I love everything house related. Throughout the past five years of our marriage we have bought two houses, renovated one, and are in the process of fixing up the second. And I'm not talking tear down and rebuild from the gound up. We just like to take houses with good bones and showcase their full potential. Our first house was built in 1941 and was a super cute cape cod complete with three dormers and an adorable porch. My Dad described it as 'cottagey'. I think that was his way of saying 'good luck 'cause you're going to need it!'. So maybe we were a bit naive. So maybe we tore out the (only) bathroom a few weeks before our wedding day. However that little house taught us SO much about who we were as individuals and as a couple.
Our first house - Before
Our first house - After
This house definitely saw it's fair share of our blood sweat and tears. And frustration. For instance the porch posts, seem so innocent and simple, right? Not so much. The old ones were rotting/ugly/in dire need of replacement so I found this lovely inspiration image on the internet and told Aaron we have to have this. Design it. So he did and we did. But only after much work and tool purchasing :) The crazy part is we spent about 2.5 years pouring ourselves and our savings into this house. And then one day we realized it's 1100 sq. ft. worth of living space was far too small for our future endeavors (enter photography business!). The for sale sign went up on a Thursday and the house was SOLD by Saturday. We already had an offer in on our new house when the sign went up and thought it was highly unlikely it would sell in time. We told ourselves that if it did then my business was meant to be and it was definitely written in the stars.
The new house was a perfect next step. It's a raised ranch so the finished basement walks out onto a big patio with great backyard views and huge old trees. I envisioned the downstairs 4th bedroom as an office and the other area as a client meeting room. It has a fire place and all! But I knew it would take some work for it's full potential to come into fruition. The work is now done and I LOVE this space. I have yet to take 'after' photos, so that will be an upcoming post. The neighborhood is perfect: quiet and great for walking. And the kitchen...love. The only thing I didn't love was the exterior. It is a very simple 1960s ranch-style with pretty ugly orange brick on the front and half the sides and back. I instantly knew it had to painted. I envisioned a black roof, gray brick/siding, and black accents (shutters, etc.). So after two (not-so-patient) years of owning our home, I am happy to report the ugly orange is gone and the black(ish) roof is on. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing my visions become reality! And thank God Aaron is on board with my crazy ideas :) I can't wait to share the final before and after images when all the finish touches are on. And, trust me, I am the queen of finishing touches so I can't wait to share with you guys!!
The primer is on! Priming is such a thankless job since it's on for a very short time and then just gets covered over again. Our poor neighbors thought this was the actual color we were leaving it. We must really scare them.
Aaron elbow deep in paint. Although he did manage to color-coordinate himself with the equipment. We own a paint sprayer which (so far) has made this job amazingly better. I think after ripping out all the baseboards in the ENTIRE house and re-installing newly painted base and trim he has the 'if you can't beat 'em join 'em' mentality. Thanks babe, glad you're joining me :)
The new color!!
This is some serious eye candy for me.
I literally decided on a color in a few days. And only compared two. Unlike the first house, it took me several months and about 10 colors!
Consider this a during picture. I'm not showing the before and after until it's all spit-shined and beautiful. Plus, the chimney still shows evidence of the old color. Aaron didn't trust me to paint the chimney because he was worried I might fall. In reality, I'm pretty sure he was concerned that I would spill paint all over the new roof. His concern is valid.
The first plant purchase! We ripped everything out last spring, which made the house extremely ugly and our neighbors hate us more, but it was all in preparation for the painting. Plus the shrubs were old and overgrown.
I will definitely be sharing more from our house renovating adventures since it's such a HUGE part of our lives. So stay tuned for many more of my crazy ideas!!
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