New House Update + BEFORE PICS!

Picture this sweet little cottage ALL WHITE, with black trim, a freshly-stained porch, and eventually a white metal roof.

I've been banished to our 'town house' today while Josh lays tile in our master bathroom and Brent (best-friend's-husband/our-remodel-construction-guy) lays flooring in our dining room at the acreage. Apparently they didn't want to have to work quietly during Mav's 3+ hour nap. Oh, you can't have a quiet construction zone? You can't use a saw quietly? FINE WE WILL NAP AT HOME BUT YOU'RE KILLING ME.

Anyway, I thought I'd check in to say I *believe* we've hit some sort of halfway point. At least in my head we're halfway. We're a month in, and also a month out from moving in...so we're technically halfway whether we like it or not.

Here's just a real quick rundown of what we've accomplished, followed by the amazingly dreadful 'before' pictures I know you've all been craving. Please note, we've had HELP from friends and family members throughout this process so when I say 'we' I mean WE ALL, not just Josh and I. ;)

And when I say 'old part of the house' and 'new part of the house'...it means the original cottage-y house was built in 1934...hence the arched doorways, glass knobs, and hardwood floors. The 'new' part was an addition from 1989 (?) where they 'remodeled' the kitchen, added the vaulted dining room + laundry room + + master bed/bath AND the basement walk-out + family room + bedroom/bathrooms underneath the addition. 

We removed wallpaper in four bedrooms, a bathroom, the kitchen, and the vaulted dining room. We tore carpet out of the entire basement, the dining room, living room, three bedrooms, and a bathroom (yes, GROSS). Removed linoleum + subfloor in the 'new' part of the house. Removed tack strips/staples in the whole house. Took down doors, removed all hardware. Patched holes in the wall, sanded walls, oil-base painted all walls where wallpaper existed, and then Brent came to texture three bedrooms + our master bathroom. Removed countertops from kitchen + master bathroom. Josh cleaned out both of the outbuildings that were semi-full of crap and we threw all of this into a giant dumpster that we never dreamed we would fill all the way (including 20+ bags of pure wallpaper) It's scheduled to be picked up Monday...and it's. full.

All of that qualifies as 'demo' in my mind. The rest of the process has been way more fun because we've started to see the transformation, especially this week with floors going in upstairs!

All of our basement trim was sanded, oil-primed, and then painted twice with my top coat color choice Sherwin Williams, 'Clear Gray.' ALL the ceilings in the basement were trimmed and painted. All basement walls were trimmed and rolled twice (this includes the family room, three bedrooms, a landing area, and a bathroom...so you know what I mean when I say 'all basement'). Colors used were Sherwin Williams 'Stone Isle' and 'Hammered Zinc.'

Brent laid the hardwood laminate flooring in the basement landing walk-out area, and then carpet arrived last Thursday! We chose a super durable carpet from Nebraska Furniture Mart in a warm gray color with a subtle grid pattern...the color is 'Lucid' and I'm SO happy with how it turned out. It's not typical basement carpet (the super plushy, fuzzy kind) because I just have this feeling that the 'frizay' look is on it's way out...I also don't like how it wears in high-traffic areas, specifically stairs.

After we finished the basement we started working our way through the upstairs...our master bedroom/bathroom trim was all oil-primed, then painted twice. Both ceilings were painted. I painted our vanity twice with a Valspar mistint color I found at Lowe's, so I can't tell you what it is, but it's amazing (also painted the guest bedroom built-in while I had the color out). Our bathroom was painted twice Sherwin Williams 'Pure White' followed by our bedroom, painted twice with 'Stone Isle'...the color that's going basically everywhere. I painted our closet ceiling/wall/shelves with 'Pure White' also.

Our laundry room is between the dining room and our bedroom, hidden with a pocket door...again, trim was painted with oil then two coats of 'Clear Gray,' ceilings were painted, and walls were painted 'Pure White'...the 'closet' part of the room where the laundry is hooked up is painted 'Hammered Zinc.' Meanwhile, Josh replaced every light fixture and light bulb in the whole house.

Last weekend we FINALLY moved out to start painting the dining room! And it. was. a. beast. First the ceilings were trimmed and painted. Then all the trim got it's three coats of paint...then we painted the walls twice with 'Stone Isle'. Lots of time spent on ladders. We've officially whipped through TWENTY SIX GALLONS OF PAINT. I fell through a window. Nbd. It's done and Brent is laying the floor in there as I type! But I will never paint that vaulted room again, not as long as I live. It's a good thing I love the color.

