COWBOY BLUE DESIGNS "DESIGNER HOME"

Ready to Rent

2011-08-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

For your next vacation or extended stay in Southern Arizona the "Designer House" is ready to Rent. Fully furnished, just bring your clothes and food.
Here is a little about the town.
A beautiful scenic, 30 minute drive north east of Tucson, lays a sleepy retired mining town, nestled in the San Pedro River Valley cradled by in the arms of the Galiuro, Rincon, and Catalina Mountains
In 1953 this "Company" Town sprang up out of the desert through necessity. Built by the San Manuel Copper Mine Corporation to house the workers. The first residents of the town moved into their new home in December of 1954. Since then, many generations have called San Manuel "Home".
The mine is now closed and the desert has reclaimed the area where machinery and buildings once occupied.
The Town of San Manuel has become a "bedroom" community to Tucson. Still a small town with small town attitude, everyone knows everyone and are happy to stop and chat on their daily walks.
Leave the hustle and bustle of Tucson behind and spend the night in our quiet little town in a beautiful home.
Rental Information & Rates can be seen http://www.cowboybluedesigns.com/VacationHome.html

Only hours left to go!

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3 people, within 3 months with less than $10K created a dream (excluding the price of the home). Our dream of creating a fun, colorful home where "out of town" people could stay while visiting family, working, or just on vacation. This home will always be an on-going project however, at this time, we feel confident that our "Designer" home will be a comfortable, fun place to stay for everyone who wishes to rent this home for their extended stay in Arizona. We have a few projects left on our list however our time has run out and they will be finished later. We hope that you are able to come and visit us. For more information on rental prices please contact Jessie Morgan at jessie_morgan@cowboybluedesigns.com

We have learned very important lessons during our re-design. The most important lesson is spend a few extra dollars and buy paint at a good quality paint store, never cut cost at the large home improvement stores. We have spent more money and wasted time, on bad paint than if we had gone to Sherman Williams to purchase good paint. If a job is worth doing, then do it right!
The Video below is in low resolution. We will have a website dedicated to the Casa de los Vaqueros within the next few months with better pictures.
Thanks to everyone that has followed our blog!

Casa de los Vaqueros

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Back Porch Done for Now

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(curtains drawn back)

The Back Porch is done for now. We have had our trip cut short, so we have to stop at this point. The house looks great, just small projects to be done in future.

Screens down for a little shade

Back Bathroom still in progress

2011-06-23T14:25:00.001-07:00

Front Hallway is Done

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All the white painted wood is now painted to look like wood again!

The Buckaroo's Mural

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There is the orbs again

The "Holiday's" Room as of June 2011

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Living Room as of June 2011

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We have a valance to put up and the room is finished

This wonderful Artist made coffee table has horseshoe legs. It can be ordered on www.CBDStore.ecrater.com

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Just need a nice headboard to call this room finished

See all the orbs? This room and the front room has them in every pictures. Sorry Binkie! you will be sleeping with a few ghost.

JUNE 14, 2011

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It is going on the 3rd week we have been in the house, many minor jobs have been completed, mostly maintenance items to numerous to bore you with. It has been a slow process this time because of the detail work that has been involved. We have finished the 2nd bedroom, by doing a Burnt Sienna wash on the walls, painting and redoing the closet doors, sewing curtains and hanging them. Also we have almost finished the 1st hallway by painting the doors (5 total) and trim to look like mahogany wood. Touch up on paint around the house and replaced the hinges and door handles are tiny details that make a difference. The den and back bedroom are completed except for replacing the doors. We finished the wash on the front bedroom and all closets have been painted. Started painting the blue on the back porch railing. We have a few things to complete on the inside and then it will be off to the outside, mainly the back porch. Hopefully this time next week we will be concentrating on the back porch only

Trim bathroom sink in white

Curtains for 1st Bedroom, we have valances however they are not up yet

Chair Slip cover

Found 2 southwest style chairs in a resale store. We painted them and recovered them for our kitchen table.

Hallway 1

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Bathroom Door in Hallway

Front Bedroom Door in Hallway

Laundry Room Doors in Hallway

Hallway

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Hallway Closet Doors Before

Hallway Closet Doors Now

WE ARE BACK!

2011-06-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hope you will join us

We have been here a week with not much accomplished. We had the regular maintenance to perform and the weeds had taken over our landscape. Hubby has been doing odd jobs along with starting on the back porch. I have been sewing curtains and slip covers. Really excited to start painting again, however the sewing must be done first. We did get the trees trimmed back and the 3 rd bedroom curtains done. Today I finished the couch slip cover, now on to the chair slip cover. Believe me, this is no small job.

