~ Flipping Houses

As you may have guessed, we have been dying to flip another house since the last one sold in November.  Dying, I tell you!!  We’ve been trying to be prudent, going over all of the costs associated with the last flip to see where we can increase our profit margin, scouting around for better financing options and, of course, trolling the city for ugly-with-potential houses.  While we’ve been doing our due diligence a few incredibly tempting houses slipped away, which was a total bummer.

Anyhoo, we are now very close to having our ducks in a row and we’ve got our eyes on a few little gems.  Here’s the kitchen from one of the front-runners:

Ick, right?  That being said, this baby has a lot of potential – I mean, just look at the floor plan!

I think this kitchen has the potential to be a true entertainer’s kitchen – it’s right off the dining room, can be opened up to the den, has double ovens and a gas cooktop, a bar for seating and setting out food . . . all in all, great bones.  And it makes my heart go pitter pat to think that we wouldn’t have to move any gas or plumbing lines!!

That being said, this is one ugly kitchen.  There are a few options as to how to approach it:

1.  Demo the whole thing and start from scratch with new cabinets, etc.  Pros – cabinets would be much, much cuter, there would be more vertical storage, we could rework the existing storage, add a wine fridge.  Cons – could be an unnecessary cost since the cabinets are in good shape and the layout is essentially staying the same.

2.  Paint the existing cabinetry and just spruce everything up a bit with new countertops, appliances, etc. Maybe give the cabinets a similar treatment to what Kristin did?  Pros – costs would definitely be lower.  Cons – I know that we wouldn’t get the look that we want (like getting rid of the curved detailing on the doors), storage would not be maximized.

3.  Mixture between 1 & 2 by refacing the doors. Pros – still not as expensive as new cabinets.  Cons – still not as cheap as keeping the cabinet doors, and storage still isn’t maximized.

And once the choice is made between 1, 2 and 3, there’s the fun of deciding on the finishes!!  I’ve been wanting to do a remodel with somewhat modern finishes, but I don’t think this is the house for that – the rest of the house (and if the kitchen cabinets stayed) is fairly traditional.

So here’s my question – what would you do with this kitchen? Which option would you pick, and how would you finish it out?  Subway tile or glass tile, wood floors or tile, pendants or recessed lighting . . . there are so many things to think about!!  I would love your input, I know you guys have great ideas – let the brainstorming begin!

Do you know Sarah Richardson?

I’ve admired her interior design work for some time, but I’ve only recently seen one (yes, she has more than one!) of her television series – Sarah’s House, which is now airing in the US.

Have you had a chance to watch Sarah’s House on HGTV?

Truly, Sarah’s House is a show after my own heart – now in Season 2, the series follows the Canadian designer as she chooses a home and then flips it – complete with unbelievable staging.  As a Realtor, fellow flipper and lover of design, I don’t think a TV show could get any better than that!!  It’s really inspiring to follow Sarah through her thought process, from how to renovate each room to sourcing furniture and accessories to the big reveal.  And I think you’ll find that the spaces Sarah designs are completely liveable and approachable while avoiding an overly “designed” look.

This is the Toronto home that Sarah chose to conquer in Season 2 – which she purchased for almost $700,000!

In the episodes that have aired thus far, Sarah and her design sidekick, Tommy, have completely swankified the second level:

The boring nursery . . .

. . . soon became this darling nursery (and I don’t use the word “darling” very often).  Ikea drapes paired with a snuggly chair upholstered in cheerful polka dots provide a fun, gender-neutral color palette for this space.

I think it’s particularly smart that Sarah chose to install a picture rail in line with the top of the window frames (with sky blue paint above) to bring the vaulted ceiling down to a more kid-friendly and cozy height.

And, of course, the whimsical alphabet is an affordable and easily-replicated design element that adds tons of character (and an opportunity for learning) to the room.

The home office began just as bland as the nursery . . .

. . . but is now a modern, upbeat space with a hint of femininity brought in through the floral fabric on the bulletin board.

I find that the still shots of these rooms simply don’t do the spaces justice – you should check out these episodes to see the rooms in their full glory.

The master bedroom definitely benefited from Sarah’s decision to steal 27 inches of space (on the left-hand side) from the neighboring nursery.

