All posts by Sarah @ 702 Park Project

Wood or Tile?

August 15, 2013Categories: Decor, RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’ve got another dilemma…

As I’ve mentioned before, the “master bathroom” is pretty much a blank slate for us. Which means there are tons of possibilities, but also lots of tough decisions! The main feature I’ve been going back and forth on lately is what flooring we should use. Right now, the floors are wood, covered with vinyl (and most likely asbestos-laden glue).

Here, you can get an idea of what is under the vinyl:

Looks like we definitely have hardwoods under there, but they are very “raw” and would either need to be covered up or refinished. Usually, I would never vote to cover up original wood floors, but I’m not sure if I feel that way in the bathroom. I worry about leaks and spills and several other things that could possibly ruin wood floors.

So, the question is, do we refinish the wood floors or tile over them?

If we refinish the floors, here are a few options that I really like:

If we choose to do tile, I like these options:

I feel like, honestly, we can’t really go wrong either way. Both would be beautiful. What do you think? Would you choose tile or wood?

picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Bloglovin’

August 13, 2013Categories: Just For FunSarah @ 702 Park Project

I’ve recently joined Bloglovin‘ as a way to connect with other bloggers. If you would like to follow me there (link is at the bottom of the site), or check out lots of other awesome blogs categorized by topic, head on over. Otherwise, ignore this post…it’s just a way for me to “claim my blog” and make it official! :)

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Lucky Number 13

August 12, 2013Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

Welp…we’ve officially been at this for 13 weeks now! Time for another photo round up. Check out Week 13 pictures, as well as all other pictures from the project, here.

A few important happenings…

1. We discovered some pretty cool scored plaster in the downstairs bathroom after ripping out the sheetrock. This bathroom was remodeled (I’m thinking in the 70’s), and sheetrock was added then. So we were excited to find such a cool feature hiding back there! No definite plans yet on how we want to finish the walls in there, though. Some parts of the exterior wall has had to be removed due to mold. Gross.

2. I think we’ve finally settled on a set up for the guest bathroom of the office upstairs. We measured and the pedestal tub that is in there now (original!!) will fit on the far right wall under the smaller window–with about an inch and a half to spare! But the contractor says it will work and he can make it into a shower/tub, so yay!! I’m so happy we get to use that tub.

Here’s what we’re thinking…since Charles and I both really hate shower curtain liners (they stick to you and just make you feel icky), we especially don’t want a wrap-around liner like most claw foot or pedestal tubs require. So we’re going to do something a little different. But we figure, hey, it’s our house…it should be exactly how we want it! Our plan is to tile the entire floor and also half way (or more) up the walls surrounding the tub. Then we are going to put a drain in the floor on that side, with the floor slightly sloping to the drain, and a small little tile “lip” on the floor to separate off the shower area and keep water from running everywhere. Then we will hang a tension rod above the tile “lip” for a shower curtain. Sounds complicated, and confusing, but it’s actually quite simple. More on that coming later!

3. The “removing of all rotten and unusable wood” phase of the project is now complete! The carpenters have already started going through the eaves and stabilizing them with new treated wood. We got some pretty good pictures of it yesterday. And thanks to my hubs for leaning way over the front upstairs porch railing to get me some good shots because I’m a scaredy cat! Stay tuned for a more in-depth post on what exactly is going on. For now, I hope you enjoy the pictures!

4. And last but certainly not least, we officially have interior primer!!! The formal living room got a coat of white primer on Friday, and let me tell you: it is amazing to see how what you thought was white is actually a really nasty yellow brown dirty don’t-want-to-touch-it color! (Hint: see the doors and mantle.)

Have a fabulous week, everyone!! :)

{If you would like to be a guest blogger, please comment below or email me. Thanks!}

Shutter Talk

August 8, 2013Categories: RenoSarah @ 702 Park Project

This week the shutters are getting an overhaul. We had a few good ones, but the majority needed a good bit of work. But at the cost of over $400 per pair, we decided to make do with what we had! So right now, our backyard looks like this:

If you’ve been following, you may think that the shutters were black, but they were actually a very deep green. Even up close it was hard to tell sometimes. Right now, they are getting a coat or two of a “peel stop” product so that the paint will stick and last longer, and then they will be painted black.

Our plan is to use the best ones in the front and down the driveway side of the house (where they are most visible). We will repair what we can of the rest and use them in the back and other side of the house. Our long term goal is to replace them all over time, but for now, this will work. It’s all about that first impression!

Speaking of first impressions, we are having the front of the garage painted to match the house. Contrary to what we assumed, the garage (or carriage house, as it was once known) is actually original to the house, and has always been painted to match. The sides and back are covered with shrubbery, and can’t be seen anyways, so for now we are just doing the front. (We’re cheap, I know! But if we have to cut some corners, I’d rather cut them here than in, say, the plumbing!) Here’s a shot of the first coat. I can’t wait for those doors to be squared so the whole building doesn’t look so lop-sided!! Better yet, I can’t wait for the whole garage to be squared, doors to be updated, and new lighting put in. But hey, I’ll take what I can get!

