Projects!!!!

Our house has been quiet on the project list lately but that is about to change!!! Since we have finished the pantry ,I have been on the lookout for a special door.In my original vision I wanted an old rustic door hung on a barn door track. I searched Craigslist occasionlly and finally found a door I really liked.It was located by a town not far from where Paloma lives.I emailed the owner but never heard back.I fell in love with that door and especially the price(it was $40).Fast forward to last weekend,we went to a flea market that Paloma has been wanting us to go to by her house. I specifically wanted to find a door for the pantry and really didn't want to spend over $40 since I had found one for that price before. When going to a flea market you never know what to expect.One man's junk is another man's treasure,lol!!! At first I didn't see any doors and almost gave up hope.My husband said we would probably find some good stuff torward the back in an out of the way section and he was so right!!! I saw a pale pink door that caught my eye!!!At first I thought it was too narrow for the door but there were two narrow doors that almost matched. Originally these doors were parlor doors but the lady had painted one door pink and added chicken wire to a window that had broke.The other door was striped of its original paint but had both the frosted windows in tact. She was selling the pink door for $55 and the other one $45 but since I wanted both doors she would sell them to us for $50.So I bought the set for $50. I was happy ,since these doors are narrow we will be putting two doors in the pantry. I am always impressed at how the universe provides and brings to me things that are better than I have envisioned!!!!For mother's Day we will put up the doors!! I am super excited to have the final jewel to the pantry.I have decided I am going to add a little trim to the pink door around the chicken wire and leave the other door raw. Here are photos of the doors.

Pantry tour

My love of pantries began with my love of old homes,probably on the show This Old House!! It is one of my happiest memories of my childhood,watching the show with my mom. My mom loved that show and although we never did renovate our home growing up ,my mom would clip out ideas from magazines and file them away.I have kept up that tradition,lol! I call my notebooks with all the magazine clippings my "dream books". I have been lucky enough to have some of my dreams come true!!! One of those dreams was to have my own pantry! I have been obsessed with pantries especially after watching my favorite movie " Practical Magic".The whole house would be my dream home really but I learned in order to manifest your dreams it starts with appreciation for what you have. I do LOVE my home it is small but it has a charm about it.When we came to look at this house my hubby and I thought it had good bones,lol! We have been lucky enough to transform it into my little dream. So back to my pantry,this home was built in 1898 and it is almost the exact replica of Trent's grandparents home in Harvey,Il. Very strange since we live in Wisconsin but not so much if you believe in coincidences.I really loved grandma's sink which was an old cast iron farmhouse sink and the first room that reminded me of their home was our kitchen which has a huge cast iron farmhouse sink! The Harvey home had a pantry which was long and narrow in the back of the kitchen but our home had a huge kitchen with no pantry! Our house had a side enclosed porch that was small and wasted space.We basically didn't use it except to let the dogs in and out to the yard. One day about 3 or so years ago I told Trent that we should convert the porch into a pantry.He thought it was to much work and basically said NO.I kept talking about it and a year later he caved and said we could turn it into a pantry.Well, we started working on it and immediately stopped because the floor was sagging and we would have to rip it out and reinforce it and it was too much money.I still imagined the pantry and talked about it and then this June while we were cleaning out the porch ,the boys told me " dad is ripping out the floor" . So the pantry project began! My hubby redid the floor joists and re built the inside of the pantry!! We added wood ship lap looking walls and shelves ,a new hard wood floor ,electric and lighting ( which never existed before)and we have a dream pantry!!! The exterior is still being worked on but it now is to cold outside to complete.Hopefully it will hold up until we can complete it but here is a tour .

Pantry

Hi everyone!!! We have been SUPER busy at our house.So much going on!! We have been on a stand still with the pantry because we wanted to board up the windows from the outside and add siding to them before we finished the interior.Well,that plan didn't work since we have a huge bee hive in the outer part of our home and we are under attack from the bees,so we decided that we will wait until later in the month when it cools off a bit and the bees leave the area to finish that part. We had done some inside work little by little but have made the most progress yesterday:) That is how hubby works,he gets inspired and then knocks it out.We went to Menards yesterday for more plywood ,insulation,and car siding wood then came home and started building.Also we found a shallow cabinet the perfect length for the pantry.So here are photos of the room.

