Month: February 2019

To Tell The Story Of The Most Valuable Garden Shed

The back side of the original garage, taken down in 2012.
I bought this house in 2005. I lived in the carriage house for a year and a half while I worked on the property. This is a pic of the original back yard behind the garage.
Although I had tenants in this house at the time, I tried to clean up the yard and make it usable.  Better than it was.
The original back porch was semi-enclosed with painted plywood and screen on the top. I also inherited some fabulous lava rock.  See the wire fence between the houses?
My first attempt to clean up the yard with plastic edging, grass seed and mulch.
Fast forward 11 years to 2016, after I took down the garage and added garden boxes in the yard and removed the painted plywood and screen from the back porch.  I’ve had 
long term tenants in this house since I bought it 14 years ago.
I took the garage down in 2012 because it wasn’t structurally sound. I left the concrete pad.
September 2018 I had a shed built to accommodate my garden supplies and storage.
I used half of the original concrete pad for the shed.
I considered using metal “patches” on the side of the shed, but ended up only using mtetal on the roof. I’ll use the same material for the roof on my back porch.
The white paned door came from the carriage house in the back. I love the shed and how rustic it is. And I definately need the storage as I don’t have a garage and my basement will be remodeled at some point in the near future.
This large barn door is great for accessing the shed. I had a concrete ramp built under this door so I can wheel my wheelbarrow in and out of the shed, as necessary. Another ” Smart girl idea”!
Because I have short term rentals, I needed storage for supplies in addition to my garden supplies. I had three pine shelving units I picked up at Goodwill a few years ago and secured them onto the back wall for organization.
As you can see, I needed and used this space up very quickly. Now if I can keep everything this organized going forard!

Fun in the sun and more beautiful Shenanigans

Saint George, Utah for Dad’s 75th birthday.
Mom arriving from Idaho at DIA.
Michael and Dad in Moab, Utah for Michael’s 50th birthday.
The Thompson girls on the way to lunch and shopping in Littleton!
Mom, relaxing on the back patio while helping out with my new project.
Selfie on Cumberland Pass, the Continental Divide.
Family dinner at PF Changs in Lone Tree, CO.
Main Street, Gunnison.
Blue Mesa Reservoir.
Hanging with my nephew, Preston and my dog, Rocco.
Silly Girl, in disguise.  Guess who?
Mom enjoying a cup of tea in the carriage house with Rocco.
Picking up Mom from DIA.
Posing with Lisa Bachicha and Susie in Gunnison.

My First Effort Was The Bravest Thing I’ve Ever Seen

This was the first property I bought when I moved to Denver in 2004. I lived in this carriage house for a year and half while I worked on it.  It is about 500 square feet, 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom.
Original windows were charming, but super inefficient. I love it anyway and spent my days off cleaning and fixing it up.
There were some huge flagstone pieces in the yard, wire fence between the two houses and many volunteer Elm trees surrouding the house.
At some point, a sunroom was added onto the house giving it much needed light, but the original windows didn’t work well for heat retention. You can see the door on the right side of the pic which was between the sunroom and the original house, now used on my new garden shed.
A cool built in cabinet in the tiny dining area.
The original kitchen with a farmhouse sink. I wish I had kept that sink now. Also 2 architectural arches in the house and a small opening phone nook in the wall between the ktchen and living room.
This door leads from the kitchen and opens to the driveway outside. The cabinets and counter top on the right were later removed.
The original kitchen.

This poor kitchen was so outdated when I bought the place and moved in. See the short refrigerator on the far right.  Right after I moved in,  my  sister came to stay and help and we had a new refrigerator delivered.

Looking through the living room toward the bathroom. And the storage cabinets built into the wall on the left. Also notice the opening on the right where a window was at some point. It had shelves built in in between the added on sunroom and living room.
Chain link fence between the alley parking space and yard. Lovely scalloped covered entry and stucco chimney stack against the house. Original wood siding.
After I moved in, I cleaned it up and once spring came, the garden started to fill in with wonderful perennial flowers.
I added more flagstone to make a wider walkway, added some short fencing to make a border to the garden. Still rustic, but more welcoming anyway.
A rickety white picket fence gate between the houses and hanging planters.
Shabby chic? Maybe, but I was so happy to have this little place to work on.
I added gravel to make my parking space cleaner.
You can see how adding flowers and potted plants made it cozy. I hung roman shades inside for privacy and to make it more efficient.
Outside the bedroom window, a little garden.
My little sitting area. You can see the washing machine through the window in the sunroom.
All these tress were suckers and were growing under the foundation. I loved the shade, but had to have them removed later.
I painted, installed parquet floors and fixed it up while living there.
Looking from the living room into the sunroom. The floor in the sunroom was very uneven.
See the vinyl flooring in the kitchen? I replaced the appliances, sanded and painted the original cabinets.
Cool arches in the house. I think it was built in the early 1930’s.
I had the cabinet doors off to paint them. The original farmhouse sink and dish drainer. Metal tiles on the backsplash.
The bedroom is large enough for a king sized bed.
Looking from the kitchen through the dining area toward the bedroom. Phone nook on the left.
Tiny dining area.
Nice sized cedar lined closet.