{If you would like to be a guest blogger, please comment below or email me. Thanks!}

Remembering National Avenue

August 7, 2013Categories: Guest BloggersSarah @ 702 Park Project

As we continue on with things like the exterior carpentry and interior priming, updates on the house may slow down a bit. Unfortunately, there’s just not much to tell when it comes to these things, and work is being done so ~~slowly~~ carefully that the changes are harder to recognize. So, in the meantime, I’ve asked a few people to be “guest bloggers” on the site. Today, we are starting with my dad, Jim Powers. He’s been not only extremely supportive of our project, but excited and enthusiastic as well…which is very much appreciated!! Enjoy this little blurb from him, and have a marvelous day! :)

I remember growing in the 60’s and 70’s in New Bern in our classic American Foursquare home on National Avenue down in New Bern. Our house was built in 1907 (I think) and was very much in the style of Sarah and Charles’s home, although not as big. We moved into that house when I was in the 7th grade from probably a 1000 square foot 3 bedroom/1 bath house a few blocks away that was in a flood plain. It also had recently caught on fire so moving seemed like a good idea to my mom and dad I suppose. I remember first going into the National Avenue house and thinking it was soooo BIG and ceilings were soooo HIGH! I loved that house. It too was in pretty bad shape when mom and dad bought it (not as bad as the Taylor Gaylor house, but still pretty bad). My dad, probably the tightest man with a buck I ever knew, called in favors, found people from all over who were willing to work for cheap (or maybe for ice cream since he was an ice cream route supervisor for Maola Milke and Ice Cream!). As far as I know, he and mom never borrowed money for fixing up that house and just did a little at a time as they could.

The things I remember most about the National Avenue house:

1. The metal roof. Nothing like a gentle rain peppering a metal roof.

2. The big front porch. We spent many an evening sitting on that big front porch. We had a nice porch swing and I remember swinging back and forth in that swing so much I would literally get sea sick!

3. No air conditioning. I laid awake many nights in the summer time with a fan blowing directly on me waiting for the heat to ease up so I could go to sleep. But really, no one had AC on National Avenue back then. I never thought too much about it.

4. No heat upstairs in the house. Most of the time this was not a problem, but on those coldest mornings after you’ve been snuggled up under about 5 blankets and have slept so good, getting out of bed and hitting that cold floor meant you headed downstairs – in a hurry. Mom and dad finally put central heat and air in the house after me and my sisters all had left home – what’s up with that?

5. The train switching yard. There was a train switching yard about 2 blocks from our house. I remember laying awake at night listening to the trains clanging and banging (usually while I was trying to get cool enough to go to sleep). Train switching is a soothing sound

6. Neighbors. These houses were built on very small lots and National Avenue was in an area where people walked by on the sidewalk a lot. If you were out on your porch, more times than not someone would drop by and visit a little while.

7. Dinner. My mother worked (full-time as I recall) as a bookkeeper for a car dealership, but she always, ALWAYS cooked dinner for the family and we ALWAYS had canned biscuits with whatever we were having. I am not sure if that was because she was a lousy biscuit maker (probably not), or convenience, or my dad just preferred canned biscuits – but we always had canned biscuits.

8. Christmas. My mother LOVED Christmas (my dad tolerated it) and we always had a Christmas Even Open House where neighbors would drop by for a visit along with food and Christmas cheer. Christmas was a fun time at 1304 National Avenue.

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our National Avenue house back in the day, but this is an image I snagged off of Google Earth. Other than some of the plantings, not much else has changed. Glad to see it has been kept in good repair. It is easy to see how many of our oldest friends have commented on the similarities between the Taylor Gaylor house and our old house on National Avenue.

Charles and Sarah, I hope your kids have the same fond memories growing up at 702 Park Avenue as I did at 1304 National Avenue! I love you both!

{If you would like to be a guest blogger, please comment below or email me. Thanks!}

The Remedy House Explained

August 6, 2013Categories: UncategorizedSarah @ 702 Park Project

Two posts in one day?!?! I know you’re hyped. But I’ve had lots of questions, so I just wanted to take a quick minute to explain a little more about The Remedy House. My cousin (in-law), Mary, and I have both had dreams of one day opening up a little boutique and selling cutesy home decor and refurbished furniture. So after feeling each other out (we were both really excited but didn’t want to put too much pressure on the other), we decided we would just go for it! After actually considering a brick-and-mortar location, we decided to be smart and start slow, so we will be testing the waters with some online sales. You can read more of Mary’s side of the store here.

The Remedy House’s motto is “vintage + handmade + refurbished”. Let me break it down for you… vintage is the main component of our shop. Mary and I love to hit up yard sales, estate sales, and flea markets whenever we can. This even includes getting up at 7 am when vacationing at the beach to find some yard sales! Any time we are in a new town, we like to see what we can find. So our main goal with the shop is to find great vintage pieces, be it home decor, furniture, jewelry, hardware, or accessories, and bring them to you!

The second part is handmade. Mary and I don’t claim to be professionals by any stretch, but we have already made a few things that aren’t too shabby! Think glassware, hardware, and vintage chalkboards. The possibilities are endless.

Lastly, we are trying our hand at refurbishing a few things. Mary has been doing this for years, and you can find a lot of it on her blog, and I’m looking forward to diving in head first. We’ve already got some great pieces to get to work on!

Here’s how it will work…after a lot of deliberation, we have decided to sell our items on Facebook, beginning in September. We looked into a wide variety of outlets in which to sell, but ultimately decided that this market most fit what we are going for. We may have a separate online shop in the future, but for now this seemed like the most manageable way. Be sure to like us on Facebook so that you can get all the news and updates! Prior to a sale, we will announce what kind of items will be available and when they will go on sale. Then, at sale time, we will basically upload pictures with specs and prices of the items. It will be first come, first serve–whoever comments that they would like it will have dibs for 24 hours. If no purchase is made, it will go to the next person. Make sense?

Our main goal is just to have fun doing what we love. We aren’t quitting our day jobs just yet, but are thrilled about our new project! Whether we “make it big” or just end up with a bunch of stuff to fill our houses with, I’m fine either way. The process is half the fun, right!?!

If you would like to keep up, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. We appreciate all the support, and each follow helps us get our brand out there! Plus, you’ll get to see lots of sneak peaks!! And don’t forget that The Remedy House girls will be selling Stella & Dot jewelry and accessories. You can check that out here!