OK so...It has officially started. The mother of all projects is under way. First up: the kid's bath. We didn't realize until we moved in that the kid's bath is... well, it sucks. The toilet tank wouldn't fill up all the way, which meant that the toilet wouldn't flush things down. The paint on the fiberglass tub is cracking and the drain stop doesn't work either which means that it was a pain bathing the kids. I came up with a few temporary solutions for the problem, but we decided that that bathroom is definitely Project #1. So since we're working on a bathroom, we may as well work on the half bath. That one (we lucked out) only needs to be updated.
So at last, pictures of our house(The Befores)
Our house is built in the Territorial style with the brick trim on the parapet and top of walls. We're planning on keeping it true to it's architectural style on the outside, but on the inside... well things will get a Renatha touch. Ps: Mike's too. ;) The floor plan lends itself to modern living, and since we're all about that it worked out great for us. All bedrooms are on one side, and the entertaining on the other. There's a big sun room which was an addition, that has become the mess/toy room, the family room is pretty big too and off the kitchen. We're going to open up the two rooms to each other as much as possible, I think. I'm still not 100% sure about that, because right now, it's really convenient to close everything up and watch a movie without any sound leaving the room. The living room and dining are open to each other and adjacent to the kitchen, which at this time still has a dining nook.
We bought our house for two main reasons: 1. Location, location, location. 2. # of bedrooms. It's really hard to find a house as big as 3100 square feet in Santa Fe that HAS four bedrooms. I mean, those of you who have lived, tried to rent or buy a house in SF know that the size is not necessarily the problem, the problem is getting a decently priced home with that kind of square footage AND the number of bedrooms. In terms of location, we couldn't have asked for better. We are located a stone's throw from the hospital(one of our friends that works there, can see our house from where he works), we're maybe 1.5 miles to Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Whole Foods, BODY(my new favorite hang out) and Mandrill's Gym (Mike's new hangout). It takes me 7 minutes with the lights to get downtown to take Isaac to preschool. In another 2 years, he'll get to cross the street to start Kindergarten. The elementary is literally across the street from our house. Our lot is over half an acre, which gives us a lot of room to play in(we're even considering keeping the dog run for Isaac to run some of his energy). And another plus to our lot is the foliage, we've got a lot of mature trees!
So as sure as the sun comes up every morning, this won't be the last time someone calls me crazy. I'm planning on being very active in the remodeling, not only in the design phase, but also when it comes to the grunt work. Mike has tried to convince me otherwise, but I have to do this to prove to everyone that I can, or to prove to myself that I cannot. Although he's still completely against it, Mike is supporting my decision to work on this bathroom on my own and has agreed not to say "I told you so" when I give up and hire someone to do the remodel.
How bad can one bathroom be? Today I easily took out the kids toilet, which was not a problem at all. I have kept the door shut to that bathroom until today, but unfortunately for me, Isaac still has managed to sneak in once in a while to relieve himself, which means I get to fix the problem. I have hated it! Now the problem is temporarily solved: no toilet. The only issue now is figuring out where to pile up my demo trash. I think I have a couple of options for a demo compost, LOL!
So at last, pictures of our house(The Befores)
Our house is built in the Territorial style with the brick trim on the parapet and top of walls. We're planning on keeping it true to it's architectural style on the outside, but on the inside... well things will get a Renatha touch. Ps: Mike's too. ;) The floor plan lends itself to modern living, and since we're all about that it worked out great for us. All bedrooms are on one side, and the entertaining on the other. There's a big sun room which was an addition, that has become the mess/toy room, the family room is pretty big too and off the kitchen. We're going to open up the two rooms to each other as much as possible, I think. I'm still not 100% sure about that, because right now, it's really convenient to close everything up and watch a movie without any sound leaving the room. The living room and dining are open to each other and adjacent to the kitchen, which at this time still has a dining nook.
We bought our house for two main reasons: 1. Location, location, location. 2. # of bedrooms. It's really hard to find a house as big as 3100 square feet in Santa Fe that HAS four bedrooms. I mean, those of you who have lived, tried to rent or buy a house in SF know that the size is not necessarily the problem, the problem is getting a decently priced home with that kind of square footage AND the number of bedrooms. In terms of location, we couldn't have asked for better. We are located a stone's throw from the hospital(one of our friends that works there, can see our house from where he works), we're maybe 1.5 miles to Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and Whole Foods, BODY(my new favorite hang out) and Mandrill's Gym (Mike's new hangout). It takes me 7 minutes with the lights to get downtown to take Isaac to preschool. In another 2 years, he'll get to cross the street to start Kindergarten. The elementary is literally across the street from our house. Our lot is over half an acre, which gives us a lot of room to play in(we're even considering keeping the dog run for Isaac to run some of his energy). And another plus to our lot is the foliage, we've got a lot of mature trees!
So as sure as the sun comes up every morning, this won't be the last time someone calls me crazy. I'm planning on being very active in the remodeling, not only in the design phase, but also when it comes to the grunt work. Mike has tried to convince me otherwise, but I have to do this to prove to everyone that I can, or to prove to myself that I cannot. Although he's still completely against it, Mike is supporting my decision to work on this bathroom on my own and has agreed not to say "I told you so" when I give up and hire someone to do the remodel.
How bad can one bathroom be? Today I easily took out the kids toilet, which was not a problem at all. I have kept the door shut to that bathroom until today, but unfortunately for me, Isaac still has managed to sneak in once in a while to relieve himself, which means I get to fix the problem. I have hated it! Now the problem is temporarily solved: no toilet. The only issue now is figuring out where to pile up my demo trash. I think I have a couple of options for a demo compost, LOL!
I LOVE IT!!!
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