In January 2015, we suddenly realized we were at a point to start looking for a new house with a little more yard and garage space. Inventory in our immediate area was limited, so after a few weeks, I expanded the search area a bit and saw a listing for a 1992 beauty with two two-car garages (one detached). I sent BJ the listing as a joke and said, "These two garages are your dream! But the inside is horrible." A couple of months later, we were closing on that very house.
We had seven weeks from closing until move in date to do extensive work on the new house. It turns out renovations are not as easy at they look on tv, although we felt like the typical story with a few dramatic moments. BJ worked his tail off, and without his connections, knowledge, and skills, we would have gone crazy and spent much more money. The house had wallpaper or borders in eight rooms. It was not well maintained, so it was just dingy and dated throughout. We had every square inch painted, replaced all flooring, most light fixtures, door knobs, updated several bathrooms, added cabinets, trim work, fixed random holes in the wall/ ceiling, added a wall, and did what felt like a million other things. Outside we got a new roof, replaced all the landscaping, added grass, put in outdoor lighting, painted the existing playscape, and evicted the squirrels living in the detached garage. BJ was a rock star coordinating with all of the contractors and doing a lot of work himself. My jobs consisted of keeping the kids alive, tirelessly perusing Pinterest to make decorative decisions (and maybe changing my mind a time or two), and providing "helpful" advice to BJ on construction items based on my google research (he loved that...). The structure of the house is a perfect fit for our family, and we are glad we could see past the wallpaper. Now we have a lovely home that we will live in for a long, long time. We have a guest room again, so come visit! Just don't expect the house to look as tidy as in these after pictures. I took the pictures quickly before we had a party .
Now for the pictures! Jenna was with me when I took the before pictures, so she is running in and out of most of them. Despite the poor lighting in the before pictures, the house looked much worse before than the pictures convey. This was even validated by friends. Only good friends would agree that your new house looks much worse in person. :)
Exterior shots are after landscaping/ cleanup.
The staircase banister was stained darker and the balusters were replaced with square ones to update. The flooring throughout most of the downstairs is tile that looks like wood, which we chose because it is so durable. We love it! The walls were painted the same light gray throughout.
To the left of the entry is the formal living room, which we turned into an art room for the kids. What looks like nice wood trim work on the ceiling was actually very DIY and looked shabby. Also notice the random holes in the ceiling. We continued the wood tile flooring in this room, and we had a wall of cabinets put in to hold art supplies, games, and Sydney's piles of papers and trinkets. We get so much use out of this room, and the table is usually covered with paper, markers, and stickers which leaves the kitchen table free for eating! The "hello" sign on the wall was made by BJ's cousin Jill (shout out for Posh Pallets Plus).
The dining room got the same flooring and a new fixture.
The study was the first of many rooms of wallpaper. It is much lighter and brighter now!
The living room is smallish, but it has high ceilings. The two story brick fireplace was our most dramatic moment and the biggest mistake. Also notice the sweet glass panel cabinet in the wall to house the electronics, if you can take your eyes off of Jenna's jazzy dance moves.
We had the fireplace painted a darker gray than the walls, thinking at least that would be better than tan brick. Once it was done, it looked terrible. And it was a week before the tile floor was scheduled. So we panicked and spent the rest of the evening googling "two story fireplaces", "brick fireplaces", and "stone fireplaces".
Twenty four hours later, BJ had removed the brick from the fireplace and gotten a load of stone. And two days after that, we had a lovely stone fireplace! It turned out to be perfect and much better than the painted version. We never would have torn down the brick once the flooring was in, so the timing ended up being great.
Continuing the flooring in the living room made a huge difference in opening up the space. The new fan gives a cleaner look.
The kitchen is a temporary fix, with more significant updates planned in the next couple of years. The cabinets were yellowed, and the counter was peeling up laminate. BJ spent hours putting on a concrete counter overlay, and while it is better than what was there, we agree it is not practical for long term because it is not as durable as granite.
Black wallpaper is always the smart choice for a tiny half bath, right?? The powder bath got a full update, and the herringbone marble tile is one of my favorites.
The master bath also had dark wallpaper and carpet, so that had to go. This room is another temporary fix until some bigger updates in a couple of years.
Moving on upstairs! The guest room just needed a little paint, carpet, and trim. Don't you want to stay here???
The guest bathroom had more dark wallpaper, so that was removed along with new flooring and vanity.
There was a bonus room/ playroom upstairs that was unfinished, and the only access to it was through a bedroom. This picture is from the listing because I didn't take one, but the door is to the playroom. Note the stylish wallpaper border!
Luckily that bedroom (now Sydney's room) was large enough to make a hallway to the playroom. BJ built the doorways/ wall.
Yet another bathroom with dark wallpaper! The kids share this bathroom, so adding another sink was a must, plus flooring, cabinets, counter top, and fixtures.
View from upstairs. You can't see the sconces before, but they were gold half shells, so you'll have to take my word that it looked awesome.
The backyard the day we closed.
And now, with the playscape painted and landscaping done.
And the reason we looked at this house! This is BJ's shop, so inside are the project cars (Bronco and Camaro), golf cart, and many tools. BJ put in air conditioning, a tv, and a mini fridge (you know, the necessities). The other garage is attached to the house.
We love the house, mainly for the space that allows us to spend time together. We look forward to many years of playing in the backyard, riding bikes and scooters in the long driveway, and playing basketball. Wyatt already loves the shop, so he will grow up working on cars in the shop with BJ. And we love the space to spend time with friends, with plenty of room for overnighters. This weekend we hosted our first large get together, and we easily had eight families (with a lot of kids)! Come over sometime!
