Progress report: Week 6

The attic/bonus space is being framed, and it's amazing how it changes the entire look and feel of the house. It's technically only a half-story, with about 450 square feet of livable space, but on a small house that makes a very big difference.

Progress report: Week 5

We have walls!

(back of house--master bedroom on left with opening for French doors)

(office)

And stairs!

And a second floor!

Don't worry--he had to hold hands with a grown-up every second he was up there. Except for when I took this picture, of course.

Progress report: Weeks 3 & 4

Week 3 - If destruction is progress, then we made great strides this week. The crew keeps finding more rotten wood, and the walls keep coming down.

Remember when we called this our kitchen? And our bathroom, and the laundry hallway? Now we call it outdoors.

Week 4 - Subfloor is going down and the addition we've only seen on paper is starting to become reality. This is our master bedroom and bath-

This will be the office and mudroom/laundry area. And check out our sweet garage in the background! When this is all over it might a) not be ready to fall over if leaned on and b) actually hold one small car.

Progress report: Week 3

This used to be the "master" bedroom--barely big enough to fit our queen bed and a desk. It's being expanded by several feet, making it about the same size as the other existing bedroom.

As you can see, contrary to my husband's assertions otherwise, staying in the house during the renovation wasn't really an option.

Progress report: Week 2

Hallway

Existing bathroom (will become kids/guest bath)

Kitchen

Backyard--prep work for foundation for the addition

Not much progress on these kids, but I'll keep working on them.

Let's get this party started

Finally!

Kitchen - open shelving

While we wait (and wait, and wait, and wait) to start work on the house, I'm working with our architect and Ryan to choose interior finishes. That's the most fun part for me, and while Ryan acts bored with most of it, he does have opinions and most of the time I listen to them. Case in point: We've decided to include open shelving on either side of one window in the kitchen, and he strongly prefers stainless shelves over white painted wood (like our cabinets). I like the stainless look as well, and fortunately Ikea has several options so it's affordable.

I especially like this last example because I want the shelving to be more practical, holding dishes and glasses we use everyday, than decorative. This is such a great cross between functional and pretty.