All posts by Sarah @ 702 Park Project

Curb Appeal

April 8, 2014Categories: Just For Fun, RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

Last night I was browsing a few articles and posts about curb appeal, so I thought I’d share them with you. In my opinion, curb appeal is so important because it’s the first impression people have of your house. It sets the tone for what to expect inside, and it says a lot about you as a homeowner.

Even though there was still loads of exterior work to be done, we had the exterior painted back in June, just a month after starting work on the house. You can read more about the evolution of our painted house here. And here’s our most recent shot from the street:

Anyway, here are a few favorites I’ve been catching up on lately…

1. This Old House did an article on the biggest curb appeal transformations in 2012. Here are a few of my favorites.

2. Piggybacking on 2012, I also enjoyed the 2013 round up. A few more favorites…

3. If you still need a few more before and afters, check out this selection from HGTV.

And just for fun, here’s a little progression of our house!

Now we need to get the foundation painted, put the shutters back on, put our mailbox and “historic home” plaque back up, and landscape! Seems simple enough, right?

Do you have any good before and after curb appeal shots? I’d love to see them!

Linked here.

It’s Not Always Black and White

April 7, 2014Categories: DecorSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’d love to share with you what color we went with for our front door after this post, but actually we still haven’t decided! We’ve been putting it off, and now the time has come to officially make the decision. Charles and I are still on opposite sides of the fence on this one, so I’m counting on you to weigh in!

Here’s what you need to know…

1. Our porch will be painted a very dark gray…darker than what you see in the pictures above.

2. All trim is painted white, and all shutters are painted black.

3. The numbers you see above are no longer usable, so we can match new numbers to whatever colors we pick.

4. We have quite a few options: paint both doors white; paint both doors black; paint the inside door white and the screen door black; paint the inside door black and the screen door white; paint either or both a completely different color.

Ok, now it’s your turn. What do you think?

The Sunday Currently, #24

April 6, 2014Categories: This Week's LinksSarah @ 702 Park Project

Happy Sunday! Thanks to a “man trip” that our husbands are on, Mary and I have had a total weekend sleepover, and it’s been so fun! What are you up to this weekend?

Currently:

Reading– Peter Dunham’s guide to shopping at a flea market. If you’d like to read a few of my tips for shopping for vintage home decor, click here.

Writing– A thank you note to this exceptionally generous reader. This kind gift made my heart full.

Thinking– How much I love my new iPhone 5s! Last week I was debating the purchase, but I caved on Tuesday and made the switch. And of course I got it in my favorite color…GOLD!

Wishing– You would all go read Taylor’s very honest bragging session. Her sarcasm speaks to me.

Hoping– My rug from One Kings Lane arrives soon. I ordered it a few weeks ago and it has finally shipped! I can’t wait to see it!

Loving– My new April desktop wallpaper. It’s so cheery! In the same category, I’m also loving this, this, and this.

Wanting– A new spring wardrobe. I’ve been looking for some affordable tunics but haven’t really had any luck. Of course I love this and this, but they are out of my price range! (Remember that little tiny house project we’re spending all our money on?) Any tips on where to shop (besides Anthropologie)?

Needing– To tell ~~everyone in the whole wide world~~ the 3 of you who read this that my husband is pretty much the most awesome person ever. He PASSED THE NC BAR EXAM while working 50+ hours a week and restoring a super duper old house. He has worked incredibly hard and I’m so so proud of him!!

Feeling– Disappointed by this article about a world famous interior designer who has let his beautiful and historic Connecticut home fall into such a state of disrepair.

Clicking– This quiz. Which interior designer are you most like? I surprisingly got Emily Henderson. While I love her style and read her blog almost daily, I wouldn’t say we share similar tastes. Then again, she didn’t even get herself, so who knows?!

Hop on over to Lauren’s blog to catch up with the other Currently’s!

And in case you missed it, I posted some pretty major updates last week. You can find them here and here. You can also follow along on Instagram for a peek at fun finds and moments!

Have a fabulous week! :)

Quotable Friday

April 4, 2014Categories: Quotable FridaySarah @ 702 Park Project

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Soffit Prophet

April 4, 2014Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

If you had asked me 5 years ago what the bane of my existence would be today, I think “soffits” would have been about 287,260,287,629th on my list. But here we are.

Today, I’m happy to announce that our soffits are officially finished. Yep, you read that right. Finished!!

Let’s review, shall we? When we bought the house in May, it looked like this.

Gross. By July, most of the house had been painted and the porches were stabilized, but the soffits still needed a lot of work.

So the job of repairing and/or replacing the soffits began in November. You know that saying, “It has to get worse before it gets better”? Well it definitely applies in this case.

And then it stopped. Seriously. Stopped. The contractor’s boom basically died, and he refused to get it fixed for quite some time. (We still have it in our yard…I’m thinking of ~~selling it off for scrap~~ decorating it as yard art.) Finally in March, there was nothing left for his guys to do on the inside, so it became necessary again. Behold–the rented boom!!!

And last but certainly not least, they painted the new soffits!

What’s left you ask? A large amount of trim needs another coat of white, the foundation needs to be painted, the back porches need to be painted, and the shutters need to be reinstalled. We plan to paint the floors of all the porches ourselves.

We’re so close!! Can you believe it?!

Setting the Table for Spring

April 3, 2014Categories: Guest BloggersSarah @ 702 Park Project

Today’s guest post comes from the lovely and talented Amy at Eat. Sleep. Decorate. Amy is another fellow NC girl, with a beautiful home and several house flips under her belt. Be sure to head over to her blog and check it out–I know you’ll love it!

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Hey all! I am so excited to be a guest on 702 Park Project today. Sarah is such a gracious host and I have so enjoyed following the renovation of her beautiful home. Today we are talking spring decor. Spring is my absolute favorite season here in the south. The flowering trees are now in full bloom and there are signs of spring wherever you look.

I recently went undercover to scope out some home decor items for spring from Target, HomeGoods and World Market. To say I found a few things would be a huge understatement! I found so many amazing pieces that would work for any home when entertaining for spring.

When creating a table setting for spring I like to add lots of color and texture with bits of nature sprinkled in.

I started with the turquoise plates that were given to me by my mother’s cousin. I knew I wanted to use some pastels in my design and these were just the ticket. I then added the green and white polka dotted salad plates. Then it was time to hunt around town for some spring inspiration. First stop…World Market where I found these adorable flowered pedestal bowls. They were my jumping off point for color inspiration. I love how each bowl is slightly different. (They are on sale now too!)

I also knew I wanted to pull a little more turquoise into the mix and ran across this fabulous table runner also from World Market. It brings a little texture with its linen look and feel. The embroidery work is amazing.

I felt that the pink napkins added a bit of a feminine touch. These napkins are Max Studio found at HomeGoods. They have so many fabulous printed napkins in every color right now.

The adorable vases in the center of the table are from the one and only Target! Does anyone else have a hard time resisting the new Threshold line at Target? I love that these beauties add another element of texture and color to this vignette.

So what do you all think? Are you ready to add some touches of spring into your home? For more ideas and inspiration on how to create a fabulous tablescape click on over to my Pinterest Page: Place Settings.

Thank you so much, Sarah, for having me today!