Pantry lighting/anniversary weekend

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Pantry photos

We didn't work on our pantry this week.We were just too busy.Although, so far the electrical wiring is in and the subfloor is almost finished.We decided to tear off the ceiling and will have a vaulted ceiling like in the kitchen.Hopefully this weekend we can start drywalling the ceiling and install a light fixture. While browsing Lowell's this weekend I stumbled upon a very large chandelier that was totally awesome for the price of $35.It was on mega sale.I convinced hubby that we could use the light fixture from the dining room which if really small (for the pantry)and buy the huge chandelier for the dining room.He agreed and I can't wait to install and show you guys.I was so happy I found it!!!!! My other special bargain find was a vintage sofa from a thrift store for $40.It reminded me of the blue sofa I had before that ended up breaking but this one isn't as ornate.It was in mint condition but just yesterday Yoshi chewed a hole in it!!!! I was so upset but I was planning on reupholstering it eventually.I covered up the spot he chewed up so it is still functional.My plan is to reupholster it in raspberry pink velvet.I will probably wait two years until he is totally trained.Here are a few photos!!!!!

Pantry Progress

We have been working on the pantry on weekends and as usual it is a bigger project than I envisioned.We had to basically tear out the floor and floor joists.Hubby Trent then rebuilt the floor supports,leveled the new floor, weatherproofed ,insulated and put down ply-board.It was so funny to hear the kids all say ,"wow the floor is so sturdy"! Yeah,I was afraid one day someone would fall through the floor. That is life in a 100 plus year old house!!! Trent also decided to open up the ceiling so it would be more open and it will visually match our kitchen ceiling.I don't know why I am surprised but I always am when you see how much bigger a room feels when you open up the ceiling.It is crazy.The ceiling is what we worked on this weekend.Trent also installed electric to the new pantry which was another nightmare task.So hopefully we will insulate the ceiling and start the drywall process (of the ceiling).I will add some photos later for some reason they are not uploading. :(

Project time!!!!!!

So it has been a while since we have done a big house project!!!!!! We are always fixing something but we haven't done nothing major lately.Well ,my hubby ripped out our mini side porch floor.If you read the blog I have written about converting this porch into my dream pantry.It has been on my wish list.My hubby has been against the idea but he is finally warming up to the pantry.Back story to how the floor ended up been ripped apart.We were clearing out old junk and garbage from the yard for a bulk garbage pickup and there were two storm doors on the side porch that Yoshi cracked the glass on(super dangerous so I wanted them removed).So I asked my hubby to just remove the doors and get rid of them.So as I am in the front of the house outside.My son and friend come carrying one of the doors to the trash pile.I am like ,"what's dad doing?" Son Trent says,"dad's making a hole in the porch floor".I am like"what?" Then I go to the back and see the whole floor being ripped out!!!!!! That's how we roll!!!!! I was kind of in shock but happy because that was the first step in my pantry makeover..Yeah!!!!! He just put plyboard down as a temporary floor but it looks so much better.My younger son,Julian was hoping there was gold or money hidden under the porch floor,but no such luck!!!!!!Just a big pile of dirt!!! LOL !!!! Here are some photos……

Making a home your own!!

I have come to the conclusion that we are going to be here a while.I always wanted a huge 3 story Victorian house. Instead I have a smallish 1898 farmhouse style with Victorian features.This house does not have pocket doors or hidden fireplaces but we have installed a soapstone wood burning stove and about to add one in the kitchen.This house also did not have my other "favorite" a tin ceiling."Luckily" there was a large hole in a bedroom ceiling so my husband said that would be a good place to put my tin ceiling!!!!!We are also adding French doors in the kitchen to the dining room.The last detail I have been dreaming about is a pantry.We have a large kitchen but limited cabinets.I had been putting our canned food in a metal cabinet that I painted pink.Since I am trying to clear the wall that the pink cabinet is on (for the French doors)I decided to make my own "pantry".We have a small hall way next to the kitchen leading down into the basement.There is a built in cabinet there as well.I moved my pink cabinet next to the built in and now I have my "pantry"!!!