Year in Review

2012 was a major year for Fairwinds . . . 

I could capture it in words, but I think pictures are worth a thousand words . . .

Storm Doors 101 . . .

Okay, this blog entry should really be titled "how the 4-hour storm door really took 3 days".

But I'm getting ahead of myself, our cabin's front door faces the southwest and gets the brunt of the ocean weather.  Due to the salty conditions, wind and rain we felt that our hardworking front door needed a little help.  After 2 trips to Home Depot we decided to go with an Anderson's storm door.  It looked beautiful in the store and came in a variety of colors, so of course we picked white!

Well . . . that's where the easy turned difficult.  We picked up the door with no problem and Gary went at it with Gusto (in the living room)!

Other than the lack of a hack saw, we had all the tools on hand and Gary measured multiple times to make sure everything fit correctly, except he neglected to make sure the door frame was perfectly installed.

Hah, of course the door frame is perfectly installed . . .

in a rickety, never taken care of place . . .

uh-oh!!!

We had the door completely installed, glass and everything, and Gary was all excited to show off his work.  He went to close the doors only to find he could not shut the inside door.  It turns out that the door frame did not have the same measurements on the top and bottom . . . meaning that the storm door leaned in a little towards the bottom.

Back to the drawing board . . .

Thanks to my resourceful hubby, we figured out how to rip a slim piece of plywood to bump out the bottom of the storm door.   However, this did necessitate removing lots of already installed door parts -- ugghh.

So, I guess the main "Storm Door 101" is to measure at the top, middle and bottom of all previously installed doors - no matter how good it looks - before you make your move.

ahhhhhhh . . . 

Rug Decor Questions . . .

Hello all . . . I've got rugs on my mind!  Its finally here, my time to shine - to decorate - to be bold.  After searching my favorite home decor blogs, I've come to the conclusion that I want stripes, indoor/outdoor versatility, and bold colors to brighten up my very neutral rooms.  To that end, I've found an amazing website that fits all of my criteria at www.dashandalbert.com .

The choices seem almost endless . . .

However, I think I've narrowed it down to some pretty great rug patterns.  I am going classical blue/striped with indoor/outdoor rugs in the living room.  I figure it will be a nice, low-key splash of color in a room where the focus should be the view (ahhh the view).  After our last winter storm, we sustained some pretty significant water intrusion through our front door.  Hence, any rug in this area will need to be waterproof, easy to pick up for outdoor cleaning, and durable . . . thus my choice of an indoor/outdoor.  Here are the finalist:

Light blue rope rug and Trimaran Stripe Light Blue/Ivory stripe

Next up is the girls room and this one was a pretty clear choice, although I am a little worried about the actual color it will turn out to be in real life.  This runner will line the bottom of their beds.  My hope is that it matches their bedspread.

Birmigham Citrus

Here was the second runner up choice . . . may still be the winner, but its a wee bit more expensive and actually looks really pea green in reality.

Then comes our "master" bedroom and the problem is SIZE. I originally wanted to have one big rug that went under the bed and stuck out from the sides . . . well that is one really big rug.  This "largeness" ran smack against my "be able to shake out" need.  Next, I envisioned runners on either side of the bed, but the only runner option would leave 2 feet hanging beyond the end of the bed (seemed a little tacky to me).

So now I'm back at the drawing board.  If anyone has any advice, please email me!!

Oh, yeah, here are my two color schemes . . .

Idea #1 - matches bathroom and girls room colors

Idea #2 - matches living room and my love of red/orange/coral. 

Can you see my problem?  They are both soooooo pretty!!  I seriously can't decide.  My hope is by keeping similar colors and a stripe theme in each room then the cabin will have a cohesive look.

I promise to take pictures of my final choices in their native environment once I purchase.

Were Back . . .

Its a New Year and with its coming we will be bringing you a whirlwind series of updates.  This holiday season we were able to spend a whole 6-days out at Fairwinds.  We tried to play some, explore some, and work some . . . all to fulfill our 2012 resolution "to do a little more playing while on Whidbey".

Upcoming posts:

* Rug Decor Questions
* Storm Doors 101
* Window Trim, the Continuing Saga
* Getting Ready to Rent?

Are you excited?  I am.