Thursday, May 10, 2012

Remodel: Before & During - Phase 1, The Master

Alright, I'm going to let you in.

Yes, that's right....you are going to take a virtual walk through of 'before' pictures,
 as in - what my bedroom and living room looked liked before the chaos set in.

And now, during the chaos.

Boy, are you in for a treat, because after this tour you are going to look
 around your own house and say, "Damn...and I thought we were tacky!"

A little background: 
We, Hubbypants and I, didn't always make the biggest effort
 to decorate. Furniture is/was often purchased used or handed down. 
Meaning, until recently we've taken the dorm-life approach to furnishing our home. 

We are not starving students, nor are we JUST starting out 
our lives as a married couple, so the whole hand-me-down/cast off look?
 Yeah, that shit has got to go.

Oh, that doesn't mean wasteful...nope, I'll buy used if it is what I want and the price is right. However, my kids are teenagers now and my home isn't cluttered with toys. 
This remodel is our time to turn up the maturity, spread around some tastefulness
 and start making our home the way I (as in ME) want it.

It's going to take some time.

Anyway, let's begin the tour at the front door, shall we?

(click on images to enlarge)

 When you walked in the front door (as seen on the right),
this was your view. Giant red couch via Craigslist, which 
is now oodles of years old. 
There is a pretty good chance the couch won't fit
after the remodel. Too bad...(sad face, but not really).
 
This is the rest of the view (there is the back of the couch), but now
you see my beautiful (and now destroyed). It's hard to tell, but beyond the bookcase
is a notch in the wall that sticks out a couple of feet - it is our current
master closet. Everything is going to encroach into this front room by
7 feet...stopping just before the window you see in the background.

Here is the current view, from the same spot: 
 There's the front door and the lovely plastic dust drapery. 

You are now greeted by a wall when you enter the house.
 Perspective is hard in pictures, because it isn't as close to the 
front door as it seems. It is half rocked right now, 
because they are using it as an entrance to the construction
zone instead of traipsing through the house into the bedroom. 
This wall will be sealed toward the end of this phase of the project. 

Confused yet? 
You kind of have to be here...
Anyway...

Now let's head to the master bedroom.

 This is the view from the door. Remember that 'notch' in the red wall?
Yup, this closet is it. We took the awful doors off years ago. And, aren't you lucky
to get a glimpse in all of its raw, cluttered, unkempt glory! (wasn't a question)

This is the view from the closet...where you can see the 
other closet...and the hand-me-down dresser and the Nagel poster
I gave Hubbypants before we were even a couple - back in our 'roommate' years. 
That poster has been hanging in that spot for 19 years, never moved.
 Want to guess how much dust was on the back of it? 
No...no you don't, 'cause you'll gag...I did.

Let's look at our master suite now, in the 'during' phase:

Here I am again, standing at our bedroom door...
Straight ahead is the door into the sink vanity area.
To the left is the shower/toilet area that will be divided by
a pocket door. 

 And that old, ugly closet area next to the poser? G.O.N.E.
You can see the header and for now you'll have to imagine the 
pocket door that will go there. That's MY closet...

 This? This here is a closer look at the sink vanity area, which will
sit just below that glorious sun tunnel - LIGHT!!! LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!
They installed another one in our hall bathroom, which will be remodeled during
phase 2. I am kicking myself for waiting so long to 
install one of these. I'm blissfully happy now that I can
pee in the middle of the day without having to turn on a light! 
Interior bathrooms suck, BUT with sun tunnels I can now potty 
while basking in the glow of natural light. 
 Yay me!
OH! Almost forgot, to the right there, that will be Hubbypant's closet. 
Yup, he can get up in the morning and do all his bathroom duties, 
showering and dressing, without disturbing my beauty sleep.
I need my sleep, y'all.

 Our new, much larger, shower! Complete with creepy work
coveralls and mask! They won't be staying...

And the potty will go there...where the black
hole in the floor is now. And, above the commode will be 
a window! 20 years we've lived in this house
and we will finally have a window in at least
one bathroom. 
Giddy...I haz it! 

So, that completes the tour. We are one week into the project, 
with 9 - 10 more weeks to go.  As nice and wonderful as the crew have been,
 I do want them to be done, like now.
But, I can be patient a bit longer.
The end result will be worth the wait.
Take it from me, don't wait 20 years before tackling big projects. 
Make your home what you want, as much as you can,
right now.

Oh, one last thing...a picture of our temporary bedroom, right 
smack dab in the middle of the family room, next to the kitchen...

Yup. 

Stay tuned...after pictures to come in a few(ish) weeks. 
I hope.
Please, dear whoever runs fate, destiny and all things lucky,
let it only be a few more weeks.

Peace out!

10 comments:

  1. Well, it's a much shorter walk when you want a midnight snack! ;)

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  2. Cool ... but I only see about half the pictures (no idea why). I like your red couch. Its better than my beige couch covered with a colorful old sheet (to hide the dog chewed parts). One of these days I'll get myself a new couch.

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    Replies
    1. We have 3 cats...I totally understand!

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  4. Now I can see the pictures. I'm not very good at filling in virtual pottys and showers though. I just see wood and cement. It reminds me of watching HGTV though :-) Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

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    Replies
    1. I know what you mean, it is hard to picture the end result. I. Cannot. WAIT!

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  5. Hubbypants2:10 PM

    The bed in the family room is growing on me. Notice my side of the bed is neatly made.

    We have bought nice furniture. We just replaced with with a practically new red monster that came from a house no bigger than the room it is in now.

    To be fair, we are a single family income in a stinking expensive housing area. we ate a lot of rice and ramen for a while. Things perked up a bit but paying for the remodel means more rice and ramen.

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    Replies
    1. I'm so surprised you did not mention the ungrateful beasts that destroyed our leather club chairs we bought a few years ago. Yeah, I guess we do have to re-think buying 'new' with cats!

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  6. I love the pictures... doing construction and watching the transformation is so much fun... even if it is so messy and stressful... fingers crossed all stays on time...

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