What a blessing to have found this house, moved last September and settled for what will hopefully be a very long time!  There’s no question that God’s timing was perfect and so much better than what we would have done on our own.  Any of you who have moved from one home to another, will understand what I mean, though, when I say that I have been anxious for warm weather, so we can make the little touches and tweeks that change this from just a house to OUR home.  I’m talking about the projects that put your family’s personality into a house — the preferences and ideas that really establish the house as yours and make it the place you love to come home to.

The front of our "new to us" house, which we purchased last September. David has the front yard all spruced up and looking spiffy!

There are three main DIY areas we hope to tackle this summer and into fall:

1. Our Backyard Makeover
2. Bedroom Facelifts and a Master Bedroom Makeover
3. Decorating and Furnishing our Parlor? Sitting Room? Front Room? Third Living Area?  (We still haven’t decided exactly what to call that room.  lol)

Time and budget always dictate how fast these kinds of projects move forward and in the case of Our Backyard Makeover, the weather has really thrown a curve into the plans.  Unbelievable amounts of rain and cool weather slowed down getting our garden in at the time I would have preferred.  But, thankfully, we have managed to take full advantage of the days of sunshine sprinkled into this crazy “rainy season” and get a few things accomplished.

Our goals for each project are:

1.  Our Backyard Makeover

It was fun this spring to watch things green up and wait with great anticipation, to see what plants would pop through. In my post tomorrow, I'll show you more of this area for our garden, out back. The back yard is quite large and though it's difficult to get a picture of the whole thing at once, I'm hoping you'll get the gist of it.

This is a continuation of that east fence, just down from the garden area. That’s a covered wagon bird house on the pole.

The remainder of the east fence in our backyard. There is a small pine tree we will be taking out. A rectangular concrete pad where we would like to set up a compost tumbler and then a about 5x5 corner flower bed in that southeast corner. The beam in the tree used to hold two swings, however, the wooden beam is splitting and creating some safety issues.

• establishing a vegetable garden separate from the flower beds
• edible landscaping in the form of blueberry bushes and grapes
• setting up a compost tumbler
• putting in a swingset/play area for our youngest daughter and three grandkids
• re-establishing grass in the large, dirt crop-circle created by our black lab when she was staked back there on a long lead
• furnishing the upper deck
• furnishing the downstairs screen porch
• setting up a firepit area on the patio
• painting or staining the deck and back steps
• trellising across the back of the built-in upper deck bench (to prevent grandbabies from crawling underneath and falling down to the yard)
• an umbrella clothesline (Still being debated.  Hubby is definitely not as keen on the idea as I am, but the electricity savings may be the deciding factor.)

Straight west from the southeast corner flowerbed, looking back toward the house. The furthest south area is a 10x10 poured concrete patio with partial privacy fencing, that is right next to a wonderful screen porch, which is built under the back deck.

Another view of the back deck and screen porch, moving north, across the back yard. There is a small garden tools/hose storage area under the deck stairs and then a rose garden/flowerbed along the retaining wall, which masks the central air unit when the roses are in full bloom. There is a lot of glare, but that big bald spot in front of the screen porch is the area the dog wrecked pacing a circle on her 15 foot cable.

The northwest corner of the back yard (That's the same retaining wall from the last picture.) There is a blue garden gate in the privacy fence at that corner.

The north side of the yard fencing has two trellises with clematis vines and continues down to the east corner of the yard where the vegetable garden starts and we began this tour.

2.  Bedroom Facelifts and a Master Bedroom Makeover

• removing out-dated and faded wallpaper borders
• fresh coats of bright paint (currently two of the rooms are painted dark navy and a deep, very, very dark pine green)
• paint the master bedroom a solid color (it is a two-tone, textured stripe)
• new mattress for master bedroom (The search is on for something comfy!)
• matching drapes and bedspread for master
• vinyl wall art and other decor for all bedrooms
• changing out a twin bed in a child’s room for a full or queen, so it can be used as a guest room, when needed
• desk to DIY for daughter’s bedroom

3.  Furnishing and Decorating the Front Room

This is my one-of-a-kind original china hutch, created especially for me, by my dad. Isn't it gorgeous? This is the south wall of the front room we have yet to be able to furnish. This shows the walnut hardwood floors, too. It used to be white carpeting.

Moving west from the hutch to the southwest corner of the room. Is it wrong that I have been letting my 4-H girls use this beautiful room for sewing classes? No way! The lighting is good and the views are awesome. It's a great place to relax and have fun.

This is moving up the wall from the southwest corner to the northwest corner of the room. That wall has a gorgeous bay window with a window seat, which the grandkids absolutely love! You can see I have managed to acquire one bookcase, since moving in. Now, I have to sort, sift and choose from my thousand or so books, which ones to put in there. That requires unpacking lots of boxes stacked in the garage. Oy! I guess that should be on my Summer DIY list, too! That's my blue front door, you can see, just into the foyer.

And this is the east wall or northeast corner of the room. It's the opposite angle into the foyer and then beyond to the upstairs living room. This wall is totally void of furnishings and decoration. It's a blank slate. Now, to find the time and money to write on it.

• This room is the first, directly to the right as you walk through our front door.  It is the THIRD living area in this beautiful house and we simply do not have any furniture to fill it.  It has a beautiful bay window looking out over the pretty, tree-lined street and neighborhood out front.  I can’t wait to add an area rug, furniture and wall decor.  The layout of the room is interesting, as it connects, in an L-shape, to the dining room around the corner.  At this time, I have been able to add a nice bookcase and my Dad surprised me a couple of weeks ago with a beautiful china hutch, he built for me.  That is sitting at the end of the room, where it connects to the dining room.  Otherwise, this room has been totally empty since we moved in, 10 months ago.  It (and the dining room, as well as the stairs and upstairs hall) were all covered in pristine WHITE carpeting when we bought the house.  That was the only immediate change we made to the home after moving in.  We are a “get comfortable, live-in-it”, kind of family and white carpeting anywhere, much less in the dining room, was definitely not going to fit our lifestyle.  The front room and dining room were immediately redone in a warm, welcoming walnut hardwood and the stairs and upstairs hall traded their white for a plush, rich, caramel-colored carpet which we extended into the master bedroom.

As you can see, we have a pretty ambitious list and only time, great bargains and saving for the next thing, will be able to help us fully realize the dream.  I intend to write about the process, as we take each new step in the makeovers, sharing tips, ideas and products I learn about along the way.  Be sure to stop back tomorrow for our first post in Our Backyard Makeover series.  It will begin the transformation of our backyard into an oasis for relaxation and fun, as well as a beautiful, budget-saving garden spot.  We’ll kick off that first post with a fantastic giveaway, so you may be able to mark something off your own backyard DIY list, right along with me!  I look forward to sharing it with you!