Our Yard’s Blue + White Theme

It’s starting to look like Fall in our yard,

as some of our + our neighbors’ trees are dropping their leaves

Speaking of  leaves, check out these, on one of our Oak Leaf hydrangeas:

 If only I’d taken this photo a couple days ago,

when those red leaves were so vivid + gorgeous!

They already pop nicely against our neighbor’s light wood fence,

so imagine how stunning they will be when all the leaves turn scarlet!

They’ll eventually grow to 8′ – 10′ tall + will provide lots of privacy.

I blogged about them last August when we were planting them.

They were only about a foot tall.

They’re now almost 4′ tall.

This first season, we had only about 6 or 7 total blooms,

but fingers crossed they will look more like this next summer:

While I was outside this morning,

I decided to snap a few more photos of my groovies.

There’s my very pretty blue gazing ball on an old hollow stump,

 a vintage Dachshund statue,

+ some velvety Pulmonaria (a.k.a. Lungwort) plants:

That bit of a fern belongs to our large Boston fern (below),

+ those cobalt blue glass stars are from my favorite garden center,

Blumen Gardens in Sycamore, IL.

Here’s a better look,

with some companion globe thistle plants, in our last house’s yard:

So pretty!

And wouldn’t you know it — I got the globe thistle plants at Blumen Gardens, too!

Anyway, it’s easy to see that our yard has a bit of a blue + white theme.

Some pretty blue Endless Summer hydrangeas

are growing just across the yard from our Oak Leaves.

We even painted our garden shed blue.

That’s our bee garden that we planted this summer.

The pretty white Coneflowers are the stars right now,

+ yes, we attracted bees!

That bird bath on a stand is also from Blumen Gardens,

+ how much do I love that mosaic blue + white transferware plate!

Oops.  I should have tidied it up before taking a photo!

Finally — in closing — next spring

we’ll have all sorts of pretty blue + white spring flowers.

We planted lots of bulbs, about which you can read more, here.

One of the few flowers that are a true (not purple) blue!

That’s really going to be a much-needed morale boost

when everything’s gloomy + muddy in March

+ I’m so cold I can’t feel my toes.

Chippy Vintage Outdoor Dining

We gave away our old outdoor dining set the other day.

I have no photos of said same, which is just as well.

Meanwhile, one wonders at this point:

what are we to do when we want to dine al fresco?

Luckily, I had a light bulb moment when I spied this table,

languishing unused in our cellar hideaway.

I thought — wouldn’t it make an unusual + charming outdoor table?

People.  That very shade of green is crazy in style now.

And who doesn’t  love the enamel table top?

Within minutes, G.O. + I carried our table outside

+ set it in front of our garden shed.

Please allow me to point out a couple items.

That DOOR remains in its awful before state, which I hate.

Fingers crossed we’ll re-do them yet this year.

 And please may I point out our shed’s roof finials?

I was after a colonial Williamsburg vibe at the time.

But back to the table.

Soon I started gathering a few things,

hoping that a quaint vignette would ensue.

Check this out.

It’s one of those weed/cedar trees that are all over the yard!

I thought it would look great in a pot,

 but shockingly, G.O. predicted it would never live.

So far, so good, but there is winter, looming.

Next — these vintage folding chairs were languishing unused in our garden shed:

I have to say that I love a good chair project

+ I’ve done plenty of them.

For these chairs, I decided that I’d sew some simple cushions,

using my go-to fabric — the blue ticking stripe cotton.

 I had hand-stenciled them with my go-to motif,

the red circle + white plus sign.

You can just see a peak of the pretty pale blue liner fabric:

I decided to attach the chair pad with ties

that I’d sewn with the same blue + white ticking stripe.

I’ll be sure + keep you posted re: our shed doors.

Stay tuned, later this wee, I hope!

She Said She Shed

Today’s perfect weather left me no choice.

It was a great day to work outside, so I (we) did!

First thing, I mowed — on the diagonal, like at the ballpark.

Oh, how long have I waited for a re-do of that porch of ours

+ for the chance pop a few (dozen) plants into the ground!

Today’s project, however, was to turn our garden shed into a she shed.

Yeah.  That’s a thing.  She sheds.

Here’s what it looks like now:

Here’s what it looked like when we bought our house:

OMiGosh!  How nasty!

First up in the re-do — a new roof:

To charm things up a bit, I ordered a pair of metal finials

from architecturaldepot.com:

Ta da!

Much better, am I right?

Yes, they’re just what that shed roof needed!

Oh, + I forgot to mention — at some point, we painted the exterior

Benjamin Moore’s Blue Spruce.

Those hiddy original doors still await their makeover,

but I know what I want, + I will share soon, promise.

So.  Today we worked inside.

Exhibit A:

HORRIBLE!

These shelves held (just a fraction of) G.O.’s “valuables”

+ if I was to have myself a she shed, they had to move to the garage.

He offered to give me one of those Rubbermaid masterpieces,

but I said I couldn’t possibly take one!

Given the choice, don’t we always go with something vintage?

Yes, we do, + here we have it —

some really swell old shelves from my old booth space.

