door. Maybe it's just in my head but it really seemed like it reflected the energy back outside.

So we painted and framed the wall and decided to make wooden tiles. Wood gives a warm feeling as long as it not overwhelming.
We bought two 4x4 pine posts from the Home Depot and started chopping them into 7-8 mm tiles.

Using a chop saw, Brian made about 500 of them the house smelt like a lumberyard - love it! Then we sanded the edges. Any thinner tiles started to warp. 

I used a hot glue gun to put the tiles in place. they didn't always match up but somehow the pattern always stayed straight. It was a miracle .

The wooden tile gives the room such warmth now. I's been up for three days but I don't know how the raw wood will behave in the long run (expanding etc.) So it will be our little experiment.
UPDATE 3/3/10! Some tiles fell off, Elmers Glue is better. Thin ones warp a bit but nothing major.

Some Older Makeovers

We used to have a tiny apt in Fort Lee (love that town!) We needed a tiny couch and found this yellow one and turned it into a cow. I know I know, cow print is long overdue,.. still :)

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After

This was a fun little side cabinet.

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After
SOLD

Scrap Wood Chest

My work room upstairs is finally done. I needed a place to put all my millions of fabrics and swatches. We figured this weird corner could hold a giant chest and all my materials would be in one place. From demolition in the room next to it, we had piles of beat-up 1x3's. So we decided to build a chest, using only scrap materials from the ceiling.

It looked like a pig crate at first :)

After we managed to make it durable enough, stained it ebony and added a lion head knocker for easy pulling. Looks pretty nice ay? Cost $0.00 plus the wheels and hinges of course.

Our baby Cash likes it too

Tray Table Makeover

This table had such a great potential to be an ottoman instead. I re-stained the legs, cut a cushion out of foam and covered with heavy plaid upholstery fabric.
SOLD

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After

Tiny Cork Table

This was another Thrift Store "beauty" $1.00. I didn't even have a good idea for it at first but after giving it a light sanding and painting it white, I discovered that I have some cork paper I bought from Europe last time we went. I used Mod Podge to glue it on top and it turned out pretty cute.

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After

Bathroom Makeover

This is was our bathroom before

Here's the plan - Get rid of the bathtub, install glass mosaic tiles in the shower area and add glass block half-wall to separate the shower area.

Hidden mirror inside the wall?

Bathroom - totally gutted. The floor was rotted and wood needed to be replaced in some spots.

We made two little ledges into the wall for the shampoos and stuff. I did the tile again but realized that this time it was much more difficult to get it straight. Got the tile again from www.cooltiles.com. I looked at everything on clearance and found a nice yellowish color for $5.00 per sheet.

Thanks to our friends who helped at the end to get it done. Mirror - Thrift Store $2.00, Vanity cabinet - Thrift Store $5.00 Refinished it, sanded, stained, clear coated and waxed.

Storage was an issue, so in between two beams we left this opening for the rolled up towels.

And where that hidden mirror was, we created a tiled hole for.. well, there are always things to put there

It was hard to find a fexible shower head that mounts on the wall. Ordered it online.

50-s Swivel-Rocking Chair

$10.00 at the Thrift Store! It actually had padded covers on it so I spotted it on the second time when I saw the back of the chair. I removed the heavy padding at the store and "Hello awsome frame!"

The bottom was quite rusted. I used wire brush but it still remained quite coarse when closely examined.
Then a year later, my buddy helped me the make wooden handles for this chair and it's in my house to stay.

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After

Hexagon Beaded Table

Too bad I don't have a "before" picture of this table. Brian spotted it and I tried to talk him out of buying it. It was dark brown and not even made of solid wood. Just a nasty looking thing.

I got the idea of gluing some glass half-beads on the sides. We painted it white first, then I scratched the surfaces to make it look more interesting for clear beads. I used Elmers Glue to hold the beads in place. The next day it was ready for a grout. I love the way it came out. Simply stunning. Love the original hardware.
SOLD

Two Dressers,One Black, One White

This is probably the most amount I have ever paid at the thrift store. $70.00 for a beat up dresser seemed like a good idea at the time. I actually thought it was antique until some guy told me that this was 1930's dresser and has potentially no value whatsoever. It was really in a very poor shape and I kept it in a basement for a year before finally taking the challenge. .

My friend helped me to sand it down. We repaired the holes with a wood putty and stained it with ebony stain. I also kept the original hardware, cleaned and reattached. I love it and it's a keeper.

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After

My brother was working on this one, I think he did a great job. It was also a Salvation Army, solid wood find but we made it strictly for selling. 
SOLD

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China Cabinet Makeover

I was fascinated when I saw this china cabinet at the Thrift Store. Unusual and a little fru-fru. But it took time for me to get it going. It appeared to be a lot more work than I imagined so I ditched the idea of leaving it natural and went the easy way of painting it instead.
SOLD

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After

Mellow Yellow

Surely not everyone agrees with this makeover..
SOLD

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Ottoman Cure

This ottoman looked sick at the Thrift Store. I didn't even want to touch it at first. The fabric came off immediately. Looked like someone had done a makeover on this already. The next layer wasn't prettier than the first. There was also a spring cushion underneath.

I sanded the legs, renewed the padding and covered it with a cool printed fabric. At Home Depot I bought some fancy wall trim and used that for the edges. Pained white.

SOLD

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