So let me start by saying, Adult decisions suck!
I am not sure that I actually have any followers right now, but I am sorry that it has taken me this long to post about what is going on in our house! The last month to month and a half or so has been a roller coaster ride. We have been both disappointed and excited over and over again. We are currently in a good place, feeling like we have a made a good decision for our family. Let me take you back.
We got our first quote, which was to include the second floor addition (3 bedrooms and bath over main house, 2 rooms over the garage) new windows on the first floor, and all exterior work (new siding, front porch and back deck), new heating system throughout and a sprinkler system (Thank you city of Portland for requiring that...insert extreme sarcasm!) We were fully prepared that this quote was going to come in way over our budget, but we figured lets find out what it will all cost and we will cut things out from there. Well....it all cost more than we paid for our house in the first place. Even after taking all of the unnecessary stuff out, it was still way too much over budget. We were down to only the 3 bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, new windows and siding and we just couldn't stomach it.
Now, if you have read the post about how we are living, you will understand when I say that at this point I was ready to just pack our bags and walk out of this house forever! I called a realtor friend to come over and see if he thought there was any way that we could sell....the answer NO. Not that we couldn't try to sell, but we would never break even. But he was also a general contractor and offered to price the job out for us. He thought he could do it for within our budget. I am so thankful to him for trying, and he came really close, but couldn't do it. For a few days, we were just going to put the loan through, we felt like we had no choice. What else are we going to do? Yes, it wasn't going to be a mortgage payment we were super comfortable with, but we could do it. We would have to have an tight budget and there wouldn't be a lot of extras, but we had to do it.
The next morning, we have an argument about money and an engine light came on in my car (which miraculously has since gone off, think someone was trying to tell me something??) and I thought, no way, we can not do this! There are more important things in life than this upstairs, we need to change our thinking....which led us to this...
What are the things we NEED (not want)
1. More space
2. The exterior of the house done
3. New windows
4. New kitchen
5. New bathroom
For all the money we were going to spend on the upstairs, we weren't going to get the new kitchen and bath that we desperately needed downstairs. Where that money would have come from to finish that...who knows? Money tree??
Anyway, I looked at this list of needs and decided that we could finish our basement. We have a daylight basement, and we don't use it for anything right now, except storage. We used to get water in it, but had a water line leak out front and haven't had any since it was repaired. So we would move our bedroom down there along with a bathroom. We would then move Olivia into our current bedroom and Owen into Olivia's bedroom. This would open Owens room back up to allow for a small dining room for our table. By being able to move the table, we can renovate the kitchen exactly the way the plans show. Then we can renovate the bathroom/laundry room as well. We can put in new windows and vinyl side the outside of the house.
So, by doing this plan we aren't doing any unnecessary work. Everything that we are doing we would need to do with the upstairs anyway. The only things that we aren't getting with this plan downstairs is a nice front entry with closets and a large dining room, but we are able to follow the rest of the plan exactly. We planned to make a hang out space for the kids, and a place for guests to stay later on, in the basement, anyway, so now it is just getting done first. When we don't need the bedroom anymore, it will be perfect timing for Olivia to want a space to hang out with her friends.
This is where we are at. Mike is doing a lot of the work and we are hiring some of it out. At first I was a little disappointed because we have just waited for so long to put the upstairs on, but now I am happy. We are going to spend 3/4 less than we would have. We are getting all that we need and we are living within our means. We will still be able to do the fun things with the kids that we enjoy so much and not worry about every penny we spend. It was a hard decision to make, but the right one....
Our journey in home renovations has taken a new course, but we are still on a ride that I think you will all enjoy! Stay tuned...tomorrow we have a dumpster being delivered and November 2nd someone is coming to cut our basement concrete...pictures, pictures!!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Mood boards
I might have a new obsession! As you can imagine by my last post, I am extremely anxious and excited to finally make our house a home. Get it organized and decorated in a style that I love. I have been over at www.Olioboard.com where you can put together a mood board. You can add your own pictures or search through their categories and find examples of things you would like in a room. Here is my first mood board for my master bedroom. A lot of the items I found on their site were out of my budget, but it gives me a good idea of the style I am looking for, or at least the pieces I want to see in my room! Here it is...