Got ’em from the curb!  Score!

Check out the chippy white metal shelves!

Here ’tis, sporting some of my gardening supplies.

Disclaimer: It doesn’t look like this now, as I’ve tweaked it a bit.

Updated photos in the a.m., promise.

My next storage item is made from yet more vintage happiness —

these wonderful yellow metal saw horses:

Aren’t they great?

Disclaimer, the sequel:  it’s all been redone a couple times.

That’s how I roll!

See you in the a.m. for some updated snappies!

 

4 Befores + Afters In My Head

#1

Look what I discovered at the Dutch Colonial just this morning!

  How adorable is that charming little window in the gable?

My steel trap-like mind immediately raced to a ‘before + after’

involving a transformation of this boxy room . . .

B E F O R E

. . . into something far more wonderful, like this one!

A F T E R

Sure, we’d have to vault that ceiling.

Is there a problem, she asks?

G.O. assures me that there IS.

(Stay tuned.)

* * * * * *

#2

More do-able is our next ‘before + after’,

which is actually already underway.

It involves our front porch’s light fixture:

B E F O R E

That Craftsman-style light fixture might look divine in someone’s dining room,

but not so much our front porch.

No worries . . . I’ve already ordered its replacement:

A F T E R

It was on final sale at Pottery Barn when I ordered it a few days ago . . .

. . . but I just checked, + it seems to be sold out already!

So glad that  I (for once) ordered in a timely fashion!

* * * * * * * *

#3

And speaking of our front porch,

here ’tis, in the first weeks after we started our project:

You just KNOW that it wasn’t originally enclosed like this!

Currently, it’s in its mid-demolition mode,

en route to its ‘after’:

Fingers crossed!

Here’s what I’m envisioning:

Houzz.com

Can’t wait!

* * * * * *

#4

And, finally, here’s an ‘after’ which took place on Sunday:

Our new finials have been attached to our garden shed roof!

Love them!

Not loving those plywood doors,

still in their ‘before’ stage!

Once again, stay tuned!

Retail + Baseball Therapy!

Today I’m seeking the morale boost that an online purchase provides.

Here ’tis:

architecturaldepot.com

‘Tis a roof finial, + I need a pair, actually . . .

. . .  one for each end of our garden shed roof peak:

At about 7″ high, I’d say these finials will be perfect!

* * * * *

Speaking of retail morale boosts,

Saturday morning I shopped our local French Country Market:

The Good Humor Man was there!

This adorable girl provided live sax music!

This cool, vintage camper was for sale!

I called G.O. + asked him to come down + have a look-see:

It was completely re-done + wonderful,

but I’d rather we re-did one ourselves.

* * * *

Speaking of G.O.,

I did purchase a huge, red O from this booth:

Hundt No More
Antiques & Collectibles
779.279.1109

Even though he nixed the idea**,

my plans were to include the O in my bridal shower gift

for his beautiful soon-to-be-daughter-in-law:

L, niece of G.O.
R, soon-to-be-DIL of G.O.

** He even said, “I’d have just gotten her a $50 gift certificate to Kohl’s!” . . .

. . . no offense, Kohl’s, but that’s just not how I roll,

gift-giving-wise.

Fingers crossed that ‘the kids’ dig their O (+ other stuff!)

* * * * *

Back to the Market.

My other purchase:

Vintage initial pennants!

I am going to use them to make pillows,

similar to what I’ve done in the past

with a really swell vintage golf flag:

Sold it in my etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/transaction/39139050

* * * * *

Anyway, as much fun as I had at the French Country Market,

Saturday’s highlight took place here:

Wrigley Field’s iconic manual scoreboard

We took our grandlad to his first-ever Cubs-Cardinals game

at Chicago’s Wrigley Field!

Wrigley Field’s iconic marquee

And yes, the Cubs DID manage to win one.

(HA!  I “keed”!)

* * * *

But check it out!

WE GOT ON NATIONAL TV!

He has a peanut shell on his finger.
Kids do that sort of thing.

Yes, we made our own signs,

+ yes, the national FOX TV broadcast showed us!

His “GO CUBS” was a huge hit!  FUN!

* * * * *

My sign is a shout-out to Tim McCarver,

the FOX MLB broadcaster who’s retiring after this season:

McCarver was the Cardinals’ star catcher in the sixties:

3 World Series: ’64, ’67 + ’68!

Feel free to comment if you noticed

what a good sport Grandma Kay is,

to promote or even tolerate my grandlad’s Cubs fandom!  😉

Who do you think bought him that shirt?  😉

Thank you!

OMG! Original 30’s Wood Siding!

Imagine my very pleasant surprise on Wednesday morning,

when I show up at our project Dutch colonial

+ see that the bad aluminum siding is “going away”!

Good riddance!

Compare + contrast:

B E F O R E

D U R I N G

So, it DOES look a little like a haunted house right now . . .

but can’t you SEE how fantastic the original siding + trim is?

The long-ago (C 30’s) carpenters who sided this house

were beyond superb craftsmen, I’d say.

Just look at the detail of the dining room bay angles!

Their precision workmanship is mind-boggling, don’t you agree?

