so far so good

Construction work continues to move along smoothly with no major roadblocks (yet). If pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll assume you'd rather see some highlights rather than read my roughly written inadequate descriptions. Here we go:

Thanks to some wisdom and encouragement from my parents, we decided to open up the kitchen into the adjacent den even more than we intended (mainly for costs, but we now think it's well worth it.) Originally, we were going to double the width of the doorway (shown in pink), but will now open up all the way across the sink (shown in red).

The basement has now been waterproofed and the walls were framed.

Hard to believe this little section made up the most significant costs of this whole project. Installed sump pump and plumbing for a full bathroom in the basement

Found this little gem on Amazon for the master bathroom, and thought it was too good to be true ($1,200 and includes marble counter top, sinks and faucets.) Pleasantly surprised to find it all in one piece, decent quality and a great fit!

daddy do list

If you know my father, you know that he loves projects! Growing up, I just assumed that all men were naturally handy around the house and antsy to help out. After marrying, Andrew, I quickly realized that is not the case (sorry hun; I love you).

My parents are coming down for a visit next week, and although likely premature, I am compiling all sorts of projects which I hope he'll enjoy and which Andrew and I will definitely appreciate.  Here are some highlights, mostly thanks to Pinterest (click here to follow me: http://pinterest.com/jenniferrosen/)

Brilliant for storing all those awkwardly shaped platters and serving dishes:

With limited pantry space, these roll out drawers are a must. The chalkboard would be fun too!:

This just makes sense:

And, finally, one for mom. Or maybe she can teach me?:

some more "before" shots

Biding the time this week (while I'm home sick and demolition continues), by watching the house virtual tour (pre-renovation) over and over again...the music is actually sort of catchy. Enjoy! http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?sk=13&t=2517824

it finally feels real

Andrew and I went over to the house yesterday to check out the first week's worth of work, and take the pups for a leisurely walk around their new neighborhood.

While we know the renovation will take a lot of time (at least 3 months), the demolition seems to be on schedule and their were no unexpected obstacles during the first week. We are cautiously (and naively) optimistic this uneventful trend will continue.

Since the only required real demolition is in the master bedroom and basement, the two areas were certainly the focal point of the first week. Upstairs, in our future master suite, the wall between the original small bathroom and closet has been removed. The room will now be prepped to serve as a much larger, master bathroom, complete with a water closet, stand up tile shower, garden tub and double vanities.


The basement, which is where the most significant work (and, of course, expenses) will occur, is also starting to come around. The area beyond the beams will serve as a guest suite with a private full bathroom and bedroom. The central area will be Andrew's man cave and we are already brainstorming about a scarlet and gray color scheme.

And for those of you who have not seen the house in person, the majority of the basement is above ground (as you can see from the window in this picture) and leads out to the heart of the home -the backyard. I don't think we can quite call it a waterfront property, but the view is certainly beautiful, and the sound of the fountain doesn't hurt either.

first "big" decisions

Thank you for all of the positive feedback and encouragement! We are so glad that our friends and family are enjoying (or at least doing a great job at pretending) our home renovation adventures.

Construction did indeed begin on Monday, and seems to be off to a strong start.Yesterday I took a midday field trip to the cabinet showroom to pick out cabinets and counter tops for the bathroom and kitchen. Many people have warned that house renovations decisions upon decisions upon decisions. As anticipated, I was of course forced to make decisions about things I have never once thought about, including how I want the granite rounded, what color I want the finish inside the cabinet to be, how many panes I want the glass cabinet doors to have, etc. (by the way, if  anyone has any guidance on these perplexing questions, please do let me know, seriously!)

Eventually though, I did get to make some fun decisions, which are all contingent on the final price quote we get from the cabinet guy.Teetering back and forth between my dream world, and our budget realities, I did come to the following conclusions.

For the kitchen, we are going to do white cabinets to match the existing cabinets already in place. As for the surfaces, I'm actually leaning towards a high end version of corian, which is a man-made solid surface alternative to granite. While the price ranges are similar, corian, comes in many colors, including some beautiful white slabs with silver specs, which are a perfect fit for the clean/all white kitchen I'm aiming for. This picture shows the Iced White I'm leaning towards along with a comparable granite piece I also like (River White.)

As for the island, we are going to order unfinished cabinets and bead board and our general contractor will paint them a shade of seafoam/turquoise similar to this chip. We'll save some money on the unstained wood, and will also get the pop of crisp color I'm looking for.

Finally, for the bathroom, I think we will go with cream cabinetry and a matching speckled marble for the counters. I'm also keeping an eye out for good deals on traditional all-in one bathroom vanities which are a bit more unique and actually comparable in price.

tomorrow's the big day!

Construction officially commences tomorrow. The first two weeks will be dedicated primarily to demolition, which I totally intend to participate in. I'm envisioning one of those standard demo clips from a HG TV renovation show where the couple get to take out their frustration and stress on the walls of their home. Actually, on second thought, given my track record, I should probably sit this one out. Knowing me, I'll find some way- some how- to hurt myself.

However, I do plan to fully participate on an afternoon trip to the cabinet showroom tomorrow. To keep things on schedule (or at least attempt to) I want to get our cabinets for the bathroom and kitchen ordered this week. I can only imagine that my first showroom trip will be a tad overwhelming, but also a lot of fun. 

The current cabinets (left image) are white, and we intend to preserve the current ones, and add in an extra full wall along the back (with glass faces). We are also going to install an island in the middle of the kitchen, which will include more cabinet/counter space and also a desk to serve as my control center.

I'm going for a traditional white/clean look, with a couple pops of color (perhaps turquoise for the base of the island?) 

seeds of change

"Before" photos of a few other rooms. Can't wait to have the "after" shots!

Master Bedroom and Bath:

The blue carpet has got to go and the light fixture too. The other changes will just be decor (thinking a peach, gold and white color scheme) and an an amazing yard sale find: a cherry wood canopy bedroom set.

Our goal is to make this bathroom a real master bath. We'll blow out the wall which will double the size of the bathroom, to include a water closet, double vanities (a must), garden tub, and a tile shower with bench. While the expansion will consume our current closet, have no fear, we are converting a small adjacent bedroom into a...wait for it...walk-in closet, Cribs style!


Dining Room:

This charming room with largely remain the same. Just a good paint job and a fantastic chandelier we found in Atlanta, inspired by our good friends, Ari and Rachel.

a sneak peek

Our renovation construction will officially begin on Monday (fingers crossed). Actually, it was supposed to start last Wednesday, but delays are unfortunately very typical in this process, and I'm sure this is just the first of many. On the bright side, I was gifted a little extra time to get this blog started...how generous of our contractors.

In an attempt to share this journey with our friends and family, I'll start posting current photos of the house in its pre-renovation state. Please feel free to share ideas and feedback as we need all of the help we can get! I'll also post some of my inspiration shots shortly as well as a way to bide time and anxious energy.

The Kitchen:

Our plans include widening the entrance to open up the room, replacing the counter tops, exchanging the laminate floors for wood, adding new appliances (including a farmhouse sink-a personal fave), installing additional cabinets and an island, and of course, removing that atrocity of a light/fan fixture. Does anyone want it!? 

The Den:

We (rather our contractors, obviously) will paint the wood wall paneling (white or taupe), remove the popcorn ceilings (throughout the entire house), mount a television on the fireplace, and transform half of the room into an eat-in kitchen. The wood ceiling beams (and matching built-ins, not pictured) are fantastic and will definitely remain.

Stay tuned for more rooms...and more work!

and so the journey begins...

The honeymoon phase has not worn off. Andrew and I moved to Charlotte just over a year ago and we continue to fall more and more in love with the city everyday. After six years in Washington, D.C., I finally came to the conclusion that I'm just not cut out for big city living. And I think Andrew would also agree.

Charlotte is just a much better fit for us. It's a perfect fusion of small(ish) southern(ish) hospitality with the cultural perks and opportunities of most big(ish) cities...all packaged into a totally manageable medium-sized metropolitan area.

When we first moved down, we settled into a convenient and very affordable apartment complex, with the intention of eventually buying a house. As we anxiously awaited the sale of our D.C. condo, we began to discuss and debate the ideal location, size and style of our future home. Andrew was  willing to compromise on location to find a newer home, with great bang for the buck and all the modern luxuries that just frankly make life easier. I, on the other hand, a lover of every old, wanted to compromise on value, and purchase a much smaller/older place, closer to the city with big trees and lots of character, but likely to quickly be outgrown.

Shortly after embarking on the search process, thanks to a new friend's recommendation, we found a neighborhood which offered the perfect compromise. Located about halfway between the city and the newer suburban areas, our future neighborhood was developed in the late 70's with a mix of diverse and unique houses, lots of green space, and best of all, an abundance of large tree canopies. If we are going to live in Charlotte, we should feel like we are living in Charlotte, right?

To make a long story short, we found our Old Yellow, a real canary diamond IN THE ROUGH, and with a little love, patience and lots of renovations, we are confident it will (eventually)transform into our dream house...and so we are tracking the journey (which will hopefully not last TOO long!)