In 2016, I did a full remodel and converted this long term rental into a short term rental.

See how uneven the floor is.  Original exterior siding on the left wall where the sunroom was added on.
I took this wall out, had the floor leveled and moved one of the sunroom windows to the wall on the left side above where the washer and dryer will go.
The interior walls in the sunroom were finished with very cheap cardboard “wood”.
These projects are always worse before they get better.
My contractor, assessing the situation!
The original exterior wall between the sunroom and living room.
The finished product!  So bright and cheery!
Now it’s a pleasure to do laundry.
Still tiny, but more charming. I took the cabinet doors off and painted the inside a fresh Green.
Galley kitchen flows nicely.
Walking through the kitchen from the entry door, by the driveway, into the house.
Breakfast nook.
King sized bed.
Comfortable living area.
Electric fireplace with the now famous phone nook on the left.
Small, but cute bathroom.
Tiled bathroom with iron details.
Outdoor courtyard with gardens, flagstone walkway and sitting areas.
I kept the original wood siding, but scraped and painted it, added the shutters and  exposed the brick on the chimney stack.
I exposed much of the original chimney and sealed it for a rustic old world look. Added a wood door and replaced the scalloped entry cover with a cedar arbor with iron brackets. I also added Cornflower Blue shutters for extra charm.
I found vinyl flooring that matched the original pine flooring in the bedroom and replaced the parquet flooring.

This little house has come a long way in the time I’ve owned it. It has a special place in my heart as it was the first of my houses I lived in when moving back to Denver in 2004. Although it looks so cute now, I loved it when I lived here so long ago. Now it’s available to rent through VRBO.com, listing # 795289.

First blissful European trip will make you worry…

Going through customs in Shannon Ireland. It’s all a bit scary, but also exciting! We left NYC at 10:30 PM and arrived in Ireland at 5:30 AM. I didn’t sleep on the flight, instead watched the flight monitor while tightly gripping my arm rest, the whole way.
It’s best not to think about being over the Atlantic Ocean for 5 hours during the flight. Movies help!
There’s no doubt when you finally descend close enough to see the ground that your in Ireland. Look how Green and lush it it! Beautiful!
When we landed, we were greeted with a traditional Irish breakfast. Holy smokes! I had coffee instead.
We rented a house on Clew Bay and watched the tides come and go for 2 weeks.
This is the house we stayed in for 2 weeks.
We looked across the inlet at a small farm with sheep (of course) cows and horses. And they had a friendly dog who came to say hi when we checked it.
We took walks from the house when the tide went down. Exploring small farms and inlets.
And picked wild Blackberries that grew everywhere.
Westport House is an old English Manor on an estate which is now open to the public as a museum. I’m curious about the history of Ireland/Europe and learning more each day.
While we were there, the Harvest Country Music Festival, Miranda Lambert
headlining at the Westport House estate.
We also drove to Dublin for a Gaelic Football game at Croke Park, the largest arena in Ireland. Co Mayo was competing in the finals. Unfortunately, they didn’t win.
Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland.
I have to be honest, the hardest part for me was adjusting to driving on the left side of the road. I didn’t drive during our visit, but had a hard time relaxing while driving for the first week. And you can see how narrow the roads are. The shoulder is at most, 10 inches wide and rock walls line most of the roads. So as a passenger, you see the grass and rock walls coming at you on the left. It takes getting used to!
Besides driving on the left side of the road, the road signs are all in Gaelic and English.
We took a day trip to Connamara and Killary Harbour. So Green and beautiful!
Keel Beach on Achill Island.
The Wild Atlantic Drive follows the coast on the West side of Ireland. Because Ireland is an island, the coast is rocky and dramatic in many places.
The town of Westport is charming and historic.  You see it shown in many tourism ad’s for Ireland. Irish natives like visiting Westport for “holiday” 
I prefer wine, but had to sip a pint at a local pub to get the full experience.
Bertra Strand, with Crogh Patrick (holy mountain) in the distance.
A bunch of rocks on the beach. I think it’s beautiful!
We walked out on to Bertra Strand and enjoyed the grassy peninsula with rocky borders. It was windy, but comfortable enough to spend a couple hours out there.
We visited several abbey’s. Stone is used abundantly, as Ireland is basically a rock island and it’s the easiest material to get. This is in the town of Cong, where The Quiet Man with John Wayne was filmed.
Stone ruins are everywhere. At first, I was taking pics of all the stone buildings, but eventually realized that stone is as common as sagebrush in my hometown. However, I still think its beautiful, historic and certainly durable! These walls and buildings are over a Thousand years old!
An old Abbey and graveyard. See the grave headstones flat on the ground?
These buildings are so amazing and spectacular.
An old Monk’s fishing house on the river near Cong.
Ashford Castle is a world destination and has a long and rich history. Being American I think 200 years is old, but in Ireland, the history goes back thousands of years.
A local favorite is a “99”. Ice cream cone with a flake of chocolate stuck in it! Yum!
More stonework in Westport.
A hike at Old Head Beach on the cliffs.
Kylemore Abbey. We got there too late to go in, but will try again next time!
You still see thatched roofs on some buildings. It’s an old art of tying reeds tightly together to form a roof. This one is on the Wild Atlantic Drive near Achill Island.

