Go Time

When I left you last the house was looking like this.  A porch that was pulling away from the house.  Dangerous.

We pulled down the ceiling and we were left with this.

So we formulated our plan and had a bunch of lumber delivered.

This is what construction go time looks like in our house.

Here goes nothing!

Getting a Plan Together.

So now that I've fallen in love with the idea of a gable over the door to break up the straight roof line we've moved on to the design process.  Lucky for me I have a drafting brother and an architect brother in law.  We've mentioned to the neighbors that we're considering a gable and so far two (one who owns a construction company) have told us that they considered it and priced it out and the project ended up being way too complicated.  I have an idea.  We've never built a porch.  Ever.  Let's come up with the most complicated plan and go with that.

So this is the basic idea.  You can see the old shed style roof on the sides.  We'll cut out the middle, add gable headers and frame the pitch.  Piece of cake says the person not actually doing the framing.

This is a general idea of how it will change the look of the house.

So now our heads are spinning with permit applications, building codes, drawings, measurements, etc.

Porch Ideas

I love the metal roof.  I'd love to incorporate it but am not sure it is possible since our porch roof extends directly over the garage without an obvious break point.

http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/idea-houses/2002-idea-house-abberley-lane

I'm digging the curve under the pitch and the bead board ceiling.

http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Porches/Front-Porch-Addition-and-Painted-my-Brick/detail.esi?oid=29718179

I like the slight bump out of the pitched roof portion to give the house some extra dimension.  The new pillars would require footings so I'm not sure we want to open that can of worms.

http://sublime-decor.com/2013/05/27/grey-painted-brick-exterior-design-ideas-pictures-remodel-and-decor-page-2/

Aha!  Maybe this is how we can incorporate the metal roof!  Love this design.

http://www.svdesign.com/portfolio/hesperus/?type=new_construction

My head is swimming with framing, headers, footers, rise-run angles, ceilings, posts, lighting, etc.  Who knew a porch could be so complicated?!

That Time the Porch Started Falling Off...

When we moved in our house looked like this.  Sad.

Then we took down some trees, replaced the windows and front door and added the black shutters.

Over time it became obvious that the porch was pulling away from the house.  You can see the roof separating from the flashing here:

The question was why?  Either the porch was sinking or the framing was failing.  We were hoping for the latter.


A porch that may or may not fall on your head is not exactly welcoming to visitors.  UPS should get hazard pay for delivering to our house.  So one lazy Sunday afternoon we pulled down the ceiling.  I'm pretty sure the neighbors were staring at us from their windows saying, "there is something wrong with those two."

Once the ceiling was down we were able to see that the porch wasn't properly attached to the house.  Everything had rusted out and pulled away from the brick.  The good news is that the frame was fine.  Rather than pull the entire porch off and start over we just need to repair how the frame is secured.  Much less time and money.  Or as I like to say now I can spend the 'savings' on the finishes :)

The house is currently very flat looking.  We're using this as an opportunity to give our house some depth.  Maybe add in a pitch?  Change out the roof style?  Watch out Pinterest, here I come.

Home Design With Kids In Mind

John and Sherry mentioned that they're working on book # 2 and that the focus of this book is centered around decorating a home for real family life.  That got me thinking about the process we've been through over the past 6 years and about how basically every decision we make comes down to whether it'll be functional for these guys:

Yes I love grass cloth wall paper but I also have boys with peanut butter and jelly coated fingers.  From "dirt" colored upholstery and leather to tile selection almost everything we've done has come down to one thing: will it survive 3 little boys?

We basically live in our family room off the kitchen which means it has to be something that will take a beating.  I describe this design as "organic" which really means "color of dirt."

White quartz is basically indestructible and going with honed marble over polished means I won't stress over toothpaste stains and little boy poor aim stains:

    

Rolling crates hide toys and Books:

Outdoor hooks and buckets keeps our deck looking neat in the summertime.  

Irrigation System which unintentionally doubles as water fun for the boys:

DIY Wall Height Chart:

Back to School Organization:

DIY letters:

Big Boy Room:

Sports Room: 

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what your home looks like.  What matters is that your family is warm, safe and happy.  It is a place where priceless memories are made.  Our home is the 6th member of our family.

Sports Room Reveal

The room is done and the 6 year old LOVES it.  Success.

I found this industrial looking desk and shelf set at Overstock.  My plan for not getting traditional kids furniture is that I want these pieces will grow with him.  The shades are blackout roman shades from Pottery Barn.  I don't like to pay PB prices but seriously those things are worth it.

Sean had the awesome idea to turn one of Matthew's little league pictures into a wrapped canvas. 

Love how it turned out. 

Matthew is a huge Phillies fan.  The ball was signed by the now Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg, given to my dad when he (Sandberg, not my dad) played 2nd base for the Chicago Cubs.  At some point a golden doodle added some decorative teeth marks.

I added the Ikea baskets at the top to fill the unused space (and to bring some Phillies red into the room).  The wire baskets (Home Goods) at the bottom hold his hockey skates and gear.   

Hockey gear doubling as décor.

Minor league baseball hats.

Vintage looking hockey photos from Etsy.

A 5' Fathead decal of Citizens Bank Park over his bed.  Really easy to install and is moveable.

Opposite the bed wall we hung a vintage looking scoreboard made of canvas.  We may swap the Fathead with this down the road.

I got a set of 2 metal chairs from Target.  One for the 6 year old and one for the lucky parent helping with homework.

Pinstriped duvet and Phillies red quilt and shams add to the baseball feel.

When I bought the red desk chairs I got $20 free from Target so I picked this up, basically for free.

We used the same strategy for the room reveal as we did for Brady.  We tucked him in a spare bed and then worked until it was done.  Then we transferred a sleeping kid into his new room.  The awe when they wake up in their new digs makes that late night worth it :)

...And The Winner Is...

...Muslin.  The folks at Benjamin Moore said I'm there so much it was time they give me the professional discount.  I've painted this room 3 times in my 5 year old's life.  They're probably right.  #paintaddiction.

The color I was going for was that of a worn baseball:

There really isn't a dramatic makeover here.  We went from a grayish taupe to a warmer tan.  Neutral to neutral.  The biggest reason for the new paint was that the walls were in terrible condition after our various renovations.  Nail pops and split drywall everywhere.  I think the prior homeowners had a rainbow mural at one point which left behind paint lines.  ROYGBIV.  3 coats of spackle and lots of sanding later and the walls looked like new.

The soon to be 6 year old helped out.

One more week until our baby is 6 and we can show him his big boy sports room!