Showing posts with label progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label progress. Show all posts
Disney World inspired stone accent wall progress
Disney World inspired stone accent wall progress
Walt Disney World. My second home. I love all things Disney but it is so much more than the theme parks. I LOVE the architecture of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Each resort is its own individual themed world. I love the way the Disney Imagineers utilize stone work. It is simply gorgeous. Two of my favorite stone walls are at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort and the Beach Club.
Once I knew I wanted some type of stone accent in my living room, I looked for inspiration photos. The one below, in my own camera, was the look I was hoping to achieve. This is from the entrance of the Beach Club, one of my favorite places on Disney property.
Enter Craigslist. I found a listing for left over stone from a patio paver project. It was actual stone as opposed to veneer and was about 10 square feet. So I bargained the price down, drove up and loaded it into the car. I was SO worried the tires were going to explode on the way home but thankfully, I made it home. PHEW!
I unloaded it - not a fun task - and stacked it on the driveway. I had never done any type of project such as this so I Googled a lot.
So up went the waterproof barrier first applied with a staple gun. So far so good! Next game the metal lath. This is a nightmare. In the checkout line, I cut my fingers on the rough edge which is like razor sharp. I started to bleed all over the place - so embarrassing! I was on my hands and knees wiping blood up off the floor - it was quite gross. This was the worst part of the job. Buying it, transporting it and applying it with an electronic staple gun.
Then I had to lightly score the mortar for better adhesion. And as Mary Poppins says, "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun". So I scored the wall with a few Mickey heads. LOL.
The first stones in place. I placed a solid piece of wood to serve as a level surface to ensure an even application.
More progress. When I stepped back and looked at this - I hated it. It looked very messy with no flow. So, I pried off the stones and started over. I hated to do it but in the end, I was much happier! As Queen Clarisse says in Princess Diaries, "Better. Much better!"
And this is where I am right now. 2/3 done - getting really excited!
Since the stone is real, the weight is considerable. Since I am concerned about the floor supporting the weight, I am going to go under the crawlspace with a support jack. I see they are about $40 and can allow for an additional 18,000 pounds of weight support. They look like this...
I am also attempting a Pinterest pin regarding DIY air vents. These are in such a prominent place that I didnt want to put back the conventional vent style covers. Hopefully this wont be a Pinterest fail. :-O
So that is my wall progress. I hope I can post a reveal by Friday. I am quite excited to see this messy project finished. Have a great weekend! Go IRISH - beat Oklahoma.
Disney World inspired stone accent wall progress
More Pergola Progress
More Pergola Progress
We got a good start on the pergola this weekend. The goofy boards on each corner are just braces we used to hold up the corners until we got some of the top pieces on.
There will still be six timbers that run perpendicular to the ones you see going right to left in this picture. The notching of each board is taking longer than we thought and the next course of timbers will be harder as each one will have six places to notch and not just the two we have now.
The shade this provides will be very dappled as the spacing was a touch wider than I thought it would be but it should work great. I plan to grow grape vines and maybe mingle those with some type of climbing rose and that should help with the shade a lot. We also ran into a small snag when we dug the 2 ft. deep holes for the cement tubes and brackets last week. Our pergola is not a square shape as originally planned but had to be 1.5 ft wider than my little plan called for because we found our gray water line leading to the septic tank, right where my holes were going. At least now we know where it it :-D No project around here ever goes without a hitch. Hitches make it interesting. I am hoping we will be done with this project by next weekend.
In the spring I will build some flower beds around the patio and it will be harder to notice the rectangular shape it ended up being. Cant wait to get this done, I have so many other things that need finishing before the snow flies. Where on earth did the summer go?
More Pergola Progress
Kitchen Backsplash Progress!
Kitchen Backsplash Progress!
Wow! I didnt realize ive been away from General Splendour for such a long time! Life has been rather hectic the past few months but, alas, Ive been making some notable progress on my projects. ??
I have been focusing on my kitchen and I feel Im coming into the home stretch. I am in love with the stone backsplash. I love the different colors and textures and the depth it provides to the space.
If you will remember, this is where it all started. The 1980s color palette hunter green formica with honey pine wood trim! Yuckola!
So I changed out the hardware from brass to chrome and gave the Formica countertops a faux granite makeover with paint and glitter and Envirotek. Years later, I still could not be happier with the transformation and the results.
Initially, I painted it apple green and black with damask accents. This trend was all over the pages of Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs and it was gorgeous. But it just didnt feel like "me".
So, I decided to change it. I painted it a calming grey blue and with the stone backsplash, I have now the coastal chic look that I knew I was seeking from the beginning!
I also found this adorable round window in a clearance section of a local home improvement store and built it into the old square pass thru into the dining room. Im seriously gushing over it and cannot wait for it to be complete!
I also found a gorgeous new kitchen light - a special order return from Lowes which was 70% off. YAY! So, it is coming together and I hope for it to be complete in the next few weeks. And I have a few more ideas floating around in my head Im going to try to make a reality.
Well, that is a brief update on the goings on in my kitchen. I hope to be blogging g lots of new things in the coming months! It is great to be back! Have an awesome day!
Kitchen Backsplash Progress!
Foyer Progress Front Door Spruce Up!
Foyer Progress Front Door Spruce Up!
The foyer is coming along nicely and I just finished a project I had absolutely no intention of doing - my front door. It was a very pretty solid oak door and sidelights but the other night I got "an itch" to maybe paint it. I know wood purists will be furious but I did keep the actual door natural wood - I just painted the side lights and added a header. It wasnt much work and I am thrilled with the new look.
This is what I started with. I KNOW I KNOW - it is a solid oak door and not meant to be painted. But I just found it to be a little blah. I wanted a change and I struggled for days whether or not to touch this door with the dreaded white paint brush. :-)
So, I started painting and almost as sure as I finished a white side light, I was terrified I had make a mistake. Even when both sidelights were done, I wasnt quite as thrilled as I hoped I would be. It needed something - it was too boring. So I looked around for some scrap wood and I found a 1 x 2, 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 in various colors. I painted them all ultra white with cabinet and trim paint - so thick and creamy its awesome!
I nailed them together to form this header.
I added a piece of crown molding and wa-lah! Instant header. I secured it to the wall with two nails into the studs and some liquid nails.
I really like the result - it adds character and ties in with the rest of the white molding. I have to finish painting it and filling some trim holes but I am quite pleased.
Linking up to the awesome parties - dont we all love a party? :-)
Sunny Simple Sundays at:
http://sunnysimplelife.blogspot.com/
Metamorphosis Mondays!
Foyer Progress Front Door Spruce Up!