Category Archives: Reno

One Room Challenge – Week 6 – THE REVEAL!

May 7, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

See our feature on Country Living and House Beautiful!

Did y’all see the One Room Challenge posts yesterday?! They were incredible! I swear this challenge just gets better every year. I started to list my favorites, but gave up trying to narrow it down after a few hours of getting lost down the #ORC rabbit hole. But you can see all of the redesigned spaces here!

Ok, on to my reveal of our two-story back porch makeover. But first, a little background…

If you’re just popping by for the first time, you can learn more about how this blog started here. My husband, Charles, and I bought his grandmother’s old 1902 American foursquare about 2 years ago, and have been pouring our heart and soul into restoring it ever since.

Here’s where we started almost 2 years ago, right after we bought the house.

Scary, right? Here’s where we were 6 weeks ago when the challenge started.

And here we are today!

I’m so thrilled with how these spaces turned out. Painting the doors red just wasn’t going to happen this go-round, but I actually love the crisp white now that there’s so much more color in the space.

I had this light fixture all picked out, and then someone stole it off our porch after it was delivered. Seriously, stole it. Not cool. So another one is on it’s way, and will hopefully be up in the next couple weeks.

Ok, enough talk. Enjoy the photos! First, the downstairs porch…

And now the upstairs porch…

You can catch up on the first five weeks here:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5

Don’t forget to check out all the amazing transformations linking up today too! And be sure to stop by next week. I’ll be sharing sources, as well as a few DIY projects you see!

Updates:
DIY window coffee table tutorial here!
DIY no-sew outdoor curtain tutorial here!
Porch makeover sources here!

One Room Challenge – Week 5

April 30, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

5 weeks down, 1 to go! Eeek!

If you’re just joining us, I’m part of a 6-week challenge to make over a space. I chose our two-story back porch, which have come a long way since we started almost 2 years ago!

The downstairs porch is almost ready to go. I just need to hang a shelf, add a small rug, and do some styling.

The upstairs porch is getting there too. I decided to go with this rug from Rugs USA and I love it! I’ve bought rugs from there before and am always pleased with the value. The site is constantly running sales and shipping is free…can’t beat that!

Right now a lot is just kind of thrown out there. Hopefully over the weekend I’ll have time to get it all in order. I’m hoping to get the doors painted red, but honestly it just might have to wait. Curtains, lighting, hanging plants, and another seating option are taking priority.

Oh how I wanted this retro glider! They were actually bringing it in to the shop when I got there, and I melted just a little. The price was totally reasonable, but more than I’m willing to spend right now. Oh well, there will be others, right?!

I ordered this fixture for the downstairs porch. It arrived last night, and we’ll hopefully be hanging it tonight.

So there you have it. You can catch up on the other weeks here:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Be sure to check out everyone else that’s linking up! There are some seriously talented bloggers out there!! And you can see what the all-stars are up to here.

See you next week for the final reveal!

One Room Challenge – Week 4

April 23, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

Welcome to week 4 of the One Room Challenge! In just 2 short weeks I’ll be sharing the final reveal of our two-story back porch makeover!

Last week I shared the design plan for each of the two porches, and I’m ashamed to say that not much has happened since. It’s ok though…I work better under pressure. :)

Anyway, here’s a look at the freshly painted porches (and some good ol’ NC pollen).

Here’s what’s on this week’s to do list:

Scrub the porches to get rid of the nasty pollen residue
Paint the doors red
Hang curtains

I’ve been putting off painting the doors because I’m just not sure what I want to do. The upstairs doors are easy; they are mostly like the front doors with a solid wood interior door and an outside screen door. But I’m just not sure about the downstairs doors. We have a solid wood door on the inside, but the outer door is a metal storm door. I was considering painting it with a Rustoleum paint, but I’m just not sure how well it will hold up to the elements. Do you have any thoughts that might help?

My next list is the things I have yet to acquire:

Large seating for upstairs (I’d love a retro metal glider, but it may be a rattan love seat or bamboo sofa)
Lighting for the downstairs porch
Hanging baskets for plants
A rug for the downstairs porch
Wall decor

I’m feeling pretty indecisive about what I want to hang on the walls. I was in Kirkland’s the other day and saw this mirror that I liked, but I’m worried about the metal rusting. In fact, I’ve seen a lot of metal mirrors that I like but have the same reservation.

I’m hoping to have a lot more checked off that list next week. You can catch up on the other weeks here:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Be sure to check out everyone else that’s linking up! There are some seriously talented bloggers out there!! And you can see what the all-stars are up to here.