The List...
Of things that drive me crazy about my house...
After reading this post, I don't want anyone to think that I am not grateful for what I have, because I truly am. I know that we are very blessed to have a house in a great neighborhood, but there are more things that drive me crazy about this house than things I love! Here they are....
Closets- We have one in our bedroom and one in the hallway that acts as storage for linens/storage for extra food and kitchen supplies that we can't fit in the kitchen/art supplies for the kids/pet care and cleaning supplies. Those ARE our ONLY closets in the WHOLE house....
Bedrooms - We do now have 3 bedrooms...thank goodness. But my complaint is our bedroom that acts as storage/office and adult hangout. Since we don't have a place to put a desk we have a bookshelf that acts as our office in our bedroom. I can't wait to have a bedroom that is just a bedroom, a retreat. I know that sounds corny, but really I would love to have a cozy, relaxing looking space tohide spend time in. As much as I hate my bedroom space now, I spend WAY too much time in it....which leads me to my next ugghhh thing about this house...
Bedroom Location - The kids bedrooms are right off the main living area. RIGHT off the kitchen and living room. This is not ideal for ANYTHING. During the day when Owen naps I have to hang out in my bedroom (or at least at that end of the house which is only my bedroom, hallway and bathroom) when he is falling asleep because if I don't he can see me if he comes to the door. Then of course he talks to me and calls out to me and I get aggravated and he doesn't sleep. Then once he is asleep I still don't dare go in and do anything loud on that end of the house like clean the kitchen for fear of waking him up. He is a very light sleeper during the day, and when he wakes before he is ready, he is a grouch and that makes me grumpy! At night, it is hard to be out here with the lights all on with the kids trying to fall asleep, and of course for some reason they both HATE having their doors closed, so instead we watch TV, use the computer and hang out in our bedroom....I feel like I am in college again, living in a dorm room...we just need a mini fridge and we'd be all set!
Bathroom - Our bathroom is tiny and very akwardly shaped. We actually have to walk into our bathroom and shut the door in order to get to the toilet....who designed this space...really?? It was even more difficult when I was pregnant with the kids and my belly was giant. We also have a turquoise sink and tub. We used to have the toilet too, but we replaced that a while back.
Bay window - Although this is a hit with the children for use as a stage, chair and place to play with toys, etc, it is not a hit with me. Knowing we are not keeping it we haven't wanted to spend a lot of money to get a good window covering, but finding a cheap covering that looks good and keeps everyone from seeing inside is pretty impossible. I can't wait to have it gone. It also has crank out windows that let it no breeze which leads to my next gripe...
Crank out windows - We have no regular windows, they are all crank outs. We also have no screen doors, so basically we have no way of getting a breeze to go through our house. We run our air conditioner from May through September constantly. I don't mind air conditioning, but I also love to be able to open all the windows at night and feel the breeze. On days that are not so hot I would love to be able to open up the windows and air out the house...but we would fry! It gets so HOT in this house in the summer and we get no relief without the AC.
Kitchen - It sucks...plain and simple. I have 4 accessible cupboards and ONE drawer. I have a stove that is supposed to be built in so it is on a platform and looks terrible (but it is better than the tiny stove we had before) and the tiniest fridge ever. It is like one step up from dorm fridge. Our dishwasher sounds like a jet plane is taking off from our kitchen. Our sprayer in the sink sprays water at me when I run the water and my counters always have stuff all over them because I don't have enough room for everything....
The Exterior - One word...EMBARRASSING. Chipped paint, Tyvek, broken panel in our bay window (thanks to Mike and a snowball this winter), crappy front lawn (thanks to not one, but two, water pipe leaks in the past year that had to be dug out), overhang that looks ridiculous (another one of the previous owners stellar "add ons) Now can you see why I don't want to admit where I live?? I don't mind saying my street, but if I can avoid saying exactly which house, I do!
Then of course there are all the little things that are still unfinished around the house. No crown molding in most of the rooms, no transitions between different types of flooring and no trim around certain windows and doors. And our garage.....thats a deserves its own post on another day!!