And I bet you never saw this gorgeous space coming, did you?  I certainly didn’t.

The entire color scheme for this master bedroom was pulled from those fabulous floral curtains in cream and gray.  The headboard was positioned below the low point of the vaulted ceiling so that one would have a feeling of space and height while lying in bed.

While I don’t know that I could ever be disciplined enough to commit to such a tight and subdued palette, it really is divine, isn’t it?

I always love the look of chandeliers in bedrooms, particularly master bedrooms, but I just don’t think I could take the plunge and part with my ceiling fan – even so, I’m totally tempted to nix my fan after seeing this room!

I am curious, though – does Sarah sell her homes furnished?  If not, it seems odd to devote such a large portion of the budget to furniture (some of it custom) and accessories that will, ultimately, need to find new homes.  Does anybody know?  Have you had a chance to check out the show and, if so, what do you think of it?

* There’s more to come for this series but, since most of the episodes haven’t aired in the US yet, I don’t want to spoil it for you!

Sarah’s House airs on HGTV at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday nights.  Images courtesy of HGTV Canada.

As of this afternoon, it became official – in just over 5 months, we bought, remodeled, and sold our flip!

Excuse me while I run off to do the happy dance . . .

To see the transformation for yourself, just click here – and if you want a play-by-play account of how we flipped this house, check this out.

As you all know, the pool at our flip was the area of the house that made us the most nervous when we bought it back in June:

It was filled with algae from years of neglect, the tile was dingy and dated, the entire backyard was taken up with cracked concrete decking, and the landscaping was a total joke.  It was a total nail-biter – could we pull this off?  Could we really turn it into a backyard that a family would love?

Well, you all know now that we not only managed to get the pool situation under control, but we turned it into a highlight of the house:

Here’s a behind the scenes look at how we did it, from the funky beginning to the awesome end.  Here we go!!

We knew that this pool was going to need a serious makeover if it was going to live up to the rest of the house.  I’m talking new plaster, tile, coping – the works!  But before we could get started on all the fun stuff, the pool had to be completely drained.  Here’s what it looked like:

Ew, right?  And let me tell you, all that nasty algae was stinky.  Super stinky.  I don’t know why I didn’t expect that, but I was totally surprised.  Luckily, the stinkiness didn’t last too long.  Once the pool was totally drained and cleaned, a new surface of fancy 3M quartz plaster was applied.  We were going for a tropical feel, so we opted for a colored plaster rather than the traditional white plaster – the plaster is slightly tinted blue, so the water looks all ocean-y and gorgeous.

Once the new plaster went up, it was time for the tile!!!  A crew of guys stood on these funky little metal risers all day and applied sheet after sheet of earthy-toned mosaic tiles:

The people at the tile place kept trying to convince us to choose those tiles that you always see in pools – 6 x 6 tiles in bright blue.  Those are really pretty, but we wanted something different, something a little fun.  I drove around for about a week with a box full of tile samples in my car, asking everyone that rode in my car which tiles they liked best – kind of like a fashion show for tile.  In the end, we decided on these and I am beyond thrilled with how they came out!

While all the plastering and tiling was going on, the huge expanse of concrete decking was also being broken up with a jackhammer and removed.  We agonized forever over what to do with the decking – it took up almost the entire yard so there was virtually no grass or anywhere for kids or pets to play.  It was also cracked and pretty unsightly.  We ultimately decided to just get rid of it and put in a lawn – that way the new homeowners would have a true yard in addition to a pool, and we imaged that the pool would look really cool surrounded by grass, almost like a pond.

I do not envy the people that got the job of jackhammering up the decking.  The concrete was about 6 inches thick, and reinforced with steel rebar – it was a huge job!!

After all the decking was hauled away, it was time for the new flagstone coping.  Since we had removed the decking, we went for coping that is wider than standard so that the edge of the pool would look more substantial.  We also asked for the flagstone to be chiseled in an irregular pattern so that the edges would look more natural.  We love the way it turned out!!

The new cedar pergola went up in a flash while another crew was working on the pool – it’s a huge improvement over the old plastic sheeting that used to shade the patio.  Even though we hated to cut down a tree, we ultimately had no choice but to remove the sculpted tree and bushes right by the pergola – they were totally blocking access to the stairs in the pool!

