With the hard decision (choosing a landscaper) behind us, Chris and I moved quickly into the next stage – finalizing our design. After a couple of text and email conversations, we set a date to meet the guys from Horizon Landscaping of Jacksonville at a local nursery to make some final decisions on plant selections. Question to answer during our trip to the nursery: Podocarpus (yew) or osmanthus (tea olives) to add height to our front beds? Tea Olives Color…
Our front yard has been on our home project to-do list for quite some time. One of the challenges inherent in purchasing a house that’s gone up as a short sale is the fact that you get it in as-is condition. We were fortunate that the inside of our home was in good condition when we bought it; however, the yard had been under-maintained (mostly forsaken) for more than a year. The front beds were a wreck with an odd and…
Okay, so the hardest part about our floor project was finished – Chris and I came to a consensus on what we wanted (no small feat, let me tell you), and found a person with the talent, tools and know-how to make it happen. He gave us solid instructions on how to prep the house (pointers on how to rip out carpet, break up tile, etc.). Nothing a little elbow grease and time couldn’t take care of, right? WRONG! But,…
When Chris and I first began our house hunt in the summer of 2010, we put together a list of things we’d like to have, things we had to have, and areas we’d be willing to live. That list of requirements plus an added filter to include only potential foreclosures and short sales, pulled back a short list of houses, which we immediately went out to scout. Four houses in, we came across one that had all of our must-haves,…