I Call This... Suburban Camouflage

Bricking Staining

I am so happy to say that I am finally done with staining the brick on the front of the house and I am very pleased with the results. When I told people my plan for staining the brick, I got a lot of crazy looks and comments about how tedious of a job it would be. Well, it was indeed very, VERY tedious and with confidence I can say: brick staining is NOT for the faint of heart.

My story begins with some ugly yellow brick that comes with the late 40's house package. Needless to say, I was not feeling it and wanted to do something about it while maintaining the integrity and texture of the brick style (meaning: no painting).

Here are a couple photos of the yellow brick:

What most people don't know is that brick, like any stone, is really porous, so it absorbs masonry stain really well. You may have heard of dying cement or staining concrete floors and stone. This is no different.

After doing some research I decided to go with Dyebrick out of the U.K. I was impressed with the look of their product and decided to order a few samples to test it out. I ordered two sample pots: Mocha and Tudor Brown. The shipping was really fast and only took about a week to get to my house.

The thing about Dyebrick that makes it really easy to test out is if you do NOT add the Fixing Agent to the dye, you can paint it on your brick and power wash it right off afterwards. This makes it ideal for testing not only different colors but also different shades (the product uses water and can be diluted for a lighter saturation).

When my sample pots came, I tried two colors, Mocha and Tudor Brown, added several coats, tried painting the mortar to see if I liked that treatment, and last, diluted the pots to try out a lighter saturation. After the front of my house looked like a paint swatch I decided to go with Mocha.

Dyebrick was true to their word: the power washer made the sample stain disappear with no problems.

Two kits covered the front of my house so after looking at photos, perhaps try and decide what you will need for your space.

Before you get started staining, I recommend doing the following:

1. Remove shutters, house numbers, mailboxes, plants and anything else that will uncover all of your brick and provide a clean surface for staining. Don't be lazy and try and stain around objects!
2. Power wash your brick to remove all dirt and residue. This is crucial in getting your brick to absorb and retain the stain to the best of its ability.  
3. Buy a decent brush. I went with a Polyester/Nylon blend about 1.5 inches with stiff bristles. 
4. Wear clothes that can get dirty and cover important areas to prevent stain from splattering.
5. Buckle up and be patient because this is going to be a long ride. 

If you have never worked with stain before, please keep in mind that it is very watery and easy to splatter. It is not thick like paint and because the pigment settles at the bottom, it needs to be stirred frequently. 

The Dyebrick kit comes with a really nice container that allows you to shake up your mixture and store it for later use. Remember that you will be using a FIXER this time so the brick stain will be permanent. 

There is definitely a technique best used for applying the stain and I have outlined it below:

1. Poor a small portion of stain (after you have shaken and mixed it well) into a plastic cup or a plastic trim paint pale (the kind with handles and disposable liners). 
2. Mix the stain BEFORE EACH application. This is very important as the pigment will settle at the bottom and your color won't be consistent as you go.
3. Wring out the brush as much as possible on the inside wall of the cup or paint pale to remove as much excess stain as possible before you apply. A LITTLE BIT OF STAIN GOES A LONG WAY. If you don't wring out your brush enough before you apply, the stain will drip into the mortar or down onto other bricks. 
4. If you do end up splattering some stain or it drips into the mortar, take a wet paper towel or rag to it quickly and wipe the stain away. 
5. Apply the stain across the brick in long strokes so that you are not getting paint lines. 

As you can see, bricks are very porous and you will need to be patient as you go back and saturate the areas that are indented. Don't worry about being too perfect, stone is not flawless and varies in color. Some variation in your stain actually makes the final product look more natural. 

If you don't want to paint the mortar between the bricks like I did, you will need to paint each brick one at a time. I ended up doing two coats on each brick. Do one coat on your entire surface and then come back with your second coat. Because some of my bricks were extra yellow, I applied a third coat on a few which helped to cover the yellow and added to the natural variations of brick colors. At the end of the day, this isn't rocket science: apply as many coats to however many bricks as you think looks best. 

Here are a few more shots during the process:

Most people think that I was crazy to attempt this but it was so worth the time and effort. Check out the finished product!