You may think, why have you been living like this?? Well, it really doesn't make sense to fix these things just to rip it up later. If we had to wait any longer for this renovation we would have fixed the outside and done the rest of the cosmetic work on the inside, but we came to the point where we knew it was close and spending the money just didn't make sense. Having this renovation be so close, literally has me giddy with joy, I can NOT wait!
Pretty soon I will post pictures of all these things. How the house looks presently before we strip it down for the big move! Still no word from the contractor....still waiting, and not as patiently as before...starting to get ansy! Hope to be posting word on Monday!
After reading this post, I don't want anyone to think that I am not grateful for what I have, because I truly am. I know that we are very blessed to have a house in a great neighborhood, but there are more things that drive me crazy about this house than things I love! Here they are....
Closets- We have one in our bedroom and one in the hallway that acts as storage for linens/storage for extra food and kitchen supplies that we can't fit in the kitchen/art supplies for the kids/pet care and cleaning supplies. Those ARE our ONLY closets in the WHOLE house....
Bedrooms - We do now have 3 bedrooms...thank goodness. But my complaint is our bedroom that acts as storage/office and adult hangout. Since we don't have a place to put a desk we have a bookshelf that acts as our office in our bedroom. I can't wait to have a bedroom that is just a bedroom, a retreat. I know that sounds corny, but really I would love to have a cozy, relaxing looking space to
Bedroom Location - The kids bedrooms are right off the main living area. RIGHT off the kitchen and living room. This is not ideal for ANYTHING. During the day when Owen naps I have to hang out in my bedroom (or at least at that end of the house which is only my bedroom, hallway and bathroom) when he is falling asleep because if I don't he can see me if he comes to the door. Then of course he talks to me and calls out to me and I get aggravated and he doesn't sleep. Then once he is asleep I still don't dare go in and do anything loud on that end of the house like clean the kitchen for fear of waking him up. He is a very light sleeper during the day, and when he wakes before he is ready, he is a grouch and that makes me grumpy! At night, it is hard to be out here with the lights all on with the kids trying to fall asleep, and of course for some reason they both HATE having their doors closed, so instead we watch TV, use the computer and hang out in our bedroom....I feel like I am in college again, living in a dorm room...we just need a mini fridge and we'd be all set!
Bathroom - Our bathroom is tiny and very akwardly shaped. We actually have to walk into our bathroom and shut the door in order to get to the toilet....who designed this space...really?? It was even more difficult when I was pregnant with the kids and my belly was giant. We also have a turquoise sink and tub. We used to have the toilet too, but we replaced that a while back.
Bay window - Although this is a hit with the children for use as a stage, chair and place to play with toys, etc, it is not a hit with me. Knowing we are not keeping it we haven't wanted to spend a lot of money to get a good window covering, but finding a cheap covering that looks good and keeps everyone from seeing inside is pretty impossible. I can't wait to have it gone. It also has crank out windows that let it no breeze which leads to my next gripe...
Crank out windows - We have no regular windows, they are all crank outs. We also have no screen doors, so basically we have no way of getting a breeze to go through our house. We run our air conditioner from May through September constantly. I don't mind air conditioning, but I also love to be able to open all the windows at night and feel the breeze. On days that are not so hot I would love to be able to open up the windows and air out the house...but we would fry! It gets so HOT in this house in the summer and we get no relief without the AC.
Kitchen - It sucks...plain and simple. I have 4 accessible cupboards and ONE drawer. I have a stove that is supposed to be built in so it is on a platform and looks terrible (but it is better than the tiny stove we had before) and the tiniest fridge ever. It is like one step up from dorm fridge. Our dishwasher sounds like a jet plane is taking off from our kitchen. Our sprayer in the sink sprays water at me when I run the water and my counters always have stuff all over them because I don't have enough room for everything....
The Exterior - One word...EMBARRASSING. Chipped paint, Tyvek, broken panel in our bay window (thanks to Mike and a snowball this winter), crappy front lawn (thanks to not one, but two, water pipe leaks in the past year that had to be dug out), overhang that looks ridiculous (another one of the previous owners stellar "add ons) Now can you see why I don't want to admit where I live?? I don't mind saying my street, but if I can avoid saying exactly which house, I do!
