home renovation update #2.

I’m happy to announce that our home renovation has come to an end! Actually, who am I kidding? I begged my construction team to let us move in on December 1st, because we had to be out of our rental or else we would have been charged extra per day and because I just wanted to be back in my house and start to feel normal again in time for the holidays. Part of me now regrets the decision to move in early, because there is still so much to get done which is holding up our getting settled.

Up until this point, the renovation process has been fairly smooth with only a few delays and hiccups. But I swear, the last few weeks everything that could have gone wrong has! The kitchen tile was on back order, two of the appliances were delivered in the wrong size, a 20 foot beam for our living room went missing {don’t even get me started on that}, shower doors and mirrors were delayed, our gas insert in the living room never got installed, my closet shelves came in damaged …there is more but I may start to lose you if I continue. Needless to say, I’m starting to realize why people say renovations never go as planned. But we are starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel!

If you’re new around here, you can read the home renovation update #1 post to get some context of what we did. Overall, it took about 5.5 months to complete {by the time every last detail is finished it will be 6 months exactly}. Considering what we did, that is really fast for this market since the construction business is booming in Seattle! I was so happy with our contractors and the entire team over at Remodel Pros. They took amazing care of us and always remedied the situation if something came out different than we had hoped. We did a lot of custom work, like stained wood vanities, custom pantry shelving, shiplap, etc. so they worked with me every step of the way.

Overall, I would say this process was exactly what I expected, although I do think I underestimated how many decisions I would actually have to make. I keep saying I, but really it was a collaborative effort between Wes and I. I’m just lucky enough to have a flexible job where I could be here every week meeting with them to make sure things were done correctly. That being said, it was pretty much a full-time job and now that it’s almost over I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all this free time. But I am so incredibly proud of this home and how it all came together. Along the way, I think Wes had some doubts, although he trusted my design aesthetic he kept saying I had never done this before so how was I sure it would look good and flow together? I just knew. I didn’t hire a designer or even an architect, I only worked with a small design firm that helped put my vision on paper based on the square footage of our lot. From there, I really took it on as my baby and picked out every piece of tile, hardware, flooring, plumbing fixture, door handle, window style, you name it! To say this completion is emotional would be an understatement because right now, this home is basically my second child! I can’t wait to fill the space with new memories of our little family and entertain friends and family for years to come.

what I’ve learned

If you’re thinking of doing a remodel I would highly suggest it just for the mere fact that you get to make it everything you want. But make sure you find an amazing construction team and get help with design finishes if you don’t have a lot of extra free time. Also plan to go about 10-15% over your budget. As much as you try to stay on budget, there is always something that comes up that you weren’t expecting, or things you decide to splurge on because in the long term it will be worth it. In our case, that was a brand new HVAC system with A/C, larger outdoor patio, porch addition to the front of the house, a new beam for structural support, replacing our wood burning fireplace with gas, all new insulation, new roof and raising the ceiling height. Overall, I am so happy with our decision and can’t wait to show you the finished product very soon! Thanks for following along this journey! It’s been so much fun sharing it with you, and to all of you who have messaged or commented on social media - I love that you are just as invested as I am!