Here you see Roofing, Gutters and service Cables…

Now that the painting is done, I’m waiting for my Gutter guy to install the new gutters. Winters in Englewood are pretty mild, but as you can see we do get snow. See how the melting is running down the patio roof, pooling on the ground below? Lovely!
Mud where the snow melts on my walkway from the driveway to front door. I had a tree service come and trim my trees in the back yard and grind out a few old stumps, using a big grinder on wheels. They did a great job of navigating the machinery through the yard, but left some tracks in the mud.
The patio roof is prepped for the metal roofing. However, when the accumulated snow melts on the roof, it drips onto the patio. Ugh! I used a piece of drip edge to divert it away from my slider door.
More than 1 leak. I got word that the metal roofing has arrived and have my contractor scheduled tomorrow to install it. Yes!
Gutters will take care of this problem.
There’s an ice rink behind the shed.
I also had the internet and satellite service companies come and reattach the cables to the house after the siding went up. Unfortunately, an old service box was reattached after the siding and paint went on. I took it down and will touch up the spot with paint.
I moved all the utility boxes to a new spot on the house and had all of the boxes painted to match the house. I may have a cover built over them to better hide them, but I like this spot better than the back porch. I may put a planter in front of them too, to minimize.
All the wires are right there, under the door. I’ll bury them under the Breeze material to protect and hide them. I also will rework the flagstone steppers in front of the door to make a landing- hopefully keep inside cleaner and give the entry some visual appeal.
All these little things are small, but make a huge difference in the overall look and flow of the property. Inspection complete for today!

Painting is done! Now cleaning and decorating will make you smile …

The paint is finally on the siding and it looks fresh and bright!

Now that most of the big stuff is done, I can start working on the decorating, my favorite part! I’ll place the planters, hang flower baskets and move some benches into the front around the house. I also ordered a cool tiled house number set that should be here soon.

The top flagstone step arrived and the landscapers are placing it.
So Much Better!
Now that the paint is up, the gutters are next.
The Patio Slider looks great!

I think this new slider patio door is the most dramatic change to the interior, so far. The light coming into the kitchen is wonderful and I love look looking out into the yard. Next, I’ll be placing all the planter pots that are being stored in this area and reworking it to be open, functional and pretty.

The back porch is so much cleaner looking.

Today I’m going to Home Depot to buy materials for outdoor curtain rods. And then start setting it up to use! I know it’s only February, but spring will be here before we know it!

My buddy, Rocco! He doesn’t really care so much about the project. He just wants to be with me, wherever that is. Mr. 100% loyal! Otherwise, he loves to eat and sit in the warm sunshine.
Me in my yard a month after I retired in 2016. Working in my yard is a very happy place!

Most of the major stuff is done and I’m now looking forward to working on the small details. I love this part and have been thinking about how to create special spaces in the new clean, updated yard. It’s so easy to lose myself moving things around and trying different ideas until I get it just right. Spring is not far away and, I’m sure I speak for most people, it’s a time to come back outside, breathe fresh air and notice all the tiny little bits Green as nature unfolds again. Once it warms up, I’ll be focusing on the yard, gardens and greenery surrounding the house.