A Year Later....

Today marks one year in our waterfront cottage.  June 27, 2013 was the first night we spent in the house and the next day we rented a jack hammer and started the updates.  It has been 12 months of work.  A LOT OF WORK.

Blittle and I were sitting on the dock the other evening baffled by how we did so much in a year.  No wonder I am so tired!  Once I am done with the dock furniture, we are taking a break from DIY for a while.  People have repeatedly said, it doesn't have to all get done right now.  I know this. But I want it done right now.  When I am home there are constant reminders of what needs to be done and I have a hard time ignoring them.  I get anxious.  If I am not crossing things off the to do list, I feel like I am wasting time.  The past month has shown me it is time for a break.  My body is tired, exhausted, drained, done...I can't really find a word to describe the level of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion that I am on.  It is time to rest and slow down a little.

The next few months are for working on client furniture and saving money.  There are some HUGE projects on the list for 2015!

What we have left to do:

• Master Bath 
• Guest Bath
• Furnish and set up second guest room 
• New entertainment center for living room
• Curtains for living room
• Add crown moulding to all room without
• New door for laundry closet
• Paint all doors
• New door hardware and knobs
• Update the deck & stair railing 
• Rebuild the stairs
• Close in under the stairs for outdoor storage
• The entire exterior of the house.  We were planning on painting but I don't think that's enough.   The interior is going to be updated and new so I can't leave the outside like it is now.  Even painted a new color.  I want to have Hardi-plank or siding installed.  The exterior needs to look as good as the interior.
• Widen/Extend the driveway
• Widen the patio area next to the house
• Outdoor kitchen
• Add a downstairs bathroom
• And hopefully one day, replace all the windows to more energy efficient ones.

There are tons of little details left but the above list represent the biggies.  Things I want done in the next few years.  The bathrooms are my goal for next year as well as the deck & stairs railings, rebuilding the stairs and closing in under the stairs.  Those are my projects for 2015.  The bathrooms are huge projects.  I am excited and scared about them at the same time.  Bathrooms are expensive and unexpected obstacles can destroy a budget but I have faith that we will be as successful with the bathrooms as we were with the kitchen.

What we are working on now:

• I am building furniture for the dock.  (Adirondack chairs, more planters and umbrella holder)
• Electrician is running electricity to the dock for the boat lift, outlets and lights.
• Electrician is adding exterior lighting. (lights over garage doors, lights on the back of the house and side patio)
• When the electrical work is done, I'll install our new light fixtures.  

What we did over the past year:

• Entire house except bathrooms has new flooring (This is the only thing we did not DIY)

• Fence
• Built privacy and cattle panel fence
• Stained fence

This picture is before stain.

• New sod in backyard

• Master Bedroom
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• New ceiling fan
• Used inherited end table and already built headboard
• Refinished a dresser for it

Click here to see more master bedroom makeover pictures.

• Living Room
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• New ceiling fan
• Used a current couch and chairs for furnishings
• Bought a $75 Ikea couch on craigslist
• Refinished armoire for dog food storage (LOVE this project)
• Refinished a bookcase
• Built a coffee table
• Used a previously refinished entertainment center

• Dining Room 
• Added crown moulding
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• DIY Lantern 
• Built a dining room table
• Used previously refinished dresser as buffet/coffee bar
• Sewed curtains
• Bought dining chairs and other accessories

Click here to see more dining room makeover pictures.

• Kitchen
• Covered fur down
• Added moulding
• Built refrigerator enclosure
• Painted cabinets, ceiling, and trim
• New lighting
• New knobs and chrome plated hardware
• New appliances
• Installed and sealed countertops
• Installed glass backsplash
• Replaced wood under sink and waterproofed the new bottom
• New sink and faucet
• Added trim around window
• Sewed curtain

Click here to see more kitchen makeover pictures.

• Elevator
• Refinished the wood flooring
• Painted the walls and ceiling

Click here to see more elevator makeover pictures.

