As I mentioned before, Charles and I created a complete list of work we want done on the house, broken out into phases.  Now we are trying to decide where we can cut costs and do things ourselves.  In an ideal world, we would already be living close to the house and could be much more hands on.  But that’s life, right?  So we are working on putting together some weekend projects and other things that we can do ourselves.  Here are a few things we have come up with.

1.  Paint.  Don’t worry; we aren’t crazy enough to try to do the exterior ourselves…although I do peel a little more paint off the house each time I’m there.  Hey, every little bit helps!  But we could definitely paint some of the inside.  We know the painters will fix any plaster that needs fixing and coat the walls and trim with primer, so we would just have to do the paint.  I think we can handle that!  And who knows, maybe a few of our lucky friends and family will be recruited to help.  I promise free pizza and beer.  :)

2.  Shutters.  A lot of the exterior shutters are looking pretty rough, but several of them can be saved.  Some just need a little wood glue and a good cleaning, and all need some paint.  I see a massive sheet in the yard with tons of shutters and a paint spray-gun.  And voila!  Good-as-new shutters.

3.  Demolition.  Y’all know I can’t wait to rip out that green tub!  And the entire upstairs bathroom.  And the carpet.  And the vinyl flooring.  You see where I’m going with this…

4.  Refinish the pedestal tub.  We’d like to use the antique pedestal tub that’s currently in the guest bathroom upstairs.  It’s in pretty good condition, just needs a good cleaning, a few rust stains rubbed out, and a little paint.

5.  Furniture and fixtures.  Once it comes time to decorate, I will DEFINITELY be doing some DIY-ing!  Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to share it all with you.

Unfortunately, it’s not a time issue keeping us from being more hands-on with this project.  It’s a distance issue.  But that’s ok, because soon it will be time to move in and decorate!!  And I really can’t wait for that part!  Stay tuned…