Friday, July 15, 2011

Making A Mole Hill Out Of A Mountain

 
 
Here is what I started with....
 
2 Truck loads of Boulders
6 Truck loads of topsoil
5 Truck loads of Gravel
 
  
Here is what it ended up looking like....


Just a mere 6 hours later......





Monday, June 27, 2011

Retaining Wall In A Box



Well it's more like two boxes really. I wanted to take a minute and show you the results of two boxes (dump truck loads) of coulumn boulders and a day's hard work. This wall turned out really nice. There was even a drain right in the middle of the wall (rain gutter drain from the house) that I turned into a nice dry river bed. Too bad this wall is in the middle of a field and no one will ever see it.....

Until they read this post of course.....





Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It's Just A Little Dinger



This is a small job we did this week. I say small because it was a half day project. 

We call these little jobs our "Dingers".

I am, however, keenly aware that this is the biggest thing this couple will do for probably the next two years. In their eyes it was no "Dinger". That is why we pay just as much attention to this small half day job as we would to one that lasts two weeks.  The detail was the same just on a smaller scale. These folks were happy as heck and were amazed how qickly we got it done. 

Just Sayin'

Have a great tomorrow!




Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Now you see it...Now you don't



Sometimes what we do isn't always that pretty.......

I should say that a little tongue and cheek.......

Tearing stuff out to put stuff back in is what we do!

I know it ain't all that beautiful.........

Yet...






Monday, June 6, 2011

Bathroom Suite Complete

My wife wrote this today. You can see this post and many more at...




 

Outdoor Bathtub Suite ~ Vision Complete


Do you remember that old Moen Faucet commercial, where the couple goes to a architect with a kitchen sink faucet and tells him to design a house around it?
Well that is kind of what happen here.  I have had this beautiful cast iron claw foot tub for about a year now.  On Memorial Day, while enjoying the day outside with Monte and the kids decorating our vintage tents.  I made a comment to Monte on how great it would be to have a outdoor bathtub set up by our tent.
Instantly, I heard the gears grinding in Monte’s head…


We tossed a couple of ideas back and fourth, then Monte jumped into the skid and broke ground next to our Hirsch-Weis vintage tent.
What happened over the next 5 days it simply stunning.  Keep in mind that we did ALL the work ourselves  a couple hours in the evening after work and a full days effort yesterday to complete the project.


For those of you who may not know, my husband Monte is a “Hardscape Landscape Contractor”.  Which basically means, he is a “Rock Guy”.  So, of coarse his vision of the space included a stone floor, boulders and lots of rock.  He laid in a beautiful Eagle Mt. Flagstone floor and surrounded it with Woodstone (which is a gorgeous bark replacement stone product).


He built a boulder retaining wall with stone steps, so you actually step down into the space.  This was Monte’s vision to make the space more intimate.


Look how pretty that is.  This picture is somewhat deceiving.  The Flagstone slab in front of the tub is 5 feet across and about 3 feet wide.


Monte installed a vintage farm house door in the entry way.  Again, this was purely a vision thing.  The space does not have permanent walls, only curtains.  So a door was not needed, but it added so much to the overall look and feel.


I had been hanging onto a old farm house sink that I wanted to build a base under to use as a potting bench.  Well, I got my base and now it has become a vanity in my new outdoor bathtub suite.


Monte installed a propane burner under my tub, so I can enjoy a relaxing warm bath anytime of the year.
Now that all the chore pieces are in place, it was time to start on the finishing details to make the space intimate, relaxing and private.  We live out in the country on 6 beautiful acres.  Are neighbors are not in our backyard so to speak, but we do have a road that is about 75 yards away that leads down to the lake.  Even with as outdoorsy as I am, I did not want to worry about flashing my neighbors or there company while enjoying my space.


The solution:  I made curtains using chocolate brown and tan burlap.  I added a contrasting ruffle to the panels.  With Monte’s help, I put grommets in all the panels, so I could tie them with pink fabric to the cable Monte installed.  This way I can just slide open the panels I want to enjoy the view and still have privacy.  See what I meant by the door, not a necessary item, but it adds so much to the space.


I just love how it fits in with all our vintage tents.  The two tents in the background our the kids outdoor bedrooms.  Tony and Colby share the green 9′ x 11′ and Madison has the cute little 9′ x9′ all to herself.


Now when it comes to the decorating, I had a vision.  Adding touches of vintage and a dash of pink to make this space truly inviting to me.


This great little vintage chair is perfect, burlap flower pillow and my signature “K”.


Pink Gerber Daisies,  lavender soap and a candle are  all must have’s in a space like this.  They scream girly-girl and just make me happy.


Look how pretty it is all pulled together.  I will be adding some other finishing touches, such as a couple of hanging flower baskets from the poles Monte added across the top, yet another vision of his to make the space cozy.  I also will add plants to the lovely vintage planter box by the sink base and tuck in some chicken & hens into the boulder retaining wall.


This is my wonderful husband, Monte.
If you are interested in seeing more of his beautiful work, click on the links below:

Cascading Creations on Facebook

or

Cascading Creations Website

I just want to shout from the roof tops, how much I love my husband.  He truly embraces me for all that I am without question.
Thank you honey for creating such a beautiful bathtub suite!
You Totally Rocked It…


There is  something  so divine about sitting in a bathtub under the stars in all your glory that god gave you, that just speaks serenity.

Ta Ta For Now

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Give Me A Day And I'll Give You A Wall



Thant is what it takes. 

This wall was 90 ft long and required 3 dump truck loads of topsoil for back fill.....

Actually it only took us about 6 hours.

And that included the steps on the left.

You too could change the look of your home in less than a day!

Just check out what we had to start with......


 
 


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Another Happy Customer

Rian and I just had a house built in Eagle Ridge and had basically a half acre sand box, a sand box on the side of a hill no less.

…I called Monte shortly after we moved… he walked the sandbox with me, we discussed the ideas Rian and I came up with, and Monte had some as well…I had a clear estimate, which was decidedly more affordable than the other bids we received, that same day. The scope of our project was quite large, and for us was a bit intimidating, as whomever took it on would be building the foundation for what our landscape would permanently become. We felt most comfortable with Monte and his team, so off we went!

Once the weather finally gave us a chance Monte was ready to roll. The transformation was dramatic, and with no greenery on our property the sheer amount of rock was a bit overwhelming. Monte was great about listening to our concerns along the way, changing things that we didn’t quite like, and making adjustments on the fly. Between Monte’s ideas and our ideas during the actual job we probably tweaked a dozen things we originally planned, Monte rolls right through the changes in a professional manner.

 
What we were left with was a beautiful foundation for our entire landscape plan. Monte transformed the sloping sandbox into a usable, unique, eye catching outdoor living space that has already garnered us many compliments from the neighborhood. Monte was great to work with, has a tremendous vision for projects, and thoroughly met our hopes and expectations.

Wes Oliver
Regional Development
University Relations
Gonzaga University