Now that all the decking was gone, we needed to spread oodles of dirt across the entire backyard to raise the ground level to match up with the edge of the pool.  It was a huge endeavor undertaken by Landscaper Jared, and you can get the full scoop about that fun project right here.

After the dirt was added and about a zillion pieces of sod were laid, it was time for the fun part – landscaping!!!

I dished the dirt (literally) about how we turned the landscaping into a tropical paradise here, and you can get the 411 about all the plants we chose right here.

One of the last touches that we added to the landscaping was about 20 bags of black mulch – I think the people at Lowe’s thought we were crazy when we were loading up the truck:

We added mulch to the planting beds for a few reasons: (1) mulch would help reduce the number of weeds that grew in the beds (thereby reducing the amount of weeding that we would have to do), (2) mulch helps the plants’ roots retain water to get through the Texas heat, and (3) mulch makes the beds look awesome!!!

While any old mulch will help out your plants, black mulch is totally my favorite color of mulch because the vibrant colors of the plants really pop against the black background.  However, you will be covered from head to toe in black mulch dirt, and your fingernails definitely will not thank you.

One of the final things that was completed in the backyard was the tiling of the patio – I told you all about the transformation here.  I am head over heels for the result!!

Our finishing touch was to add flagstone stepping stones from the patio to the pool.  Not only does it look pretty, but it prevents people from tracking grass into the pool – gotta love form and function!!

So there you have it – the entire tale of how the pool at the flip went from an eyesore that no one would dare to swim in to an inviting tropical paradise that just begs for you to jump right in.

We love to spend a hot afternoon floating around in this pool – there’s no better way to beat the heat!  How about you guys?  Now that summer is drawing to an end, what will you miss most about those lazy days of summer?  Or are you ready to bid the heat adieu and bring on the fall?

Before we got ahold of it, the front yard at the flip was a hot mess:

The house was barely even visible behind two humongous magnolia trees that totally obscured the roof and most of the exterior – which might have been a good thing, given the not-so-lovely appearance of the house at that time.

And not only were the magnolia trees obscuring the house, they were blocking out so much sunlight with their dense and low-hanging limbs that grass couldn’t even grow over much of the yard – mmm, mud yard – just what everyone wants!

Jason and I knew that the trees were awesome so we didn’t want to cut them down, but we didn’t really know what could be done to (a) let the grass grow, (b) let the house be seen, and (c) let potential buyers mosey up the sidewalk without getting whacked by branches.  After we asked around a bit, my aunt came up with this brilliant yet common-sense solution – lift their skirts!!  (Her words, not mine!!).

Enter Landscaper Jared – you might remember him from such adventures as Fun With Big Machines and Backyard Oasis.  I think it’s only fitting that the Landscaper Jared series gets a third installment, don’t you?

Anyway, Landscaper Jared shimmied right up those ginormous magnolias with a rented chainsaw in one hand and his life insurance policy in the other – kids, don’t try this at home!

Those low-hanging branches didn’t stand a chance!

After we waited a few hours and didn’t hear any sirens, we swung back by the flip and were greeted by this awesome sight:

Have you ever seen so many branches in your entire life?  It took three trips to the dump to get rid of that huge pile.

After the magnolias were pruned and the ground was touched by sunlight for the first time in decades, we knew that anything we planted would finally have a chance for survival – no more mud pit!!  We trekked over to Home Depot and bought a slew of bushes, plants and flowers – red tip photinas, holly bushes, purple ferns, and impatiens.  Once we hauled them back to the house in Landscaper Jared’s truck, we spaced out each plant and flower on either side of the house:

That gave us a chance to eyeball the arrangement and spacing before Landscaper Jared planted all those puppies:

In no time, the front of the flip was looking about a thousand times better.  But even though the beds full of ivy were no longer, the front yard was still begging for some new sod:

Landscaper Jared laid about a pallet and a half of St. Augustine over the bare spots in the front yard:

Curious how Landscaper Jared got the grass to curve around the flower beds oh-so-perfectly?  I was too, until I spied Landscaper Jared with his secret weapon:

A machete!!  Apparently he just gives the grass a few whacks with his trusty machete and he gets a perfect cut every time – man, I wish I had known that when we were laying sod in our backyard!

