Million Dollar Makeover – Let’s Hope Not!!! 3-29-12

Our little bench overlooking the creek.

Upgrading an 80 year old house is somewhat akin to the challenges of a makeover reality show on an 80 year old beauty queen – once you get started you realize it’s going to take a whole lot of makeup! 

But, where does one begin?  Without being too heavy handed, how do we enhance the natural beauty that still shines beneath her aged exterior?  What colors will make her sparkle and shine?  Fortunately, I stumbled upon the fact the Lowe’s makes sample paints in any color your little heart desires.  For the measly sum of $3, you can purchase little sample bottles and go berserk trying to decide on the perfect hue.

What color do I choose?????

And so we began the transformation.  We filled the blemishes with spackle, scraped away the old finish and painted on a new face.  And abracadabra, her aging beauty sparkled with a youthful glow.  I do believe the old gal has probably never looked so good. 

But who are we kidding.  Beneath the outside façade of rejuvenated youth, there still lurks an 80 year old body.  Spurred on by the success of our exterior transformation, we began the makeover of the interior.  I mean, how hard could it be?  Cinch in this part, pad that part, lift here, tuck there and voila! Our makeover is ready for the Big Reveal!

Not!!!
 

Our little bird bath friends

We can't seem to even finish the kitchen!  Will we ever get out of the kitchen?  How many times can we change our minds on the colors?  Do we refurbish the old cabinets or replace them with new?  Scrape the baseboards or paint over them?  Move the stove or leave it in its original place against the wall?  Use oil base or water base primer?  Use the old hardware or find something shiny? Keep the old sink or update the look?

The kitchen

Fortunately some of these mind boggling issues were resolved a few nights ago.  Our original idea for the little house was to minimally fix her up as a full-time monthly rental.  But whilst sipping margaritas with our neighbors (sisters Ramona and Patrice, and brother-in-law Mario) Mario came up with what I can only describe as a stroke of genius.  I don’t know how often he has these epiphanies, but this one was a doozy.  After a cool sip of his beverage, he looked up and proclaimed, “You know what you guys should do, you should rent it out as a vacation rental.  Then you could use it whenever you wanted to!”  Having grown quite fond of our little house and green acre we thought it was a marvelous idea.  And, not wanting to move from our home in Ventura, we could use Ojai as our own little home-away-from-home whenever we wanted, and still have the added benefit of extra travel income.  Maybe even a house swap with someone in a far off land?  Hmmmm…..



The Lilacs are blooming!

Now before all you naysayers start naysaying, here’s the basic plan.  We will advertise it in magazines that cater to people looking for a getaway for themselves and their horses.  It’s an acre of land, sleeps four, pet friendly with a fenced yard, two horse corrals, plenty of room for an RV, trailer or boat, has a creek that runs year round, and is located in one of the nicest parts of the world – Ojai.  Plus, as an added bonus, it comes complete with some of the nicest neighbors you would ever hope to find!

Waiting for tenants

So, with a vacation rental in mind, many of our decisions have clarified.  Yes, we are getting a new kitchen sink and we are updating the cabinets.  We were going to make do with the current kitchen floor but will now be replacing it.  You can see where this is heading (i.e. $$$).  Most of our efforts (and money) will be spent on the kitchen and living room.  She will be our very own country bungalow, filled with the beauty of nature that surrounds her:  soft earth tones of browns, greens and buttery yellow with a splash of blue, embroidered birds on pillows, natural fabric bedspreads, and flowers on windowsills.  You get the idea...

And when the final makeover is complete, we will have the Big Reveal and celebrate.

But first, we must finish the dang kitchen!!!



Cymbidiums in the patio.



The Little House on Creek Road - Our Friends - 3/21/12

The hammering, scraping, sanding and painting continue….

But today I want to introduce you to a couple of friends who live nearby, Skittles and Beau.  Skittles is a tall, leggy blonde with a reddish complexion.  Beau, whose given name I suspect is actually “Beauregard”, is a tall, dark, handsome devil who is quite smitten with Skittles and goes berserk whenever she is away from him.  Yep, they are our resident horses who belong to my sisters Patrice and Ramona and they (the horses that is) share the two corrals on our little acre.

