April 23, 2017
So we made it to the end of the house remodel - finally!
We are enjoying our new home and seaside town - while missing the great friends and family we left behind in and around Palm City, and of course New England. Miss you!
Overall at this time in our life, this is the best place for us. Osprey is a little like living in a south Florida Little Compton. Not much here but beautiful beaches and great people!
The kitchen then. In a box with 2 pocket doors one on each side closing off the entire space.
And now... That is the same slider going out to the lanai on the left of each picture. I know huh! We moved the wall back 2 1/2 feet (in the right in this new kitchen picture).
Here is another angle. That's the same doorway now looking out.
And then this... where the old fridge and stove were.
And on to the master bedroom with the roof leak and holes in the ceiling.
So nice.
Guest bedroom... Come visit!
Cuz now it looks like this. (Just ordered the blinds. Can't wait to get rid of the makeshift curtains hanging over the shower rods.)
Here is that odd open room off what we use as the dining room. The previous owners used this side of the house as a family room (we are now to the right of the kitchen).
And now it's my little girlie space... Office/day-bed lounge with French doors! Happy happy.
Here's a peek inside. (Waiting on blinds for in here too.)
Here is the dining room. Long long long dining room with the odd open room before construction.
And how we have it now. I needed a space to do my painting and this was perfect.
Here it is from the opposite angle.
Guest Bath...
And now..
Loving the new laundry room. Took out that sink and moved it to the garage. Opens the room right up! Here is its before and after.
Remember the hole behind the washer? Yuk.
Now nice and new!
And here we are over to the living room. It was a bit blue in there!
Here is how the new front window came out. The view outside is lovely and faces the sunsets.
Oh, and not to forget the lanai and screens - all done! Here we are prior...
And after... I've become a bit of an orchid nut... That's our old full size headboard that I couldn't part with. Makes a great plant holder. Just need to get a table base for it. (This is a reverse angle view. Note the kitchen window is on the left in both shots.)
And remember the green tadpole pool?
No more.
With nice new screens.
However... you know how we love a project... this is next. We decided it just well, sucks! Not making the grade now that the rest of the house is done. Will probably start this in the fall. That 'courtyard' is going to be closed up and made into a second sink for moi, and a walk-in closet for both of us.
We are waiting till fall on the master bath because of this... Think the yard needs some work before we get to the rainy season. Hahaha I know! Another project!
Poor little yard.
Ugh.
But, we did have the house painted and got some gutters.
Those are very old gardenia bushes that remarkably have lived despite complete neglect for the past 3 years during their abandonment. Once they stop flowering we will trim them back and hit them hard with the fertilizer. Meanwhile, they smell amazing!
So for the landscaping project... got a plan. :D Here it is below.
There will be no grass and we are going with all Florida friendly plantings, low maintenance for everything so we can eliminate lawn care expenses and the expense of watering. (Florida frequently has water restrictions, almost continuously ongoing, so between the expense and 'not allowed' we are letting Nature guide us.)
The plan includes meandering walking trails throughout various planting beds, a fire pit and a (faux) dry river bed with a bubbling rock formation... we think. Waiting on pricing as I write this. Where it says 'Lawn' that's a misnomer. Will be stone or ground-cover.
As we move along I'll try to do better with our landscaping escapade in getting you some pictures. Stay tuned! Should be starting this soon.
P.S. We decided to get a little dog! Very little 8-10 pounds so we can take it with us wherever we go. But not until we get back from a visit up north sometime this summer. Just a furry little scruffy rescue in our near future. There is just something about dogs!
So we made it to the end of the house remodel - finally!
And sorry, yup late again! Gotten lazy now that I have less to do. :D
We are enjoying our new home and seaside town - while missing the great friends and family we left behind in and around Palm City, and of course New England. Miss you!
Sometimes you have to respond to the cues that Life sends.
Overall at this time in our life, this is the best place for us. Osprey is a little like living in a south Florida Little Compton. Not much here but beautiful beaches and great people!
Thought you'd enjoy some before and afters - and how far one crazy idea can go - so far.
The kitchen then. In a box with 2 pocket doors one on each side closing off the entire space.
Here is another angle. That's the same doorway now looking out.
And its match! You can tell by the kitchen window - the one that took forever to come in!
That is the same hallway on the left in this picture below. We moved the stove to the 'island' wall and got rid of the upper cabinets. No more head banging!
So nice.
Guest bedroom... Come visit!
Cuz now it looks like this. (Just ordered the blinds. Can't wait to get rid of the makeshift curtains hanging over the shower rods.)
And now it's my little girlie space... Office/day-bed lounge with French doors! Happy happy.
Here's a peek inside. (Waiting on blinds for in here too.)
Here is the dining room. Long long long dining room with the odd open room before construction.
And how we have it now. I needed a space to do my painting and this was perfect.
Here it is from the opposite angle.
Guest Bath...
And now..
Quite the tub transformation.
The new tile is a bluish travertine and the tub was a recoat. That's a double shelf in the wall split by the accent tile.
Loving the new laundry room. Took out that sink and moved it to the garage. Opens the room right up! Here is its before and after.
Remember the hole behind the washer? Yuk.
Now nice and new!
And here we are over to the living room. It was a bit blue in there!
And now! We're loving it. No more kitchen in a box!
Here was the view of the crazy foyer and living room.
And now. We shrunk the wall back about 2 feet to open it up. (But I still can't get myself to add the crystals to my tiny chandelier... 85 of them! Someday Paul will find me perched atop a ladder, cursing...) :D
Here is how the new front window came out. The view outside is lovely and faces the sunsets.
Oh, and not to forget the lanai and screens - all done! Here we are prior...
And after... I've become a bit of an orchid nut... That's our old full size headboard that I couldn't part with. Makes a great plant holder. Just need to get a table base for it. (This is a reverse angle view. Note the kitchen window is on the left in both shots.)
And remember the green tadpole pool?
No more.
With nice new screens.
We are waiting till fall on the master bath because of this... Think the yard needs some work before we get to the rainy season. Hahaha I know! Another project!
Poor little yard.
Ugh.
Those are very old gardenia bushes that remarkably have lived despite complete neglect for the past 3 years during their abandonment. Once they stop flowering we will trim them back and hit them hard with the fertilizer. Meanwhile, they smell amazing!
So for the landscaping project... got a plan. :D Here it is below.
There will be no grass and we are going with all Florida friendly plantings, low maintenance for everything so we can eliminate lawn care expenses and the expense of watering. (Florida frequently has water restrictions, almost continuously ongoing, so between the expense and 'not allowed' we are letting Nature guide us.)
The plan includes meandering walking trails throughout various planting beds, a fire pit and a (faux) dry river bed with a bubbling rock formation... we think. Waiting on pricing as I write this. Where it says 'Lawn' that's a misnomer. Will be stone or ground-cover.
As we move along I'll try to do better with our landscaping escapade in getting you some pictures. Stay tuned! Should be starting this soon.
Love, from Nancy & Paul 💕 Miss you all.
P.S. We decided to get a little dog! Very little 8-10 pounds so we can take it with us wherever we go. But not until we get back from a visit up north sometime this summer. Just a furry little scruffy rescue in our near future. There is just something about dogs!