Couch Before

The New Slip Cover

The Beginning and After Only 2months work

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Painting Process on Outside of House

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LAST MINUTE THOUGHTS

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BEFORE

AFTER

The reason for the boring details of each day's accomplishments is to help those people who plan to purchase a house and do not realize the time and effort it takes to "fix up" a home. There are several small tasks that most people don't think of when making their plans. And the time or money, it takes to finish each little task. You may have the money to hire professionals to complete several or all of the work, however you really need to be there when they are doing the work. Let's face it; finding people who actually take pride in their work and do a good job are few and far between, finding a person like that is like winning the lottery.

We spent 23 days on the house, with only a few of those days being what we consider "easy" days. Every day our bodies screamed in pain, our joints made noises that can normally be heard in the crushing of old cars in a junk yard. Muscles twitching from spasms, Our pale skin; cracking and bleeding from the paint and the cleaning chemicals. Our eyes enveloped by dark circles from the lack of sleep, our hair falling out from lack of nutrition. Our bodies operating on coffee, soda and junk food.

We have spent 23 days that would have any "chain gang" worker flopping on their back begging for a guard to shoot them and end their misery.

However, when you walk through the house, even thou it is not completely done, the sense of what we did accomplish is worth every second of pain we have endured.

Enjoy your own projects! and we will be back in the trenches in May for more torture!

We will post our budget and our actual cost in a couple of weeks.
Also we will be posting a few projects, step by step instructions.

Day 28 March 10, 2011 Thursday

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Up at 3 am, after a cup of coffee we are packing last minute items into the truck and pulling out of driveway by 5:00 am. Leaving our responsible "Caretaker" alone with the house to guard over our hard work.

Day 27 March 9, 2011 Wednesday

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Another trip back to Tucson, this was a short in and out trip. We were back at the house by 1 pm. Packed the truck and trailer to leave for back east. Had a lazy day and spent last minutes with family. Early to bed, alarm will sound it's obnoxious screams at 3 am.

Day 26 March 8, 2011 Tuesday

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Easy Day! Finishing, busy work. Since we couldn't find any couch and chair cover that we liked, we decided to sew the covers. We had purchased a few ugly, old sheets at a resale for a couple of dollars, to use for the patterns for the slip covers. I fitted, penned, and cut out shapes of the couch and chairs for a pattern for slip covers. My husband couldn't stand it, the guys had made wood finials to put up on the post of the back porch. We realized that the back porch would have to wait until May, but my husband was not leaving without installing the wood finials on the porch posts. So he did....He also was able to install all the new smoke alarms. Next May we will paint the post blue and the finials.

Early night and much needed sleep.

Day 25 March 7, 2011 Monday

2011-03-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Off to Tucson again for last minute shopping and errands. The work on the house is done for this trip. I am a little disappointed that the landscaping and the back porch didn't get finished. I did surrender to the reality that there was just not enough time in the day or enough energy left in our bodies to accomplish everything we had planned.

After returning from Tucson we had an easy night, enjoyed the family.

Day 24 March 6, 2011 Sunday

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Not a back breaking day, but stayed busy. Hubby painted the newly found entry table and installed another motion sensor in the back yard. I finished the little touches, window locks, door stops, washed and cataloged the purchases from yesterday's shopping spree. Cleaned and put a few pictures on the blog. Still didn't make it to bed until 1 am.

Best Food Alma's Place

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Anyone visiting San Manuel, Arizona you must go to Alma's Place on McNab. I don't like hot dogs however her's are so good, I was hooked and we ate there often.

Day 23 March 5, 2011 Saturday

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SHOP TO YOU DROP!

We started out for Tucson at 9:00 am. We shopped, almost, every resale store in Tucson then off we went to the department stores, such as Kohhs, Pier One, etc. Through all the stores we crossed the doorways of, we didn't find any furniture except a small entryway table, in southwest design, found at one of our favorite resale stores. It was in rough shape and needed a good cleaning and a little paint, for the price, it was a great deal. Sad to say, our favorite little resale store has joined in the Legions of Goodwill stores and have began to raise their prices horribly.

We deligentaally marched through the stores looking for bright yellow dinner plates. We found a few at Kohls and Pier One, however their prices were $12.00 a plate and that was not in our budget

Ladies! I believe you will appreciate this.

My poor husband took a beating today. He not only drove me from store to store, fighting traffic, that would put night terrors in any New Yorker, but he also went in the stores and looked for items we needed. This is a man that has to eat three times a day, however today we were so busy shopping he didn't get to eat, nor did he complain or even whimper. Around 3 pm I noticed that he didn't mention food or stop to eat so I promised him that after we finished shopping that I would buy him a steak dinner. This wonderful man hung in there with me and waited until 8:30 pm to eat. AMAZING! Truly a tough little soldier!

I did buy him a steak and watch him saver every bite of it. We had one more stop after dinner. Which is where my husband said, all day, that we would find the plates. And we found the plates, and the kitchen rugs.

We made it home around midnight and by the time we unpacked the truck it was 1 am before getting to bed.

Day 22 March 4, 2011 Friday

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Finishing touches around the house, cleaning up and shampoo carpets, scrubbing floors, installed lights. Beds delivered and set up.