Category: DIY

Railings and Steps in Progress

One of the many things that has us a bit crazy lately is that we are rushing to add those finishing touches to the deck that we mentioned here, here and here.

It has to be done before Halloween so that children unfamiliar with the place don’t fall 3 feet off the deck onto the pine straw patio. Yes, we are hosting a Haunted Forest shindig, so time is a-ticking to keep the kiddies safe…except that I may scare them all away cuz I’ll be wearing this.  Too bad.

So what are these “finishing touches” you ask? More hog panel, of course, since we ripped out that old railing during the staining, and…well, while you’re there…let’s move the steps and expand them!

Since we’re all feelin fall-ish, I thought a snow shot of the old railings might be soothing…

OK, so here’s how it’s been going…some new hog panel up, some fugly lattice still hanging out to taunt me…your days are numbered so enjoy your limited life….

New steps will center on the door where all those tools and crap are….

But the ground isn’t level so the CC poured a concrete pad….. (can you BELIEVE the mess?)

and last night he got the first treads up….

…and here it is next to the old steps, which should be coming down shortly.  Getting close, but yet so far….soon!

Duplos and Ping Pong

Even if you never played Ping Pong, you HAD to want to after seeing Jonathan Adler & Simon Doonan’s table in their latest NYC apartment. BTW, I’ve never called it table tennis and I don’t really see me starting now.

It made the rounds a few months ago as well as in The Selby.  I love the Saarinen bases and can even appreciate the fussy wallpapered top (too busy for me, but it’s perfect for their place.)

The Things got interested in Ping Pong this summer after playing in the rec room where we swim.  The pool is now closed, but why should that mean an end to our fun?

I started looking for ideas to build one outside, but as fab as these are…there are no rearranging options for tons of concrete….

Via Lucky Dragon

Love them, but kinda bulky..

Now these are superb….

Via Flylyf

Via Decorator in a Box

I already have a dining room table, so let’s just make do.  I check online to see that my local Target has this in stock….only to get to the store and realize they don’t…Lies!!!!

The closest sporting goods place was farther than I felt like driving, so it was improvisation time.  I bought only paddles and balls and headed home.

This was a job that only Thing One and Thing Two could help with, so I put them to work.

And then it was PLAYTIME!

We played for 3 hours today….with more scheduled for later….

Tush Cush

Remember how I wanted some fancy outdoor fabric for my patio furniture here?  And how I wanted to sew them myself to save the ludicrous expense here?

Well, neither of those things happened.

What I did manage was a no-sew fabric origami contraption that is the most unprofessional DIY ever, so don’t blame me if you do this and get laughed out of your neighborhood…K?  Just sayin’.

Joann was having a 50% upholstery foam sale, so I knew it was time.  Just as well I got there early too, since the cutting table was 6 deep with peeps and foam.  I got 2 inch Nu-Foam for boats and outdoors along with some iron on velcro, and my cheap fabric.

Rather than cramp my hand for life attempting to cut the stuff, I splashed out on a $20 electric knife…trust me on this…you need it if you have foam to cut…period.

So…now it’s cardboard template and cutting time….

Then comes some tricky folding of the fabric to make it look as neat as possible…..then attach the velcro to your key places.

Then you’re done…all told, materials cost was $58 for foam and velcro (I got enough foam for 2 long sofas and I have 2 yards left-6 yards total) $12 for fabric and $20 for the knife.  $90 total.

You won’t wow anyone with this ramshackle upholstery job, but your tush will have some cush that’s inexpensive and easy to wash.  Down the road, we’ll get something done right, but the weather is glorious and un-saunaesque so it’s time to enjoy the deck…NOW.

Pea Gravel Patio – Unfinished Business

Well folks, the CC has spoken.  There will not be a project stucco session this weekend, or the foreseeable future. (GASP!)  That ugly unfinished wall doesn’t eat at him like it does me, so it seems we are back to shoveling.  You must know how thrilled and excited I am at this logical decision.  ANOTHER unfinished project at the Regal Beagle. $#@!*%!!!!!  Un. Freaking. Believable!!!!

