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Yet Another Sunroom Update!

by Erin Loechner November 30, 2011 6 Comments

Our sunroom deadline has come and gone (clearly we have increasingly poor time management skills), but I still wanted to check in to share our progress. After all, it’s not every day you see a transformation from bare studs to framing, windows, doors and siding – in just under a month! Indeed, a lot has changed since our last video tour!

And with that, we’re off to prepare for some insulation magic! We’ll check in with another video update next month – complete with finished drywall and insulation. In other words, it will almost look liveable! My estimate? We’ll be completely finished by February. But you all know exactly how my estimates work….

Giving Thanks, Renovation Style

by Erin Loechner November 23, 2011 4 Comments

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a few minutes showing gratitude for this crazy renovation that has been trying, rewarding, surprising and endlessly satisfying. And after a quick walk down memory lane (including my Thanksgiving post from last year!), I realized I owe an enormous thank you to you, readers, for experiencing this adventure with us.

It's been a long road since these days...

So, in an effort to share my endless appreciation for the support, comments, encouragement and more that you have all shared in our quest for renovation finish line, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite renovating moments – and a few I’m thankful are behind us!

I still get butterflies when I see this table!

1. Building A Dining Room Table
I’ve dreamed of a massive farmhouse table for years and years, so to own one (that was handmade by Ken!) is such a treat. I love that we can host our entire families – and then some – for family functions, impromptu dinners and random game nights. Isn’t that what makes a house a home?

Still a work in progress, but such an improvement!

2. Nearly Finishing Our Laundry Room
Yes, you haven’t seen an update in a bit because we haven’t progressed on our finishing touches, but I can’t begin to explain how grateful we are for a working washer/dryer. Earlier in our renovation days (remember this?!), we dreamed of the moment we could wash our rags, sweatshirts and rugs in a machine on-site. And to have our laundry machines in a room we paneled ourselves? Icing on the cake.

My bright and sunny office.

3. A Working Office
I spend so, so much time behind the computer, so having a working, inspiring office has been such a blessing this year. Long gone are the days when I’d work at coffee shops while Ken power drilled his way through studs and drywall!

4. Our Kitchen Makeover
I’m so proud of the space planning, lighting and architectural changes we made in this kitchen. Plus? Our wallets (and waistlines!) are loving that we don’t have to order take-out and delivery during huge remodeling projects. Bonus all around!

And, of course… a few memories I’m grateful to bid adieu to – forever!

1. Mold Remediation in the Basement
This one needs no further explanation, right? Ugh.

I am sooooo thankful this is over!

2. Siding our Exterior
Oh my goodness. The heat! The math! The torturous 12-day project! I am so, so grateful that we never, ever have to side our house again. (Knock on fiber cement!)

3. Living in Two Places
I’ll be honest – as blessed as we were to live offsite during part of our renovation, it was really, really difficult. I’m so happy to be living in our own home – even amidst renovation dust and chaos. Nothing beats the joy of being in a space that you’ve built for yourself!

As for future gratitude, I’ll be endlessly thankful when our sunroom project is done, our basement makeover is underway and all of the finishing touches throughout the rest of the home are in place.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! What are you thankful for this year?

Video Update: Our Sunroom Progress

by Erin Loechner November 2, 2011 10 Comments

We’ve had some crazy beautiful weather in our neck of the woods, which makes our sunroom renovation that much more enjoyable! Of course, there have been some kinks along the way (one of which we’ll share in the below video), but things are looking up. Care to see our progress — including a rendering of what we’re hoping for?

We’re still finalizing our furniture decisions – what do you guys think? Husband is leaning toward bench seating under each window, but I’d rather have a sectional seating arrangement (with ottomans) and a bistro table by the fireplace. Help! (And when I say help, I really mean convince Husband that I’m right. Right?)

Design for Mankind: The Great Garage Cleanout of 2011

by Erin Loechner September 21, 2011 12 Comments

OK, friends, I’m going to get real with you today. Because the fact of the matter is that during a renovation, your home becomes a war zone. And because my dear husband and I can’t handle living among shambles, we’ve designated one area to unload all miscellaneous tools, paraphernalia, and… well, junk. That area, friends, is our garage. Exhibit A:

The dreaded before.

Oh dear. I cannot believe I just shared that image with you. All of you. Goodness gracious. Please be kind to me, Internet. Because for the past year, we’ve treated our garage like a landfill. I’m just as horrified as you are. Trust me.

And although I dream of a glistening, organized garage someday, I know that, realistically, we’ve still got a long way to go before that day arrives. After all, we still have a full sunroom and basement renovation ahead of us, and I’m quite sure our garage will become the holding zone for drywall, beams and plywood.

Yep, still embarrassed.

