Ten Years In Our House!

Final week, Matt and I quietly handed a milestone in our house. Ten years! It’s arduous to imagine that we’ve been right here a complete decade, and even tougher to imagine that I’ve been engaged on this home for that lengthy, and I’m nonetheless not completed! 😀

Why has it taken me so lengthy? Effectively, the home in determined want of a full down-to-the-studs renovation. There’s not a single room that hasn’t been torn all the way down to studs and ceiling joists, and a few of have even been torn all the way down to flooring joists. Each room has been rewired, and has gotten new insulation, new drywall, and new home windows.

I’ve had assist alongside the way in which, but when I needed to estimate, I’d guess that I’ve performed about 85% of the work on my own with my very own two arms. I’ve not solely performed demolition, rebuilding, a number of the drywall, refinishing flooring, putting in home windows, and all of that type of work myself, however I’ve additionally adorned every room, together with portray, stitching, upholstering, constructing furnishings, making paintings, and many others. In different phrases, I’ve taken the final ten years turning a really tough canvas into a wonderful (to me) house that fits my adorning and design style, and works functionally for my wheelchair-bound husband with M.S.

It has been fairly the journey, with loads of blood, sweat and tears alongside the way in which. I’ve had my share of trial and error, outright failures, but additionally loads of victories. And in hindsight, I can let you know that it’s been effectively definitely worth the effort.

After which there’s the educational alongside the way in which…OH MY GOODNESS, the educational! Once I look again to the place I used to be once we purchased this home, I can’t assist however to chuckle. I used to be so excited to have my very personal home that I might DIY my manner via, and on the identical time, I used to be so unbelievably naive. I had completely no thought what I used to be getting myself into, or what I used to be committing myself to. Ignorance actually was bliss. Had I identified that ten years later, I’d nonetheless be working my manner via these rooms, I truthfully don’t know if I might have taken on the problem. So in a manner, I’m grateful for my ignorance again then! With out it, I could not have my stunning (to me) house at present, and all the rewards of realizing that it’s a results of my work with my very own arms (with the assistance of many alongside the way in which).

So let’s check out how far the home has come since we purchased it in August of 2013.

The primary time I noticed the home, the entrance porch alone was virtually sufficient to make me flip away — the outdated concrete porch, the 2 entrance doorways, the rotting wooden help posts, the outdated home windows that wouldn’t open, and the vinyl siding. It was virtually an excessive amount of. However I used to be decided to show it right into a welcoming entrance porch.

One in every of my largest disappointments was that this home didn’t have a separate entryway. I had actually needed a separate entryway, so I attempted my greatest to create the texture of an entryway within the lengthy lounge.

From the primary time I noticed it, I knew the lounge wanted a fire, so I constructed a pretend one between the 2 facet home windows. And whereas it took me a number of tries to get this room proper, I lastly did it.

The music room was supposed to be a eating room, however having a desk and chairs on this room would have been a hindrance for Matt in his wheelchair. So I made a decision to show this room right into a music room in order that the center site visitors space might be left open.

The hallway initially had a really slim cased opening, and never one, however two closets in it. I eliminated each, widened the cased opening, and constructed a brand new cupboard.

The hallway rest room is as soon as once more getting a little bit facelift, however the main rework was performed years in the past. It was the second room I transformed on this home, after the kitchen.

The visitor bed room continues to be getting used as our fundamental bed room till we construct our addition. With a view to accomplish my imaginative and prescient for this room, I had an exterior door eliminated, a window eliminated, after which I constructed two new closets.

The second bed room was initially wooden every little thing. Wooden ceiling, wooden partitions, wooden flooring. I made a decision to show this into a house fitness center, utterly sans wooden.

The unique master suite was utterly repurposed and is now our grasp rest room, full with an enormous curbless bathe that’s excellent for Matt.

The kitchen was the primary room I transformed on this home, and it was like leaping with each toes into the deep finish of the pool. I had by no means performed something like this earlier than, and I needed to be taught in a rush and stretch my DIY abilities additional than they’d ever been stretched earlier than.

The room subsequent to the kitchen was initially one massive, open room. I turned the entrance a part of the room right into a breakfast room (which is presently and briefly getting used as a sitting room till we construct our addition).

I walled off a 12′ x 7′ part of that room on the again and turned it right into a walk-in pantry. This was my first time to construct cupboards utterly from scratch.

And at last, our authentic storage underwent in all probability probably the most dramatic change of any room in the home. What was a darkish, soiled storage (pictured beneath after the storage doorways had been eliminated) is now a piece in progress, however is popping into the prettiest studio ever (in my humble opinion 😀 ).

There was a lot extra — far more than I might ever put into one single weblog put up — that has transpired over the past ten years. What a decade it has been! And I’ll simply maintain plugging away on the home till it’s completed, which is able to in all probability be by no means. Are houses actually ever “completed“? 😀 I feel our hallway rest room, now on its third makeover, is a fairly good indication that our house won’t ever actually be completed. It should will at all times be evolving. I’m, in spite of everything, hooked on adorning. 😀 The title of my weblog is what you name fact in promoting, my mates!

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You’ll be able to be taught extra about me right here.