It dawned on me early this morning as I was mopping my floors @ 6a.m. - while others dream of beautiful beaches or spotless new homes - my everyday joy is an old, imperfect house with character and charm, it is full of dust and full of love, it has seen bleeding fingers and happy hearts, it may be missing stairs but it is home to dreams, it has given us more than we could ever give to it.
As I was standing in the middle of a completely empty room that was so full of dust you had to keep wiping your goggles just to see, my hair was matted with dust, I had broken three fingernails, I looked around - saw my husband, and had a huge smile across my face hidden by my dust mask and thought - this is perfection.
It may not always be what we want to do, but it is what we have loved, and when I look back on this time in our life I won't remember the broken fingernails or the gross basements, I will remember weekends spent with my husband building our future together, the times we have laughed so hard we cried, the stories and moments this house has shared, sitting at the table sharing our excitement as we planned everything together.
Yes, this old house may be messy, dusty, creaky, and always half finished, but this wonderful crazy house gives me everyday joy and lifelong memories. Yup, this is my happiness.
XO,
S
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Upstairs Bathroom
This house has really has provided us with some huge projects - the most recent being our upstairs bathroom. The bathroom was previously 3 seperate spaces - a hallway that was carpeted with a kitchen sink and a closet in it, a small 3 piece bathroom with a sloped ceiling, and a "+1 bedroom" that was behind the bathroom that had no closet and glittered green lenolium tiles. Needless to say - we ripped it all down .......no more lathe, or plaster, no more insulation ... it is amazing!
The guys had to replace some old rotted dormers and we'll get new windows in a few weeks for those. Once they get installed I will really start to see the progress - literally, it is pit black in there right now because the windows are boarded up! Even during day light right now we need work lights to see anything!
One of the best discoveries thus far was the unveiling of the exterior brick wall! The bathroom is part of a newer addition, so the house used to end there .... some old owners opened up a window into a door and thus the new bathroom! I am hoping to leave the section of brick exposed to highlight the beautiful old brick, but I don't know if I will win that battle.
Anyhow, I am SUPER excited for this reno, it is the biggest reno project thus far (the basement being our biggest clean up job, but nothing to do with reno/design)..... We already have the travertine floor tiles and now we need to find a WHOLE lot of other pieces to bring this room together! I am keeping pictures and will eventually do a before-mid-after series!
XO,
S
The guys had to replace some old rotted dormers and we'll get new windows in a few weeks for those. Once they get installed I will really start to see the progress - literally, it is pit black in there right now because the windows are boarded up! Even during day light right now we need work lights to see anything!
One of the best discoveries thus far was the unveiling of the exterior brick wall! The bathroom is part of a newer addition, so the house used to end there .... some old owners opened up a window into a door and thus the new bathroom! I am hoping to leave the section of brick exposed to highlight the beautiful old brick, but I don't know if I will win that battle.
Anyhow, I am SUPER excited for this reno, it is the biggest reno project thus far (the basement being our biggest clean up job, but nothing to do with reno/design)..... We already have the travertine floor tiles and now we need to find a WHOLE lot of other pieces to bring this room together! I am keeping pictures and will eventually do a before-mid-after series!
XO,
S
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Construction Day 1
This coming week is going to be an exciting one at Gore West - Ty has taken a week off, my father-in-law has come down to help and Blair, a family friend from home, is here. Day 1 of construction was accidentally delayed by a day because of a little male miscommunication, but the new Day 1 was perfect!
The "crew" showed up bright and early and got right to work - the chimney started coming down, the old dormer was ripped out, the shingles were tossed! It looked better already! Ty worked away inside tearing out the rest of the back ceiling (the roof work is above the newly expanded bathroom space). Then we got visits from our favorite people - Home Hardware & Home Depot! Got our new shingles and all the material we should need!
I made a few trips to Home Hardware, made a bet with the lumber desk guys about how often I would visit that day, picked up a supply or two and a cappuccino, and headed back to my crew at home. At the end of the day my Dad showed up to take away some old chimney brick (which was also made up of patio pavers! Really these things should no longer surprise me, but I am always shocked!) At the end of the day, it looks awesome!
A bonus was that while I was not on gofer duty I was able to work on fall clean up. I got the front yard raked, pruned a few trees back (ALOT!), totally dug out 3 small twig bushes (these were like Dr. Seuss bushes), swept the steps/walkway, and cleared out all the weeds! It looks awesome!
Overall, day 1 was a huge success and I am sore, sleepy and happy all in one ball!
Can't wait for Day 2! It's like Christmas excitement!
XO,
S
The "crew" showed up bright and early and got right to work - the chimney started coming down, the old dormer was ripped out, the shingles were tossed! It looked better already! Ty worked away inside tearing out the rest of the back ceiling (the roof work is above the newly expanded bathroom space). Then we got visits from our favorite people - Home Hardware & Home Depot! Got our new shingles and all the material we should need!
I made a few trips to Home Hardware, made a bet with the lumber desk guys about how often I would visit that day, picked up a supply or two and a cappuccino, and headed back to my crew at home. At the end of the day my Dad showed up to take away some old chimney brick (which was also made up of patio pavers! Really these things should no longer surprise me, but I am always shocked!) At the end of the day, it looks awesome!
A bonus was that while I was not on gofer duty I was able to work on fall clean up. I got the front yard raked, pruned a few trees back (ALOT!), totally dug out 3 small twig bushes (these were like Dr. Seuss bushes), swept the steps/walkway, and cleared out all the weeds! It looks awesome!
Overall, day 1 was a huge success and I am sore, sleepy and happy all in one ball!
Can't wait for Day 2! It's like Christmas excitement!
XO,
S
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