CHEZ DUFRESNE: early spring updates

it has been one of the busiest weeks at chez dufresne since we moved in. sooo much to reveal! sit down with a cold one, this is going to be a monster post...

our laundry room now features a new side door to backyard, a life-changing upgrade both for letting the dogs out and for when philip uses the grill. i also put an MDF counter over W/D...yep just stuck some rubber pads on the bottom of a 3/4 inch board and painted it with chalk paint. it doesn't seem to move around when the appliances are running and it makes a nice folding station. the wall paint color is leftover urbane bronze (sherwin williams) from our den. i'm in love with how the dark color frames the outside and screen porch views!

MDF counter over W/D and new door backyard...

mud room doors...and pantry painted in 'french linen' annie sloan chalk paint

exterior view of mud room door

most of our work this week was in the front yard. we had a long skinny driveway and two cars, so we decided to expand the driveway on the left and add a walkway to the screen porch. since funds are tight we did the manual labor ourselves and went with a cheap and useful material - #57 bluestone gravel! it packs down tight and is too big to get tracked around the yard or wedged in our tires.

6.5 tons of gravel

instead of trying to pull up all the sod we bought landscape fabric and edging stones from lowes that are about 5.5" high and 17 lbs each. they seemed strong enough to keep in the gravel in most places but i reinforced them with 12" steel stakes at key stress points. i also dug out a long trench about a foot wide next to the driveway so we could pour extra gravel where the asphalt and gravel meet, and it really helped with leveling.
all that prep worked happened over about a week. i lay out the stones, rearranged, and ordered the gravel...and then all in one long, exhausting day we spread it around and boom - no more muddy walk to the house and room for both cars in the driveway!

#57 gravel walkway - this area used to be a mud pit when it rains

view of gravel from backyard

entrance to screen porch (this is our favorite entrance to the house, because we can pop right into the mudroom and kitchen)

the edging stones were about $150 and the gravel (including delivery) was $270. but we also got a HUGE free workout out of the deal! ;)

now it just needs to get warm so we can enjoy the screen porch...i'm pretty much done decorating except for painting the floor this summer. this week we put a shelf on the brick wall, and i put timed LED lanterns on it for a warm glow to welcome us home each night. so cozy!