Still, there is no excuse to live in such utter chaos. So a few days ago, Ken and I tackled a serious clean-out extravaganza. I won’t tell you everything we unearthed, but I will say the list included an abandoned art project, half-used bottles of hand sanitizer and much, much more.

Luckily, we also stumbled upon the previous homeowners’ kitchen cabinets that we knew we’d saved for a reason. With zero investment and a few nails, Ken and I now have a fully functioning closed storage solution for paint, tools and renovation supplies. Wanna see it?
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Tour Our Sunroom – The Before (Ugh, an Embarrassment!)

by Erin Loechner August 31, 2011 9 Comments

Ken and I must really like you guys, because today we’re showing you our home’s greatest embarrassment: the sunroom. Promise you won’t judge us, OK?

We can’t wait to transform this space into an extension of our existing living room and an additional seating area for entertaining. Be sure to check back as we make progress in the next few months!

Tell me, friends, what would you do with this space? Are we on the right track?

Before & After: Our Laundry Room Progress!

by Erin Loechner August 10, 2011 27 Comments

You remember our laundry room, right? The second scariest room in our entire home? (Don’t worry, you’ll see the first – our sunroom – next month!)

Still in progress, but a vast improvement.

Well. I’m pleased to announce that our laundry room is no longer scary. Not even a bit. And in case you need a visual reminder, here’s the before, photographed last winter:

The frightening before...

…and a progress shot, photographed today:

Embracing the Imperfections

by Erin Loechner March 2, 2011 17 Comments

“Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.”
-Author Unknown

I had a bit of a nervous breakdown this weekend. With the impending move (the first weekend in April—yes!) and out-of-state guests coming for an extended stay in mid-April, I furiously took stock of each item on our ever-growing to-do list.

Our in-progress guest bedroom, complete with missing door handle, unfinished trim and an uncovered switch plate.

Progress Update: An Almost-Kitchen!

by Erin Loechner January 26, 2011 17 Comments

Look at our beautiful cabinets!

A few days ago, our cabinet guy (the proper term, I’m sure) finished installing our lower cabinetry and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Cabinets were one of the few jobs we chose to hire out, mostly because dear Ken is a massive perfectionist (if you didn’t realize from our flooring debacle!) and we’re both aware that building precise kitchen cabinets ourselves would call for an estimated move-in date of July. In 2018.

I should tell you up front that these cabinets are not what they seem. They’re insanely special, fully equipped with slow-close hinges. Fancy, yes? I’ve been repeatedly slamming them since they were installed last week, completely in awe of how magically slow they close (even when faced with full force bashing from me)!

We chose all-white kitchen cabinets (surprised?) to flow seamlessly with our Pure White Caesarstone countertops. In fact, the countertops are being fabricated as I type this and I am bubbling over with excitement. Until they’re ready, of course, I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of the kitchen layout and design as it is today:

Ready, Set, Peek!

Our Second Big Mistake: Master Bedroom Insulation

by Erin Loechner November 10, 2010 13 Comments

So. I shared with you our first big renovation mistake, and since then, I promised myself we had learned our lesson and that everything would be smooth sailing from then on. And it was. For awhile. I mean, we managed to successfully draft a pretty awesome lighting plan, outsource our drywall project and plank our ceilings. And did I mention our two-week-long siding project? No? Well, I’m mentioning it now. Gold stars for us on that one. Big time.

Yet we did run into a bit of a setback this week, and by setback, I mean a completely moronic series of decisions on our part. Like most things in our home, we decided to tackle our master bedroom ceiling with no experience whatsoever. And this was no small project. I wanted cathedral ceilings with low, exposed beams in a natural and ebony stained palette similar to this lovely photo from my inspiration board:

Find Out What Happened Next

Look! We’ve Made Progress (Video Sneak Peek)!

by Erin Loechner September 8, 2010 18 Comments

This summer has been a total whirlwind on the renovation front, and I have myself to thank/blame/curse for that. Remember when I mentioned we’d be tackling the complete transformation of my home in five months? Well, dear readers, it has been twelve months. Twelve fat, ugly months. And I’m tired.

But! There is a lovely Scandinavian light fixture at the end of the tunnel, and today we’re showing you a bit of progress. I do, however, have to take two tangential pathways before I let you see this video:

1. Progress should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, we still have no walls. And it hurts me more than it hurts you, trust me. BUT. Husband has assured me that the foundation/construction phase of a renovation is (a) the most important and (b) the most time consuming. Which is code for “Our-children’s-children-will-have-to-tear-this-house-down-because-it-is-so-darn-solid.”

2. I am not blind to the fact that my hair gets shorter with every video. We’ll chalk that up to the fact that showers are now a luxury, as I’ve sold my soul to hardware stores and adorable toolboxes.

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