Cedar garage

Check it out!

Here is the old aluminum garage door, fully clad in cedar. The rest of the front was finished in cedar so that all horizontal boards lined up. The back and fence side of the garage were repaired, plastered and painted. And I think you know about the light wall on the pea gravel side? Those translucent panels light up at night.

Apparently, the garage door motor and spring work together to pull up the door. The spring needs to be adjusted to handle the extra weight, and that's it! We are still waiting for the guy to come make the adjustment, in the meantime, the door opens and closes very very slowly.  

and that's a $20 black cylinder light from Lowes (we moved the electrical box down about a foot).

I think this might be a do-able DIY. I'm not sure, since it is way beyond our skills, and the guys had giant power tools. It seemed like it was a cinch. They removed the manual key lock and reattached it using a longer wire. The key pad was also taken apart temporarily. 

We are getting to the end of our home improvements around here. It seems endless, I know.   

Before:

 

Cedar Garage Door

This is happening in our backyard right now!

- Existing aluminum garage door
- Plywood panels
- Tight-knot cedar boards screwed to the plywood, every fourth board is ripped by 3/4 inch to fit the panel
- 300 screws in the panels, 90 screws in the back of the door
- Back of garage door predrilled, then wood panel screwed to the door from reverse side

Try not to get too excited!!! 

Yard work

My dad gave me three clumps of mint from his garden yesterday. I transplanted it behind the garage. This spot gets a little morning sun and that's it. I hope the mint lives, and takes over!! I'd love a wild mess of green back here!

update: I have been reading a bit more about mint and I will try to use it as ground cover...plus I better put some sort of barrier along the fence to keep it away from my behind the house neighbour's manicured (& heavily mulched so maybe ok) garden.

Ikea Lisel Fabric - on sale!

 

 

 

First I thought "eek!", then "yum!", then "cute!", then "maybe?", then "yes!"

then I bought four metres

Ikea's Lisel fabric - right now $4.99/metre


UPDATE: 50 MINUTES LATER

I wanted to make a pillow out of this rug...and I had a little extra fabric...so I hand stitched them together and this is what you get:

I need to buy proper stuffing to make it puff up! (A king pillow insert should do the trick!)

Backyard Party Decorations

What a fun day!!

ps. we copied the cake design from here.

New Ikea PS Vago chairs

I wanted these chairs last summer. However, by the time we finished landscaping, the chairs were sold out!  Well, this year there are stacks of PS VAGO chairs at Ikea!

When we got them home, I wasn't so sure. They seemed like bright white monsters. Now I can't stop admiring them!! 


How do I to marry my love of modern and vintage...and not always vintage modern, either?  I buy what I love and put it in place.  It doesn't always work, except since I LOVE IT, I am probably the last person to notice! (I am referring to the row of aged bentwood chairs on the other side of the pea gravel patio, and my love of pretty gramma tablecloths!)

Is it time to arrange a blogger potluck at my place??

ps. we plan on staining the deck grey...

Puttering outside

I get really REALLY excited when I hang a hook - it has something to do with using power tools to get organized...the feeling of "life is better when things are off the floor"....you have no idea how GIDDY I am after hanging seven chairs in the garage, two hooks (one for the strawberry plant, one for the bbq cover), and the clothesline (it was installed in 2010, taken down when we landscaped...)

GIDDY-UP!
Oh, and I solved the problem of my ferns being too small for my planters...twine and twigs! (Last year I used duct tape, now I have to scrape all the tape residue off at some point...ugh)

The yard after a spring rain

 

It has that after-a-spring-rain smell...fresh & green...I think we need to go back out and enjoy it!

Pea Gravel Patio

The pea gravel patio in our backyard has become a busy work site.   My son lies down in it, scoops the rocks with his hands...runs his hands through it like a 'dozer' to make roads...this morning he was 'digging trenches for the new houses'...

We don't need a sandbox after all!

The yard in the fall with leaves everywhere

Some photos of our very pretty yard.

I am having a picture perfect birthday!

 

ps. these haven't been touched up by photoshop, you can probably tell...I wish I knew how to put some filters on to give them a bit of WOW!