Then of course there are all the little things that are still unfinished around the house. No crown molding in most of the rooms, no transitions between different types of flooring and no trim around certain windows and doors. And our garage.....thats a deserves its own post on another day!!
You may think, why have you been living like this?? Well, it really doesn't make sense to fix these things just to rip it up later. If we had to wait any longer for this renovation we would have fixed the outside and done the rest of the cosmetic work on the inside, but we came to the point where we knew it was close and spending the money just didn't make sense. Having this renovation be so close, literally has me giddy with joy, I can NOT wait!
Pretty soon I will post pictures of all these things. How the house looks presently before we strip it down for the big move! Still no word from the contractor....still waiting, and not as patiently as before...starting to get ansy! Hope to be posting word on Monday!
Monday, September 3, 2012
October??
Today I am both excited and a bit anxious....
We may be starting this project in ONE month!! I can't believe it! I have done a lot of looking around the house the past few days wondering what I will pack up, what will come with us to our temporary home, and what I will toss! In about a week, two tops, we will know for sure if we are moving forward next month...here is an update!
We really LOVE the contractor. We went Thursday night up to his home and saw his work, and some of the materials he was recommending to us. Both he and his wife were so kind to open up there home and we chatted with them for a while. Mike and I both agree that he will be very easy to work with!
On Friday we met with our mortgage broker and got the low down on how this would all work. She ran some numbers for us and we decided on a maximum budget for the project based on the final mortgage payment numbers. After we met with her we went out to lunch and discussed our plan. It looks like to get the project into our budget we are going to have to cut some things out...which is fine, as long as we get 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a new exterior, I am one happy lady!
We are probably not going to touch the garage at this point, which means we won't have the two extra rooms over the garage, but those rooms are a bonus and right now we are working on necessities! By cutting out the addition over the garage we save all of that money and also avoid having to put in a sprinkler system in the whole house. Right there saves us at least $10K, that decision is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned! So, we will just put the second floor over the main house and little addition that we currently have, and save the garage for anotherday year! We will put new siding on the entire house and hopefully have them build the front porch at the same time, but we will probably hold off on the back deck for now! Of course we are making these predictions without actually having a quote, but we have an idea what the quote will come in at and have an idea of what these extras will cost, so we think we have it pretty close to our budget....but we could be totally off....
Our To Do List for the Week
We may be starting this project in ONE month!! I can't believe it! I have done a lot of looking around the house the past few days wondering what I will pack up, what will come with us to our temporary home, and what I will toss! In about a week, two tops, we will know for sure if we are moving forward next month...here is an update!
We really LOVE the contractor. We went Thursday night up to his home and saw his work, and some of the materials he was recommending to us. Both he and his wife were so kind to open up there home and we chatted with them for a while. Mike and I both agree that he will be very easy to work with!
On Friday we met with our mortgage broker and got the low down on how this would all work. She ran some numbers for us and we decided on a maximum budget for the project based on the final mortgage payment numbers. After we met with her we went out to lunch and discussed our plan. It looks like to get the project into our budget we are going to have to cut some things out...which is fine, as long as we get 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a new exterior, I am one happy lady!
We are probably not going to touch the garage at this point, which means we won't have the two extra rooms over the garage, but those rooms are a bonus and right now we are working on necessities! By cutting out the addition over the garage we save all of that money and also avoid having to put in a sprinkler system in the whole house. Right there saves us at least $10K, that decision is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned! So, we will just put the second floor over the main house and little addition that we currently have, and save the garage for another
Our To Do List for the Week
- Check with the Fire Chief to make sure that we are correct in assuming that if we bring our renovation total to below 50% we can scrap the sprinkler budget.
- Get the feasibility study from the the inspector that came out to the house. Basically a document saying that, yes, we can do the project we want to do.
- Cross our fingers and toes while we
anxiouslypatiently wait for the bid. - Researching what we want for fixtures and paint colors, as we may be making those decisions very soon, and I don't like to be rushed...