Can you even tell that it is the same house? 

Personally I think that stone work is great and most of the time should not be replaced or painted. Try staining it next time! Unlike painting, the brick still appears really natural and maintains its texture. It honestly looks like the house was built with brown bricks to begin with. 

I transitioned the shutters from black to blue and replaced the light fixture above the door. We still have some landscaping and trim work to do on the front of the house next spring but I am really glad that I am ringing in this winter with my transformed little "Santorini" house. 

Hope you feel inspired to do some work on your own stone and feel free to reach out with questions!

Cheers,

There is a hole in my house

Hey everyone! Long time no blog. Sorry, things have been crazy as we have been trying to chip away at home repair and the million projects that we have either started or want to start.

The biggest thing we have changed since I last posted was to rip out our kitchen window and add a big patio door! It took one very long day and some very impressive saw work but we have a patio door. Here was the process:

It has been so nice to be able to see the sun shine through the kitchen and be able to see our cute backyard. It had taken away some table space but the yet to be completed deck will be worth it.

Now that we have the patio door in... we started on the St. Louis Park building permit process for the deck and let me tell you, it has been quite the ride. I now completely understand why people do NOT get the city involved but we were trying to do the right thing. After numerous inspections, plan drawings, and bumps in the road we are in the midst of building the deck now and can't wait to have it behind us.

Here is what we have so far:

Don't worry, as soon as we have it at an operational level we will have a BBQ including yard games. After all the extra beams and footings the city is having us add.... the deck will be able to hold a military tank so we are not worried about it holding a crowd of friends and family!

It has been so much fun seeing my design for the deck come to life and I cannot wait to see it finished and be able to enjoy it (though maybe not for long since Winter is Coming). I just bought a Patagonia coat though, so my little butt will be out there until there is a foot of snow on the ground.

I will post the photos of the final product when we are done!

How to Observe the Building of a Chain-Link Fence

Ok, I have to admit that this is the first thing on the house that I didn't really help with. Jeremy and my step-dad David built a chain link fence last weekend so that the beagle could freely roam and harass the neighbor dogs.

Day One - we had to rent an auger to dig the holes for the posts. They then poured cement into the holes and let them dry.

Day Two - it was super hot and Jeremy's mom and sister came over to see the house. We watched the boys stretch the fencing to the poles and attach them with brackets.

The finished product was basically chain-link fencing where the neighbors' fences stopped so that we had a nicely enclosed yard with two gates.

The beagle was very happy indeed and made sure that he made laps around the entire perimeter just to show that he could.

Kind of a boring project to show all of you, but these are some of the important smaller things that we need to get done before we start blowing holes in the side of the house.

We are now planning the patio door and deck building. We need a ton of permits and stuff from the city so we are taking things one at a time and just focusing on the door first. More to come as we chip away at some more details. Bye!

The Little Things

Now that we are all moved in, I am noticing that the little things make a big difference. Filling up the refrigerator with food, hanging a picture, buying a kitchen rug. These things are starting to really make this place feel like home. I have to say, I was a little concerned that Jeremy and I may butt heads a bit when it comes to decorating but I have been pleasantly surprised how well we have settled in and put our own mark on this house already.

I can't help but think about all of the rugs, furniture and accessories that we still need and want to buy. We are even turning the office into an office/jam room/Sammy getaway. Sounds conflicting, but it is working out nicely. I will post photos when it is done.

Here are a few items that I have started to scrounge together:

I am finally starting to accumulate some rugs for Sammy to sit on. He didn't waste any time.

One of my favorite ideas for the house is the "Wall of Travel." Jeremy and I have been lucky enough to travel to some really cool places like Peru, Costa Rica, Macedonia, Greece, Cambodia, etc. and I wanted to find a  way to reflect our experiences from abroad. We are printing out photos that we took from all around the world and adding it to the wall. It is the focal point in the living room above the couch. I love the constant reminder that we have been to some amazing places and met some phenomenal people. It is a work in progress and I plan on adding more images as we visit new places (like Thailand in January).

