Open for Business...

Here is the finished view of the front of the house. Lots of neighborhood visitors today. People seem to really like what we did. We love it.

This is the main view of our yard taken from the back door. BIG change from the day we bought the place. Lots of grass for Boston. You can see the new redwood fence we put in and the trellising with some type of climbing vine/flower. Now all we need is to set up the hammock and relax.

Here is the other side of the backyard. We have pathway and spot lights set up to highlight the lemon tree in the middle of the photo, as well as all the tall pine trees and the hanging planters to the right of the photo.

Phase 7 - Landscaping

We took this photo at night. The backyard has been graded and the fresh black soil is in piles waiting for the new sod. The stakes you see in the foreground mark the perimeter of the new concrete patio we are laying. We can't wait until we remove the bamboo patching from the side of the neighbor's garage. Its an eyesore and a good project to tackle on an upcoming weekend.

BIG improvements to the backyard. We leveled and removed the red manger and 70 foot tree swaying above the house... fyi, the tree was leaning so far over the house, the Insurance inspector refused to insure the home unless it was removed. In its place will be a new citrus grove. We are thinking Meyer lemons...

We also jack hammered the original cracked up concrete and added to the patio area by creating the half moon shape you see in the photo. The concrete is stamped with a slate stone pattern and stained to complement the house and backyard area. Additionally, we added new automatic sprinklers, drip system, new drainage and lights to illuminate the backyard at night while enjoying a glass of CAYMUS! If the David family comes up, I'll be sure to have a bottle of Heitz on hand. All visitors are welcome to make requests... the wine country is minutes away.

The fence on the back left of the photo will be replaced... and we are adding flowering plants and some black mulch/bark to finish off the look. The grass comes Friday. Boston will be relieved... literally.

Wow... the hole was larger than we thought, the dry rot is terrible and we must do something about the faded green color.

With the temporary bamboo fencing out of the way, we needed to construct a new side of the wall. Here I am doing my best Bob Villa impression. Kate tiled the kitchen floor, I can handle the outside. HGTVers have nothin' on us...

The side of this garage was power washed to strip the old crusty green paint. Here I am painting it to match our house color. A new redwood fence is being constructed to the left of the photo. You can just make out our neighbor's garage door by looking through the area that will soon be fenced in.

You can see we removed the original lawn. It has been over run with weeds. We upgraded the existing sprinkler system, changed its configuration to better suit the watering needs, and added a drip system for the new flowering shrubs/plants. New sod to be placed in a few days.

This photo is taken from the front southeast corner property line. Sod to be laid in a few days, along with new flowering plants. We added a concrete slab between the two tree-like bushes on the upper right. Soon we'll top it off with a bistro table for morning coffee on the weekends. The street is so busy with active families and their strollers/dogs, it will be a great way to say hi to the neighbors... AND make sure their dogs don't leave anything behind.

Here is a better photo of the wider driveway. We added 3 feet and it makes it easier to pull in to it. The original driveway was 7 feet wide. This is now 10 feet and our new grass will appreciate the fact that we will no longer drive over it when pulling into our home. A few weeks from now, all the concrete in the front will be stained and possess the same color throughout the entire property.

Next blog update will be of the finished product. Wish us LUCK!

Phase 6 - We've Moved In

This is the exterior after the painting. We plan on building a giant swing from the tree branches at some point... but I might put up some cool rock climbing holds so I can scale the tree in the time being. Over the next 3 weeks, we'll do some minor landscaping and lightscaping to the front and a major landscape project to the back... more photos of that in the upcoming weeks.


This is the Living Room with views through the bay window of the front yard.... front door on the left. You can just see Boston's red pillow lying at the base of the window. He sits there all day keeping watch of the house. Kate and I have been impressed with the large amount of strollers and dog walkers cruising by our home on the way to the neighborhood park 3 blocks away. Lots of action for Boston to scope out.

My wife is SOOO great, she let's me snap photos of our house with ESPN on in the background. Remember the old nasty carpeting? It's been replaced with gleaming hard wood floors.

This is the view from the bay window/front door to the fireplace. We have begun to place our growing wine collection in the nook on the back right... being so close to Napa & Sonoma has its privileges...

There used to be a wall that separated the dining room from the kitchen. We now have a much more open floor plan and flow from living room to dining room to kitchen. The laundry and doorway to the backyard is through the white doorway in the background of the photo.

Here is the guest bathroom. The camera flash makes it look a bit yellow. Its not... it is cozy with a really cool bathroom sink faucet. Kate and I have been using this bathroom each morning while the master bathroom is completed.

This is the guest bedroom, with views of the outside. This is a 3 bedroom house. The 3rd bedroom (not shown) is our office and is complete with another bed should we have more than one visitor at a time. We encourage all friends and family to visit. We LOVE the neighborhood and our life together in Sacramento. We want to share our home with all of you..................

