My Beach House Remodel

Home Entry
This is a full shot of our entryway, living room & gallery wall.  

Front Doors 
Solid Pine Knotty Adler Custom Doors with wrought iron grills.  Mexican Tile Border from Latin Accent Tiles.  #frontdoors

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Foyer 
For our entryway, we add large pine front doors ~ My favorite part of the remodel! Rug from Anthropologie. Foyer tile from Tabarka Tile. 

Sunburst Mirrors ~ Ballard Designs & World Market.  Lamp Homegoods.  Cabinet Pier 1.

Gallery Wall

A collection of old and new photos. #gallerywall


Dining Room 

Chandelier Aiden Gray Home. #chandelier

Hallways

Family Room

Our den is a large open space and connects with our new kitchen. Features slipcovered white furniture (the ONLY way to go with kids!) #slipcovered #den #familyroom

Living Room
Slipcovered linen sofa.  Rustic accents.  Area Rug ~ West Elm

New Kitchen 
Backsplash is Tabarka Tile, white custom cabinets, butcher block island top, marble countertops.  Stools from Home Decorators.  #kitchen #remodel

Built In Subzero frigerator, Lighting over island from Park Hill Collection.


Farmouse kitchen sink from Kohler. Pendant light Currey & Co.


Eat In Breakfast Area



Hallway 

Filled with cottage armoire photos & beach knick knacks.  Diamond jute rug from Homegoods.

Master Bedroom

Closet


Master Bathroom
Sign from You & Me Signs (etsy store).  Mirrors Ballard Designs.  Sconces Cyan Design.

Linen Pom Pom Curtains ~ New Arrivals, Inc.  Wooden Curtain Rod ~ Anthropologie.  Chandelier ~ Cyan Design.
My Daughter’s Room


Jack & Jill Bathroom



Guest Bathroom



New Laundry Room

I did shiplap walls in my Laundry Room ~ Love them! Tabarka floor tile & laundry sink from Kohler.  Custom cabinets ~ handles from Anthropologie.

Sign from House of Belonging (etsy store).

Land of Sunshine Sign from New Arrivals, Inc.

Exterior


Pool

My Maltese, Harley :)

Our home is located in Atlantic Beach, Florida a couple of blocks from the beach, in the “Oceanwalk” subdivision.  Oceanwalk is a beach side community with over 250 homes and is only a bike ride away from the Beaches Town Center ~ a collection of shops and restaurants.  
See more on my website:  



Master Bath: Demo Day!


The master bath was always on our list to renovate – it was by far our least favorite aspect of the house. In fact, we almost didn’t buy the house because of the weird layout of the vanity/sink being in the actual bedroom. Of course, things have a way of working themselves out and in April, we realized the shower tile was buckling off the wall and that our bathroom renovation would need to start sooner than planned (by about a year!). No point in doing a temporary fix if we were going to tear it out anyways. 

Oh, and while we’re at it (my husband loves it when I say this) we decided to re-do the floors to match the rest of the main house and so we could rip out the gun safe in the corner of the master. Doesn’t everyone want a gun safe in their bedroom taking up a corner that could otherwise have a fantastic piece of furniture? No? People are weird, y’all. 

In the master bath, we took out the wall separating the vanity from the water closet and then built a wall, separating the bathroom from the bedroom. Completely understand why people would want to keep the tub/toilet separate and this was something I debated as well. But in the end, to make the most of the space, and to widen the shower (it was pretty narrow at 27 in.), it made more sense to make it all in one room. We have another tub in the hall bathroom so this will be a walk-in shower with a bench. 

This week, we’ve got the plumber, electrician and dry wall guy coming. It’s not too bad losing a bathroom for a few weeks since we have two others, but I do miss our King Size bed! 

Have you done a bathroom reno? What was your least favorite part? What was your favorite part? 

The Unexpected Fixer-Upper

We hadn’t intended to buy a fixer-upper. The plan was not to renovate since we were buying a house and planning a wedding at the same time. But things happen. Instead of moving into our move-in ready house 3 weeks (mold/drainage issues!) before our wedding, we bought a 1970s contemporary ranch and moved in two weeks before our wedding. And tore apart the kitchen two weeks after we got back from our honeymoon. 

What drew us to the house? It certainly wasn’t my dream home or my personal design taste. But it had potential. And a fantastic backyard entertaining area. It had space – 3 bedrooms/2 bath on the main floor and a bonus room with another full bath upstairs. The master could fit a king bed. And, key to my husband, a two-car garage. So we went for it. During the past year, we’ve transformed the house, starting with a full kitchen renovation to make better use of the space. Replaced the ugly tile floors and laminate. Scraped the popcorn ceilings (it was so bad!). Painted everything that could be painted. And next up, a complete overhaul of the master bathroom. Stay tuned! Demo-day is June 1. 

