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North Country Nest

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The Four Year Home-iversary Tour

Renovations· The Home Tours

29 Feb

February 22, 2020 marked four years in this renovation zone. FOUR YEARS. 

And I think I have enough confidence to say that I THINK we’re finally getting close to finishing off the main living area of the first floor. 

Because, after four years of renovation, we should be pretty damn close by now, amiright? 

Every time this home-iversary comes, it seems to be at the best time. Looking back at allllllll that we’ve accomplished has this magical way of bringing some new motivation. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the end of February in Minnesota and we’ve been cooped up for the past four months and need a little excitement. Or, if it’s the fact that we’ve usually been going all-out on a project and need a little encouragement. Regardless of the reason, I love celebrating this special day with a recap of all that we’ve been up to. 

I’m not sure if it’s getting a little extra home-iversary motivation, but I wanted to compile one epic post, with all the before-and-afters. I’m really digging into the picture archives and my friends, it is so much fun. Also, who doesn’t love a good transformation? 

Before we dive into the actual pictures and projects, I want to revisit the floorplan. I shared this in the first home tour we posted and so much has changed since then that it’s worth sharing again. 

Here’s the original footprint of the home: 

And here’s what we have now, in 2020: 

And just in case you want to binge on all things related to the house, you can catch yourself up on the original house tour here, the year one tour here, the year two and half tour here, and the three year tour here.

The Exterior

Let’s start by stating the obvious: we now have a garage. Not just a foundation or the framed walls, but a real, live, working garage. It was quite the fight to get this baby up (a trip to the county and having to plead our case at a town hall meeting) but it’s finally finished and we couldn’t be happier. 

2016

2020

The other two big updates include building a deck on top of the crumbling concrete slab and rebuilding the retaining wall and front porch, which also included adding on a bit to prep for the some-day wraparound deck. 

rustic front porch with christmas decor

2018

2020

What else is on the list:

  • Tearing out the two ramps that were located at either entrance
  • Removing one entrance 
  • Moving the propane tank 
  • Adding a fenced garden 
  • Adding a fenced-in backyard for the pups 
  • Pouring gravel for a new driveway
  • Miscellaneous landscaping

2018-2019

2020

2016-2018

outdoor deck with outdoor furniture

2019

The Interior

When we originally bought this home four years ago, it was split into two spaces – the owner’s home and an attached mother-in-law suite. There were two entrances, one where only the renter could access and another that opened to a mudroom with an entrance to the suite and an entrance to the owner’s space. 

2016

2017

2018-2019

2020

What made us fall in love with the home was the potential to create a large open-concept layout by knocking down the divider wall and opening up the main living area. I remember it like it was yesterday – the day after getting the keys to our new home, we took a sledge hammer to that wall and enjoyed our first of many Demo Days!

2016

2017

entryway view with fall decor

2018

2019

2020

That first year, the renovation list included: 

  • Knocking down the main wall
  • Scraping off the popcorn ceiling
  • Removing the mudroom
  • Reconfiguring the mother-in-law apartment by adding in a laundry room with a closet, shortening the MIL master bath and moving the bedroom towards to the office
  • Adding a closet to the office, making it a ‘real’ bedroom 
  • Installing new windows in the laundry, two guest bedrooms and master bedroom
  • Remodeling the entryway
  • Painting the kitchen cabinets 
  • Reconfiguring the home’s HVAC system and installing a new furnace

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017 was another fun-filled year of pretty-ing up some of the living spaces. It was a little “lighter” on the project side because we tied the knot and as some of you know, planning a wedding is a full-time job in and of itself. 

2016

in entry towards living room

2018

2019

2020

What made the 2017 list:

  • Remodeling the guest bathroom
  • Finishing the laundry room 
  • Finishing the first guest bedroom 
  • Adding a half-wall in the entryway to create a divider between the living room and entryway 

2016

kitchen summer home tour

2017

2018-2019

2020

In 2018, we threw ourselves a big curve ball and decided to reconfigure the layout a little by adding in a second staircase, linen closet, home office and kitchen pantry. I also got the urge to repaint the kitchen cabinets, so that was an unexpected refresh as well! 

2016-2017

2018-2019

2020

What we tackled in 2018: 

  • Add a new staircase
  • Build a linen closet, home office and pantry
  • Prep an area for the master bathroom shower (on the other side of the pantry, there’s a space that as of now, will be the shower… but that could change when we dive into that project)
  • Repaint the kitchen cabinets
  • Install new windows on either side of the soon-to-be fireplace
  • Install a new window in the entryway

2016-2017

2018-2019

2020

Last, but not least, 2019. We kicked off the year with an impromptu remodel of the entryway. Much to my dismay, white just doesn’t work in our home. It photographs so beautifully, but in terms of function… Well, not so much when you live on a lake, have two black labs and are in the midst of a construction zone. So, we tore out the built-ins, built new ones and painted everything darker.

2016

2017-2019

2020

What else happened this last year: 

  • Installed shelves in the pantry
  • Finished the home office
  • Built the fireplace
  • Demo-ed the kitchen and started building the island 
  • Gave the master bathroom a budget-friendly refresh
  • Tore out the remainder of the carpet, with the exception of our master bedroom

2018-2019

2020

Four years. 

1,460 days. 

35,040 hours.

original bathroom

2016

2017-present

Exhausted? A little. 

Excited? Absolutely.

Ready to see what will come our way this next year? You know it.

2016-2017

2018-present

2016-2017

2018-present

As always, thank you so much for following along with us on this crazy renovation journey. Never in a million years would I have dreamed we’d be sharing this project with a kickass community of supporters. 

Cheers to this next year being the best one yet!

 

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Related posts:

Default ThumbnailThe New House: A Tour Two and a Half Year House-iversary Tour The Three Year Home-iversary Tour

4 Comments

Previous Post: « A Kitchen Renovation Update
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brie says

    March 1, 2020 at 5:35 am

    You guys are amazing! What awesome progress! 🙂

    Reply
    • North Country Nest says

      March 1, 2020 at 9:41 am

      Thank you so much, Brie!

      Reply
  2. Lindsey Finch says

    March 2, 2020 at 8:22 am

    This is so awesome! I’ve been following your kitchen updates, but had not seen ALLL the updates that have happened. My little family is currently in the savings process and trying to decide where exactly to start with our list of renovations/updates!

    Reply
    • North Country Nest says

      March 2, 2020 at 5:04 pm

      I am so happy you’re following along, Lindsey! And congrats on starting the process – good luck with the planning!! 🙂

      Reply

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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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