The lawn has now settled in and is happy as a clam, and the new plantings are looking fab.  Have any of you tackled laying sod before?  Got any landscaping tips or tricks up your sleeve?  Fill us in!

Now that our flip has been fully renovated from head to toe and put on the market, wanna take a peak at all the finishing touches?  Grab a cup of coffee and get ready for an all-access home tour that will knock your socks off!

Here’s what our flip looked like when we first saw it way back in April.  Dreary, dated, and totally hidden are a few of the descriptors that come to mind.  The drab peachy brick and the baby blue shutters were doing absolutely nothing for this diamond in the rough – not that you could even see the house due to the low-hanging magnolias that blocked out so much sun that grass refused to grow over most of the yard.

And here’s how the flip greets you today!!  As you can see, new landscaping (more on that soon!) and a snazzy paint job instantly yanked this house out of the 1960s and into this century.  We also removed the outdoor carpeting, ripped out the old ironwork on the porch and replaced it with a simple wood pillar, which immediately shaved about 3 decades off the appearance of the house.  Now, the light cream paint really pops against the lush lawn, and the cheery red door welcomes you right in.  The simple black accents on the shutters and pillar ground the color scheme, while the nickel finishes on the hardware, mailbox and lighting add a much-needed update to the front porch.

Through the front door, you walk immediately into the entryway.  From that point, you can turn left down a hallway to reach three of the bedrooms and the jack ‘n jill bath, you could go to the right to enter the formal living and dining rooms, or you could continue straight into the den (which leads to the study, kitchen, and guest bedroom and bath).

Forgive me for these next few pictures – I know they leave a little something to be desired!  Here’s how the entryway used to look.  The tacky wallpaper and elaborately swagged crystal chandelier just weren’t working for me.  The standard doorway into the den also left a little something to be desired, as it made the entryway feel cramped and closed off.

By simply removing the dated elements and expanding the doorways to the den and the formal living/dining, the entryway became a light, airy and beautiful way to welcome visitors into the home.  (And do you recognize that capiz ceiling light from the hallway in our home??)

Immediately to the right of the entryway was the dingy formal living and dining rooms, complete with a metallic focal wall – what’s not to love, right?

By replacing the dirty carpeting with gleaming hardwoods, switching out the chandelier, and ripping down the curtains to let in the sunlight, the living and dining rooms now feel current and rich, just as they should.

Through those double doors at the end of the dining room, you immediately walk into what used to be a dark relic from the 60s:

With clean new custom cabinetry, granite countertops, hardwood floors and a functional new layout, the new kitchen is practically unrecognizable:

Like most homes built in the 60s, our flip used to have a closed-in galley kitchen that removed the kitchen from the rest of the house.

By removing half of the wall between the kitchen and the den, the kitchen is instantly open and airy, perfect for entertaining or feeding the kids meals at the new breakfast bar.  And best of all, now that stunning glass and marble backsplash can be seen throughout the house!

A great feature of this house is the breakfast nook at the end of the kitchen – who couldn’t use another place to hang out and enjoy a meal?  Unfortunately, the original breakfast nook was . . . um . . . a bit dated.

We simply removed the floral chandelier and replaced the existing hutch with a floor-to-ceiling custom pantry, which added ridiculous amounts of storage and upped the attractiveness factor of this little nook.  And check out that snazzy hardware!!

And I can’t resist pointing out a few fun features of the new kitchen – check out the trash pullout, the recess for an undercounter microwave, and the vertical base cabinet (on the far right) for cookie sheets!  Ooh, and here’s a little tip for those of you that are having new countertops installed – ask the fabricator to make you a custom cutting board out of the countertop remnants, like the portions cut out for the stove and sink.  You’ll have a gorgeous (and indestructible) cutting board that will blend in so perfectly with your countertops that you can leave it out all the time!

So you may be wondering what was on the other side of that galley kitchen.  Well, here it is.

Kind of a letdown, right?  I mean, I love that it has a fireplace, but the room just looked sad – dark paneling, a peachy-pink fireplace, scalloped bookcases and dingy carpeting just weren’t awesome enough.

