House in Progress

And Now for Something Completely Different

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:29:15 PDT

As if we didn't have enough going on with the new back porch, new fence and the new basement stairwell, we have another project in the works: our basement.

The basement has never been finished, so for the first time we actually have a clean slate to work with...albeit one that's always been packed with quite a bit of stuff:

The good news is that this 'before' photo is from quite a while ago. In fact, the basement is now cleaned out. (That was the other big use for the dumpster we rented this summer.) We're guessing this is the first time that the basement has been this empty in it's 95 year history.

So, what's the plan for the space? Well...

Outdoor Craftsman Wall Sconce

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:18:13 PDT

Back Porch Update

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:06:26 PDT

Work is now under way in ernest on our new back porch. We gave our friend and contractor TK the design a few weeks ago and in the past week he's gotten started on the project.

They've taken off the last remnants of the prior structure and put in new structural beams. They've also rebuilt the deck...we'd thought it might be salvageable but in the end it would have been more work to shim and correct it so we're just rebuilding it from scratch.

Things are moving pretty quickly now, so we'll have more photos to share next week including work on the new basement stairwell.

Our DIY Drama (or Why Building a Porch to Relax on Can Be Very Stressful)

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:28:30 PDT

Here's our submission for the DIY Drama contest currently running over at Houseblogs.net. We aren't technically eligible since we're also running the contest, but it gives us something to write about... ;-)

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Our latest (of many) lessons learned is also part of our latest project. (No surprise, I guess, since we seem to have one for every project.)It has to do with rebuilding our back porch.

We want to maximize the usable space on our porch. That's why in our new design we're moving the stairway from within the footprint of the porch to now be straight out the front.

That also means we need to eliminate space required by the old basement stairwell. The old stairwell came straight off the back of the house here.

Houseblogs.net Updates

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:04:03 PDT

Not only are we back to blogging again here at House in Progress, there's lots going on over at our site Houseblogs.net too. If you haven't been over there in the past month:

- You can now follow Houseblogs.net on Facebook and follow Houseblogs.net on Twitter.

- There's a new home page story on restoring old windows featuring houseblogger El Paso Foursquare. (A topic near and dear to our own hearts here at House in Progress).

- We're running a 'DIY Drama' contest for housebloggers with $900 in prizes.

Check those out while we pull together more updates on our own little houseblog to recap our summer DIY adventures.

Back Porch Design

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:40:02 PDT

With the demo work on the old porch largely done a month ago, we've been playing with designs ever since. Actually, we'd been thinking about it quite a bit longer and we'd collected some photos for design ideas over the years. This was really just the first time we'd tried to put those random ideas in to a single design.

So, here's what our back porch is supposed to look like when all is said and done.

Back Porch in Progress

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:43:28 PDT

OK, after coming out of blogging hibernation with a teaser photo a few weeks back we'll go ahead and start sharing what we've been up to for the past nine months. It's a number of projects, so it will need to be broken up in to a few blog posts.

To start with, the dumpster we rented was for a weekend project - we tore the old siding off our enclosed porch. No reason to wait - here's the money shot:

A few more photos and an explanation after the break...

Guest Post?

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:34:40 PDT

We received this email today. Is it me or does the first sentence undermine the first sentence of the second paragraph?

Hi there-
I'm dropping you a line to see if you accept guest bloggers on [name of blog]. I like to write about home improvement projects and thought an article about home improvement would be a good fit for your blog.

The post will be 100% original, written just for your blog and will not be posted elsewhere. I would appreciate an author bio with a followed live link back to my site, or link within content. If you're interested in this idea, please get back to me.

Thanks,
Name Withheld

We're Still Here

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:50:45 PDT

Yes, it's been a while but we're still here. Even though we haven't updated our blog we've kept busy with the house.

We'll post more soon...

First Sign of Spring at HouseinProgress

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:43:52 PDT

It's SPRING here at HouseinProgress (FINALLY! Gee whiz!) and you know what that means, right?

(Behold! The labor of a long, desperately crafty, how-is-Mama-gonna-keep-you-busy winter...)

Update

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:11:39 PDT

Wowza, thanks to everyone for the emails. We are, indeed, still here in the HouseinProgress, though life has been in fast forward for the past few months.

Everything is fine. Well, there were a few bumps in health and logistics, but everything turned out fine.

Finding that having a three year old who gave up her nap for good in January, increasing the hours of our respective work commitments outside of the house, and trying to stay on top of our volunteer activities put a bit of a crimp in our blogging. That and the fact that our WYSIWYG is broken and I am tired of HTML.

Ooooh! Big Sale at The Sweden Shop!

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:02:19 PST

I love, love, love design and products from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland for three reasons:

Their products are beautiful.
Their products are useful.
Their products are durable.**

The Sweden Shop sells the kinds of items that you will use everyday and pass down to the next generation. And, rumor has it, they are having a big SALE starting TODAY! (January 24th through February 1st)

ALL BLANKETS AND DALE OF NORWAY SWEATERS ARE 30% OFF!!

ALL CHRISTMAS MERCHANDISE IS 25% OFF!!

Yippeeeeee!

**I can't include IKEA in the durable category. Sorry, IKEA!

I Used to Hate This Closet

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:45:34 PST

I am not a fan of closets only because I am not a fan of hangers. Not just wire hangers, any hangers. They make your clothes and coats hard to find, they get tangled, they get stuck, things get crowded. I hate hangers.

Hooks? Hooks, I love. Give me a wall full of hooks and I don't care that all my duds are out there in the open for everyone to gawk at. Because I CAN SEE THEM, TOO! Everything. Easy to find. Right there. It's beautiful.

So, it's understandable why I've hated our front hall closet since we've moved in.

Start with Substance Oatmeal Inauguration Blitz Recap

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:38:07 PST

Obama Inauguration + Bloggers + Tasty Sexy Oatmeal + Mimosas + Spruced Up House = SUPER FUN!

I get very few chances to hang our with groups of bloggers. I have blogger pals that I hang with one-on-one, not in the context of blogging. So, to be able to join up with these cool women for such a great cause on a great day was a load of fun.

Besides, isn't it TIME that we finally get to enjoy the fruits of our labors thus far and get to entertain? We did so much of it in our old condo. Before we got married, or even knew Aaron, I was an entertaining machine at 421 West Belden Ave. So, yeah, five years has been too long to go without having parties in the house.

(Sharing a laugh with M.J. Tam from Sugar My Bowl and Chicagonista)

Bringing Sexy Back...to Oatmeal. I'm serious.

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:42:05 PST

I'll write up the Obama = Oatmeal / Start with Substance / Inauguration Gala later today, but first I want to pay tribute to Melissa Velez-Luce from My Very Own Chef who served up an oatmeal that was so decadent that I felt like I had to go to confession after eating it.