* * * *

Meanwhile, our garden shed is now a dark-ish gray/blue.

No worries — those doors are going away.

At the Benjamin Moore store earlier in the day,

I opted to go with Blue Spruce,

one shade darker on the chart than my original choice,

Providence Blue.

YIKES.

Natch, I immediately felt a twinge of painter’s remorse**.

My original choice is at the lower right.
Blue Spruce, a shade darker,
is not shown here.

Here’s our adorable painting assistant, at the start of our project:

Our grandlad.

**At this point, I’m worrying that I didn’t go dark enough.

YIKES.

* * * * *

 Meanwhile, G.O.’s (unsolicited ;-)) observation was,

“I don’t think I am going to like this!”

I smiled, knowingly . . .

. . . because, at the finishing point, guess what!

HE LOVED IT!

I LOVED IT!

Here are G.O. + our painting assistant, relaxing after their busy day:

Please pay close attention to the vintage, white trellis in this ^^ photo op,

+ envision it attached to this side of our garden shed:

I KNOW!!??

I love it!

I think we should plant a climbing Hydrangea on said-same:

As always, stay tuned!

My Colonial Williamsburg Hopes + Dreams

What a difference a day (+ a new roof) makes . . .

. . . 24 little hours!

B E F O R E

D U R I N G

* * * * *

And, in my semi-delusional state of mind . . . here’s the

A F T E R !

gardensheds.com

gardensheds.com

  What’s this?  You’re not seeing a Colonial Williamsburg vibe?

Okay, so maybe my Colonial Williamsburg hopes + dreams

are a bit of a stretch . . .

. . . but the shed does look better!

* * * * *

Tomorrow we paint!

I’ve chosen Benjamin Moore’s
Providence Blue,
at the far lower right.

My plans include tricked-out doors, similar to this:

Remodelista.com

IF our shed gets enough sunshine during the day,

 I want to train an espalier fruit tree

on this plain, south-facing side:

The jury’s still out on the sunshine there.

Looks pretty shady.

No worries; if so,

we could always have ourselves a climbing hydrangea:

Stay tuned!

Garden Shed Blues

Now that our garage is nearly completed . . .

. . . my thoughts are turning to really IMPORTANT things like this:

East Coast Weathervanes

. . . because of this adorableness:

I’m not sure if I’ll spring for the Dachshund weathervane,

but wouldn’t it be cool if I did?

* * * * *

Meanwhile, back to the less superficial portion of our project . . .

. . . today our humble garden shed finally gets its roof:

B e f o r e

In Progress

Yes, I paid nearly $20 on sample paint pots from Benjamin Moore.

No, I didn’t like any of them.

Fear not, though!

One can find color inspiration on Pinterest.

I recommend doing said-same!

livingincoloriwthsonu.typepad.com

If you’re me — type “blue** paint colors” in the search + voila.

That’s how I discovered the fabulous Benjamin Moore, Santorini blue:

One quick trip to our Benjamin Moore paint store later,

+ I have these ^^ swatches.

(**Disclaimer: I have to have a blue garden shed

because of my fondness for any blue flower.  It’s my scheme.

There’s a post for another day!)

* * * * * *

I’m undecided about WHICH Benjamin Moore blue I’ll chose . . .

 

. . . but I do know that those plain Jane plywood doors MUST be tricked out!

I dig the diagonal bead board detail on these vintage garage doors:

I think I’ll push for something like this, though:

Remodelista.com

Fingers crossed I get to paint tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Top 2 Reasons G.O. Bought Our House

Please view the 2 reasons G.O. agreed to buy our Dutch colonial foreclosure:

NUMBER ONE  —  THE GARAGE

It’s homely, strangely short + not that ginormous . . .

. . . which, sadly, kind of describes ME!

Va va va voom!

HA! — but I “keed”!

And I digress.

NUMBER TWO — THE SHED

This garden shed’s on the huge side, meaning thumbs up from G.O.

(For a starter, that can crusher’s gotta go.)

Any-hoo, if you ask me, these forelorn structures should thank their lucky stars

we arrived, just in time to give them both their facelifts.

I’ve already described my hopes + dreams for that garage,

which is now sporting its new  + muy bueno charcoal gray roof.

And soon(er) than G.O. would like, my roof spire:

Can we please do this TO-day? She asks.

He said something about it being “low on (his) priority list.

PLEASE.

It’s at the top of mine!

(Stay tuned.)

Now, to the shed.  It will soon have a colonial red steel roof.

Hello, gorgeous!

Despite this ^^ colorful choice ^^

GO has been complaining about my ‘drab’ exterior color scheme.

Perhaps this is one reason why:

The darkest of dark charcoal gray!

It’s ^^ my color inspiration for the shed ^^ — something of the dark gray persuasion . . .

. . . in my favorite — the solid color stain.

Raven, please

But wait!  There’s more!

Those plain Jane plywood doors aren’t going to stay that way,

not when I’m around.

Here is my garage door inspiration, just down the street:

It’s hard to see, but there’s diagonal bead board here, people!

Consider it done! — on our shed’s plywood cheapies — + hopefully, soon!