PS- Today is the last chance to enter for your chance to win two beautiful watercolor pillow covers from Little Design Co!

One Room Challenge – Week 3

April 16, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

Welcome to Week 3 of the One Room Challenge linking event! I’m working on plans to give our two-story back porch a makeover, and so far so good.

I’ve been pinning to a secret board for a while now, and I’ve had the idea of what I’m going for in my head (you can see inspiration pics here), but I finally got around to pulling together a mood board. I’m kind of glad I waited, because now I can use some of the exact pieces I know I’ll be using.

So stay with me, there’s a lot going on here. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Polyvore allows you to create “sets” that you can share, as well as shop. So if you’d like to see a source for something in the board, just click the photo and it will take you to the set on Polyvore.

Here’s a look at my plans for the upstairs porch.

The main thing I’m going for up here is fun! I want mostly calming colors with a few bright pops to keep it interesting. The little red table will be a fun surprise, and will pull in our red door. The hanging plants will provide pops of green without being overpowering.

I have actually purchased the Ikea chairs, a similar red table, similar pillows, and the rug. By the way, thanks to everyone who chimed in when I was looking for a rug source. I ended up ordering this one and I think it’s going to look great in this space!

I’ve been on the lookout for a retro glider that doesn’t cost a small fortune. I came across this one at the Raleigh flea market last weekend, but it was in pretty bad shape. I’ve seen a few on Craigslist that I might pull the trigger on. You’ll just have to wait and see!

702parkproject - glider

Moving on…here’s my plan for the downstairs porch.

The space for the bistro set can only be about 4′ x 6′ if we want to leave room for a walk way. We got this set for Christmas, and it fits perfectly in that space. With the walk way, a closet, and two sets of stairs taking up most of this porch, there isn’t room for much else. So I plan to keep it fairly simple, and use accessories and some wall space to bring in a little interest. I really want to do planter boxes, but I’m not sure I’ll have room. That will have to be a game-time decision.

You can catch up on the other weeks here:

Week 1
Week 2

Be sure to check out everyone else that’s linking up! There are some seriously talented bloggers out there!! And you can see what the all-stars are up to here.

PS – Don’t forget to grab your daily entry for your chance to win some beautiful jewelry from Geoflora!

One Room Challenge – Week 2

April 9, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

Welcome to Week 2 of the One Room Challenge link up!

Last week, I shared my plans for the makeover of our two-story back porch. As a refresher, here’s the to-do list:

~~Paint the porches~~
Paint the doors red to match the front.
Install new lighting on the downstairs porch.
Add rugs, furniture, pillow, plants, curtains, wall art, and accessories!

The porches are officially painted! Unfortunately, they look more yellow than gray right now. Thanks pollen.

I found an outdoor pillow at HomeGoods to pull the decor around:

Fun and springy, right?

I made a trip to Ikea last Friday to pick up ~~a few things~~ the whole store. It was a very successful trip!

Among other things, I picked up these chairs, a few of these lanterns, and the cutest little mini trash can (or charcoal holder) ever!

Next, I need to find a couple of rugs (I’ve ordered one…fingers crossed!), curtains, a light fixture for the downstairs porch, and more furniture for the upstairs porch. Only 4 more weeks!!

Be sure to check out what everyone else is up to here.

PS – Today is the last day to enter the Angelique Ink giveaway!

One Room Challenge – Week 1

April 2, 2015Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’m super excited to be linking up with the One Room Challenge over at Calling It Home.

ORC-LP-250x183

Twenty designers will be sharing a six-week transformation of a space in their home. And lucky for us, anyone can join! Each Wednesday, those designers will be sharing their progress; each Thursday, other bloggers will be linking up to share their own stories.

For this challenge, I’m going to be giving our two-story back porch a complete overhaul. But let’s go back to the beginning.

For those of you who are just hopping over from the link up, you can learn more about our little house project here. Our back porch was literally falling off of the house when we bought it. Soffits were completely rotted and railings had been long forgotten. Oh, and the stairs to the basement? Non-existent.

702parkproject - ORC start 9 702parkproject - ORC start 8 702parkproject - ORC start 6

We’ve come a long way since then. Here’s a shot I snapped just the other day.

702parkproject - ORC before 2

It’s so much better. But it could still use a lot of work. I love that the new corner posts are from an old building in our little downtown, but it’s time they get painted to blend in. The new basement steps and railing need to be painted as well. But mainly, this porch just needs to have a little fun!

So here’s the plan: