It’s a family affair…
We spent a year renovating our house. Part of me thinks I should have started this home renovation blog while it was actually happening, but then we’d have two projects that aren’t done.
From January to April, we (my husband) did the living room and dining room: He covered the popcorn ceiling, created a coffered ceiling effect, uncovered a long-since-plastered-over fireplace, exposed the brick chimney breast, had a mantle and side cabinets custom-built, made the openings between the rooms smaller, copied and replaced the original door and window trim, replaced the baseboards, and installed new hardwood floor.
From May to October, we had a contractor come in. Let’s call him T. T ripped off our old first-storey addition, dug down, and built a new three storey addition that included a new basement bedroom, a large eat-in kitchen that connected to what was once the house’s original kitchen, and on the second floor our existing bathroom was made bigger, and off of our Master Bedroom we now have a walk-in closet and a master ensuite bath. (Yes!) We hired a custom kitchen contractor and cabinet maker to do our kitchen. (The same one who did our fireplace).
And from October to December, we (mostly my husband) replaced the hardwood flooring on the rest of the main floor, did a faux granite laminate in the entryway, painted every square inch of every surface in the house (at least twice), installed and re-installed custom window and door trims that matched our house’s original trim (circa 1918ish), and the two of us installed (and fought bitterly while installing) various cabinets, closet doors, vanities, and various odds and sods.
Not a single room is 100% complete. I’m hoping that reliving the process via this home renovation blog will also give me the kick in the pants I need to actually FINISH THE HOUSE.
I spent a lot of time Googling ideas and checking out Pinterest, both for ideas but also in search of a little comfort and camaraderie. Every single home renovation blog I found was so happy and neat and tidy. I was the opposite of those things. But we made it through and if by sharing the process now I can help one person either solve a decor conundrum, hire a contractor, or fix a big (seemingly overwhelming) problem, well then I’ll be a happy camper.
And just maybe one day soon I’ll be able to post pictures of a finished room!
Leave a Reply