Mama Knows Best » Remodeling & Repairs

Making a list & checking it twice.

Jessica — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:46 +0000

For the past two months, I have been steadily been making honey do lists for my friend Doug. Doug and Tiffany live in the perfect older home for renovations. They have the most amazing skeleton laid out before them that holds a great deal of potential. Our first order of business was painting their kitchen (which needs finished), then building a coat closet off the front porch and this weekend we will be working on dry walling the inside of the front porch and removing an odd sized window.

Who knows what we will work on next, but we should probably start using project management software to help us keep track of projects. Some of the major projects like new kitchen cabinets, newer carpeting, etc will have to wait, but for now, we can continue beautifying rooms one by one. Helping them on their house totally makes me miss owning my own home.

Home sweet home?

Jessica — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:08:41 +0000

Have you ever just felt out of place in your own home? I have had an urge lately to move. Not far from where I am living, but something different. I have had my eyes set on a house for a while now, but am playing the waiting game and biding my time. It is a definite fixer-upper, but despite the ugliness, I can see the beauty it holds. When my grandparents come home for the summer, I will have my grandfather come with me to see the house to see whether it is a good investment and make my decision from there.

Is it pathetic that I already have the rooms planned out in my mind? I know nothing about this house other than it is brick, has a gorgeous front door and needs a lot of improvements. Yet, I can tell you what kind of indoor and outdoor décor I plan on using. I have the flower beds mapped out in my mind, the color I would love to paint the front door and what I want to do with the front walk. Is it insane to want something so badly that I have it completely figured out already and do not even own the home? Someone please tell me I am not completely losing my mind.

My head is spinning..

Jessica — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:55:30 +0000

For the past two months (give or take days), I have been busy helping a good friend of mine clean/organize/renovate their home. We have been slowly going down her checklist of things to do and crossing them off. Her kitchen is now painted Apple Blossom and oh my gosh, what a gorgeous color it turned out to be. Tomorrow we will hopefully be able to finish pulling down the trip to sand it down and refinish the boards.

Helping our friends on their house has made me miss owning my own home and being able to renovate. The other day, while browsing the Home Depot website and dreaming about getting a new American Standard toilet. Is that not the most pathetic thing to dream about? But living in our current residence has taught me to appreciate the simpler things in life. Our current toilet wobbles every time you sit down and in all honesty, I would be lying if I said that we never broke a seat or two due to this wobbliness.

Anyway, if you wanted to know where I have been.. now you do. Not too much excitement on my end, but it’s my life nonetheless.

Undermount Sinks

Jessica — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:18:22 +0000

One of my favorite pass-time hobbies is dreaming about my future home. At some point in the next few years, I want to be able to build my “dream” home. We have the floor plans, now we just need the money to purchase the land. After the land is paid off, we plan on saving money to pay cash for certain things like the well, for instance. We also plan on purchasing things for the house beforehand, like zero radius sinks.

Anyway- back to the topic at hand. I am absolutely in love with zero radius sinks. Many of these sinks have a nice, sleek design that alleviate some of the common problems of everyday sinks. Something I have learned about these kinds of sinks is that you have to be cautious before purchasing one.

When purchasing an under mount sink, be sure to purchase one that has been sprayed with a sound proof coating and additional thick rubber sound proof pad one the bottom and sides. Seriously- the difference in noise is amazing. Without the sound proof coating and sound proof pads- it sounds like you are having your very own storm in the home.

Bathroom Renovations

Jessica — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:00:26 +0000

One of my guilty pleasures is watching HGTV and DIY Network. I love to watch shows about homes, decor and gardening. I am a sucker for these shows. Seeing projects people take on to enhance the beauty of their homes or just simply upgrade their homes makes me want to rush out and do the same to ours. And can you guess which room is my favorite on all of these make over shows? The bathroom! I am envious of some of the Bathroom Suites you find on these shows. With their fancy body jet shower systems, jacuzzi whirlpool baths and beautiful cabinets/accessories. The suites honestly look like Heaven to me, the stay at home mother with two kids, who can barely use the restroom without at least one child under foot. They look luxurious and relaxing- like a place you can escape your everyday life. When I decided to renovate my bathroom or build my dream home, I plan on having a spa inspired bathroom. And better yet, I will create that luxury spa bathroom and save tons of money while doing it, just by shopping at betterbathrooms.com. Right now, betterbathrooms.com is having a fabulous sale for the entire month of January, so if you are in the process of renovating your bathroom or considering doing so, check them out. Who knows- you may save a money while creating the bathroom of your dreams!