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2016: Looking Back at the First Year of North Country Nest

Lifestyle· Renovations

30 Dec

Tomorrow is the LAST day of 2016. Can you freaking believe it? I don’t know about you, but this year has flown by! It seems like just yesterday that our weekends were filled with house showings and mortgage meetings and packing up the townhouse.

Since I dropped the ball and forgot to post a 9-month update, I thought it might be fun to do a quick recap and look back at all the progress we’ve made this year.

Our First Home

After Brett and I first walked through this house, in the back of our minds, we both knew this was it. He was a little hesitant about taking on such a big project and I wasn’t a huge fan of being so far away from the Twin Cities. But it had SO much potential, an unfinished basement, a few acres of land and the view was breathtaking. Our inkling was confirmed after stopping by two other places that just didn’t compare.

Exterior updates

When we moved in, there were two entrances to the house because part of it was a rental property. Also, each entrance had a ramp leading up it.

We tore out both ramps, built stairs to what we wanted as the main entrance and replaced the other door with a window. We also added a fence to the side yard for the pups to play.

 

 

We knew going in that all the windows were junk and needed to be replaced – this was something that we would have to do over time.

This year we were able to add a window to the mudroom and replace one in the master bedroom, both guest bedrooms and the front entryway.

 


Interior updates

We got the keys to this place on February 22 and that first night we made a few trips back and forth with some things and stayed up until 2:00 am scraping the popcorn off the ceilings.

The next day we knocked down the main wall dividing the rental space and the rest of the house.

 

After that, we reconfigured the layout of the guest bathroom and guest bathrooms, along with adding space for a mudroom.

Since then, we’ve slowly been putting up sheetrock and mudding the walls. This year we finished mudding and painting the main living area where the wall was knocked down.

 

Another one of the first projects to be completed was the repainting of the kitchen cabinets. Even though I know we’re going to redo the entire kitchen, brightening up the space was on my ‘must-do’ list from day one.

 

Although you can’t see it, what took up a majority of time this summer was the installation of a new furnace and all new duct work, with the help of my dad and his co-worker. This was a HUGE project that although isn’t pretty to photograph, has made a significant difference in the entire house.

The only space to be one hundred percent completed [if there is such a thing in home renovation] is the entryway. We tackled this project as part of the One Room Challenge this fall and finished it up a few weeks ago when we installed the brink floor. To say we are happy with how it turned out is a complete understatement and I am so thankful that we were able to finish SOMETHING.

Entryway built ins | brick floor | dark wood trim

 

2016 Takeaways

It’s hard to prepare yourself for a full-on home renovation. There is a lot that isn’t always said; did you know it’s best to make sure both parties are well fed and well rested before you have a conversation about light fixtures or paint colors or tile style? And there are some things that you just need to figure out yourself – like the joy of beating the shit of a wall on demo day or the pure exhaustion you feel when hanging sheet rock in 112 degree weather with no air conditioning.

What we do know is that we can look back on this past year and know we kicked ass. For not having done 90 percent of the projects we tackled this year, there is something to be said about just giving it a shot and seeing what happens.

With that, we want to thank all of you for joining us this year and we hope to continue to entertain, teach and inspire you to tackle 2017 like a boss!

If there’s anything you’re struggling with, give us a shout at contact@northcountrynest.com. We want to help in any way we can – whether that be a new tutorial, diy project or some story that didn’t go exactly as planned.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

 

All our best,


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Related posts:

When Waiting Isn’t so Bad One Room Challenge Week Three: How to Install a Barn Wood Wall How to Lay Interior Brick FloorHow to Lay Interior Brick Pavers The Garage Update: Putting Up the Walls

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Comments

  1. Lora says

    December 30, 2016 at 8:50 am

    Loved reading this. You all are DIY heros 🙂 What an adventure!!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      December 30, 2016 at 8:53 am

      Awww thanks, Lora!!

      Reply
  2. Sabrina says

    December 30, 2016 at 8:53 am

    You guys did such an amazing job. I can’t wait to see what you will tackle in 2017. Happy New Year!!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      December 30, 2016 at 8:53 am

      Thank you Sabrina!! Happy New year to you as well!!!

      Reply

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We’re Brett and Kelly! A husband and wife team tackling our first complete home renovation. We love all things DIY, our two furbabes and lazy summer days out on the lake. Our mission? To share the journey of turning a house into a home.

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the archives

Who doesn't love a good before and after?!? Who doesn't love a good before and after?!?
Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the w Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the water at all – not once did we take the boat out.

Given the fact that we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I felt like the worst Minnesotan. How could we not enjoy the water when there’s three within five miles of our house?

This year? We've been able to get out on some body of water at least once per week - how cool is that?!

What’s been really great about these last few months is that we’ve seemed to have found a nice “balance” between go-go-go and taking time to enjoy whatever it may be.

While this season of relaxed work is probably not the norm, it's been a pleasant surprise that we'll be enjoying for as long as we can!

Enjoy the week, friends!
If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at ou If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at our newly trimmed windows and painted walls 😍

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The second addition? Giving a little refresh to this laundry room by pushing back the washer, dryer and cabinets.

We finished it wayyyy back in 2017 but there was a small frustration: the washer and dryer cover the window.

Every few months we'd circle back to the space and see how we could make it work. It was one of those little issues that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but here's the thing - you deserve to LOVE your home.

After four and a half years of constant projects, I often find myself wondering why in the hell we are doing this and I keep coming back to this idea that a home is meant to be loved, to share a story, to work for you, to be a space that you can relax in and enjoy.

So while the washer and dryer covering a window might be insignificant to a visitor, for us, it's something we see every day. And, after three years of brainstorming, we finally found a solution that felt good.

I guess that's the bonus of being four years into a reno - the idea of knocking down a wall seems like an easy project nowadays 😂😂
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Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July! 🧨
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New post #ontheblog today all about the lawsuit we've been in with our neighbor for the last year. And it started all because of our garage.

In short: three years ago the county required us to get a survey done on our property in order to build the garage. The results showed that the easement our neighbor was using to access her property was not in the right place - it was inside our property lines instead of outside.

Fast forward to July 2, 2019 when we were served lawsuit paperwork from said neighbor, claiming the rights to the easement location - and it's been a long, stressful process since then.

But, we received the good news last week from our lawyer - everything is finalized and we can finally put this whole mess behind us!

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In other news, Brett scored big time and found a giant rug for our living room - it was half off and arrived last week. Now we're patiently waiting until we get the new floors down until we roll it out. Check the stories if you want to get a sneak peak!😁😁 Enjoy the day, my friends!
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Brett showed up around dinner time and proceeded to spend the next hour in a water + cake fight with six kids under 10.

Yup, I'm married to an adult child. 😂😂 Kidding aside - I had one of those 'I love summer' moments, watching them all run around outside, laughing their heads off.

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We started this entryway with white built-ins and light walls. Damn it looked good in pictures but real life? With two black dogs and a lake... Well let's just say the functionality of the design choices were at an all time low.

So, we overhauled the space and darkened the walls and built-ins. While I was a little nervous to go so dark, I have to admit Brett's instincts were right one this one.

So, here's to continuing to find that balance of function and design - and I'd love hear, have you compromised anything because it just didn't fit with how your family lives in your home?!?

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