The Back Yard

Wow...the back yard. Where to begin....

When we moved into our new house, our backyard was our "special project".  It took us about a year to really get it where we want it to be. Before our house was restored, it had been unoccupied for many years. Prior to restoration, the house was, quite frankly, in shambles. It had been boarded up and left to rot away.

So...when we cleaned out our backyard we found all kinds of artifacts from the previous owners. Don't get excited; there was no gold, pottery ruins or arrowheads, but rather, truck loads of garbage, debris, glass, etc. Here are a few photos of the progress we made in the back yard, as well as a photo of what our house looked like prior to being re-habbed. You'll find pre-renovation photos of our house throughout this blog because we want the world to see that restoration is real. If you can restore this.... you can restore just about anything.

Here are two photos of the back of the mansion, before it was restored. I can barely even tell what's what in these photos:

And here is what it looked like when we bought it:

We started with the back yard by building Thomas a pen under the porch. Look for a later post about Thomas and his pen. It deserves a post all its own. The next step was building the "man cave," raised beds and the compost bin.

Now for the Man Cave 
(aka Step #2 in making the backyard perfect)

<Behold: The "Man Cave," in all it's framed splendor.  It is really just a storage shed. I will not spend alot of time on the man cave because we did not actually build it (see man cave disclaimer below). Chris did design it though, and he purchased the materials. We had a friend who is a carpenter actually build it. Let us know if you need someone to do something similar; he has mad skills.   

< Finished Product of the Man Cave. Chris has filled the man cave with lots of man things, including this refinished farm table.

 This has become his work table, one of our better Craigs List finds if I do say so myself.

Add a little sod, pine straw and flowers:

<and there you have it; a backyard, complete with man cave and landscaping. 

Good job, Chris! (I supervised, of course) 

The Front Yard

Upon arrival to our new house, we noticed that there was plenty to be done in the front yard. The rehab team had done a wonderful job grading and planting, but had left us with a pretty blank canvas for our own design and tastes.  Chris, being the talented landscaper he is, added more azaleas and planted more grass.  He has also planted a variety of flowers in the front yard, making it a perfect picture in the spring time.

< Here is a photo of our adorable house, before it was so adorable. This is what it looked like before it was restored. We've often wished our walls could talk but sometimes I am so glad they can't. Talk about a "fixer upper".

Here is a photo of the yard, after it was rehabbed. This is before we really added anything.

And here is a post-landscaping shot. We have two small blooming cherry trees in the yard, so in the spring time, we have gorgeous cherry blossom. In the winter, we usually have pansies...although Thomas (the pig) tends to want to eat them.  We also added a porch swing and rocking chairs to the front porch, making it a perfect place to sit on a summer evening.



Our Journey: House to Home

We purchased the "mansion" from Historic Macon Foundation in 2010. If you are not familiar with HMF, visit http://www.historicmacon.org/ . Prepare to be amazed. This organization has truly made a lasting impact in the city of Macon. We are so proud to be part of the HMF initiative. Just five years ago, many of the neighborhoods surrounding the area were falling apart; it is now one of the most desirable places for people to live, thanks to innovative preservation and promotion.



<---This plaque hangs next to our front door.

This was a momentous occasion: installing our house numbers! 

That's me...with a drill in my hand. 

Our Minimal Mansion

Almost two years ago, my husband and I bought our very first house. The house is a small historic home (originally built in 1865), that was rehabbed before we bought. We jokingly call the 1300 square foot cottage our little "mansion" because it truly is the little house of our dreams. It may not be a mansion to most, but we cannot imagine starting life anywhere else.

If you have ever lived in an old home, you know how much "character" they can have. We are constantly learning something about our house. Our floors consist of old heart pine that are stained, cracked and imperfect. We LOVE them. There are holes in our floor (we call them charming), large enough that we have patched them with wine corks. We have high high ceilings, old crown molding and four fire places (none of which are functional). The house is truly special and it is our pride and joy.

Now, as a newly married couple, living in our first home together, we have learned a great deal about home improvements. I am fortunate to have married a man who is truly in love with handy work. He has not only single handedly landscaped both the front and back yard, but he has also completed a number of indoor projects that would make any pinterest fan drool. We have created quite the system for improving our living space; I find the idea and he builds it (with my supervision, of course).

SO...I have created this blog to rival that of the Young House Love people because I think that we are truly mastering the art of living life to the fullest in a small home. We are both passionate about historic homes and rehabilitation. We are also both passionate about utilizing space in the best way possible.

Stay tuned for photos, funnies and fantastic projects. We are continually learning and coming up with new ways to maximize our little mansion.

Here we are, in front of the mansion. That's Thomas, in case you were wondering. 

Marcie (the Shih tzu) missed this photo-op. Don't worry...she will make it into others.