- While unrelated to the project, I have a certain 6 year old that I will be sending off to her first day of 1st grade this week! She is very excited and I would be lying if I said, I wasn't a wee bit excited myself!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Contractor Meeting
Last night we met with a contractor who can do the project in October!! He was recommended to us by one of the first two that we met with and we are super impressed! We really liked him and he has tons of experience. So, we may be doing our project this fall after all! Of course, we have to wait for his bid and if it is way more than the contractor that can do it in the spring then, obviously, we wait. We are hopeful though!
He invited us to come up and check out his house, which he recently built. He wants to show us the windows and siding he put on the house because he really recommends it and it is a better price than what we were thinking of going with. We are going to take a drive up tomorrow night to take a look!
He invited us to come up and check out his house, which he recently built. He wants to show us the windows and siding he put on the house because he really recommends it and it is a better price than what we were thinking of going with. We are going to take a drive up tomorrow night to take a look!
Fingers Crossed!!!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
What is to come...
The plan for the new exterior
This is the space we are currently living in...
This is the space we will soon have to fill...
It can't come soon enough!
Before and Afters
Looking through our old pictures has been quite a trip. Now I realize even more why we are so anxious to see an end!
Here is the outside of our house, although this actually looks better before than it does now! We have moved around some windows and now have Tyvec instead of shingles in a few spots on the outside of the house, but it was one of those things where it didn't make sense to spend the money on the outside knowing it was going to be replaced soon.
I realized when moving into the house I really didn't take many pictures. I think it was because I was 9 months pregnant and right after we moved in, I had this cute subject to take pictures of...
Here is the outside of our house, although this actually looks better before than it does now! We have moved around some windows and now have Tyvec instead of shingles in a few spots on the outside of the house, but it was one of those things where it didn't make sense to spend the money on the outside knowing it was going to be replaced soon.
I realized when moving into the house I really didn't take many pictures. I think it was because I was 9 months pregnant and right after we moved in, I had this cute subject to take pictures of...
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| Olivia July 2006 |
Here is the original kitchen. Don't be jealous, but I still have that tiny refridgerator! Things that drive me crazy about this house, that is right up there on my list, but that is a post for another day!
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| Try to fit a weeks worth of food for 4 people in that fridge... The tiny stove is gone, but with it went one of the big cabinets |
Now, this picture makes you all want to run to the fabric store to duplicate this stunning look! What makes this even better is our bed is behind it. Yes, people, that is our bedroom. But, look there is a chandelier in it...so romantic :)
Of course, when we realized that the second floor was not happening anytime soon, the first thing to happen was a permanent wall there! Voila, Olivia got another cute bedroom and finally so did we!
We also replaced this eyesore of a railing and the floor in the entryway. Mike built a beadboard half wall and we layed hardwood floor.
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We painted this white, but I couldn't find a picture of it finished  Finally, 2010 we bring down almost all the walls in the house. First we worked on Olivia's room. We had to make it ready for two children. She had huge bay windows on either end of her room. We took them both out.  
Back wall after
   Now the rest of the house!  
Again from the kids bedroom
Walls going back up! I look at these pictures and can't believe that I lived in this mess and remember, I was also pregnant with Owen during this project! UGHHH...
   
Looking from the kids bedroom after we swapped out the carpet for hardwood.
The final step was a big one, and this was to give us more space in the entryway, but also to prepare for the second floor. The stairs that will eventually go up, will stack above these new stairs.
  
Stairs After
I will update you on pictures of how the house looks now, in another post. Yes, there are MORE changes! Now you can probably imagine why I am so anxious to get more space and finally feel settled into our home!
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Wednesday, August 22, 2012
What I have realized...
While going through pictures to give you some before and afters, I realized that I move around my furniture ALOT!
With all of the renovations, and just trying to make our space work, my living room and kitchen have had many different kinds of furniture and it has been in every location imaginable :) I knew that I had done tons of different things to try to make our space work, but boy, looking through the pictures in chronological order was actually quite comical!
I also paint ALOT...pictures to come!
With all of the renovations, and just trying to make our space work, my living room and kitchen have had many different kinds of furniture and it has been in every location imaginable :) I knew that I had done tons of different things to try to make our space work, but boy, looking through the pictures in chronological order was actually quite comical!
