Given that my last reno-related post included a snap of The Bookshelf of My Dreams I thought it would be interesting to list the things that we had originally wanted to include in our home reno and struck off the list for budgetary purposes. There are a bunch, but off the top of my head I know it includes:
- a wood-burning stove/fireplace
- main-floor laundry (this was removed from the list pretty early because it was evident it wasn’t going to be cheap) and then it evolved into a…
- a laundry chute
- … which dropped the laundry into an improved laundry area in the basement. Guess what? Our decrepit laundry area has not changed one lick.
- a pergola where the old garage used to be
- custom shelving in the basement
- a pretty pond/water-feature in the backyard (it seems ridiculous to even mention this, but if I’m being honest I might as well also mention that I secretly wanted koi in there too.)
- professional landscaping/fencing
- … and here’s a biggie: awesome new furniture. Ha. Ha.
Smart people budget for new furniture in their reno (imagine!). We naively thought our furniture would “do” for the time being but it’s clear to me now that upgrades will be in order sooner than later. We did manage to snag some great deals on appliances from Universal – so that’s good – including this gorgeous duel-fuel GE Profile stove:
… and I can’t wait to see it in place.
We definitely need to buy stools for our breakfast bar, a couch for the family room, and some kind of unit to house our PVR, DVD player and the video games, but that will have to be it for the time being. I would have loved for the girls to get new beds and writing desks but it’s not going to happen right now, and let’s not even discuss the cost of window coverings. Hint: it’s crazy expensive. :(
I’d hate for this post to be all about the stuff we don’t have, because that’s not what I’m thinking about at all. I am immensely grateful and happy with the things we were able to keep on that dream list: that bookshelf, an amazing mudroom for a busy family of four, a cedar garbage and recycling enclosure, an awesome back deck, a gorgeous kitchen (it’s going in this week!), and a stunning family bathroom that features The Best Shower Ever.
Custom renovations are a funny thing, aren’t they? Every single one is as unique as the people who live there and reflects their wants, their desires, their dreams.
I know a lot of people reading this have recently completed renos or are slowly planning their own. I’d love to hear about some of the things on your “want” list. Is it a hot tub? A walk-in closet? Granite counters? A treehouse? :)
p.s. I’m slowly updating the set of reno photos over on my Flickr page. You can see them all here!
This post is sponsored by Swiss Natural, however opinions remain my own. This is not about selling a product, but a discussion about an important topic. Please read on!
I like to joke that when I gave birth to the girls my energy reserves left me at the same time. Honestly, I think that I have never fully recovered from the years of sleep deprivation. Or maybe I’m just old. Gah.
Interesting thing… if mom is tired, really tired, the family starts to fall apart. Perhaps I am generalizing (and dads, please don’t take offence!) but I think on the whole this is true. Let’s see… on my worst days I can’t pull it together enough to clean the house, do laundry, get my work done, buy groceries, make meals, take care of my kids, or even take care of myself.
There is mental energy (“I am SO TIRED of picking up after you guys!”), and physical energy (“I don’t think I can walk that far”) but the more I think about it the more I realize the two are closely intertwined, if not one and the same.
When you have energy it’s easier to deal with the things life hands to you, whether it’s another pair of dirty socks at the front door or a larger crisis. And that’s why, over the past couple years, I have been trying to figure out my Perfect Personal Energy Formula. Here is what I’ve figured out so far:
Read the rest of this entry »
We are in the home stretch now and I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m heading out to buy doorknobs today. Seriously. This is what my life is like at the moment, but I realize that I’m better qualified to buy doorknobs than bang together a new bookcase.
Speaking of which, here is My Dream Come True, coming to life:
I’ve always wanted a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and here it is. I still can’t believe it. The spaces on the far right are very deep. Those will be reserved for board game storage although I’m considering giving the bottom right one over to Piper to use as a wee dog house. :)
Yesterday I went into my reno archives and read some of my older reno posts. We’ve come so far. For example, the mudroom. At first I was determined to have Marmoleum floors. Then we considered vinyl. Then we found a gorgeous honed travertine tile. Then we found out we’d need to have a subfloor installed if we wanted to move forward with the travertine. And so then we went to porcelain instead (which we probably should have chosen in the first place) and found the perfect tile at Lowes for only $1.68/square foot. (You can get a peek at that here.) So that part of the flooring is getting finished today, which is a relief because we’ve spent an incredible amount of time talking/planning/shopping.
At the moment I’m fretting about landscaping, namely the driveway and side walkway and it’s taking up quite a bit of my brain. I’ve written about my personal conundrum with driveways before. Personally I’d like a grass driveway (there’s a very good post about it here) and it’s been done in Ottawa before but A Certain Someone does not agree with me. (Just think how much water we’d stop from filling the sewers if everyone had a grass driveway!) Sadly, one can probably assume those special grid-like tiles that go under the grass are expensive.
Thus I find myself at a driveway-related crossroads, and it all needs to be figured out fairly quickly.
- We only have one car and the driveway should comfortably host one car but also a second one if we have visitors.
- Interlock is out of our budget.
- I kind of hate black asphalt. It looks so harsh to me.
- Fine gravel or crushed brick might work. At least it looks more natural, but it might not work well in our winters.
Here’s a sketch of what the area looks like. I think I’m going to need to suck it up and have to pour that asphalt over the parking pad and up to the side-entrace steps. Maybe the right side of that part of the driveway (leading to the backyard) can consist of a pea gravel path and lots of planters? Gah. I don’t know. Got any good ideas to toss my way?
