Thursday, August 6, 2015

Thankful Thursdays: Hard Work and Success

 Preparing my "Things to Do" list for August made my shoulders slump a little. My daughter and I just started a home improvement project in the front entry to the house. Our target finish date is September 1, 2015.  It's good to know that hard work and lots of experience leads to success most of the time. Otherwise, I'd be tearing my hair out!


Old farmhouses are a challenge to fix up. After 3 layers of indoor/outdoor carpet (various shades and textures) was ripped out of the 9-ft x 20-ft entryway and laundry room, we reached the final layer of green covering. It had been glued down. It took a lot of scraping and elbow grease to strip it off.

Hubby and I went back to college during one of the economic crashes when jobs disappeared like ice cream on a hot day. We renovated old houses in exchange for free rent and utilities. We both had a lot of on-the-job training to fall back on  and learned even more over the years.

The adventure never ended. It seemed like we always found a fixer-upper to buy and improve. My sense of humor has hung around at what I hope is my final home (even though it's not a showcase, I like it here).

The self-stick tile floor is almost completed. One incredible pattern would have cost $600 or more. This is what we ended up getting for less than $60; the design is similar to the first choice. I love finding bargains at Home Depot and other home, ranch, and hardware supply stores.


The difference is amazing. It's still a happy shock to open the door from the kitchen to the entryway and see how the sunshine from the windows hits the floor and reflects upwards.

I was going to wait until it was all done to show it off. The rain, wind, and clouds this summer are gloomy. I wanted to share my joy about this project and how grateful I am to still be able to tackle and complete "beautification."



We did manage to get one beautiful sunset this month. It looks like the rain is going to hang around over the weekend. Outdoor task time will be an easy swap so we can work inside and get closer to completing the job.

What projects do you have started or planned for 2015?





26 comments:

  1. It sounds like that was a lot of work, but it was well worth it. We don't have any projects going on right now, and I'm OK with that :-)

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  2. Lots of work! I know, I have done stuff like this before! But, look at how pretty it is now! Good job!

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  3. The floor came out great! There's really no substitute for hard work.

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  4. I love the self stick tiles you chose. We are working on cleaning out closets this month.

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  5. We moved into an old house a few years ago so we have a lot of work to do. Right now the task at hand is our deck.

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  6. Our project for now is to get rid of toys. We have way too many toys.

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  7. The floor looks great. We don't have any big projects planned this year. Maybe next year we will put in wood floors.

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  8. That's self stick tile? I would never have guessed. I love DIY projects, but my scope of skills is small.

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  9. Oh my gosh that does sound like a lot of work. What an awesome success. I'm glad you were able to do it inexpensively.

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  10. The floors like great! Great job on choosing the pattern. DIY home projects are the best.

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  11. I have always wanted to learn to do home improvement projects on this scale. The entry way looks wonderful.

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  12. I have no projects really planned right now. I would like to work on my yard for the fall though!

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  13. Hope to do our bathroom this year. Lots of work.

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  14. We have started a lot of projects this summer. We hope to finish them all by the beginning of fall!

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  15. We've got this weird back corner by our garage. It's useless, but you can see it from the kitchen window. I want to plant something back there so you can see something pretty.

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  16. Gosh, I've got a list! I really thought I'd get more done this summer but I'm still hopeful I can cross off a few before summer ends.

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  17. It always feels great to accomplish a home improvement project yourself! It feels so rewarding!

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  18. I just finished redoing my yard. We built a nice deck and put interlock stone on the rest of the yard. I love it.

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  19. We have done some projects around our houses as well. The one I am most proud of redoing our hard wood floors. Ripping up carpet and pulling out staples and then refinishing the floor all by ourselves. I had twin babies when sitting with me while I took out each staple and nail. Oh the memories.

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  20. I just packed my life up into a storage unit so I could travel around the world so I guess all these projects are over for me, lol!

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  21. I used to live in an old house - so much work. Projects can be exciting though!

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  22. I'm an apartment dweller so there is little we are actually 'allowed' to do, it's a super convenient location so I'll be here for awhile. But once I switch to home owner I look forward to having the freedom to do as I please. I would design a dream kitchen and bathroom first! Then a super zen bedroom! :-)

    Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly

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  23. I'm not very good at DIY but it doesn't stop me from trying. The sunset is lovely.

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  24. Definitely is a never ending DIY project here at our house! Kitchen, bathroom and floors done. Porch will be tackled next

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  25. Sounds like a big project for you guys! My project is to go through the kids' toys and get rid of those toys they don't play with anymore.

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  26. Wow, I don't know if I could've done all of that. Looks like it turned out great. I just don't have the patience.

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