Josh will finish laying the tile today and one of us will grout tomorrow. Brent wants to have the laminate-hardwood floors laid in our kitchen/dining/master bed/laundry room by the end of the week! I'm moving in to paint the kitchen tomorrow and living room from there...living room ceilings were painted last weekend, so I can't wait to get my hands on transforming that room. Hopefully by the Super Bowl, it will be DONE also!

It seems like we've done a lot (and we have!) but there is still so much to do. Painting the kitchen cupboards, painting the living room, hallway, two bedrooms, and a bathroom (trim + walls!)...then refinishing all the hardwood floors in those rooms. Dressing up the fireplace with shiplap above the mantle and whitewashing the stone. Brent will do countertops in the kitchen and master bathroom, along with subway tile in the kitchen, replace a few windows...our plumber will replace sinks/fixtures, etc. Josh will put all the trim back...and it will *seem* like we're done...but then I have 14+ doors that need to be painted matte black and re-hung. I am not touching them until the end...I'll just plink off one at a time and be really relaxed about it. If the play room doesn't have a door until June we will live.

Ummm and then also...I'll need to power wash + seal/stain the wraparound deck/porch. And once weather permits, we will be painting the exterior of the house white + black trim. It's a marathon that we're sprinting but it's fine. I'll stop and just give you what you came here for, the BEFORE PICTURES.

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Living Room

Master Bathroom

Guest Bedroom

Bathroom

Family Room

What's Saving My Life Right Now

I can't fully and accurately describe everything that has transpired in the past six weeks since we offered on our house, came under contract for said house, then closed on that house, and immediately started renovating the house. All in the middle of celebrating Christmas. What is our life. It's six weeks I certainly won't ever want to relive (and the following six will be 100% survival mode as well) but we've half-survived this renovation aaaand at some point I'll recount the whole process for you. But today is not that day.

Anyway, Jen Hatmaker asks this question to all of her guests at the end of every one of her podcasts (more on that later)...'What's the ONE thing that is saving your life right now?' and it can be frivolous or serious or anything you want it to be...I have three. And here they are:

1. Chick-Fil-A.

Are you even surprised. We opened our mail the other day to find that the owners of our Ames CFA had sent us a giant envelope with the 2018 Calendar + a handful of gift cards for meals and desserts and even a catering tray. I almost cried. They were just sending a simple Christmas thank you to all their partners and vendors (Josh does their lawn + irrigation + snow) without having any idea HOW MUCH OF A BLESSING THIS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR HOME RENOVATION. I immediately saw at least four solid meals I wouldn't have to juggle or 'plan' (or pay for!) for the three of us when we're always on the go and living/working between houses. The timing literally couldn't have been more perfect.

2. Podcasts.

Thank you LORD for the invention of podcasts prior to this home renovation. While we were deep in the throes of renovating the last acreage four years ago (which we still own...it's currently a rental, the plan changed at some point and I didn't updated you all which has led to some confusion...it's a whole thing) all we had was crappy Pandora for hours on end. Now I have an endless choice of episodes and content and really amazing stuff to listen to while I'm painting my life away. I throw in Cornerstone and Village Church sermons here and there to keep things interesting. It's made the time go by SO FAST while I work!

For the Love with Jen Hatmaker
Risen Motherhood
JourneyWomen
The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey (she interviews a lot of celebs who are Christians and I can't get enough of it)

3. Our people.

Our people are the best. My prayer is that I can turn around in March when we're done with our house renovation and be as good of a friend to our people as they've been to us. It's caused quite a bit of self-reflection as I wonder if I've been as quick to serve and help and offer my time selflessly as my friends and family have. When I walk through our house I can point to rooms I've painted and projects that have gotten accomplished already because someone was willing to come help or keep Mav for a morning so we could work...and I love that I'll remember that forever!


More than anything, our heart behind this whole crazy project is to open our home to anyone and everyone. Josh is already brainstorming the best way to sleep the most people under our roof and host giant family gatherings and it's so precious. As I've spent most of my week painting and listening to podcasts I also spend time praying over each room (I'll be honest, this is going to get old...I'll need to paint each room approximately three times before it's all said and done and that's NOT counting the three coats I have to do on all the trim)...that my attitude while I'm doing laundry in our laundry room would always be gracious and grateful..that time spent in the family room with people we love would be Christ-honoring and encouraging...that my time invoicing in the office/sunroom would always be done with a heart that's eager to serve my husband...and that everyone who walks through the farmhouse screen door into our house would find a home that radiates love, hospitality, grace, and creativity.

When I think about the past seven years we spent at our house in Ames...I *think* I can look back and say that we were faithful with little. But now I am honestly so excited and ready for this next season where we get to be faithful with much.

MmB