Future Exterior....

What it would look like with the iron posts just boxed in...

What it would look like with the iron posts boxed in and porch railing built...

Which do you like better?

The Kitchen- Then and Now

I've had a Wine theme for my kitchen from day one. Yes, I considered apples and chickens and the light and airy and finally settled on a Wine-inspired theme, hopefully incorporating some wine-y antiques in the future.

Here are shots of the kitchen and fireplace pretty much before (yes I had one wall painted):

And now...

I painted the kitchen ceiling Olive, the inside of the soffit Wine, one wall Blue, one wall light Green, the bottom of the soffit Oak/Yellow, and the wall above the fireplace a combination of the Blue and Wine to make a variated Purple. Mmmm... nice!

I also, after much hesitation, hung my first light fixtures. Both are halogen and I thought provided the most light. I really didn't want any ugly fluorescent fixture.... It isn't very good for task lighting and I create shadows in most areas. I'm not sure how to remedy this....

Exterior Woes

I've painted three Ralph Lauren (Behr Paint) Colors on now... Marsh Green, Warwick Lodge, and Burgundy. I just... don't... know! I know it will be fabulous in the end.

Here are some more pictures from today. As you can see, I only have one coat of Burgundy on one set of window trim, none on the other...







Here is another view, where you can see the actually colors a little better. Yes, I know I need landscaping in a bad way... that will come! I plan on doing a wonderful walkway to the front door (damn column or not!) and maybe even a small pond. I want some nice dainty trees and more screening in front of all of the windows. My view is a busy road in front of an open field-- I get tired of always having blinds closed and would like to open it up. I was also thinking today that a bench between these two trees would be soo cute!

Welcome to Flipping the Ranch

Let me first introduce you to me, the Lady of the House.


My name is Beth.

I'm currently 24, approaching my quarter century birthday this winter. I work in the RF (that's Radio Frequency) Engineering department of a wireless company. I was homeschooled, except for the four years of hell- I mean- private Catholic school. I grew up in South Carolina and was raised mostly by my nurse/builder Mom. I'm single. I'm 6' tall. And I'm a new homeowner.

Now let me introduce you to the house.



I bought this house last November. I'm not sure when it was built... I'm guessing 70's but my mom thinks the 50's. I bought it from a company that was in the process of flipping it. They'd already done all of the major structural work. The lady that owned it was in a nursing home when the hot water heater broke and flooded the house (I was told). The company re-did all of the sub floors, the carpet, gutted the kitchen, painted everything "Antique White", and ripped out all of the bushes in the front.

This is a crappy picture of what it looks like today. The iron front door was painted black, the shutters Marsh Green, the front door shutters and garage door Warwick Lodge, and the trim and front door are currently being painted Burgundy. Does it look worse? Better? I'm not sure. The only thing I do know is that I absolutely hate the iron columns on the front porch, especially the one in front of the door. They are currently white and rusty, and irritate the piss out of me. I haven't decided whether I'm going to box them in, put up railings, or just paint them and suck it up and hope the landscaping will make it all look nice.

I'll post other completed/in process projects shortly....

Welcome!