So we are making progress – which is good news because the weather change has meant some chilly days at the Payne Palace! We have suffered through and made the best of it – we continue to stay positive and can’t wait to see it all come together! It’s basically like “camping at home” and it’s really amazing what you can get used to when you want something bad enough!
Front after
One of my favorite local shops is located in Clawson, MI, the building itself has a long rich history – as a skating rink! Its unique features and history can still be seen inside the store – vintage roller skates hang in many places around the store and the staff is often seen flying by on four wheels asking if you would like popcorn or coffee. They have great items – often for me TOO many items – I am on visual overload when I am in the store, and I could browse there for hours. However, I recently found out something very interesting that they offer. You can actually try out pieces of furniture in your home BEFORE you purchase them! If that’s not a great offer I don’t know what is! You can have pieces delivered (of course they do take credit card information) and once you decide you’ve made the right decision – you pay for the piece. If for some reason you decide it’s not just what you were looking for…they will come back and pick it up from you! I plan to try this unique offer out – when we are ready for furniture of course! If you are in Clawson – stop by and check them out – they are on 14 mile – just west of Main St.
We got our first inspection last week – and we were APPROVED! It was for our rough plumbing – and it felt great! We have learned a lot along the way – and offer this advice…
What can be a painful process for some was quite easy for us (except the $1,014.00), we drew our plans, had a list of questions and went in to talk to the city inspector before applying. If you are attempting any home project that requires a permit – I suggest going through this extra step of a “pre-application” meeting. We were told Royal Oak along with some other cities around can be difficult in the permit approval process. So we took this very seriously, luckily I live with an engineer – so details are a way of life. Josh had two meetings with the city before actually applying – and each time he came home and made changes to our drawings. Then he applied and we were APPROVED! It was a great first step and a great kickoff to our project! So remember if you plan to pull a permit take time for these steps – it will save you time and frustration in the end.
I watch a lot of DIY, HGTV and Bravo, one of my favorite shows since starting this project is “Million Dollar Decorator” on Bravo mostly because it’s fun to see the crazy amount of money people spend on their places, seeing some famous peoples houses, and just getting some ideas that I may be able to incorporate in our home. The tricky part for me – on this show – in LA – there are a TON of little shops where you can find cool and unique things for your home – not just the basics like Art Van, Lowes and Home Depot (nothing wrong with those places – I just want to find some unusual things). I find myself wondering – how do I find a place that makes dining room tables out of reclaimed wood? Or where did they get that really cool chandelier made from turquoise beads? Well I haven’t found those things or where they sell them in Michigan …but I did find some pretty good finds recently. Wittock Supply is a wonderful kitchen and bath showroom – located at 23 and Van Dyke – the amount of things they have on display for kitches and bathrooms is AMAZING – and they were very helpful and friendly and offered us assistance right away – when we said we were just ‘browsing’ they were fine with that (you dont’ find that at all the home interior shops around here). If you want ideas or just a fun afternoon looking at things for a future project – take a drive up to Wittock’s – you won’t be disappointed!
My second find is Herald Wholesale they have a wonderful showroom for Kitchen, Baths, and Hardware (yay! I need all of those things!) on 15 Mile Rd. in Troy between Crooks and Coolidge. I walked in to a beautiful display of tubs, showers (you can try the different shower heads in one display!), and beautiful hardware and exterior lights. There is also a very large desk where customers were getting one on one assistance. We can’t wait to go back and talk to their experts!
White vinyl privacy fence by Action Fence
I have always wanted a new fence – for the whole 5 years I have lived here with Josh. There were always other projects – other things to spend our money on. Well the time had come – I was going to get my fence this summer! We did some research and found a great local company Action Fence we were very happy with their work and the fact that they used local products as often as possible. A unique feature they offer is “Tour de Fence” which is a list of local addresses that you can drive by and take a look at their work – we found this very helpful and allowed us to be sure of our choice for this project. We are very happy with their work and the quality of the fence was worth waiting for!
Our house started the 4th of July weekend as a small bungalow – it ended the holiday week with a complete second addition – a lot of work to do – but we were off to a great start
Josh loves demo! Note the head sticking out of the roof!
The crew!
The first second story wall goes up!
A bungalow becomes a two story
