Monday, August 29, 2016

Patio Project - LIGHTS!


I'm back with a little Patio Project Update....LIGHTS! 

Once the outdoor kitchen portion of the project was finished up we turned our attention to the lighting and electrical before starting the pizza oven. Lucky for us the fence goes around the entire Outdoor Kitchen area so we decided to utilize it as a wall and hang sconce lights + electrical outlets and switches from it. As we were deciding which lights, how many, where they should go, etc...we also discussed where the conduit should run. We knew there would be a fair amount of conduit going from the electrical box we had put in a few months ago, to each light, switch and outlet. We tossed around the idea of installing the conduit on the front of the fence and using metal tubing to give the whole space a more industrial vibe but ultimately decided to go with a cleaner look and install the conduit on the back of the fence for a sleeker aesthetic.

Here are the supplies, all from Home Depot. 


We started by placing each light, switch and outlet visually, by measuring and marking things out with a pencil. Next, we traced the  junction boxes and then Brent cut them out with his jigsaw.


We did this for the outlets and switches as well as for the sconce lights. 


Next, Brent ran the conduit along the back-side of the fence and snaked the wire through. This ended up being a beast of a task because some of the runs were so long, things started getting tangled inside the conduit. 


Next, we pulled the whips through each junction box and then got to hooking all of the wires up. 


We went round and round about which outdoor sconce light to go with but finally decided on these from Wayfair. Not only is the price really good, but we liked the simple lines and scale of these lights. 

And here they are in all of their glory:


There are 3 more lights on the other side, plus 2 more, one on each side of the doors leading back into the house. I would show you, butttt by the time we got all of the lights installed we had already started the pizza oven, so to show you the lights would mean you would also get a sneak peek of the pizza oven and I just can't let the pizza oven steal the new light's thunder like that. I know you understand. :) 

All photos are my own. 

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Dining Room Progress & A GOOOOOD DEAL!


I feel like we have been working on our Patio Project F O R E V E R and as excited as I am for that space to really be taking shape, I'm literally itching for some progress INSIDE. Thankfully last weekend we happened upon a great deal and made some unexpected progress in our dining room!

Soooo let's recap for a minute, since introducing you all to the new house we have made some decisions/changes to how we will use the spaces. The room that was dubbed the dining room when we purchased the house is actually going to be our home office and the room that was the formal living room is now the dining room. A formal living room is just not practical for our needs, but another eating area is something we can always use, especially when we entertain.  This room sits at the front of the house, gets great natural light and because it opens up to the foyer, feels really long and open.

A few months ago we had a dining room table made by a guy Brent found on Craigslist. We happened upon this craftsman by inquiring about the size of another table he had listed. When that table wasn't the size we were looking for he let us know he could make us a table whatever size we wanted. So, we got our thoughts together and sent over our vision. He literally made the table in his garage to our exact specifications and we are SO happy with it. I think we paid $600 and it took him about a week to complete. Thankfully Brent's brother Phillip was in town when the table was ready for pick-up, because it took all three brothers to carry that beast in the house.

For months this side of the room has been empty with the exception of the table, that is until last weekend when we fell into some seriously good luck.  On Sunday we popped over to Scott's Antique around 2:00. For those unfamiliar, Scott's Antique Show comes to town (Atlanta) the second weekend of every month. Vendors from across the country wheel in to town with all kinds of furniture, decorative pieces, rugs, art, etc...Anyways, because it was the last day of the show and late in the day at that, a lot of the vendors were packing up. We perused around and while we weren't looking for anything in particular, we always have a list of certain items we are in need of in our head, and this time that list consisted of:
  • Coffee table
  • Sofa table 
  • Dining Room Chairs
Randomly we came upon a booth that had a pair of really cool wing back chairs. We had long talked about the concept of having two nice, big chairs at the ends of the table, captain chairs if you will, with other chairs or a bench along each side. As we walked over to take a closer look we noticed the price tag said  $1200 dollars each...YIKES! We really loved the chairs...they are equal parts funky and classic and the blue color is literally our weakness. Brent and I are bad, we both love blue and if we don't watch ourselves we would have blue on every singe interior item we purchase! However, as much as we liked these chairs there was no way we were going to pay that price, but before we could walk away, one of the sales guys walked up and randomly told us he would sell us the chairs at $699 each. A better price, but still more than we were looking to spend on this particular trip.  We verbalized this and his response was "OK, how about $299 each? I really don't want to load them back on the truck." Umm.....We did love them and at that price, what could we do!? So, we pulled the trigger and took the chairs home.

And here they sit.


And happy we are. 

Oh, and the best part? This same chair retails for $1,650 (on sale for $1,237) at Restoration Hardware. GO US!!!!!!!!!!

Unless otherwise noted all images are my own.