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Installing the Stairs & Framing in the Office

Renovations· The Living Room· The Office

7 Mar

Hello? Is this thing on?

It’s been awhile, huh? Did you miss us?! 😀

We are SO excited to share what has kept us busy the past few weeks.

If you’re following us on Instagram, you’ve caught a few sneak peeks of the stairs and office/pantry/closet, but today we wanted to show it all off.

If you remember, here’s where we started:

And this is what it looks like today:

The header.

There is a header running the entire length of our house in the basement. We knew it was there because we’d seen it in places where there wasn’t a wall.

After Brett tore out the window wall (pictured above), he discovered the header was NOT one big, long piece but several smaller sections pieced together. This is not ideal, but after much back-and-forth, actually worked in our favor.

The red posts supporting the header were installed where the pieces came together. What we had to do was remove the post and the header and install new posts and new headers to correlate with where the stairs were going to be.

This involved putting temporary studs to support the entire house, quick maneuvering between the Brett, myself and my parents and some major praying that nothing would go wrong.

I am happy to report that the house is still standing, we were able to get the old out and new in without any hiccups!

The stairs.

When I posted our 2018 plans, we were planning on having an ‘L’ shaped staircase.

Plans changed when we realized there wouldn’t be enough room to clear our heads at the landing. In the basement, there is a brick wall that limited our options so we ended up having to reconfigure the entire staircase.

how to install stairs, basement stairs

The result?

basement stairs

A ‘T’ staircase, with a landing option of going to the right or left.

wood basement stairs

Off to the right is going to be a little office area for Brett and then lead into his archery lane. To the left will be the living/rec room and bar. Underneath the stairs will be storage and the back room will be all for Brett’s hunting gear.

how to build basement stairs

The office, linen closet, and pantry.

Once we realized the stairs needed to move, a little reconfiguring of the linen closet and office had to happen.

The closet will now be housed to the left of the staircase, with half being the linen closet and the other half opening up to the office.

ripping out drywall in a home

For the pantry, we’re mulling over the idea of splitting it in half as well. With the front portion being the pantry and the back being the walk-in shower for our master bath or the bathroom closet. Decisions, decisions!

removing drywall and exposed wall studs

The other hiccup with the pantry is that the door cuts into the kitchen cabinets.

wall studs for a closet

What I think we’ll have to do is remove one set of cabinets and move everything down in order to fit the door opening. Since we aren’t quite ready to do an entire kitchen renovation, we’ll have to hodge-podge it together and make do!

What’s next?

Besides the obvious, we’re currently in the process of rewiring all the lighting and/or adding new lights.

Once that is finished, it’s time to put up the drywall.

I have the goal of aligning the office reno with the spring One Room Challenge, but if we can get it done earlier than that, even better!

We’re hoping to be in a place with everything usable by the time spring rolls around and we’re ready to start the garage. Thankfully (?) we’re in Minnesota so that shouldn’t be until May or June ?

Since pictures can only take us so far and not all of you are on Instagram, I’ve compiled all the stories/updates we’ve shared over there in a video format. Hopefully this will help tie it all together for you ?

Until next time!

All our best,


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Related posts:

Default ThumbnailDay Two Is for Knocking Down a Wall Summer Home Improvement Project List Adding Walls & Doors blue walls with dark wood trim in home officeAn Update on the Office & How to Install Wall-to-Wall Floating Wood Shelves

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oh, hi!

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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what we’re loving right now

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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 😍

We have to add trim to the slider, install the baseboards and frame up + install the pantry door.

And then...

This kitchen will be DONE! 🙌
Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in o Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in on our renovation list and shared two new projects we're adding (of course!)

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 😂😂
Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #on Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #ontheblog is a tour of our front porch and a few summer decorating ideas!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July! 🧨
Sometimes, it's not all rainbows and butterflies.. Sometimes, it's not all rainbows and butterflies... especially when it comes to neighbors.

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!

Cheers to starting the week off on a high note!
One more coat of mud on the walls and then it'll b One more coat of mud on the walls and then it'll be time for paint in the kitchen!

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!
Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my si Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my siblings and their kiddos.

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.

Hope you're enjoying the start to your week, friends! 🙌
So, here's the deal. The kitchen tile project was So, here's the deal. The kitchen tile project was not all sunshine and roses.

Two words: dried grout.

On the plus side, you can in fact clean dried grout from tile. On the negative, it's a complete pain in the ass... And doesn't get you back too 100%. #ontheblog today, I'm diving into all the details on how we cleaned the tile... And the (now funny?) story on how it even happened in the first place (hint: renovating with your husband on an empty stomach never has a positive outcome) 😂
The last four years have been a constant experimen The last four years have been a constant experiment of finding the balance between function and design.

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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