One year, to the day.

That’s how long we’ve been in this house.

It feels like we just moved in… and yet at the same time, like we’ve been here forever.

To celebrate this big milestone, we wanted to take a look at the last year. Not only to catch up the newcomers, but to give us a little piece of mind 🙂

If there is one thing we’ve learned this past year, it’s that renovating a home is hard.

But we also have learned that the satisfaction of literally making your home yours is so worth the long nights, body aches, and extra work.

Before we dive into the before and after pictures, below is a comparison of the original house floor plan and where we stand today.

 

The Exterior

We haven’t done too much outside in terms of landscaping – apparently renovating the interior takes a bit of time. Who knew?

What we have done is remove the ramps that were leading up to each entrance and add stairs to the main entrance.

We also added a fence to the west side of the house for the pups – it was a necessity once we had both dogs living with us.

The Interior

When we moved in, there was a wall dividing a mother-in-law apartment and the rest of the house.

The first week after moving in, we knocked down that wall and scraped popcorn off the ceilings.

There were two entrances to the house, so we closed off one of those and made the mother in law apartment door the main entrance.

For the One Room Challenge last fall, we finished off the entryway, added a barn wood plank wall, brick floor, and built-ins. We also changed out the window and entryway door.

In the kitchen, we painted the cabinets.

When we knocked down the main wall, there emerged this “middle space” that will eventually be home to a new staircase.

The gallery wall used to have a door to the guest bedroom. We closed off the doorway and moved it around the corner.

There was also a “mini” mudroom with the second entrance that had one door to the main house and one door the mother-in-law apartment. We knocked out the “mini” mudroom and changed the layout to include enough space to add a closet to the office. We moved the guest bedroom over and added a mudroom to the north side of the house that will become the entrance off the garage.

In the first guest bedroom, we switched out the second entryway door for a window and framed in a new closet.

In the second guest bedroom (formerly the office), we installed a new window, extended the room a few feet, and framed in a new closet.

For the new mudroom, we took some space from the guest bathroom and made a closet, brought the laundry upstairs, and installed a HUGE window.

The guest bathroom’s door was moved, the footprint was made a bit smaller, and we gutted the entire space. We’re currently in the process of finishing it up, but here’s a before picture 🙂

In the master bedroom, we switched out one of the windows to match the others along the north side of the house.

What you can’t see… Over the summer we installed an entirely new HVAC system, including a new furnace and ductwork. This was A LOT of work and took up a majority of our time in August and September.

What to Expect in Year Two

Finish the guest bathroom // tile the shower, install the toilet, install the vanity, find a door, and decorate.

Finish the mudroom // install the garage door, tile the floor, finish mudding the walls and paint, install shelving above the washer and dryer, and install shelving in the closet.

Build a garage // call the surveyor and make sure our numbers are right.

Install a fireplace // pick out a wood stove and tile.

Finish the first guest bedroom // finish mudding the walls, paint, trim the windows, and decorate. We’re waiting on flooring until we’re done with everything on the first floor.

Here’s to a great second year!

All our best,

 

---