So we changed it.  A bunch.  New bookcases and hardwood floors, drywall instead of paneling, recessed lighting and a fresh coat of white paint on the fireplace suddenly transformed the cave-like den into a family room just begging for a family.

And it has a rockin’ view of the kitchen, so nobody gets left out.

Past the breakfast nook (on the way to the garage), is a bathroom and a fourth bedroom.  The bathroom originally housed a toilet, sink . . . and the washer and dryer.

The first step was 2009′ing the bathroom with all the fixins from a new toilet to a classic pedestal sink.

And then we desperately needed to address the laundry area.  It was just sad.

So we got rid of it.  Or moved it, actually – more about that later.  In its place, we added a gorgeous tiled shower/bath – I think the glass diamond accents are my fave!  And it’s awesome that this is now a full bath because . . . the fourth bedroom is right across the hall!!  Now it’s the perfect little guest wing, and guests won’t have to trek across the entire house in their bathrobe – definitely a necessary change (and one that adds value to boot!).

So now onto that fourth bedroom.  The built-in desk is a great feature, but the whole room just looked a little dated.

A fresh coat of white paint on the built-ins and some new carpet instantly freshened this room into a space perfect for guests, a workspace, or whatev.

Through the doorway to the right of the den was this sad little enclosed patio.  Luckily, it was heated and cooled so it added some awesome square footage to the home.  But it was kinda gross, with the original brick walls (and random paneling), creaky sliding doors, and funky blue carpeting.

By floating a new floor over the existing slab, we were able to continue the gorgeous hardwoods straight into the study (formerly enclosed patio) for a seamless transition to the rest of the house, which totally increased the open feeling of the entire home.  We also drywalled over the brick walls, added recessed lighting, and replaced the sliding doors with updated French doors to take in the beautiful new view.

But the view wasn’t always so lovely.  The slab patio used to be confined and depressing, with a plastic sheeting roof, tired outdoor carpeting, and a brick wall that closed off the patio from the rest of the backyard.

So we tore it all down, all the way to the concrete slab.  Then we added a rustic flagstone patio (to match the new pool coping that you’ll see in a minute), and topped it off with a fun and functional cedar pergola that defines the space and adds a little shade from that Texas sun (and the new homeowners can easily increase the amount of shade if they want by adding canvas right over the top of the pergola, or weaving it in between the cedar slats for a unique effect).

The backyard used to be completely overrun by the swampy pool and cracked concrete decking.  And that lone palm tree was just weird.

We totally revamped the pool by adding new 3M quartz plaster in an island blue, fun mosaic tiles in a cobalt blue and earthy brown, and awesome flagstone coping that perfectly coordinates with the new tile.  Chipping up the old concrete decking allowed us to add tropical plantings and lay a grassy lawn that gives the pool a pond-like effect, and will also give the new homeowners a place to play with their kids and pets.

Back inside, a jack ‘n jill bath is down a short hallway to the left of the entryway.  This bathroom is shared with the second bedroom, and was also intended to be used by guests.  While it was big and spacious with lots of storage and double sinks, in its original condition guests were sure to run screaming for the hills.

We were able to totally transform the bathroom by simply switching out the flooring and adding a new countertop and fixtures.  The existing cabinetry looks amazing with a new coat of crisp white paint, and the new travertine flooring, laid in a brick pattern, is totally gorgeous and makes the bathroom feel even more spacious.

Even though the second bedroom just off the jack ‘n jill bath was spacious, it was a little dingy.

With new carpeting and paint, an efficient ceiling fan and lovely crown molding, the second bedroom is now totally inviting.

The third bedroom was almost as spacious, but the bright blue carpeting was a huge distraction from its potential.

It got the same treatment as the second bedroom, and was spiffed up in a jiffy.

This house was simply brimming with storage, like the two large closets on the right-hand side of this hallway that connects three of the bedrooms.

Turns out those two closets were the perfect place to add a laundry area for a full-size washer and dryer (and with room left over for a separate linen closet!).  Now the new homeowners will be able to easily wash and dry their clothes without hauling their dirty laundry across the entire house – score!

Just past the new laundry area is the master bedroom.  But there was nothing masterful about it in the beginning.

