Barbara wrote us a little line and asked, “I’m kind of new to you and curious about your house. Can you tell me what all you have done to it?” 

We’ve done it all. ::laughs in delirium:: I wrote this post a year and a half ago, and looking back, I realized that it could really use an update. I decided to share some fresh summer photos of our house, along with this little tour, so everything is in one place here. 

before

after {see our latest tour here for all things garden!} 

I’ve always compared renovations to “If You Give a Mouse A Cookie.” You know, that beloved children’s book where the little mouse asks for things, and the boy grants his requests because one thing leads to another. That’s what all renovations feel like since everything is connected. So here’s a brief history of our home: If you give a house a renovation. It’s nice to have everything in one place.

A few things to remember before we begin this not-so-little recap:
• I tried to keep it succinct, which is impossible because it’s an almost-nine-year journey. I didn’t necessarily go in chronological order, but tried to explain when. I left out all the musical bedroom and the wondering-if-we-can-do-this parts. It’s a lot to cover and may be the longest post in the history of ever.
• Good things take time. They don’t happen in a commercial break with twenty bucks like TV would like you to believe. It takes patience, time, blood, sweat, and tears. 
• Once I photograph my house, it doesn’t stay photo-ready. Things change. Real people live here. My toxic trait of the past is pretending they don’t. I think my oldest leaving home to attend college really altered my views on this in the past year. One day, my house will be empty and no one will live there. I’m striving to embrace the moment. 

We purchased this little house in 2016 for the yard + school + pool. It required a significant amount of work and had been somewhat neglected. Since then, we’ve quadrupled our value. Taking it from 1650 square feet to over 3700. We’re on septic, and if you’re familiar with that, the codes in your area can be a little limiting. And by a little limiting, I mean absolutely ridiculous. We have clients who waited two years JUST to get started, {see their latest update here!}. We initially moved in with dreams of completing the renovation on our own house with a primary suite just off the kitchen. We also wanted to finish off the garage into a functional basement for our home. It kind of grew from there because, at first, we were told no by the local septic department. {Pssst… if you’re curious about what we do, check it out here!} 

before – foyer and formal living room

Phase 1: While we waited for permission to take on the basement, we initially tackled the main floor, converting four smaller rooms into the Great Room, which includes the kitchen. This included taking down the walls, along with removing the ceiling to add height. 

And here’s what those views look like now!

This was the original kitchen. It was a smaller space, where the original cabinets had been painted, but that was it. We ended up moving the walls, and making space for a second window so that both were centered on the space. Adding these stained glass windows were icing on the cake.

We’ve lived here for nearly 9 years now, and I still adore our kitchen. 

We also took on the upstairs bedrooms. Initially, all three kids slept in one room {they were still elementary ages}, and we took the old primary bedroom. We also used one of the bedrooms as an office since we both work from home. Then, when we finished the basement, the younger two shared a space, while our oldest moved into his own room. After our final addition, they were able to all spread out in 2022. Here are their rooms now: 

before

Check out more of it here. 

Here’s a sweet photo of him when the room was complete, circa 5th grade: Still one of my faves. {Total aside, but check out his first apartment, here. Time flies.} I do feel like this preppy little room aged well with him over time. 

Our youngest’s space is here so click over for all these details, as well. We started with this red that threatened to burn out my corneas. I believe it took four coats with primer to cover it.

After the kids spread out, it became this. 

One of my favorite features in the house is their shared closet. Total E.T. vibes, but we knocked out two tiny spaces that were back-to-back and gave them more space with the redo, along with connecting the closets. In an older house, this was a game changer. Here’s a peek from his side into his brother’s space.

And our middle is here. We were able to spread out once our primary was finally done. We joke that she pulled a Mean Girls. “It was my parents’ room, but I made them trade me.” 

Byeee, weird grease spots on the walls. Here’s what we started with, and check it out here. 

This wall and bathroom configuration before. 

And here’s the after – it made much more sense to bump out the space and lose the “hallway/alcove” for a larger closet + slightly larger bathroom. Check out her bathroom here. 

And the boys’ shared hallway bath, which now looks like this. 

before

This shower changeover is still my favorite part. 

Somewhere after the craziness that first fall, we were able to move in. The following spring, we built the handmade hideaway for the kiddos. 

Phase 2: After that, we were granted permission to do our basement. Initially, this also included our temporary laundry corner, but that also changed with the primary addition. It also holds my office. Here’s a quick tour, including our new updates. That old space is now a closet! Again, a big deal for an older home with limited storage. It’s been a while since I’ve shared some updated photos of this space, so it’s fun to showcase a few of them here. It’s served us well throughout the years.