This is the master bathroom shower. The entire master BEDROOM is black and white... photos to come once fully designed.... the Master Bedroom follows the overall look. The tile is a nice white and gray stone, with a white river pebble floor. Very zen...

Next up... outdoor landscaping. New photos over the next 4 weeks. Stay tuned...

Phase 5 - paint and floors

Welcome to the new house. Move in day is in 2 days. Kate assembled and installed this new address plaque after the exterior was painted. We are changing the light fixture shortly.

New exterior paint and trim is now complete, along with all of the interior painting.

Living Room bay window... carpet to be removed shortly.

Master bedroom. Color is Cream. Light socket switches and sconce lighting on the left to be installed shortly.

This is the office. The color is Glamour... but looks like purple. GO KINGS!

Floors yet to be done, but the color of this guest bedroom is Koi Pond.

Dining room painted. Kitchen to the left.

Cabinets mostly installed but covered so the painting could be done.

here is the kitchen tile.... a little dusty from all the sanding and grout... but they look good. Kate told the tile experts to stand back and tiled the majority of the kitchen herself. Apparently, they were not doing it right. I was beaming with pride.

This bad boy needs some stainless steel polish but you are looking at our double drawer dishwasher. I think Kate stained it with her greasy fingers. I asked her to be careful hoisting it into place as I relaxed and took the picture. Supposed to save water and is more energy efficient. We are soooo 2009.

Here is the stove/oven... Countertops installed tomorrow.

Check out the hardwood floors... The carpet was pulled up, rotted wood replaced and a new stain applied. The color is spicy brown. We are heating things up.

Final coat!! next up... moving day!

Phase 4

Guest bath/shower area is complete. Next up... sink, toilet and wall paint.

Boston is lending a helping paw. Check out the dust on the floor.

The master bath is coming along. The photo above illustrates the shower. What you see is the waterproofing mud. The tile will be laid on top of the mud. The shower has been placed where the doorway from the kitchen into the former laundry room once sat.

Here is a close up photo of the color. You can see the interior side of the windows are covered because they are painting the inside. The exterior trim will be BLACK instead of green. Be sure to click on any of the photos for a larger picture.

Phase 3

House is being painted. Major improvement to the outside body and gutters. Windows and front door will be black. The interior should be done by Saturday. We actually had a few neighbors thank us for purchasing the home. They must like the updates we've been doing... or maybe the former green exterior was just that bad.

Expert crew installing the new kitchen cabinets. We'll select the granite countertops this weekend.

Detailed view of the cabinets

This guy is standing above the area where the stove will go.

Phase 2

It has been one week since we last updated the blog. As you can see, the weeds, cement slabs, tree stump and nasty red manger have been removed. Now we have a blank canvas to build our backyard oasis... perfect for outdoor grilling.

Lots of work still to do in the backyard... but you can see the dark gray stucco covering/repairing the former doorway from the old laundry room to the backyard. The new doorway is covered in plywood to the far left of the house. The all glass french style door should be installed this week. The old kitchen cabinets and stove/oven won't be enjoying the sun much longer... time for the trash dump.

Guest bath... Waterproof drywall is hanging near the shower... will be tiled shortly.

We have started to lay out the tile work for the guest bath. The floor will use these field tiles in a 12"x12" size. The shower wall will display the same tile in a 6"x6" size. All oil rubbed bronze fixtures for faucets and shower knobs... complimented by a white classic Pedestal sink. For those of you familiar with our guest bath in our leased home, it will look similar.

The master bedroom. If you scroll down to the original posts, you can see what this room looked liked when we bought it. The door into the kitchen has been covered and the new door you see leads into the master bath suite.

Homes built in 1926 don't have large closets. We doubled the size of this one in the master and will add the french double doors leaning against the wall tomorrow. By the way, the white powder you see covering the closet floor is construction dust... its ALL over the place and makes us sneeze. Poor Boston walked the site with us tonight and he came out looking like he had snorted more cocaine than a 1970's Go Go Dancer workin' the dance pole at the famous Studio 54.

Not a very exciting photo... but you can see the beginning of a shower floor with drain... soon to be complete with dual shower heads and floor tiles, made from tumbled river pebbles.

This is the kitchen. The old doorways to the master bedroom and old laundry are gone. They have now been "sheet-rocked" and "skimmed" (that's right, I'm dropping construction lingo). The doorway on the right leads to the new laundry room, complete with utility sink and new French Door leading to the backyard.

Here is the same old view of the kitchen we have been showing you in prior posts... but its changed quite a bit. As you can see, the kitchen walls are being textured and new electrical, including outlets/recessed lighting has been completed. The gas lines and plumbing has been completed. New cabinets and appliances arrive this week! Kitchen tile floor to be installed on Wednesday.