Normandy Park Restoration

Busy starting on re-cutting the stairs and came up with an idea for the basement.  Right now the area under the stairs is used for storage.  I have a door for entry.  However, I think I will do something like this. I did some checking and I should be able to make a space at least 4-5' wide, and build some shelving into it.  Seems a better use for the space. The sample above is a bit craftsman for my place, but I should be able to put a more modern spin on it.

All done with the exterior of the egress window.  I reused some of the rock I had in the front yard at the top.  I'm tentatively planning to use some 1/2 man gray/black rock for my landscaping.  When I get that rock I might redo the rock rim with those. I will also need to haul off the dirt I dug up, but will wait till I start on the landscaping to do that, as I'm not sure where I'll need that dirt.  When I get around to it I'll also do some white trim around the window, but I'll do that when I'm doing the rest of the exterior trim on the other windows.

Did more work on the egress window, but not worth showing.  I did manage to do some serious trimming on the shared hedge between my neighbor and I.  It had become so large an unmanageable that it was time to cut it back.  Didn't have a very good picture of it before, except for this shot I took of the car. Here it is now.  It's almost 6' shorter in some areas. You can actually see the house over the hedge now, where before you couldn't.  Right now it's thin and ugly, as we (my neighbor helped) cut so much out it exposed a lot of thin areas, but it will grow back in.  Plus, having it this short makes it much easier to maintain, as previously, even on a ladder you couldn't reach to trim the top.  Now you can reach everything with a hedge trimmer.

Finally found someone willing to take down the big Birch tree that was overhanging the power lines.  Been wanting to get rid of it for a while, but it wasn't at the top of the priority list.  But it makes such a big mess when it drops little branches all over in the Fall that I didn't want it around for another Fall.  Here is the before. And the after Now that it's gone I might do some landscaping before fall if I have time.

Ran across this kitchen and really like it.  Might plan on doing a similar color scheme.

Decided to break down and go ahead and get the kitchen cabinet shells.  Goal here is to verify fit and functionality.  I got a couple of drawers with simple white faces as well, so I could get used to how they fit and usability.  Cabinets are all Ikea Sektion.  I looked at other alternatives, but nothing gave me the flexibility I wanted except these. For now they are just set in place.  Discovered a few minor fit issues, but nothing huge.  Will also be able to fully evaluate usability as well.  Haven't decided on the flooring yet, or even it it will go below the cabinets.  I'm thinking not for now, but we'll see.  I did discover that the water line for the external hose is exposed now, so I'll have to figure out what to do there. This will allow me to work out the wiring and plumbing before committing a lot of $$$. However, they seem to fit well, so I'm thinking this will be the final layout of the low cabinets.

Playing with the toy I've deferred for a while.