As much as this experience has been a lesson in patience, it has also been a lesson in one's capacity to learn and accomplish new things. While my learning as of late has pertained to the Pinterest/ DIY variety (a.k.a. spray painting picture frame signs and building headboards from doors), Kyle's learning has been more impressive... While I was wielding the glue gun and a can of spray paint, Kyle was calculating and constructing a whole set of stairs! If you recall from a blog post way back in the winter about stairs, you will know that the measurements and construction of stairs is very precise. That Kyle was able to do this with no prior stairs experience is mind-blowing to me! This week, we are finishing up with wiring and plumbing. We decided to call in some experts to help us with the next few steps in the renovation, both to speed up the process and to ensure that everything is to code. The electrician should be all done by tomorrow and our plumber (who also happens to be my Dad), will be finishing up this weekend. Things are moving along! Aside from trades workers and family, our friends also continue to stop by to see the progress and to fuel our excitement as we near the final stages of the renovation :). --Oh, and I almost forgot: We had our first campfire in the backyard with some of the leftover scraps of wood. The fire was a success (how could it not be with s'mores?!), and I hope that we have many more into the fall.
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I thought that I would share with you the story of how an ordinary jog led us to our house on Sunnidale. When looking back at that time, I am baffled by how much can change in a year. My first impression of the house was one of admiration but immediate dismissal, as real-estate that I could never afford. Now, a year later, I look at it with love and pride and all of the dreams of what it will be for Kyle and I.
Here's the beginning of our house story, back before we purchased, back before we placed an offer, back before we had even taken a tour of it. Here is 212's "once upon a time": The day that the house came into our lives was last June. I was out for a run on my long route, which cuts across town and loops down a couple of country dirt roads before circling back into civilization via an older neighbourhood with mature maples edging the sidewalk and red brick Victorian style houses with the deep porches and pretty white trim. Nearing the end of the run, I swiped to a slower song on my I-Pod and allowed myself to change to a more relaxed pace. In my cool downs, I sometimes do some ‘house watching.' House watching is kind of like people watching, but involves observing houses and imagining the lives of the people who inhabit them. There are always clues to help guide the imaginings, like a brand-new car in the driveway, or creepy gnome figurines in the gardens. As I was nearing the end of the street, I happened to glance over at one of the Victorians that had a "For Sale" sign posted on the lawn. It had the red brick exterior, the porch, white pillars, and a peaked roof. I admired it as I passed, but thought little more about it. From our brief search for a starter home over the last few months, Kyle and I had determined that any house with even a hint of charm would be out of our price range. That house was far too quaint. Later that night, Kyle and I scrolled through the house listings, which had become almost like a nightly ritual for us. I mentioned off-hand about the Victorian on Sunnidale and Kyle suggested looking it up to see its asking price, just for fun. He typed in the address in the search space and the pretty little house appeared on the screen. “We’d never be able to afford that,” I brushed it aside, as Kyle read the details. The price was lower than we’d expected, but I still didn’t think it was worth our time. A few days went by and Kyle called me on my way home from tutoring. He told me to come over to 212. Feeling reluctant about even entertaining the idea of the house, I kept a neutral mind and drove over to meet him. The real-estate agent was there with Kyle and his dad. We went through the house room by room, and I fought with my imagination, which went into Barbie Dream House auto-mode and started dressing each with furniture and paint and all of my belongings. While my run sparked the pursuit of 212, Kyle and his persistence and drive were what got us the house in the end. Thinking that the house was out of our reach and that it was unrealistic to even consider, I brushed that dream aside before it even had a chance to bloom in my mind. Kyle, on the other hand, saw the dream, wanted it, and went for it. I admire this in him, and am so grateful that he fought for and got our home. I am excited to announce that 212 is finally getting an exterior makeover. The first mini project was to spruce up the house numbers, which were tarnished and tired looking.
