Finished Back Porch Photos

Here's a few pictures I snapped of our *finished back porch. So it's not 100% done, but it's about 95% done. Close enough, right?

Looking out to the back door. New paint, new lighting, sealed wood.

The woodbox below the beer crates (still working on a better location for those!)

My laundry got a paint job too. And new shelves!

My personal artwork contribution.

Painted preserves cupboards...all ready for the harvest!

An example of the work Jeff did...he made all the skirting/baseboards.

I love it. 

So it's still a little rough around the edges sure, but it's so much better than what it was. The last big part of the reno is the back door into the kitchen. We're planning on turning it into a bi-fold door on a track. There's a reason for it, but I'll be able to explain it better when we start working on that part and I take pictures. Let's just say a nearly 100 year old house has it's quirks. Especially since it was built before indoor plumbing was standard in New Zealand.

What have you been creating in your home? I'd love to see!

Reno on the Cheap

Seeing as we own our home and it's nearly 100 years old (4 years to go before that point!), there are a lot of quirks in the house that need to be addressed. It's never been properly renovated apart from carpeting being put in back in the 70s or 80s and being repainted multiple times inside. When I first moved in with my husband, we had an interesting arrangement for the toilet.

 We had to go outside to get to it.

 Yep, our house had a toilet added onto it at some point in the past and when they did that, they didn't close in the space.

The existing back door led to a lean to with a laundry and toilet attached to it. Not a problem in the summer. BIG problem in the winter. Because who wants to go outside in freezing weather to get to the toilet? On cold concrete to boot.

 Jeff had bought lumber a few years back to make a back door for the lean to, thus closing it in. So not long after we moved in together, we started on this project. We did it as cheaply as we could, because we simply don't have money for major renovations. Three years on, it is nearly done. But I'll let the pictures tell the story now.

In the next post, I'll put up reveal shots. We redid the toilet walls, created a pocket door, painted and varnished everything, laid flooring on top of the concrete, built shelves for the laundry room, painted that, created artwork for the laundry and hired an electrician to put in better lighting and switches. So much work was done and I just love the outcome. So does Jeff.

Making a Fresh Start

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut. Ok, well more than just sometimes. It's easy though.

You go through each day, doing what you have to do, forgetting to enjoy things in life.

Next thing you know, you're staring down the last two or three years behind you and wondering what happened. That's where I am.

It's so easy for me to get stuck in a rut. To forget all the wonderful things happening all around me. To focus only on the parts of my life that are a mess. So here I am. Starting over. Creating something that is all about the creative things in my life I have built in New Zealand.

Welcome.

I hope I can help you stay out of your own rut.

Nah, that's really ambitious of me. I hope you can appreciate what I am doing here and in turn, see the creative wonder that is around you. Because whether you sew, bake, garden, build, paint or arrange books on a shelf, you are a creative person too. So pay attention and remember that it's not all about the 9 to 5 (or the 5am-1pm in my case). Enjoy!