So we swanked it up by continuing the beautiful hardwood floors right into the master bedroom.  And as an added bonus, it has a killer view of the pool and all of the gorgeous landscaping.

Perhaps the biggest eyesore in the entire house was the master bathroom.  It had blinding wallpaper, scallops, paneling, formica, and just about the worst shower I’ve ever seen.  It was going to be a huge challenge.

Luckily, we conquered it!!  We ripped out the old cabinets to make room for dual sinks, doubled the visual space of the room with a fab beveled mirror, and added custom cabinets with tons of storage.

Like I said before, the shower was pitiful – I’ll spare you a view of the inside, but it felt cramped and was definitely not a place that you’d want to stand around in naked.  I’m just saying.

But with the addition of a frameless glass shower enclosure and oodles of marble tile, the shower is now the showpiece of the master bathroom!  Bright and airy, the glass enclosure adds to the spacious feeling of this gorgeous shower.

So there you have it!!  How’d you like poking around our flip?  Got any questions about what we did or how we did it?  Ask away!!

For even more behind-the-scenes peeks into our flip, just click here.

This post is shared with Hooked on Houses.

Picking paint colors for the exterior of your home can seem like an overwhelming task.  It seems like there’s such pressure to get the color scheme right the first time – after all, you want your family (and your guests) to love the way that your home looks, and repainting the whole house after an unfortunate paint job is the last thing you want to have to do!

Luckily, picking the perfect exterior paint colors is actually pretty easy – really easy, in fact.  Just by following the little cheat-sheet guide to picking paint colors that I’m about to fill you in on, we were able to choose a paint combination that took our flip from this:

to this:

Wanna hear how we did it?

1.  Assess the situation. Before you even think about cracking open a paint can, there are a few characteristics about your home that you need to take into account.  Here are just a few factors that you need to think about:

~ What color is your roof? If your roof leans more towards brown than gray, then you know that you will need exterior paint colors that are in the brown family as opposed to the gray family.

~ What is the style of your home? The color schemes that your house can pull off will vary a great deal depending upon whether your home is a rancher, for example, versus a Victorian.

~ Are there any exterior features that you don’t want to paint? For example, if you have a fabulous wooden front door that is stained a deep chocolate brown, then you know that your color scheme will be designed around that chocolate front door.  Or you might have a flagstone walkway in a deep slate blue that will have to be incorporated into your color palette.

~ How much natural sunlight does your home get? If you want your home to feel bright and airy in the middle of a dark forest, then you need to go for lighter tones, while a home in the middle of a field can get away with much deeper shades without feeling dark and creepy.

2.  Jump in your ride. Yes, that’s right – you’re about to take a tour of the neighborhood – or the county, if necessary.  While some people swear by paint chips or online photographs, seeing color palettes in person on houses similar to your own is really the ultimate way to find the perfect color combo for your own home.  You can see firsthand what works (and what doesn’t), and find surprising and inspired color combinations that you never would have thought of on your own.  All you need to do is find the section of town where the homes have architecture similar to your own house and inspect with an eagle eye the colors that other homeowners have chosen to use – and keep in mind all of the factors about your own home that you need to take into account.

3.  Ring the doorbell. Once you find a house with a fabulous color palette, the only way you can flawlessly achieve that look on your own is to use the exact same paint colors.  If you try to just visually match the paint colors with paint chips, chances are that you’ll wind up with paint colors that are just a little off – definitely not what you’re going for.  So, you know what that means!!  It’s time to ring the doorbell of that cute little house and ask the homeowners what paint colors they used – or, if you’re feeling a little shy, feel free to leave a note in their mailbox with your phone number.  Most people feel flattered that you love their house so much that you want to “borrow” their paint scheme – here’s the house that the color palette on our flip was inspired by:

So that’s all there is to it!  Do you guys have any tips for picking paint colors that we need to know about?  What about winning color combos?  We’d love to hear it!

Alrighty peeps, our flip is officially on the market!!  And you know what that means . . .

Woohoo!!  I think it’s kinda cool that our very first open house is exactly two months to the day after we closed on this baby.

Just click here to find our flip on the map.  We hope to see you on Sunday!!  I’ll be in “realtor mode,” but if I know me I won’t be able to resist a little squealing over meeting a reader!