• Guest Room #1
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• New ceiling fan
• Furnished and decorated with previously owned pieces

• Guest Room #2
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• New ceiling fan
• Currently used for storage but will be furnished soon

• Hallway
• Ceiling, trim, and walls painted
• New lights

• Laundry Closet
• Ceiling, trim and walls painted
• Installed washer and dryer

Click here to read more about the laundry closet.

• Dock
• Broke up and hauled off old concrete walkway to dock
• Tore out old dock
• Added french drain
• Installed conduit for electricity
• Installed water faucet
• Built new dock
• Installed boat lift
• Stained dock

Click here to see the latest dock update.

• Concrete Extension
• Poured concrete extension to connect back and side porches

Click here to read about concrete extension.

In the past year, we have had numerous projects that were not for the house.  I did countless furniture makeovers.  Some for us but most were actual Fisherman's Wife Furniture work.


Click here to see a few of my furniture makeovers.

Also, BLittle and I built another boat.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It isn't something I think I ever mentioned on the blog but it happened.  We built a custom nano skiff over the winter and it went to its new home last month.  We also have several other exciting and special boat projects going on.  Over the past several months, I have had 4 boats at my house; the nano, the special project, a boat we are updating and fixing, and our personal boat (we built it a few years ago, our second boat to build together).

The blog had a big year too along with my other social medias.   Honestly, I struggle at blogging which most of you know by now.  Writing is not my favorite and it doesn't come easy for me.  I always have 1.374 things going on at once and the blog is usually one of the things put on the back burner.  The blog is a way for me to share and update.  Its not a priority or job so when I have time to sit down and edit photos and type up a post, I do.  If I can't find time or inspiration, things can be quiet for a while.  That's why all of you need to be following me on Facebook or Instagram.  It is so quick and easy for me to post an update and a few pictures.  They are updated almost daily compared to the blog, which only gets updated a few times a week.  I promise that I am trying to be more consistent but some weeks I am working on boats or I don't finish a project and I don't have much to share.

I want to end this post with a special thank you to my husband.  He works so hard everyday for us.  He had faith in me to take my vision for this sad little house and turn it into a reality.  He trusted me to make it a home we could be proud of.  I could not have done most of these projects without his help and free labor.  He loves me even on the days I know its not easy and he has supported me and encouraged me to stay with this little business...apparently I am nicer when I am not teaching.  I appreciate everything he does and for making our dream of life on the water come true years sooner than planned. Thanks, Love!

Photo Credit: Ever & Anon

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Friday:  Best DIY Projects and Recipes Party (The Idea Room, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry, The 36th Avenue), Furniture Feature Friday (Miss Mustard Seed),  Anything Goes (Bacon Time),  Be. You. Tiful Link Party (Chic California), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode)

Master Bedroom Reveal

Hi all!  As promised, I am showing you our master bedroom today!

For the most part, our master is made up of items we already had.  I have only purchased a few new items for the room which I love because reusing is saving!  Here is what it looked like when we purchased the home.

Here's a photo after all the furniture had been moved out and the new flooring had been installed.

This is what you see when you walk in the door.  And yes, the dog is usually there too.  :)

While she was laying in MY bed, sweet Jaxson was being a good boy and laying in HIS bed.

Isn't he just the cutest?!  You can read about his skiff bed here.

Here is a cost savings tip for my dog owner friends out there.  Jaxson does like to have his own space.  Things are more expensive when you have a large dog and when you have two, well, its just ridiculous.  Dog beds are outrageously expensive and they don't last that long.  Jaxson needed a bed for our bedroom but I wanted to be able to hide it.  I purchased a baby bed mattress...yes, you read that right...a baby bed mattress from Wal-Mart for $30 and a set of fitted sheets for $10.  The mattress slides under our bed so it is easy to hide if people come over or if I want it out of sight.  The sheet and blankets are easy to change and more importantly, easy to wash regularly.  Most dog beds for an 80 lb dog are at least $70, usually more, and they don't hold up very long.  The mattress and sheets are about 4 years old!