On the list this weekend is putting up the fence in the backyard and power washing the brick on the front of the house. We have had some visitors and house guests already so stop on by anytime!

Adios,

Home Sweet Home

After a long ten days of scrapping, mudding, sanding and TONS of painting, we are all moved in! We are really excited to say that we are now officially residents of SLP. We are cracking away at the unpacking and we still have our work cut out for us, but here is a peek of some of the stuff we have done.

The bathroom needed some pizazz, so we painted it a light blue color. We still have to replace the shower doors and vanity and re-tile the floor.

The master we painted a light cucumber green and got our bed set up along with some temporary window treatments. 

Our dining table actually fit in the corner of our kitchen! Small miracles. This is the window that we will eventually knock out and add a glass door leading out to a backyard deck. I predict that I will be lounging out in my PJs shouting at the dog in no time! Lucky neighbors.

The living room still needs some serious decorating but at least we have a place for me to watch Real Housewives and drink my wine (duh). Excuse the box in the corner. It is not decor, it is just laziness.

Notice that the rehab-ed coffee table looks awesome. The TV stand is one of my future furniture projects. I love that vintage buffet style. I am going to paint it and add some new hardware. 

Just last night I mentioned to Jeremy that I wanted to tear out the nasty stained carpet on the stairway to the master. Well, that is all it took before he started tearing away. After we (mostly Jer) pulled staples out for about two hours we were impressed that the wood beneath is in pretty decent shape!

Before:

After:

They need to be sanded and refinished or painted somehow, but this is something that we will chip away at. 

Last, here is Sammy enjoying the backyard. We have already busted out the charcoal Weber grill (my dad would be so proud) and hung out in some lawn chairs like the classy folks that we are. By the way, if anyone is getting rid of some patio furniture, holler at ya girl! 

I appreciate you following our progress, there is much more to come. We are grateful for all of the well wishes! 

Hampshire House: Where everybody knows your name!

By everybody, I mean Jeremy and I know your name. I mean, hopefully I would know the people in our house.

My friend Keegan is in Boston and sent me this photo which I thought was totally awesome. It is a sign, all residences on Hampshire kick ass.

Ok, so here is the update on this week. We are scrambling to get things done as we are now 6 days away from moving in. We have most of the ceilings painted and a lot of the patching, mudding and sanding done. No need to post photos of this because all of the above totally SUCK!

Alright, here is one photo. This is literally what I looked like after painting the upstairs ceiling all afternoon.

I am pretty sure if you look at my hair right now, I may still have a few flecks of paint in it.

The good news is, after doing all the crappy stuff we actually started painting some rooms and started to see them come together. I will post some photos soon. We are trying to get some flooring work done so we are working around that and finishing up the office and guest bedroom in the meantime.

Overall, it has been a crazy week and we still have a lot of work to do.

Oh well, "Cheers!" (Get it?)

We Closed! Let the Work Commence

We own a house. Thursday, August 7th we closed and I started working on the house that evening. We have exactly 10 days until we move and we wanted to get as much done as possible. Thursday night we got all of our supplies unloaded and came up with a game plan.

First up, the kitchen. New appliances were being delivered right away Friday morning so I needed to make sure that the kitchen was painted before they got there. Cue the long night of taping and painting.

Here is the kitchen before:

Notice the toupe-y green color and the absolutely ancient appliances. Because this was a bank-owned property we were not surprised to learn that they had actually taken the existing stove out of the house and replaced it with the oldest thing I have ever seen. I am surprised it even worked.

I wanted to lighten the color up a bit while matching the counter tops and the tile that we bought for the back splash. I went with something called "Safari Vest." Here is the result:

That is my parent's dog Roger. He provided tremendous moral support as I slaved away edging around all of those dang cabinets. Also, notice the brand new stainless steel appliances! I have always wanted stainless steel appliances. I know that they are so "last year" and all, and the new thing is to buy black appliances or solar powered or something but I don't care. I love the mix of industrial looking with the white cabinets and woodwork. They really pop! I may have given the new fridge a hug and welcomed it to the family. Don't judge.