Before

The perfect spot for teenage gatherings, slumber parties {those sofas double as fold-out beds}, movie nights + more. 

This odd garage had death doors that would slam down, along with a weird side door. So we lost the door, and finished off this space to work hard for us with all our comings and goings. 

This open space here also makes for a great makeshift home gym, as we learned very quickly in the 2020 apocalypse.

Again, this was our laundry corner in the meantime. I ran away from some serious spiders in between laundry changeups before it was finished, since this was our only option. We opted for a tankless water heater to save space—a recommendation we always offer to our clients. Also, a game changer with teens. This closet holds camera gear, samples, + supplies galore. An essential in our house. {See a bit of an updated tour here.} 

And my little “cave” office has come a long way. It really was so crusty before.

Phase 3: While this was going on, we took on a much-needed exterior makeover with Window World. I’ll come back to that below, but this was also a game-changer for the appearance of our house. 

Here’s an outside view of that basement renovation. 

Phase 4: After that, we decided we hadn’t had enough of the chaos and added a pool room. This idea evolved from a screened-in porch to a full-on addition, and we adore the extra square space it’s given us for entertaining, a studio space for me {again, I have more plans for that one} and a makeshift dining room. See the initial reveal here, but once we added the primary suite, it definitely changed this wall. 

After the primary addition, we added this deck – the outside is an ongoing project. Here’s a look at the pool room.

This door leads back into our great room.

Phase 5: After this, we took a breather and began the process of building our primary suite. Then Covid happened, and we all know how that went. We’re not known to sit still for long, so since we’d initially restored our pool yet not done anything beyond that, we decided it was time to spruce up the back. 

First, we added a much-needed side patio + privacy wall. – This links to the initial post, but the updated version is here. 

Then, we tore down the sad old fence, and expanded into our acre yard with a new, larger one. We also added 75 new shrubs and trees for added privacy around the perimeter. Our mixed-breed herding} dogs were so grateful. Clearly, we thought we were going to go crazy, but we were also thankful for this time to dive back into our own home. We also saved about 8k by doing it ourselves.

And while that was going on… we decided we needed more of a dedicated area on the back for entertaining. A Covid Cabana was born. I guess you could say that since the kids are all teenagers now, this ended up being the perfect choice for their space. And also for Jamin, who likes to watch a lot of football in the fall. 

Before we restored the pool or did anything to the back

After

Our youngest was just 6 years old when we moved here. He doesn’t remember many of the before shots, other than his red room, and was a bit appalled when I showed him more of these befores. He just said, “You did good!” Mission accomplished. 

We stayed busy in 2020. 

Phase 6: Then, about a year later, we were given actual permission to build our primary suite. So we busted through this wall on the far left of the kitchen, and everyone was finally able to spread out. 

This addition was a new build, similar to our pool room, and we worked closely with our architect to incorporate several key features. That means it was built {cleverly because you really can’t tell} on an angle. We were very limited in our abilities but we’re grateful for the chance to spread out. See more details in the posts. OH! AND as if we’re not gluttons for punishment enough, we redid the floors while all the rest was going on. That’s because of a leak we had in the kitchen the winter before, but it also gave us an opportunity to match up everything minus the back room + basement, where we are still glad to have tile. We literally moved out and then moved back in. The great summer adventure of 2022. We get a lot of questions about that finish, so be sure to check it out here. Walking through the hallway, you’ll see our butler’s pantry + laundry space. 

After living with a crusty basement corner for so long, this is definitely a place I will never take for granted.

One of my favorite aspects of the house. You can see more about our primary bedroom here. 

Which leads to a small hallway where you’ll find both our closets. 

Here’s a brief tour of mine. It’s truly the little things. Though it is time for another purge. And our bath, here. 

Because we finally have a bathroom connected to the pool {it’s so very nice due to our previous limitations-kids were tracking all through the house just to use our upstairs hallway bath} we built a deck with Yellawood to connect both additions on the back. 

And… we finally brought major curb appeal to the front with a makeover via Yellawood + Glen-Gery Bricks as well. It changed the way our front yard feels. Here’s an update from this spring, featuring a roundup of our plants we’ve planted here.

This one blows my mind. Taken shortly after we moved in… our youngest was headed to school that morning. He’s taller than me now. 

We truly love this little house that we aptly named the money pit, and the literal blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into it. If you’re still with us, we hope this gives you a little idea of what we’ve taken on in our own home! It was a long one, I know. We’ve been through our own renovation, so we truly understand how our clients feel in the process, and work with clients to find the best solution for their own homes. For a more in-depth look, explore the entire series here.

Let us know if we can help you in any way, and check out more of what we do, here. Have an inspired day!