You Are My Sunshine

When we finished remodeling the house last spring and moved in the last big project we had (aside from landscaping which I can't even wrap my mind around yet) was to paint the siding.  We originally thought we would do a paint/stain combo to show off the raw cedar siding we used that had come from the trees growing on our property.

Here's a photo of the original paint inspiration I had.



Zipper House is a project by DeForest Architects based in Seattle Wa.

However, after leaving the cedar paint/stain free to dry out over the summer the unique look kind of grew on me.  I just didn't want a cabin-ish feel and while others may think that is exactly what it is....i still hold firm to my belief that it's modern rustic.  However, cedar needs to be stained otherwise it starts to get yucky.  Fast forward to this last week.  We had a natural stain applied to the house along with a few surprises.  I love it!  The last thing will be to figure out what do do with the exposed brick fireplace.  I'm thinking I want corrugated steel panels to play off the garage door....but not sure just yet.   Andy's trying to be more traditional and go with some sort of rock...but I'm not ready to give up!

Here's some photos of how far we've come since October 2011 when we first fell in love with this sweet little home.  And then sadly took it all apart only to make it more sustainable and functional and resalable because while we don't plan to move anywhere why would you buy a house that you may or may not be able to sell in the future?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="674"] House right after we got our hands on the keys[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1014"] Cedar being milled on site. Wood used to side the entire house.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="470"] Almost finished - but the cedar is not stained or painted yet.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1150"] Sept 2012 - back of the house stained and concrete painted[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1116"] Sept 2012 - black trim, new stain, concrete painted[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1519"] Sept 2012 - New front door paint & trim, stain, and concrete painted.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2016"] Before the door was painted[/caption]

Lincoln City - Labor Day

Last year we stayed at a great duplex in Lincoln City just 10 steps from the beach.  The quick weekend trip wasn't enough so this year I rented both sides for 5 nights.   We wanted to be able to wake up on the beach and go out to play as many times as we wanted.  The weather was AMAZING the entire time so we definitely lucked out.  I'd keep going back to the house year after year if I could get a good weather guarantee.   We had two great years in a row so I think my luck could run out if I book again...but we will see.  Grandma Bobbi and Grandpa Bill and Cody and his family joined us for parts of the trip.  We had a great time just relaxing, playing on the beach, spending time with all the kiddos (3,4,and 5 years old as well as the newest addition to the Cummings family baby Micah who just turned 3 months).  What a great way to end a fun filled summer.  I took a ton of pictures so be prepared or be warned...  Lots of  beach time, silly poses, sand angles, long walks, and tea parties.