First Impressions: Before & After, The Kitchen Becomes the Entry!

This is what my current entry way used to look like – because we never had an entry, you used to walk straight into my dining room/kitchen.

 I know it’s a mess! I’’m being brave and showing it to you anyway. Maddie started pulling cabinets out while I was still trying to box things up! Storm damage construction isn‘t like planned construction, with storm damage everything has to happen at once.

 BTW see the lower left hand corner, where the floor is missing? That‘s because there used to be a stairway there, then after we moved the steps it was a temporary pantry. The whole wall around on the kitchen side was a chalkboard wall. Can’t you totally imagine it through the mess.

Can’t you??

   Maddie is practicing for her dream job, for realz, she wants to be a general contractor. She‘s planning on attending UNI and taking their Construction Management program. She says she loves the work but doesn’t want to take guff from the guys, so she’ll be their boss. :)   She‘s only 16 and a sophomore for now, so there is still time to change her mind.

     This is what it looks like now… it’s a work in progress. We still need trim, but that will have to wait until taxes get back because I am out of money. :)  Redoing a home is so expensive! So I‘m trying to decorate with what I have.

Here‘s a couple of things I had on hand. Keep scrolling down, it’s there I promise!

That collage is on a white background and squared up for instagram – but on a website it looks like I hit the enter button a few to many times. Any who, this is my grandmothers old sewing cabinet, and a door my mother found for me, and this is what it looks like now.

 I have yet to find the perfect mirror, but this one was free so it will do for now. :)

 I have already redecorated the top of the piano, again. :) 

I like the way the piano looks open, but little visitors keep having to pound the keys and I’m getting to old for that kind of noise, so I may have to close it. The photo above the piano is one I took when my youngest was 4 and the dog was 3, they are 13 and 12 now. I’m not sure if the photo is as good as I think it is or if I just love it so much because of what happened right after I snapped the shot. My daughter broke down and crying because she had “dog germs“ and I started laughing hysterically, because I’m evil like that.  

My youngest is also the piano player in the family so technically the piano is hers.  We are currently in a disagreement about it being painted, and beings I didn’t buy it I can’t even use the old parent fall back of “I paid for it. ” A close family friend, had friends that had a piano at a job site, and they were told to throw it away. He found out about it, drove two hours to pick it up and two hours home again and surprised us with it, so it has some sentimental value to her – I just wish it didn’t extend to what it looked like.

 So that’s what I have so far, I’ll update as things progress.

 #firstimpressions

Little by little

Ah, the kitchen remodel. You dream about it for months, maybe years, and then it finally comes and get to a point where you wish you had never started. Or, at least that’s what happened to me! Of course then the guilt sets in- I should be so happy for this remodel, so thankful! Yet I’m stressed, tired and overwhelmed. There’s a new delay everyday and the end seems like it will never get here. Until you get your countertops in! Countertops are like the magical, you can get through this, you can push through the rest, pep talk that tired renovators need.

Especially when they’re the gorgeous honed marble you have dreamt of since you drooled over Martha Stewart’s kitchen when you were a little girl. We have list upon list of things to do- trim, painting touch ups, backsplash, more electrical work (seemingly unending in our old house), the trim under the upper cabinets need fixed because they were installed incorrectly and all the hardware and lighting need installed. But- I have a sink! 

I have a dishwasher! And countertops! And a range! This is progress and it feels good. I’ve already prettied up the countertops and the peninsula, knowing full well I’ll have to take everything off 10 times before we’re done, but I don’t care. I have pretty things in my kitchen again and it feels so good. I’m saving those pretty “afters” for later and I’ll also share my “befores” too, so you can see the full effect :-) 

Welcome to my home!

I’m so excited to have a place to share our wonderful home with you. My husband and I purchased our first house almost 2 years ago. We had been married a few months prior, and weren’t seriously looking to purchase. We drove by it and fell in love. After settling in, it still didn’t feel like “home”. Paint colors that didn’t fit our personalities & outdated ceramic tile flooring with grout that might’ve been cleaned a handful of times in its 15 years. Some updates we’ve done out of necessity and many others to put our own touch on things, but little by little we’re growing to love our home. I believe your home is a reflection of yourself and I’m working on only putting colors on the walls, accessories, etc. in our home that do just that. 

 Since yesterday I ripped up this flooring, we’ll start with the living/dining area. I can’t wait to show you what it looks like in the weeks *maybe months* to come!