While I’m totally smitten with the tropical backyard at the flip, I’ve also fallen in love with this awesome flagstone patio that we added right off the back door.

Let me start from the very beginning (which, according to Julie Andrews, is a very good place to start).

A few weeks ago when we first bought the flip, the patio was frightening:

I don’t know which was scarier – the blue outdoor carpeting, the green plastic roofing, the dark and dingy screens, or the confining peach brick wall?  Take your pick.  Clearly, it all had to go.

Once demo was complete, we were left with this worn concrete pad with remnants of the adhesive from the blue outdoor carpet – not too pretty to look at.

We considered our options.  If we stained it, we’d have to grind down the concrete to get rid of the adhesive, and that still wouldn’t fix the few cracks in the slab.  Same thing for painting.  Stamping the concrete would be too expensive, and wasn’t really the look we were going for.  That left tiling the concrete pad – but how expensive would that be?

Our first bid that we got from our tile guy was high – like sky-high.  We were in a panic, what were we going to do to make the patio live up to the rest of the backyard?  My hubby instantly went into bargain-hunter mode – it’s one of his strong suits.  After a day of phone calls, he got a bid for less than a 1/4 of our tile guy’s original bid – score!!!!

But before the tiling extravaganza could begin, we needed some tile!  We headed off to this place, which is the same stone yard where we bought the Austin stone for our fab fireplace:

Look at all of the goodies!!!  We cute right to the chase and headed over towards the Oklahoma flagstone – we wanted to use the same stone for the patio as we did for the coping on the pool so that the pool and patio would look totally cohesive.

Do you think we found enough stone??

We stuck our name on this ton of 1 inch thick flagstone.   1 inch flag is perfect for tiling over an existing concrete pad – any thicker and it’s difficult to work with.  However, you wouldn’t want to lay these thin babies straight on the ground without the support of concrete as flagstone is brittle and could break.

The next day, my lovely hubby borrowed a truck and brought this ton of precious cargo back to the flip:

Soon after, our new tile guy was picking the perfect stones and laying them out for a dry fit:

A few hours and buckets of thinset later, our patio looked like this!!

We ran off to Home Depot to buy 8 bags of Polyblend sanded grout in Fawn – the perfect match for the pool coping.  Here’s the patio all grouted and gorgeous:

A few days later, we wetted down the patio and got to scrubbing with a long-handled broom – this was to remove the fine layer of grout that dried on top of the flagstone.

And now the patio looks like this!!  I’m in love.

So, what’s the verdict?  Do you guys like it?  What kind of outdoor space do you have at your crib?

I was checking on things over at the flip the other day when I noticed a new subcontractor driving down the street.  His car was crawling at a snail’s pace as he craned his neck to check out the house numbers, looking for our flip.  As I was watching, he drove right by the flip (I found this a bit strange since the house was literally buzzing with activity and had a huge contractor’s sign out front, but whatever).

It suddenly dawned on me – the flip doesn’t have any house numbers!!  Oh, for shame!  How on earth are we going to sell this puppy if no one can figure out which house it is?

A day later, our flip proudly displays its numbers for all to see:

Nobody will be whizzing past this house anymore!  Here’s how it all went down:

First, I bought a mountable plaque from Home Depot in a nickel-plated finish to coordinate with the new hardware, mailbox and exterior light at the flip.  I also found matching peel ‘n stick numbers in a matching finish – all of these goodies were in the same aisle as the mailboxes and driveway signs.

The plaque came with a template that you can see below – I found that to be pretty much worthless since the numbers were bigger than the template.

So, I tossed the template and eyeballed the placement of the numbers.  Once I got them where I wanted them, I just peeled off the backing and stuck those little babies in place!  Ridiculously easy.  Apparently the sticky stuff on the back is the same adhesive that they use to attach emblems to cars – I take that to mean that these numbers aren’t going anywhere.

The plaque came complete with anchors and screws, so you don’t need to worry about fishing around for supplies.

Here’s our newly-identified flip – looking pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself!!

What’s the house number situation at your house?  Mounted on a post, a plaque on a stake (that’s what we have at our house), painted on the front door, or are you going naked?