The never ending demo...

As we enter into spring, we are preparing to replace all of our windows! We scored 16 matching windows at The ReStore in Ballard for $20 each. I am eager to see the drastic change it is going to make to our house, inside and out. The inside of the house is on a bit of a standstill though. As the clear days become a bit more consistent, we've been doing a lot of demo in the yard. Our backyard is now without a pond, a bridge, and 4 trees. We have also accumulated piles of brick and granite rock from digging up the pond. Did I mention the pond is GONE?!!! I am very excited to see a huge dirt pit instead of a dirty, overgrown, dangerous pond. Our plan is level out the ground and build a wood platform where the pond used to be. But for now the only word in our remodeling vocabulary is demolition.
      To satisfy my desire to fix up the inside of the house, I've been rearranging, organizing, and sewing some things for the house. Since we don't have a basement or garage to store things, I've managed to use every bit of space until we can get proper storage built in the house. The other night, Jeremy and I were discussing our kitchen remodel ideas, which included knocking out walls, rearranging the cabinets, new flooring, etc. Ruby decided to chime in and tell us, "I like the house just the way it is mom. You don't need to change anything!" It is nice to hear a child's perspective on the topic. I love that she is comfortable here, and it feels like home to her. We are so thankful to have this house that provides our family with shelter and comfort and we are blessed that God gave us a creative outlook on life and we can use our house to express who we are and what we love to do.

 

 

 

 

 

Do it right the first time around

Saturday morning was the start of our first big project on the house. Our mud room was not built properly and every time it rained the studs and part of the floor got soaked...which has resulted in wood rot. As we were doing all of the demo, we found we needed to replace two whole walls and the sub floor, instead of just the one wall we were planning on. At least now we know it will be done right and there will be no more surprises in that room! Jeremy surprised Ruby with her own tool belt, work gloves, hickory hammer, mask, and crowbar. She was very excited and helped by prying off some of the drywall. I think she lasted about 10 minutes :)

bees nest we found when we demoed the ceiling

Our house

It is a Friday morning, the kids are still in bed (yeah!) and I actually have time to write and edit pictures...I love the early mornings! We have been in our new place for about a month now, and both Jeremy and I are trying to document every possible design idea for the house, so when we are ready to do a certain room, we will have plenty of inspiration to look back on. I made sure to not be lazy this time around and take before pictures of our house, inside and out. So make sure to check out the after pictures, which will realistically be put up in the span of 5 to 6 years I'm sure! The first on our list of urgency is to replace the electrical panel, install washer/dryer (yippee!), and rebuild the mud room. All of those projects are on the list for this weekend. It sure is nice to be married to a carpenter/all around talent in the construction world:) I love you Jeremy!

Ok, so the silence didn't last too long... I'm coming Shepherd!

In case you didn't know, we bought a major fixer-upper and bought it as-is, but boy do we have plans for this place!

Living room

Kitchen, left

Kitchen, right

laundry room off the kitchen

Laundry room

                                             Mud room off of the laundry room

Our room

Our room

Kids room

kids room

Bathroom

House remodel

        One trip over the mountains, equaling up to three house moves in 6 months, and the adjustment to living not by the city, has brought us to this house in Yakima. Back in July we were in crunch time, attempting to get our rental house to a livable state by August 1st. What started as a house full of unkempt men, homeless and not, now has turned upside down only because of the heart and drive my husband has for his family and for following the Lord. This house has been a portfolio in and of itself. To start with a house full of junk, bugs, cigarette butts everywhere, and a stench that was indescribable, is a feat not everyone is capable of undertaking, but he took it head on and put all of his sweat, blood, and tears into it. (no real tears were shed in the making of this houseJ)

            Unfortunately, we were caught up in all the work and did not take pictures of the house untouched, but we did manage to get some pictures of the middle stages of the house remodel…Here are the before and after photos!

Jeremy put in all the wainscoting, sanded and refinished the floors, and we painted EVERYTHING!







Jeremy added the two cabinets you see on the right of the photo, relocated the fridge to make more counter space in the kitchen, put down OSB flooring, made new countertops, widened the doorway from kitchen to bedroom, and the list continues!



This house by far has been the best fit for our family. It displays everything we are passionate about in design and includes everything we need to function as a family…except for the fact that my hands serve as our dishwasher. Wah wah wah. It seems a bit strange to now be leaving this house that we worked so hard on, but we enjoyed every second of it and spent very little money in the process. It’s what we love to do together as a couple…design, build, and well, in our case move away. (not too fond of the moving part!)

            Materials bought:         OSB plywood for flooring $50

                                                Cleaning supplies…lots of it! $45

                                                Bathroom sink $30

                                                Paint $75

                                                Polyurethane $25

                                                Misc. materials $125

                                                Bathroom floor $35

Total cost of remodel…$385!