One Year Progress Report

This week marks the one year anniversary of the day we sold my first house and purchased our first house as a couple.  We moved out, closed on the sale of my first house, handed over the keys, closed on the purchase of the new house, took possession of the keys and moved in all within 12 hours.  I would not advise ever doing that. The following days weren't quite as crazy.  But we have kept ourselves busy over the past 12 months renovating and updating our new abode.

Looking back, we made many improvements on the house throughout the year.  It's been a crazy year since we were planning a wedding at the same time, but we made it through and we've loved every minute most minutes of it.  The new house has great bones, yet we purchased it with the idea that everything will be updated. Eventually. We've been able to hire help on some projects in this current home thanks to the equity I earned from the sale of my first house  - but we kept our costs low as we still DIY much of it.  Hiring help has allowed us to get more done throughout the past 12 months than had we taken it upon ourselves.

We currently live in a 2,000sq ft ranch with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths located in Rochester Hills, MI.  And we hope to make this our dream home perfect for our current family and one we can grow in for years to come. Our long term plan (5-10 year plan) is to take advantage of the 1,500 square feet of space below level once our family starts to grow; the basement will almost double our living space which will come in handy down the road.

Entryway
The original entry just needed a little freshening up with new paint.  We painted the front door black to add some drama.  And swapped out the lighting and the hardware with updated versions with an oil-rubbed bronze finish (the light can be found at Home Depot here).  One of the first projects that we hired out was floor refinishing.  We salvaged all the original oak hardwood floors throughout the house and had them sanded down and refinished in Dark Walnut with a semi-gloss poly coat.  We also updated all the yellowed outlets and switches, door and window casings, and baseboard trim throughout the house. 

This is my first time sharing the black front door.  I was in the process of painting our family room French doors, and it seemed like a good time to paint the front door in between coats.  I have yet to paint the exterior side of the door; the weather makes that impossible right now.  That's an update we will do once Spring breaks.

The Living Room
The living room is the first room that was officially usable. We needed a space that felt done while the rest of the house was in a chaotic state. We removed the window seat, replaced all the trim and casing, painted the mantle and the fireplace.  We painted over outdated sponge paint on the walls with Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (which also extends into the dining room and through the kitchen).  All of the living room furniture is from our last house; we just have much more space for it here!

This year, we plan to tile the fireplace surround and replace the hearth (with leftover floor tile from the family room).  We also plan to replace the trim below the cove with a crown molding.  Down the road we may repurpose this room as a formal dining room now that we have a large family room. I know formal dining rooms are going out of style right now, but we would really like a larger dining table to seat 10+ for larger gatherings.

Speaking of not having much space to seat large parties, here is our original dining area.

Dining Room
The dining room was originally a closed off area only open to the living room.  We opened it up to the kitchen by removing a portion of the wall.  Our kitchen didn't have an eat in area before, so this change really opened up the space and made our house feel more connected.

The Family Room
This was one of our biggest undertakings yet.  This large space was a deterrent to many buyers on the market (it sat for 6+ months) because while it was considered 'finished,' there was no heating/cooling source, and it was rough looking (to say the least).  It felt more like an breezy garage with windows than a living area.  We hired out raising the floor, running air ducts through the basement wall and through the new floor joists, removing a window, raising the sliding door, insulating, hanging drywall and supporting the ceiling.  We saved some money by laying the subfloor, installing the tile, and painting.

 

 

We still have a lot of plans for this room.  Which include a wet bar, gas fireplace, and tying up some loose ends.

The Kitchen
Other than having the floors refinished, this was our first big project in our new house.  Which we started less than 60 days of purchasing the house.  The project took us 3 months, and we still haven't decided on hardware for the cabinets.  We demo'd the old kitchen, restored the original cabinets (by painting and customizing a few), ordered new appliances, removed the soffit, painted the trim and walls, and installed a backsplash.  We hired out the installation of hardware floors, the electrical, ductwork, trim, and shelf below the cabinets and ordered new counters.

 

 

 



 

Sunroom
We tossed the drapes, replaced the hardware and ceiling fan with oil rubbed bronze fixtures, and painted the walls and ceiling with some fresh colors to brighten up the space.  We also had a storage bench built, and hung organizers to help make this room function as a mudroom as well.  This room is used as our main entrance into the house and we needed a functional space to catch the dirt, shoes, and coats.  This room will see more transition in the short term future.

 

 

 

 



Guest Bathroom
In between updating the rest of the house, we snuck in a quick update to the spare bath.  We added planks to the wall, painted the vanity, and swapped out the mirror and hardware. It was an quick and easy fix to a blah bathroom.

 

Master Bedroom
Our focus over the last 12 months has been on the main living area of the house - ignoring the bedrooms.  Just after our wedding, I felt the instant need to give our bedroom a little bit of a makeover.  I shopped the unpacked moving boxes in the basement ordered new drapes and put together a decorated room more fit for newlyweds.  This is one room I'd like to redo again soon, but for now it'll work for us.

 

 

 

Pergola

We inherited a pergola just off of our sunroom.  The landscaping had been neglected and the pergola needed some cleaning up.  We controlled the overgrowth, added some new perennials, mulched and created a barrier between the landscaping and the yard.  Then we built a table and hung some bistro lights. 

 

 

 



 

We were able to get through a lot of the big renovations in 2014 - it was a crazy busy year and we really miss our friends.  This new year will bring about some more updates - like interior doors (on order, baby!), a new office space (already in the works), and a lot of changes in the back yard once the Spring thaw hits. 

 

The word of 2015 and the theme for the year is ENJOY.  We want to enjoy our home and our moments together and with our friends.  We have plans to knock a few things off of our #babybucketlist this year - travelling, going out to eat, happy hour... and maybe planning a nursery sometime down the road. 

 

What are you planning this year?