A New Chapter in Renovating

After 2 1/2 years, it’s time. We’re on the move again! We’ve sold this house, and have just a few things to finish for the new family to move in. They’ll have almost nothing to do but enjoy.

The next house represents a whole new chapter for The Renovator and me. This is the first house we are purchasing ‘together’ and we’ve got big dreams for it. At 2/3 of an acre, 2,100 square feet of living space and plans for about 200 square feet of additions we’ll be busy making changes and creating more updates for the blog.

I don’t enjoy the whole process of the real estate game, so I won’t get into that. What I will tell you is that the house was built in 1977 and we’re pretty sure not a single update has ever been done to it. Not a scrap of flooring or a cabinet door looks newer than 1977! It has been taken care of, but let’s face it, 30+ years of living causes wear and tear. In a phrase, the house is ‘The-Mother-of-Ugly’, but it will be comfortable while we make our plans over the next few months.

What is planned? Everything. Every surface in that house will be changed. Much like the one we’re in now, and the one before, the former owner will walk into it 3 – 5 years from now and see nothing that they knew when they lived there. We’ll be reconfiguring and extending the entry, taking it from a split entry to more of a Brownstone-style walk up. We’ll extend the master bedroom and ensuite to create a proper master bedroom environment and give back some space to a tiny bedroom. Kitchen walls will be moved and removed, with my plans for an open flow into the living room, granite counter-tops, eating-bar-work-area island, built in pantry, feature cabinets and home for a wine station near the dining room. The downstairs will be reconfigured to remove the wall between the family room and small bedroom to open it up and create opportunity for a wet-bar. My office will go in the corner of this new family room, complete with a ‘well’ style patio with french doors and stairs up to the yard, to allow more light and access to where I work. The bathroom the current owners consider updated will be removed, jack-hammered, reconfigured and a new bathroom with standard height ceilings will be installed. The laundry room will be properly framed in and finished and we are likely to end up with a double ‘front to back’ garage (as opposed to the traditional ‘side to side’ style).

Outside we have plans for tall cedar trees, a formal gate at the bridge, full fencing and a gazebo for picnics at the front. Our driveway leads out onto a fairly busy street, but with the house so far back on the property, we’re not concerned. We’ll be private in an area of new houses and across the street is a coffee shop / pizza place / video store. I sure hope they have wireless internet!

Yes, we’ve planned all of this from just two visits and a lot of discussion. And yes, we only found out yesterday that it’s ours. Just goes to show that we have a lot of vision when we look at houses. This one simply ‘felt’ right and we saw immediately what we could turn it into.

I’m not sure what my next post on the blog will be about – perhaps moving? And that’s why I love being The Renovator’s Wife.