Momplex

Grandma-who-likes-to-sew got home from her trip at 1:00 AM ... and just six hours later, she was spoiling the kids with hugs, kisses and gifts .... and gushing about her new mudroom!

(For those of you who missed a post this past week, Grandma's been traveling, so we decided surprise her with a mudroom makeover in her side of the Momplex.)

Just to refresh, here's what the space looked like before we started working on the mudroom projects ...

And here's w

Happy Monday!!!

A few weeks back, we built Mom a master closet system, and she's been loving it so far!

But we wanted to add a little more storage and functionality to the tower itself.  I'm not a huge fan of low shelves (maybe it's because I'm ready-to-pop-preggers and reaching into a low bottom shelf is a monumental task right now?).

Mom was going to add some baskets on the lower shelf, but those baskets cosst $20 - and we'd need two per sh

Except for a very brief stint on the scaffolding system, we've been working in a giant hole in the ground all summer. This giant hole in the ground to be exact.Depressing, I know.Especially since outside that hole, it looks like this. Well, it looks like this in the summer anyway.So you can imagine how antsy I've been to get out of that giant hole in the ground and start working upstairs in the Momplex.  I've waited all summer for this stage of the building process.  Hooray, to

We are getting to the good part. With snow threatening to stick, and noticeably less light each day, winter is fast approaching up at the Momplex. We have been blessed with a beautiful fall (THANK YOU for your thoughts and prayers for good weather!), and are still optimistic about getting a roof on the Momplex and being able to work inside over the winter. I am so desperate to work inside the Momplex because these are the projects that I love. I already have the kitchen cabinets made i

NOTE: For our Facebook Fans, we are working hard to get our Facebook page back.  It was hacked and stolen last week.  I will update you when I have confirmed information on it's status.  Thank you for your patience.

We've been trying to work hard up at the Momplex, finishing up the other side.  It's been a struggle with a new baby. Baby usually wins, resulting in not much getting done on the second Momplex unit.

There is a lot of baby talk getting

Remember when we built these guys?

And then we stacked foam blocks around them?

 

And then poured concrete in the foam blocks around the boxes?

And then hung windows on the outsides of the boxes?

Well, today's the day that we are going to start finishing out the inside of the windows!

So let's talk shelves. Specifically kitchen cabinet shelves, made of plywood.

Whether you buy kitchen cabinets or you DIY them yourself (I'm totally on team DIY here!) I think the biggest difference maker in how professional looking your kitchen cabinet ends up appearing is in the tiny little details.  In other words, after you hang your cabinets, you aren't done quite yet.

After installing all the kitchen cabinets for the Momplex Vanilla Kitchen, there's a few little things that will make a big difference to take care of.

The most obvious one is finis

As you know, we are busy DIYing our mom's a duplex to share, dubbed the Momplex ... and moving day for one mom is fast approaching!

We are in the trimming stage for one unit in the Momplex.  We've already finished out the insides of the windows and closet openings with wood, then installed interior doors.  Then we trimmed the sides of the doorways and windows with casing, and topped it off with custom made "cheater" headers. 

Today, it's finally baseboard day

I remember back when we used our Get Out of Jail Free card on the Momplex, and I dreaded receiving comments about hiring help and taking a step off from DIY.

But you totally suprised me.

Instead, many of you commented that a good DIYer knows when to DIY, and when to seek help.

The primary reason we hired out the drywall finishing is tool investment.  In order to tool up to do two homes worth of drywall, we'd be into it about as much as the cost of hiring

Do you remember last year when we poured the slab for the Momplex, that we used up the extra concrete to fill up these sonotubes?  (UPDATE: Thanks to all of you, I now know those are not spelled saunatubes!  hehe!)

Well, today, they are going to become more than just an obstacle to avoid in front of the Momplex.

Those posts are the foundations for the little roofs!

And today we are going anchor beams into those concrete fil