Meet our next big project! A 2,500 square foot, split level home situated on 10 acres of wooded property just minutes from town (where we currently live.) We have been chasing this house on auction all Spring and Summer and it’s finally ours. We got a great deal on this hidden gem but now the real work begins. Built with care and good materials in 1988 it has since fallen into disrepair over the last decade or so… not to mention the lack of interior design updates since the day it was built – hello 80s!
Shane and I are very excited about the opportunity to transform and breath new life into this great property and I’ve decided I am going to bring everyone along for the journey by chronicling the transformation in this blog over the course of the next year! I’ll share DIY projects, design ideas, and tips for saving some money without sacrificing quality. We have big plans, expensive taste, and a limited budget so creativity is required on the job!
This will be our second big renovation project since we got married 7 and a half years ago. Essentially the first thing we did together as a married couple (which I definitely wouldn’t recommend) was to buy a vacant plot of land on a small lake about 45 minutes from where we were living at the time and start building a cottage from the ground up. THAT was a project! It took us 3 and a half years, with lots of side adventures along the way (during that period of time we also partially renovated and moved into our current full-time home, not to mention refurbishing several rental apartments somewhere along the way.) However, the results were well worth it and 3 years post completion I feel ready to tackle a new renovation project with the benefit of experience and lessons learned this time. Not to mention, we are nearly bursting at the seams in our current living situation – 3 kids and 2 adults in a 3 bedroom 1st floor apartment (we rent out the upstairs) – so I am more than ready for a larger space! I think I am just as excited about more closet space as I am about a new kitchen!
While not a design/build from the ground up, this new house is going to present it’s fair share of interesting design challenges and require quite a bit of elbow grease in the near term. We just had a dumpster dropped and are headed up there this weekend to clean the house inside and out! I’ll post a progress update Monday.
In the meantime, some “before” shots…
Highlights
Not Highlights
There is so much more but this sampling of photos gives a good taste of the project. Now it’s time to get to work!