Complete with white picket fence, our 1948 California cottage is pretty cute, huh?
When we moved in, juniper bushes were taking over the front in four spots
and the area in front of the fence was barren with scattered road debris.
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Larry trimmed one juniper bush to resemble a bonsai so we'd keep an
attractive privacy screen in front of the bedroom. The other three we
ripped out to make flowerbeds and a fern and hosta bed.
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Then we amended the soil and used a rototiller we
bought at a plant sale (best $75 ever!) to make the area in front of the
fence into a workable flower bed. We've got some drainage issues from the
road to contend with, so that bed is still very much a work-in-progress.
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The living room is long and large,
so we've divided it into this "gaming" area...
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The wood-burning
stove with stone surround was a big selling point for us. The brown panelling and crumbly acoustic tile ceiling not so
much, but we can live with them for a while. The plan: vault the ceiling,
remove the panelling, add some cubby holes with
display lights for collectibles, and paint the living room a warm color
somewhere between stark white and dark brown.
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This is how the kitchen looked through mid-summer 2004. Definite updating
needed! We replaced the stove in 2003 and the dishwasher in spring 2004.
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With both of us working at home, and in anticipation of a steady stream of
visitors, we did a minor renovation in mid-July 2004.
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We took down cabinets on the wall facing the garden to open up the space
and, with some patchwork and sanding, ended up with this:
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We added some festive tiles we picked up at a local arts and craft show
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And were able to bring some decorative items out of the closet to sit on
our newly installed shelves
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And now we can prepare food with more space, all while enjoying the light
from the window, the new lighting fixture, the painted wallpaper and
paneling, and the broad splash of color in the ceiling above the sink.
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Less exciting but no
less vital: around the corner to the right is the laundry room.
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When we do further
updates to the kitchen, we want to add an island and open the kitchen
space. We'd enclose the current patio space and turn it into an informal
dining room and library area, complete with a loft office area for Larry.
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Larry's office has a spare bed, but you'll see our primary guest space
further down.
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Larry's office also
underwent a minor renovation in mid-July 2004. We ripped up the carpet to
find the hardwood floor we expected underneath. What we did not
expect to find were the damaged boards in the middle of the floor that were
split and screwed down. For now the imperfections are covered by an area
rug, but this room is definitely a work-in-progress.
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BEFORE
Only one word came to mind with the bathroom space--Yuck! Everything was
brown; walls, door, ceiling.
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Even the inside of the tub was panelled in dark
brown! We love earth tones, but come on! So check out our
remodel..
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NOW
We did the drywall, painting, and sink installation ourselves. The sink is
a nice pedestal model that saves on space but was a bitch to install!
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We love our new, light, elegant bathroom!
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We contracted out for the floor tile and stone walls so they'd look just right..and we're glad we did.
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Next task in here is to convert the old shower stall into a linen closet.
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Like the living room, the bedroom is also oversized. This house was built
by the contractor who built the other houses in our neighborhood.
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He built this house for himself, so it's cozy, but works well for us. overall, that is.
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One of our other projects was to expand the closet so that it's a walk-in.
The only things left to do are to sand down the walls and paint the walls
and the new trim.
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Both the kitchen and the living room have sliding glass doors that open
onto our covered patio.
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The patio used to be home to our hot tub, but we have since built a
concrete slab and moved the hot tub out back as part of our new deck (more
on that in our garden area).
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So now the patio houses our home gym. Earlier we mentioned (eventual) plans
to enclose the patio and create a dining/library/loft area. At that point
the gym will probably be moved into the garage.
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Straight across the patio and attached to the garage is our guest cottage,
which serves as Michelle's office...
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...but doubles as a guest retreat!
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It comes complete with its own kitchen...
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...and full bath!
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The cottage has been
a great way to entice family and friends to visit. And for a couple of
summers it was even a moneymaker as we housed interns from Larry's job. But
whenever Larry's loft office is built, Michelle plans to move into his old
space in the house, so that she doesn't have to work on the kitchen
counters or a corner of the living room when guests come to stay!
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