I also paint ALOT...pictures to come!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Timing
We were hoping to start this project in the next couple of months. Once we have a contractor who is approved by the mortgage company and the appraisal of our plans is done, we can close on the loan within 45 days. So give or take, we should have been able to start in October or November latest. BUT....we have had two contractors come over so far and neither are able to do the project until the spring. It is great that they have business, but BIG bummer for us!!
Now decisions have to be made....the two contractors that came over are definitely our top picks. They come highly recommended, we have seen their work to verify and we really like them both...but it means waiting...we have done a lot of waiting! Do we wait until spring? There are pluses and minuses
Positive
impatient excited for some more space!
In the meantime, I have been scouring Pinterest, the Internet, magazines and stores looking for inspiration for how I want to decorate the upstairs once it is finished. We both seem to be into a traditional, classic, oceanside feel. Not sure that is really a type, but we are going to try to put it all together! I am thinking a blue master bedroom!
Now decisions have to be made....the two contractors that came over are definitely our top picks. They come highly recommended, we have seen their work to verify and we really like them both...but it means waiting...we have done a lot of waiting! Do we wait until spring? There are pluses and minuses
Positive
- More planning time
- In our own house for Christmas
- No disruption at the beginning of the school year for Olivia
- I can start buying decor and small things little by little over the next few months
- More time to save money
- Interest rates could increase before the spring
- Having the outside of our house look like an eye sore for 7 more months
- Busting the seams out of our tiny little house for 7 more months....
- 7 months seems like a long time when we are ready to do it now??!!
In the meantime, I have been scouring Pinterest, the Internet, magazines and stores looking for inspiration for how I want to decorate the upstairs once it is finished. We both seem to be into a traditional, classic, oceanside feel. Not sure that is really a type, but we are going to try to put it all together! I am thinking a blue master bedroom!
Monday, August 6, 2012
The History...
May 2006. 9 months pregnant with Olivia, ready to go out on maternity leave. We own 2 houses...
We have come a long way since that day, but it has been a long road! I am going to see what I can dig up for pictures of the many faces this house has had but for now I will give you a little history!
When we bought this house we still owned a house in Westbrook, which we continued to own for almost a year after we bought this one. We intended on putting a second floor on this house shortly after moving in, but financially we were sunk with two mortgages, two sets of bills and two houses to upkeep, not to mention the renovation we had to do on the other house to sell it. So we had to make this one bedroom house work.
There was one official bedroom, one was in the basement, but not something I would use as a bedroom. Instead, we made the bedroom, Olivia's room so that she could have a door and we put a curtain (AKA the sheet) up across the archway that seperated the dining room and living room and made that our bedroom. We joked about it a lot, and at this point expected the one bedroom thing to be temporary! As time goes on and we realize the second floor is going to have to wait, we decide to do a bit of renovations to the house to make it work in the meantime.
In the fall of 2007, we put a permanent wall up across the dining room (and when I say we, I mean Mike!) and moved Olivia into that room. It was a good sized room, but narrow so her furniture fit better. We took her old room. We also took down a really unstable railing around the staircase to the basement and built a halfwall there so that we could put a gate on the stairway and not worry about Olivia with the stairs, and laid some new flooring in the entry.
Fastforward a few more years, still not ready to put the second floor on, but in desperate need of some space and some cosmetic work or I was going to go crazy! So we start to move some things around to where they will eventually be going and do some temporary/cheap cosmetic work to get through. During this renovation I am pregnant with Owen and basically we bring down most of the walls in the house. We moved the basement stairs to the side of the house, removed a sliding glass door in the back of the house, moved the bedroom and a hallway, painted all the rooms and laid new flooring everywhere.
Then Owen is born...and two bedrooms just isn't enough....