One of their favorite past times is playing in the sprinklers when we are watering the Crepe Myrtle trees.

 

We suspect Skittles has a secret desire to become a high fashion model and is just waiting for her big break when she can leave the humdrum, small-town life of Ojai.  Beau would be heartbroken if she should leave, but how you gonna keep her down on the farm once she’s seen the bright lights of the big city?  What do you think, has she got the pose perfected yet?

Fashion Model Miss Skittles

Magazine Fashion Model

Our other friends in the neighborhood are all the magnificent and fascinating birds who share our little acre.  Finches, Juncos, Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Orioles, Robins, Starlings, Bluebirds, Hawks, and many, many more whose names I am still learning.  We are amused at ourselves to realize we have actually become…dare I say it…bird watchers.  Of course we have a feeder for the finches and a nectar feeder for the hummingbirds.  We are hoping the Robins will find the new tree house we’ve lovingly erected for them.  It has the prestigious name “Audubon” stamped on it so Mrs. Bluebird should be duly impressed.  No takers as of yet, but we’ve had a few looky-loos.

We are growing quite fond of our little world on Creek Road.  At night we gaze upon a darkened sky sprinkled with stars, we listen to the roar of frogs croaking in the creek, and we fade off to sleep without the nuisance of city lights.  In the mornings we wait for the sun to pop over the nearby hill and shine warmth onto our Little House.  Then we begin another day of hammering, scraping, sanding and painting…

Creek Road Adventures - March 2012



Waiting for Blue Birds

Have you ever seen the movie “The Money Pit” with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long? It’s about a couple, Walter and Anna, who attempt to renovate a mansion they have purchased at a distress sale. The elderly lady is selling the house “quickly” for various suspicious reasons. When they come to see the house she keeps the house lit in candlelight in order to “save money”. They purchase the house and from the moment they take possession it begins to fall apart. It is a must-see for anyone who is contemplating renovating a house or who is in the middle of such a monumental task.

Which brings me to the reason for firing up my blog…

Fred and I have inherited a “quaint” little house in Ojai, CA., left to me by my dearly departed parents, Florence and Lawrence Vernand. Two of the nicest people you could ever meet, they fell in love with the beautiful Creek Road area and purchased about two acres of land in 1968 on which they were to build their dream house. Several years later they purchased the little house next door on one-and-a-half acres, which is the house I have inherited.

Built by the Hall family somewhere around 1920 as a cabin for leisure days of hunting and fishing, it was definitely built as an inexpensive vacation shelter. What it lacks in luxury and quality construction however, it makes up for in charm and cuteness. Surrounded by Sycamore, Oak and Pine trees, it cuddles up to San Antonio Creek along the picturesque winding curves of Creek Road, a favorite Sunday afternoon drive for folks in Ventura County.

It is here that Fred and I have spent the past two months of our lives, digging, scraping, painting, weeding, planting, hammering, sawing, hauling, and just as importantly, pouring money into our very own “Money Pit”. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to imply that we resent any of this. Quite the contrary, we love our little piece of property, flaws and all. And every time we remove paint and find a new flaw, bad wiring, poor construction, or anything else that needs money, we are constantly reminded of Walter and Anna. We heave a sigh, pull out our wallets, and head to Lowe’s Home Improvement store, singing “The Money Pit, the Money Pit, that’s the way we became the Money Pit,” to the tune of the Brady Bunch.

The beat goes on and we are still in the middle of the repairs. We tend to think of it not so much as a “renovation” but more of an “upgrade”. The exterior of the house is almost complete (more on that later). We have worked our way into the interior and are currently tackling (literally) the kitchen.

To bring you up to date, here are some before and after photos of the exterior of our little treasure.

Before (in case you couldn't tell)

After

Tune in tomorrow for more photos and the continuing saga of fixing up "The Little House".