Done: Put in New Backyard Grass

We had a bit of a cold snap in Austin which delayed installing the sod, but things have warmed up again so sod went in yesterday.

The grass is a little brownish now because it's winter and it's gone dormant, but by spring time it will be well rooted and fully green.

Having grass makes the whole yard look a lot bigger, and it give ample play space for the kid now. We couldn't be happier with it.

As a final touch we also moved the two cactuses that were in the yard over near the carport. It's the perfect spot for them.

We also added a black mid-century modern outdoor planter with bamboo in it to block the sightline to the side of the carport. We wanted something to breakup the space so it doesn't just look like a dead zone and bamboo has the authentic mid-century landscaping look we're going for, and putting it in a planter makes sure that it doesn't spread or get out of control.

We did the same at the back of the carport, so if you're in the yard you won't see a valley between the fence/property line and the garage.

Done: Put in Sprinkler System

Part of redoing the entire backyard was making sure our atomic ranch had authentic mid-century landscaping with GRACE and the other, more practical, part is making sure that everything we do stays alive and looking good.

So before we lay down the new grass we put in a sprinkler system. Grass does pretty well in our yard because there's a good amount of shade, but this is Austin so you have to be sure every inch gets water in the summer or spots will die. So this sprinkler system ensures that.

And because there's always one problem on a big job like totally redoing a backyard, so we predictively ran into a bit of an issue. There was an old plumbing permit still active on the house and we had to get that permit inspected and closed before the city would inspect and approve the sprinkler system. That meant tracking down a plumber who worked on the house sometime in the '90s (when the old permit was from) or hiring a new plumber to look over the work, fix anything that might be wrong, open a new permit and then get both permits closed. Luckily, I was able to track down the original plumber and he was nice enough to come out with the city inspector and get the work signed off on and get the permit closed.

All in all, it only cost me a few hours on the phone, but it set the project back about a week – waiting a few days for the inspector to come out, waiting a day for the old permit to clear so the landscapers could their permit, waiting for the second city inspector to come out and approve the sprinkler system.

In the end, it could have been worse, and I suppose it was kind of a good thing. I know for sure that there are no more open/pending permits on the house and I know that the plumbing of the house still passes inspection.

Done: Remove Tree Stump

What once was a giant tree stump became a medium-sized divot in the ground, with flags in it so no one twisted an ankle. That divot was then filled with dirt so grass could soon grow.

Besides grinding down the stump, the crew cleared out the area behind and to the side of the carport, and then put down a weed barrier and river stones. This area was just a mess of mud, random weeds and accidental scrubs (aka weeds that grew to the size of bushes years ago).

Done: Remove Wood Walkway, Ground Lights and Stones

Once the professionals get involved, things really get moving. In a day, the old boardwalk has been completely torn up.

The ground lights that once spotted the yard and all the electrical have been removed.

And the stone that filled the yard has been hauled off. The two remaining plants will be transplanted to a different area so this section can become all grass.

They also smoothed out the bumps in the terrain and graded it for proper drainage. It's a bit odd that a dirt lot looks better than the old yard, but even in this condition, the yard is already improved.

Done: Remove Fence Around Hot Tub

This is what our backyard looked like when we moved in. 

Then the nandina on the left grew like the bamboo that it is, weeds started coming up through the stone, the hot tub in the back broke and the boardwalk started to show it's age. Plus, we wanted a place that our kid could run and play, and a boardwalk, hot tub and stones didn't really fit the bill. So we decided our next big project would be to totally redo the backyard. 

In the first weekend of work, I got this done.

The second weekend, the rest of the fence sections came down and I started to remove the boardwalk. 

That's when I realized that there were about 20 screws per board in the boardwalk and no easy way to pull out chunks at a time. Plus, we still had to figure out what to do with the hot tub. That's where craigslist came in.

I put up an ad for a free broken hot tub and four frat boys and a pickup truck showed up the next day and took it away. I'm sure it's living in the basement of some nearby frat house now. Next I put up an ad for free wood to whoever would remove it themselves. The next day, a guy, a dog and a pickup truck showed up and removed about 75% of it.

Then we called the professionals. We got a few bids and picked the company that best understood the aesthetic we were going for. Their crew was able to do this in a day.

I can't wait to see what they get done in the next week.

Removing Paint in a Mid-Century Home

I took on a small weekend project, getting some paint off of the floor in the hallway. It wasn't a lot of paint, just a few spots here and there. The type of thing a house guest would never notice (we didn't  when we bought the place), but you see it one day and then you can never un-see it. You're always catching it out of the corner of your eye and eventually you break down and have do something about it.

Not knowing exactly what to do, I took to the internet to find out how to safely remove paint from a wood floor. And after spending a day trying all of the non-chemical options, I picked up some Goof Off Professional Strength Remover and decided to give it a try.

