The Renovation, in brief

Well, at this point it's almost over. All that's left is some painting, some cleaning, and some sorting. Here are some pictures to speak louder than my words.

This is our back porch (such as it was) before the renovation began. Below is the after. Notice how the back door is out 4'. Ugh, nothing like some exterior work to make you realize how shabby your landscaping is!

We worked on three rooms, well four if you count the two that we merged. Looking at the above pic, to the left is what's now the master bath which adjoins the master bed (oddly enough). Straight ahead and to the right of the stairs is what used to be the 'utility room' (read: "I don't know where else to put this room") and the kitchen which are now one.

Let's start with the bathroom.

Here we see a moderately-pregnant Sarah Simpson pontificating the future this room with our fearless, competent, head-scratching, ex-bike mechanic leader and contractor Zack Brendel. Look below to see what they came up with.

And then one short month later...

Not bad, huh? Standing in the shower and looking out you see:

Cypress door, reclaimed sashes for a vanity, and a magazine shelf. Oh, yeah. 

On to the bedroom:

Remember those maple floors I was talking about? Here's what they looked like before we knew they were there. 

 Seriously! We thought we were going to have to just cut through all the way down to joists. That's what we had to do on the other side of the house. But Lane, Zack's sturdy sidekick, took the time to see if there was anything worth saving. Here's what he found:

No, he didn't find the cat; the cat found us, but that's another story. Here's what the floors look like now after they've been finished, dappled in the morning light.

By the way, here's what Zack and Lane look like, complete with floating drywall dust particles. Only slightly tongue in cheek, eh?

 Note the storage (oh, glorious storage!) being framed out in the background. Zack's standing in front of what is being affectionately called the "Man Closet," so called because it's where all the tools, tarps, paintbrushes, and extension cords live. The rest will be used to hold everything that we've been shoving into the corners for the last couple of years.

Paint!groan...

So, I hadn't considered that when you build a closet, there are now 5 surfaces to paint where there had only been one. Remember this before you...

 

 On the other wall, we had to cut out a bigger door. I'm tall, but not so tall that I should need to duck to go the bathroom in my own house. 

What does this look like now? Funny you should ask!

Sarah's steady hand with the paint brush truly astounds me. We've had terrible luck with blue painter's tape. Either it doesn't block well or it takes the good paint off with it when we peel it back. Who needs it!? Bah! Free-hand from now on!


And here's how the room has come together:
              (Gawl! Look at that belly!)

Up next time will be the kitchen.
More soon- All the best.