 This photo shows what the dining and living area has generally looked like since we moved in. It’s an extremely awkward space. We put the tv above the fireplace, mostly because it felt like that’s where it was supposed to go but it didn’t allow for more than a single couch to view the tv. After 2 years of brainstorming I think I’ve found a solution! I’ll keep you posted! I loved the dark laminate when we moved in, then grew to hate the tile that was everywhere but the living room. Then, at some point we got 2 dogs that shed and bring in a lot of dirt which is why we’re replacing all of it with new lighter laminate. The ceiling is very high in the peak so I talked myself into liking the paint colors until I found the courage (and a solution) to painting it all. 

 We painted the walls and ceiling the same shade of white to avoid spending days on a ladder edging. The color is Dove White, in Valspar Reserve with a Satin finish. Hopefully I’ll be able to show you all our new flooring and living arrangement in a few days! Wish us luck!

Not for the faint of heart…

Now I meant it when I said this was not for faint of heart. This Trailer is in more then a little in need of being fixed up. Thank goodness my husband was blessed with many of many talents that include plumbing, electrical and construction. It does not hurt that his dad is a plumber and his uncle is and electrician and he’s worked for both of them!! The guy is just all around good with his hands, and I am a great gofer. Kali gofer this gofer that ya i got that down. We bought this Trailer cheap and I mean cheap that being said you get what you pay for. We have a lot to do and not a ton of time. I wish that we could just focus all our time and effort on fixing it up right now but he works and we have 5, 3 and 1 year old little girls so we do what we can. In the pictures above you can see how we found it luckily you don’t have to smell or feel how we found it. There was some plumbing issues that had lead to a lot of floor damage (thankfully it was only in the kitchen bathroom area) we tore out all the damaged sub floor and replaced it. We took out all the plumbing haven’t yet got that back in, but as I mentioned work in progress. Hubs has started patch work, and can I say sometimes this guys just AMAZES me I really had no faith that we could make patches in wood paneling look good and he sure showed me!! We have a budget and we want to do this right but also the most cost effective so we can save save save to build. The more I spend the longer I’m in here. I guess who knows I might be in love when I am done and want to stay here for years. Unlikely but who knows. Stay tuned for the next step I know I am.     

I need a new chair…

Well if we need a new chair then we need a new couch too, and then if we are getting a new couch I would like the brick on the fireplace removed and hardwood on the floors…and so a total gut job of the family room is in process.  My very talented husband is making built in’s for around the fireplace and wainscoting for one wall.  The new couch has arrived, and I am trying to figure out what to put above the fireplace , and on the mantle and on the shelves…..and then there are pillows a throw and a rug….stay tuned.

Building a dream home

I have a little blog, well two. 1 is on BlogSpot, and then I moved it to WordPress…and now I‘’m back to blogger. I am excited about this site being created because I hope to use it to gain inspirations from others as well as inspire. When we started designing and building our home at the end of 2014 I searched the internet for a blog to help me navigate this unknown territory. And well…it was pretty empty. Or no one updated it anymore. So I””m trying to do a good job of documenting the whole building process, being your own general contractor and all the craziness that goes with it. Oh, and doing this while living with my in-laws. Good times. Feel free to read and comment to your hearts content.  www.camusrd.blogspot.com

Kitchen Update

Our house was built in 1976, and when we bought it in 1993, it had never been updated AT ALL!  We spent Mother’s Day ripping out chocolate shag carpet and the next two weeks taking things down to the bones.  All that the budget would allow for the kitchen was new wallpaper and new flooring.  The cabinets were sound and the ceramic tile counters and backsplash were acceptable.  Fast forward to 2012 when a young guest at a shower I was giving declared my kitchen “retro”!  With the help of the folks at Lowe’s, we gutted the kitchen and three years later, I still love it..

Renovation Reality

Hi there! You’re meeting me while I am in the 6th week of a kitchen/dining/pantry renovation. My house and life has been turned upside down but I can’t wait to see it all come together in the next week. I have a sweet baby boy who is 8 1/2 months old and just learned to crawl a week ago. In a renovation zone. What is life without it’s little challenges, though? I could not do any of this without the support of my amazing husband. He works hard all day and comes home to continue working on the kitchen. What a guy! Anyone else ever found themselves in a house that is a disaster from a renovation? I make lists in my head and on paper everyday on how I’ll get it all put back together once we’re done and when I close my eyes I envision a clean kitchen, orderly cabinets and drawers, glass canisters with my dry goods all lined up in the pantry. Ahh… so relaxing! We will have our counter tops installed next Friday at noon so at least the end is near. Of course, I’ll need to dust and “reset” and clean the rest of the house as well. But that’s for another day!