Ok. Enough about dog stuff.  Let's talk about my headboard.

Blittle moved to New Orleans 6 months before me and there were several weekends we were apart so I started refinishing furniture and doing DIY projects for our new home to keep me busy.  I didn't know it at the time but that was really the beginning of Fisherman's Wife Furniture :)  Our headboard was one of the projects I took on.  I wanted a big upholstered headboard with extra large nailhead trim.  After searching and searching for something online with no success I decided to build what I wanted.  I made a frame, filled it with foam, wrapped it with batting, sewed a cover and put in 2 inch nailhead trim.  LOVE it!  It is huge and its one of a kind.

The bedding was love at first sight.  I remember one of my friends on Pinterest had pinned it and I was in love.  Then I found out it was at Bed, Bath & Beyond and was actually affordable.  PERFECT.  I hunted down a 20% off coupon for each piece of the bedding and bought the set.  I loved it so much that 6 months later I bought extras of each piece so if something happens to the first ones, I have replacements.  :)

The wall color is Pale Smoke by Benjamin Moore.  It coordinates well with the bedding and gives a calming effect in the room.  I love bright, happy blues but in our bedroom, I wanted more subtle and  soft.

Here is another cost savings tip.  We purchased a Tempur-Pedic mattress 3 years ago and we have said it over and over again....one of the best investments ever!  Ours is from Mattress Firm, which has a program for returned mattresses.  Tempur-Pedic allows you to return a mattress within 90 days if you are not satisfied.  When those mattresses are returned they can't sell as new so they are sold at discount.  We decided we didn't care if our mattress had been used for 90 days or less, we were saving thousands of dollars by buying slightly used.

Our bed side table

On my side is an antique sewing machine like my paternal grandmother used.  The small drawers are great to store my chargers and to hold any jewelry I decide to take off after I am in bed.  I have a few of my favorite photos of the pups and my essentials; lotions, phone charger, and Kindle.  On Blittle's side there is an old tea cart that has been at my parent's house for years.  I also put one of our favorite wedding gifts, a hand drawn trout from a friend.  The lamps were purchased from Homegoods years ago and can be filled with whatever you like.  I chose sand and shells to give a coastal feel.

There are 3 windows in the room.  A large one that looks onto the back deck and to the water and 2 small ones on each side of the bed.  For the large window, I used the curtain I made for our room in New Orleans (See them in our NOLA home here).  Our ceilings there were extremely tall so I had to take about 18 inches off the length.  Easy fix.  Also, I installed our curtain rod higher than the previous one.  The curtains in the small windows are panels I found at Lowes for $12 each!  They were the correct width but wrong length so I hemmed them to fit the opening.  They are hanging on small tension rods that I purchased from Target for $10 each.

The wall opposite our bed has a dresser I refinished and has some accessories.  Remember the dresser turned into a dog feeding station and storage?  Read about it here.

And remember the long dresser I put in my office for storage?  Read about it here.

Well, there is also a cute end table in that set that is for sale. See it here.

And finally, the last pieces of that set are the mirrors.  They went with the long dresser in the office but I didn't need them in the office.  I decided to use them over the dresser in our bedroom.  I painted them White Dove to contrast with the dresser and wall color.

Before

After

The "Little" mat frame we got when we were married.  It has our engagement photos in it and the picture on the right was taken during our Destin vacation in 2010.  Unpacking photos made me realize it has been too long since we have had pictures taken so I made an appointment with a local photographer to take pictures of us with the dogs on the beach in the Spring.  I can't wait!  We need new pictures bad!

The dresser was my great aunt's and I recently refinished it for Blittle's folded clothes.  You can read about it here.

The canvas I made a few years ago.  It has the locations we have traveled to in the Caribbean and Florida.  I need to update this one or make a new one.  We have been to other islands and ended up not going to the Keys.  They are still on our list for the next year or two but technically we have not been there.  :)

Overall, the room has come together nicely and I am really happy with it.  Of course there are a few things a want to adjust and add but they will have to wait for now.

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