Tools Needed: -sand paper -black spray paint -gloves -cat optional :) After sanding down the number surfaces, I placed them on newspaper and gave them a generous spray. I did two coats and made sure to cover the screws too. This touch-up on the house seems like the tiniest tweak, but it makes a big difference when people approach the front door. I figure it's kind of like a good eyebrow job; you wouldn't think that a little tinting and shaping would do a lot, but it really does wonders for the face :). My next project for this week is the back tool shed and the side wood paneling on the porch. I am also looking for a new wreath or decoration to hang on the door. Any suggestions?! Oh-- and for those of you who cringe at the overgrown shrub beasts that are taking over the front garden, you will be happy to hear that those are coming down this week too! Welcome back everyone! I know that it has been a LONG time since my last post, and I apologize for my blog silence. My excuse is report card season and the general frenzy that comes with the end of the school year. Now that summer is officially here, I promise more regular posts and updates :). Before diving back into the thick of things, I should start with a quick update. Since my last post, we have made great progress on the first storey, and are working on the second floor. We know where our ductwork is going, we've looked at bathroom fixtures and decided that, while we loved the idea of the jacuzzi tub (and the fact that it was free!), such a large tub does not make sense in the limited space of our bathroom. Kyle wants to do concrete countertops in the kitchen, and I am going to make a head board from some of the salvaged wood from the house. The current topic of house discussion that we've been having is about designing the house for optimal resale value, or making it how we personally would like it right now. Specifically, we are looking at the room directly across from the master bedroom. Originally, the room had bright sunflower wallpaper and was presumably a young girl's bedroom. On purchasing the house, we decided that it would be a great room for Kyle to use as an office, where he can do his editing and store his camera gear. However, now we are wondering if it would be smarter if we made it into a bathroom. Then, the current bathroom, which is much smaller and located on the other side of the house, could become more space for the small spare bedroom beside it. Here are some pros and cons of both: I know that bigger bedrooms may be helpful down the road, but I also believe that we need to make our house functional and perfect for who we are now. It is so easy to always think ahead and predict what will make the most sense for our needs in the future, but I am honestly just wanting to fully enjoy the house and everything it will offer us, as the individuals we are at this moment. We don't have kids, so we have the luxury of time and space to indulge in our work and interests. That is what we should be doing, guilt free. When the time comes to sell, we can think about making the house more generically fitting, but in the meantime, I want to make it ours. What team are you on? "Team Give Kyle an Office," or "Team Bigger Bathroom"? Because of the impressive progress made by Kyle and his dad over the long weekend, we were able to take the weekend for ourselves and drive up to the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park for our first camping of the year. There is always more to get done at 212, but I am so glad for the escape from the grind of work and renovations. We hiked in on Friday night, then spent all of Saturday snacking on camp food, swimming, and just enjoying the peace of being outdoors and away from the rush of the everyday. Setting aside time to recharge and look after yourself is important, especially when working on a lengthy and stressful project that could easily consume all of your waking hours. That said, while this post is NOT about the progress of the house, it is about self-care and the benefits of having a "slow down" weekend every once in a while. Driving back on Sunday, Kyle predicted that the drywall will likely be up when we go camping next. How strange it is to measure trips and time by the stages of the house! First off, as promised at the end of my last blog post, I will share with you the surprise progress that was made at 212 last weekend: On top of finishing the first floor layout for the kitchen and foyer, Kyle and his dad also put down all new plywood upstairs! So exciting! Now, to this week's post... In honour of the queen that our house style was named after (not to mention the fact that this holiday is all thanks to her), this blog post is going to be about Queen Victoria. Weirdly enough, this is a holiday that is celebrated in Canada, but not England. Queen Victoria took reign when she was only eighteen and not only inherited a country, but the British colonies, which include British North America. Victoria Day became an official holiday after Queen V's death in the early 1900s, and has always involved fireworks, picnics, and copious amounts of drinking. While we are now fairly separate from England, that we still celebrate this woman's birthday is a testament to her impact historically on our country and culture, and our desire to preserve old traditions. Personally, I am grateful for the extra day of weekend :). Here are some interesting facts about Queen V: 1) Despite her young age when first taking the throne, Victoria was pretty smart and encouraged Canada to become more independent of America in terms of trade. She is one politician that we can thank for keeping us a separate country from the States. 2) Queen Victoria was an advocate for children and was responsible for many child labour laws. 3) Victoria was also a feminist of her time; she was the breadwinner of her household, she ran a country, and defied traditional marriage etiquette by proposing to her husband. 4) While visiting Canada, Queen Victoria decided that Ottawa would be the capital city of Canada. At the time, the city was nothing special, but she saw its potential in its trade via waterways. Our house goal for the long weekend?! Get enough accomplished with this extra day so that we can take next weekend off and go camping. Fingers crossed! This house process has been a slow one and we are almost reaching our one year mark. However, as the weather warms up and ice-cream shops re-open for the summer, things are starting to speed up. May is a month of transformations; it is the time when flowers and trees begin to bloom and everything comes to life again. Our house is no exception to this season of change, and every week it undergoes another phase of the renovation.
