Dustin & Jessica's Journey

This weekend, despite the Jewish holiday, was extremely productive for the Sparks household here in Bluffton. Dustin and I set out to do some of the home improvement projects we’d been putting off for a few weeks (or months in one case…).

First, the television. We have a great living room. It’s large and open with hardwood floors, lots of natural light and a fireplace. However, until this weekend, no one who visited knew we had a fireplace. Why? Because the 50-inch television sat on a television stand right in front of the fireplace. It’s the only place it would fit without cutting the room in half (trust me, we tried some other configurations). This weekend, after months of preparing, we finally mounted the television above the fireplace. There were some obstacles to overcome (such as the studs being 24 inches apart instead of the usual 16) but we made it and it was worth it.

Just so you have a better idea of how much this helped the space, here are a couple of before and after shots of the living room:

We moved the television stand into the office, where it has now become a printer station. It’s been a while since I’ve taken pictures around the house, but the office has changed a lot since we moved in July.

The other project we tackled this weekend was the porch furniture. In August, when Hurricane Irene was headed toward our area, our landlord decided she wanted to pick up the patio table and loveseat she let us borrow when we first moved in. After that, we went on a hunt for some porch furniture. We were quickly astounded by the prices of some wicker sets in the area. We saw sets ranging from $5,000 to $300, and the lower range was definitely not worth purchasing for that much, if you know what I mean. Eventually, I found a Craigslist post from Guyton, Georgia (about an hour away), for a 5-piece set in decent condition for a reasonable price. We seized the opportunity and purchased the set knowing we’d have to refurbish it. We were able to do everything but the loveseat this weekend, so I thought I’d show off some of that handiwork.

Now just to give you an idea of how much better these look. I have a picture of one of the tables next to the loveseat that will be done soon.

What do you think? We’re really excited about the projects. Now, we want you all to come visit so you can see them in person!