Our bedroom is very small, barely fits the bed and side tables, so add a bassinet and we are packed, a crib? Forget it. So as Owen is starting to grow out of his little bassinet (he was no peanut, he was born at 9lbs 9oz) we realize he needs the crib and it is time to move him in with his sister. NIGHTMARE. Owen wasn't sleeping through the night (who am I kidding? he still doesn't sleep through the night) and Olivia started to realize that she could run the show because after he went to bed, we weren't going to be able to put our foot down on her going to sleep in order to not wake him up. There are some funny and not so funny stories from this time period and thinking back on them now still make me laugh or shudder remembering. So up goes a wall in the kids bedroom. We were still not quite ready to the do the whole upstairs, but we couldn't wait another day for 3 bedrooms in this house. In one weekend Mike and my dad, built a wall in the middle of the kids room. It is a long narrow room with windows on both sides, so it works and well! Mike built Olivia a loftbed so that she had room for furniture and to play and Owens room is perfect for a toddler. A bit of normalcy began to come back in the house and we move on.
July 2012 and we are moving up!! We are starting the process for having our upstairs put on...FINALLY. It has taken 6 years but we are ready and we can't wait! We are doing lots of research on what we want in the house and have noticed all the, do it yourself and renovation blogs out there. Mike suggested the other night that I start a blog about our renovation and I thought why not? If nothing else we will have a great documentation of this new adventure for the Litchers! If someone else also enjoys reading it, even better!!
We have come a long way since that day, but it has been a long road! I am going to see what I can dig up for pictures of the many faces this house has had but for now I will give you a little history!
When we bought this house we still owned a house in Westbrook, which we continued to own for almost a year after we bought this one. We intended on putting a second floor on this house shortly after moving in, but financially we were sunk with two mortgages, two sets of bills and two houses to upkeep, not to mention the renovation we had to do on the other house to sell it. So we had to make this one bedroom house work.
There was one official bedroom, one was in the basement, but not something I would use as a bedroom. Instead, we made the bedroom, Olivia's room so that she could have a door and we put a curtain (AKA the sheet) up across the archway that seperated the dining room and living room and made that our bedroom. We joked about it a lot, and at this point expected the one bedroom thing to be temporary! As time goes on and we realize the second floor is going to have to wait, we decide to do a bit of renovations to the house to make it work in the meantime.
In the fall of 2007, we put a permanent wall up across the dining room (and when I say we, I mean Mike!) and moved Olivia into that room. It was a good sized room, but narrow so her furniture fit better. We took her old room. We also took down a really unstable railing around the staircase to the basement and built a halfwall there so that we could put a gate on the stairway and not worry about Olivia with the stairs, and laid some new flooring in the entry.
Fastforward a few more years, still not ready to put the second floor on, but in desperate need of some space and some cosmetic work or I was going to go crazy! So we start to move some things around to where they will eventually be going and do some temporary/cheap cosmetic work to get through. During this renovation I am pregnant with Owen and basically we bring down most of the walls in the house. We moved the basement stairs to the side of the house, removed a sliding glass door in the back of the house, moved the bedroom and a hallway, painted all the rooms and laid new flooring everywhere.
Then Owen is born...and two bedrooms just isn't enough....
Our bedroom is very small, barely fits the bed and side tables, so add a bassinet and we are packed, a crib? Forget it. So as Owen is starting to grow out of his little bassinet (he was no peanut, he was born at 9lbs 9oz) we realize he needs the crib and it is time to move him in with his sister. NIGHTMARE. Owen wasn't sleeping through the night (who am I kidding? he still doesn't sleep through the night) and Olivia started to realize that she could run the show because after he went to bed, we weren't going to be able to put our foot down on her going to sleep in order to not wake him up. There are some funny and not so funny stories from this time period and thinking back on them now still make me laugh or shudder remembering. So up goes a wall in the kids bedroom. We were still not quite ready to the do the whole upstairs, but we couldn't wait another day for 3 bedrooms in this house. In one weekend Mike and my dad, built a wall in the middle of the kids room. It is a long narrow room with windows on both sides, so it works and well! Mike built Olivia a loftbed so that she had room for furniture and to play and Owens room is perfect for a toddler. A bit of normalcy began to come back in the house and we move on.
July 2012 and we are moving up!! We are starting the process for having our upstairs put on...FINALLY. It has taken 6 years but we are ready and we can't wait! We are doing lots of research on what we want in the house and have noticed all the, do it yourself and renovation blogs out there. Mike suggested the other night that I start a blog about our renovation and I thought why not? If nothing else we will have a great documentation of this new adventure for the Litchers! If someone else also enjoys reading it, even better!!
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