The Condensed Version

WELCOME

PROLOGUE

Begin with the end in mind is most important when remodeling a home.  I'm not an interior design person with vivid pictures in my head of what a room or house could look like, so my husband and I took the long road to fixing up our home one picture in mind at a time and we learned so much along the way. 
Cooling down the colors and allowing the wide open windows a chance to shine inside became our vision. We guided ourselves by these thoughts:  "This feels good" or "No, to bold or bland."

Chapter 1 (10 months)
The heavy bold yellow master bedroom changed to a cool sea foam green and we felt rested. The bathrooms of blue flowers  became various shades of sea foam, and the investment in a hand held steamer saved our marriage! The green stripe and flowered dining room wallpaper and complimentary kitchen decor changed to cool greens and one soft rust accent wall.  New carpet in the LR revived our spirits and bare feet. Next, we tackled the laminate counter top. Out with the old and in with the new granite. I still smile when I see the specks called butterfly wings shine in the sunlight. 
Then we rested.






Chapter 2 (12 months)
Yard work consumed our warm sunny days. We knew only a vision of color in our large backyard, but did not know which trees and shrubs to purchase. A team from Marcum's Nursery drew up a plan and by summer our eyes began to feast on greens, yellows, reds, and pinks. A sudden 3" summer rain storm showed us the need for immediate storm drainage in our sloping back yard. Fall gave us the opportunity to gaze at our brilliant burning bushes, and say "that's good."




Chapter 3 (12 months) 
Through love and loss we took time for ourselves, and added a bit here and a bit there.

Jack's handiwork.

Chapter 4 (12 months)
Traveling adventures here and there, golf games everywhere filled our souls with memorable delights. A new tiled bathroom and walk in shower updated our home and allowed the master bedroom area to be complete. 

Master bathroom.

Chapter 5 (12 months)

12" shiny cracked tile

To fill our home with even more light we began the year with new storm doors, that would allow us to have spring and fall breezes drift through our home. Our dark brown door  changed with several coats of turquoise paint and I smiled, ready to welcome friends. Five new ceiling lights comforted our older eyes allowing us a better view. 

With the sun on our backs we glared at the 12" shiny tile that wove throughout our home. The dark grout seams defined the linear space. The time had arrived, we needed new tile, oh my! 

In the beginning

Worth the wait

 

Five months of planning, nearly four weeks of destruction to construction, while we moved into the bedroom. So funny, reading in my closet, using the tub and shower to store cooking utensils, piling items nearly to the ceiling on the dining room table and then covering everything with plastic. May I add we didn't use nearly enough plastic, nor did we know to tape it down. 

The dust from the jack-hammered tile
flew everywhere, as I had been told. I didn't expect to find it inside my kitchen cabinets, but I did. The dishwasher ran night and day after the house was finished. 

Last week after Christmas as we were cleaning the kitchen, we moved the black refrigerator out from the wall and discovered that it had been put back as dusty as every. Ack! 

New base boards and door frames added splash to the house, but we weren't done yet. The guest bathroom already with new tile received a new quartz counter-top.  The last three rooms received new carpet, and once again we moved furniture here there and anywhere. Cheers and celebrations were in order. 

Cheers, to our remodel.

EPILOGUE

All of this moving, shuffling, and rearranging of storage places uncovered several stories.  When the dining room was spilling over with plastic tubs of memories from my parents and grandparents, I hit a personal brick wall and cried.  The responsibility for our family's memories weighed heavily on my shoulders.  Our daughter, Katy, heard the weariness in my voice. One evening she and Shaun arrived with their truck. Seven plastic tubs of scrapbooks, labeled zip-lock bags of pictures, and memorabilia were loaded into their truck. An old broken mahogany mirror will soon be refurbished and hang in a new home. Those stories are not all buried merely dancing through our lives as reminders of love and the passage of time. 


Happy New Year and may your door always be open to Possibilities.