The kitchen still needs a bit of work. We are adding a back splash and knocking out the window to the backyard to add a door leading out to a deck (all of which we have yet to start). However, I feel good about the progress so far. It is nice to have one room looking more done than the others.

Until next time!

Mission: Coffee Table

I am obsessed with Craigslist. I am often looking for great deals on cheap or free items that I can fix up and use. It really is one of the best ways to rehab furniture and home decor.When I knew that I would be moving, I decided that I wanted some new furniture to be excited about. First things first, I needed a coffee table. I found this coffee table for 10 bucks on Craigslist.

The first thing that I did was to strip down the top to see if the wood was quality. It is easiest to begin with an electric palm sander and then follow up with some sandpaper, especially for the edges. Make sure to wipe it down with a clean cloth. I was shocked to find out how beautiful the wood was under all that varnish!

The second thing that I did was to rough up the bottom of the table with some medium grade sand paper and then prime it with an oil based primer. After the primer is dry, make sure to sand it with fine grain sand paper and wipe it again with a cloth. Yes, more sanding. That is definitely my least favorite part of the process. I chose a really nice warm creamy-yellow for the paint (which is latex). 

The last step was to stain the top of the table. I decided to go darker to better contrast the paint and make it look less 'country.' After several layers of stain and even more layers of poly, I had my table. 

I am really happy with the finished product and can't wait to see it in my new living room. 

I love old school, vintage looking furniture so when I found this old phone table (also from Craigslist) for 30 bucks, I had to get it! I decided in order to make the look cohesive, I would put it through the same treatment as the coffee table. Even though the wood is slightly different I was able to tie them together with the paint color and I can't wait to see them in the same room together.

I have a couple of other furniture projects that I will be working on post move so stay tuned! 

Step One: Buy the House

So it is official, as of this past Tuesday, July 15th, we have a house! The inspector said that everything looked good except a few minor things that were expected. We close on August 7th and the fact that the house is just sitting there empty is driving me crazy! I fantasize about getting in and starting to paint and fix stuff up. The house is on Hampshire Ave. I told Jeremy that we should call it the Ham-shiiire house (emphasis on the i) because it sounded classier. When he said that made it sound like we were hobbits, I decided that we should just stick with Hampshire. 

Below are some photos of the place. 

There are two larger projects to do on this house in addition to the cosmetic stuff. First, we are going to remove the window in the kitchen facing the back of house and replace it with French doors that will lead out to a deck in the backyard. For anyone that knows Jeremy and I, we love our decks and we love our grilling time. So, this if course is one of the things that we are most excited for. The second big task is taking care of the basement. How to describe the basement... it looks like a haunted seventies dentist's office that went to ruin. It comes complete with peeling linoleum flooring, wood paneling and paneled ceilings with fluorescents. It also smells like BO. Here is a picture of my step-dad David, obviously his nose is not as sensitive as mine and he is smiling because he sees all the unfulfilled potential this basement has to offer! 

We plan on gutting it next spring and adding a bathroom down there. It is a great big room that should give us a lot of options. 

The one thing I am super excited about is the fact that the basement has a cellar. A super creepy cellar that may have been used for some illegal operation but STILL! I don't know why I am so excited about this fact, maybe I envision having wine and beer fermenting in the "real cellar." I don't know. It is a cool old house thing and I like it. Stop asking me to explain myself!

The house was built in 1947 and is a story and a half. There are some kick ass wood floors throughout that Jeremy is super excited about since he has never lived in a place with wood flooring, as he reminds me. It also has three bedrooms including a loft on the second floor. 

If you don't know much about my family, let me just say that home renovation runs in our bloods. My dad renovates old historical homes for a living in Saint Paul and won an award from the Historical Preservation Society. My uncle and dad have been building, designing and renovating homes for the last 30 plus years. My mom and step-dad live in a renovated house in Minneapolis and so do me and my sister in the Nokomis area (currently anyway). Needless to say, I am super pumped about another project and Jeremy, having quite a bit of building experience himself, is quite up for the task. 

I am excited to share our renovation journey along the way; this should be a large task worth documenting. Keep coming back for more updates, we have more than enough projects to take care of.