You may be wondering why I haven't been around much.
Wait, who am I kidding? Even my family probably wouldn't notice if I was absent for a few days so let me rephrase:
Here's what I've been up to lately.
The photos that you see here are the final drawings for what I've been referring to for the last ten months as "Phase 2 of the renovation at the French Farmhouse." In reality, this is the portion of the renovation where the true transformation from "1950's red brick ranch" to "French Farmhouse" will take place.
Over the next several months (probably around ten), 3/4 of the existing foot print of the house will be gutted to the studs and all of the existing rooms (with the exception of the new dining room) will "change places". Through it all, the house will remain a three bedroom, 2.5 bath home and YES, we ARE living here during construction!
Bedrooms will become a kitchen, the kitchen will become a bedroom, current bathrooms make way for a new hearth room. Why? Well, I haven't gone into too much detail until today but this house has a bunch of problems, some of them serious...some, just annoying.
Things like the fact that the windows have been caulked shut for so many years that the wood frames have rotted to the point that they can't be repaired. Or the fact that ice forms on the electric outlets in my bathroom in the winter. Or the fact that condensation runs down the walls in the hall in the summer.
The list goes on...and on...and I've spared you the "really bad" stuff. Trust me, there is NO OTHER choice...well, except tearing it down...which I won't do...because I LOVE this house!
So, I've been working with an incredibly talented architect named Dennis Parsons who has, over the last ten months, "engineered" my vision and found a builder named Dan Roberts who is almost as excited to do this project as I am.
We're currently applying for building permits, and clearing trees...and removing a pond and thirty foot stream that was built against the house and eighteen inches above the top of the foundation...which is a part of the reason why the crawl space filled with water last fall when it rained. Not glamorous stuff...but necessary.
Today, my back yard looks like this. To most people, this is not a pretty sight. To me, after almost twelve months of waiting, it's beautiful!
I hope that you'll stick around for the next few months while things aren't lovely and there's not really any decorating to share. I'll be doing a few projects and I'll also be sharing the process of selecting tile and fixtures and designing the new kitchen and bathrooms. I truly appreciate every single one of you and the fact that you're here.
Bring on the construction fence! Let's DO THIS!