Actually, it’s incredibly believable, but I just had to vent.

So, where does that leave us?  Let’s have a little refresher on where we started, shall we?

BTW, all that effort spent transplanting that dogwood to the front FAILED.  It drowned during the Saturation.

What a mess that was.

So now…..

What the hell is that orange tower by the front door?!  Oh, that’s just a remnant of the rearranging frenzy.  It’s a CB2 totem pole of stools looking for the right home out here.

If I was a fancy design blogger I’d photoshop that hose out, but you got me, so enjoy!

My least favorite table functioned the best in the sitting area, so I’m thinking I’ll jazz it up with a stone top, like so…..

I’ve been wanting to incorporate an onyx slab around here somewhere and the table is small enough I might actually be able to afford it so, it might happen!  Paint the table base and then I’ll have both an attractive AND functional table.

Remember my Costco Maples?  We had planned to plant black bamboo here, but I’m concerned there’s not enough sunlight, so before I smack down $300 on bamboo, let’s try this first.

It may not be perfect, but we’ve come a long way, and the Things really like this set up, so I’m going with it…for now.

Oh, and I need MORE PLANTS!!!!  It’s the flea today, so I’m off to see what living and inanimate treasures I can find.  Back soon with the Friday Flea.

UPDATE:  Fab reader Lisa of Life Illustrated decided to take pity on this girl….Look how nice…no hose!!

Now if only we could photoshop in that stucco..for REAL!!!!  Thanks Lisa!!

Meh.

So operation stucco will commence (perhaps) at the weekend…in the meantime, the patio shoveling is basically complete.  After things settle, there might be some touch up, but for now…done.

The sad thing is… now that I can have some fun and get the furniture in, I’m not feelin’ it.  I’ve dragged most of the available furniture up here and dragged it back down.

I want the butterflies to live here, and since we are a family of four, we really need at least 4 seats up here.  I haven’t found more vintage flies yet.  Everything else is variable.  I thought I’d move the red chairs to the back and just have the loveseat and the flies… I dunno.  I’ll keep rearranging….

The Things and I sat out here at sunset under the tree and read.  For once, the outside temp was cool enough to truly enjoy.  I think this new lounging area will be heaven for us once tweaked and finished.

Let’s play musical side tables, shall we?

Can you say Christmas? Blech.  Back to the drawing board…

Oh, and in case you were worried about what we would do for exercise now that the patio gravel is down….

Yeah.  That’s the rest of it, slated for other areas that interest me very little at the moment, but we need the parking spot back…so it must resume.  $#!@.

Project Pea…Continued

We’ve had a lot of rain (again) which makes the horsetail and other plants happy.  It makes me wet.

Horsetail is easily blown over by those high winds……

I’m hauling the peas every morning after the Things are off to school so I can avoid working in the triple digit weather with 100% humidity.  If it drizzles, I work, if it pours, I wait until it stops.  I try to take several breaks anyway.  When I start, I can fill the buckets 3/4 of the way..after about 10 trips, the volume starts creeping down and I know it’s time to knock off for awhile.

So how far have I gotten?

I’ve gotten one layer down now.  Problem is..we need about 3 more in order to hide the exposed areas where the “stucco” ends…like here…..

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  Perhaps we should stucco further down the wall on this side!  Ya THINK!?!

The guy we used to build all this in the fall was scheduled to come back and do some “touch-up” on the stucco this spring, but he never showed.  We didn’t chase him since we figured the touch up wasn’t really totally necessary at the time and we were all square with him financially.

If we had all the stuff, it would be a no brainer DIY.  This has it’s own set of issues since I don’t know if we can replicate the “formula” for the color to match.  If I  go through my receipts, I can find the brand etc he used and try?  If I remember correctly, he used 2 bags of black to one bag of brown…but I’m not sure.  I should just call him and just say..”Hey, how have ya been?  Gimme the recipe!”

I dunno, in the meantime, I need to haul a bit more (ARGH!) to cover some thin areas, then the CC and I need to sit down and discuss this other, much less exhausting option.