I will say a few things:

1. I used it sparingly, literally using a Q-tip, keeping contact to the wood at an absolute minimum.
2. I wiped it up immediately after the paint was gone, keeping the time of contact as short as possible.
3. I had to crack a window even though I was in an already well ventilated area.
4. I gave the entire area a good clean and polish afterward just to be safe.

All that said, I got almost all of the paint off without a problem and it didn't hurt the wood in the slightest. There are one or two very small dots of paint that if you get down on your hands and knees you can still see, but everything else is gone. 

Which is my final point, if you are using Goof Off to remove paint from your wood floor, don't lose perspective while working. Make sure that last stubborn dot is actually visible from a height higher than six inches before you keep working at it.

Done: New Lights in Dining Room

We had our new dining room lights installed. And by new dining room lights, I mean our vintage Moe Light Honeycomb ceiling lights.

Before we had one light and one fire alarm with an ugly plastic ceiling medallion covering up a light box. 

The light wasn't the worst

But we definitely wanted to get rid of the fire alarm in the middle of the room.

And that's where our Moe Light Honeycomb ceiling lights come in.

They look great up close

And far away.

When they're on they're nice and bright and have a lovely orange glow on the sides

And when they're off, they look just as good.

Plus, because they're close to the ceiling they actually make the room feel a lot taller, which is nice bonus.

Done: Remove Hot Tub

I am constantly amazed by craigslist. Not only is it a great place to find mid-century and vintage furniture, and pretty much anything else you might be looking for, it's also a great place to get rid of the junk you don't want any more.

For example, if you have a broken hot tub in your backyard and put it up for free to anyone who will disassemble it and haul it themselves, you will get multiple people wanting to haul that hot tub. Sure a half dozen or so will flake on you, but eventually someone will show and do all the work for you. Which is exactly what happened this past weekend.

It might help that I live close to a large university, because it ended up being four college-aged guys who finally took it away. And I'm sure they had some big plans to put it in their basement or on their deck or something equally silly, all I care is that it's out of our backyard.

However, now the yard looks even worse than it did with the tub in. I think it's time to put a craigslist ad up for the decking/boardwalk to see if we get any takers for that.

My Trip to Rejuvenation Portland

I recently took a trip to Portland. And, of course, I stopped by Rejuvenation's home base. I've been drooling over their website and catalog long enough that I figured I should see things in person.

They are in, what I can only guess is, Portland's warehouse district. If it's not the warehouse district, it's a lot like what every other city's warehouse district looks like.

So it's a bit out of the way, but if you're in Portland, it's well worth the trip. It's great to see everything you've been planning your remodel/DIY projects around in person.

Not only do they have everything you've seen in the catalog/website, they have vintage items that they've found or sourced.

Including things that they've made high-quality reproductions of, for those of us that prefer to have the original (no matter how dirty/unpolished).

Beatrice West and Mid-Century Color Palettes

I found out what the PM for this exterior mid-century color palette stands for: Popular Mechanics. The October 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics had a "Color Tips for Your House" article.

The article includes an interview with Beatrice West and other color stylists about mid-century modern color palettes. 

The entire 50-page home section is definitely worth flipping though.

Mid-Century Front Door (Almost Done)

We're one step closer to having our mid-century front door installed and finished, insomuch that our Crestview Westhaven door is installed. We decided to have the windows "point" to the left (a debate we've been having) because the door opening on the right is more natural and the windows look better when aligned with the handle.

The mid-century modern lock is installed and the Mad Men door knob is next (the current handle is temporary). Then it's just a paint job and we're done. I'll have glamor shots to share when everything is finished.

Done: Paint Our Mid-Century Ranch

What will probably be our biggest home improvement project of the year has finally wrapped up: We got the place painted. I've got photos to share, but please consider these the awkward teenage years. There are still some details to be finished, like installing a new Crestview Door in the front, replacing the mailbox, new house numbers and light fixtures, etc. But I was too excited not to share.

We kept the main color, white, but had it touched up where needed. We definitely based our color choice for the trim and doors on authentic mid-century ranch exterior paint colors. The trim in Behr Antique Tin gray. We went with gray because it fits perfectly into a mid-century modern color palette. And the dark looks really nice next to the white.

The carport was originally painted at a different time than the house (I'm guessing), the two were slightly off in color. It needed a couple of coats, but now they match perfectly.

We also went a step beyond the original paint job, which just had color on the front of the house. We painted all of the window frames, which is a lot on a mid-century ranch.

For the doors, we wanted a pop. There are plenty of mid-century modern paint colors that pop, but we finally landed on Behr Tropical Tide.

We had all the railings painted black. They used to be a mixture of green and black. And a little rust. But we had them sanded, rust-proofed and painted all the same color.

It's funny what a little (or in this case a lot) of paint can do. When I drive up to my house, I smile every time now. Plus, it feels good to be able to check a couple things off of our to-do list.

If you don't remember, here's what the place used to look like. Nice, but not as nice.