My Weekend Project

My daughter's preschool has a log cabin playhouse in the yard that had never been completely finished on the inside. I decided to pull together some parent and teacher volunteers and get the inside finished properly. I thought I'd share some before and after pics here on the blog.

BEFORE:
The walls were all plywood with an old layer of paint.

None of the windows or doors had any trim; they were just roughed-in openings.

AFTER:
We added some inexpensive pine trim around the windows.

We put cedar wainscotting around the entire perimeter and a sheet of vinyl flooring.

Then a fresh coat of paint and called it done! It was really nice to work on a project that went from start to finish in less than two days and made such a big difference. Instant gratification is kinda nice sometimes. ;-)

Exterior Colors Progress

Here's what the Sherwin Williams sample colors look like on some actual trim and a window sash. The trim is Roycroft Vellum, the window sash is Rookwood Red (NOT the Rookwood Dark Red that was mentioned in the previous post on this subject), and the piece of siding is Grizzle Grey. I wasn't sure at first, but as I continue to look at them at different times of day I think we may be very close to having the right colors.

These are the DOG DAYS! Did I mention it's hot?

Hot in the Shade

My trusty Honeywell digital thermostat never lies, and as you can see here, it's saying "Damn, it's HOT!"

Out Back

I dug up some photos of the backyard that I took last summer before I ripped out the deck and before the back stretch of fence was replaced

Here's what it looks like now. Not much of an improvement, but a blank slate at least.

This was taken from the corner of the yard looking back at where the old deck used to be on the back of the addition to the house. The garage is on the right. My short term plan is to level the yard, throw down some topsoil and grass seed, and build some simple steps for the back door. Eventually the addition will be transformed into a 3-season porch with divided-light casement windows all the way around. That project, however, is at the bottom of the list.

The Life of Riley

I'll have some pics posted soon of my window progress, but I just HAD to share this today. Our living room window has no shades and the morning sun beams directly into the eyes of whoever may be sitting on the loveseat. Riley has found a way of dealing with it.