A quote by Maya Angelou acts as a wise reminder in this renovation process: "We delight in the transformation of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." In regards to our house transformation, while the most exciting stage will be the butterfly (the house completion), we still need to delight in the cocoon. So, as it becomes more and more like the house Kyle and I want it to be, I will continue to take pictures and document all of the mess and grit along the way. Kyle and his dad have been very busy over at the house this week and I am going over later tonight to see the latest changes. The anticipation is nearly killing me, as Kyle insisted on waiting until tonight to go look. In his excitement, he almost showed me last night and this morning. Both times were tempting, but I decided to wait for the greater reveal later on (expect a full report on this reveal in next week's post :)). Until then, check out our pretty flowers. It amazes me how resilient something so delicate-looking can be, lying patiently under the frozen earth until spring. As with any holiday-related weekend, we hosted many tours through 212 for family and friends. While I am always a little nervous to see the reactions of others as they take in our renovations, it is nice to share this process with the people who we know will be a part of our lives in the house once it's done.
My brother took his tour on Friday night, Kyle's grandma and aunt walked through this morning, and my sisters and Ryan came after Mother's Day lunch. My lesson of the day is to have more faith in the house, and that everything will come together. Instead of letting my mind drift to that place of what ifs, I need to step back, take a breath, and know that the finished product is coming. Worrying won't give us more time in the day or week to get things done faster, nor will it make the renovation a positive experience to think back on. So this Mother's Day weekend, I will end with happy reflections of the memories I've already made with my family at the house (namely a certain Dirty Dancing lift attempt on the front lawn, :P), and know that many more are coming, and soon. This week involved working on the first floor, dump runs, and lumber pick ups. Last night, Kyle and I also had our first BBQ at 212!
We cleared off the patio and set up the barbecue and patio set that we collected at the end of last summer. It was probably a combination of first-bbq-excitement and hunger, but the burgers were the perfect amount of juiciness and flavour. I cannot wait for a summer season of barbecuing. While the inside kitchen is without counters and appliances, the outdoor kitchen is equipped with exactly what we need when the weather is nice. Another positive of the last two weeks is that we have our new set of windows. They will keep the house insulated and energy efficient. The old windows could have been left, but from a long-term financial stand-point, having proper windows will cut way back on our heating bill. I am learning that thinking about longevity and future benefits is important when making choices in home renos. Happy May! Hope that you too were able to enjoy the outdoors this weekend :). I would argue that my culinary skills are improving; however Kyle and the smoke detector may beg to differ. My cooking repertoire is expanding, but my top dishes remain to be coffee (yes, a good pot of coffee is not something that everyone can achieve), banana bread, and most recently the chocolate chip cookie. Currently, my goal is to expand my dinner meal knowledge beyond the crockpot. Thankfully Kyle is a better cook and is perfectly fine with me making the salad while he does the main dish. Even though I am a student of the kitchen, I still believe that it is one of the most important rooms in a house and should be one of convenience and ease. That means that cupboard doors and appliances should all open and be used without blocking walk-ways or making it awkward to cook and live. Kyle and his dad have been brainstorming ideas to make our smaller sized kitchen seem as spacious as possible. Below are the three options they came up with. Option 1: Add a closet in the foyer along the stairs and have an inset for the fridge at the end of the left side. This would mean that our counter space would wrap around the one side of the kitchen in an "L", but the door leading into the cellar and into what will one day be an apartment suite would be awkwardly jammed in the corner between the fridge and stove. I can only imagine the frustration of trying to open doors. Option 2: Build a hallway from the front foyer to the back apartment suite. This would take away some of the space from the kitchen, but would make a clean line of movement from the front to the back of the house. Option 3: This option is to cut back on some of the closet space in the front foyer and to make a bigger inset for the fridge, so that no space is taken from the kitchen. It would leave plenty of space for all of the doors and would allow for more walking area. Because Kyle and I like to prepare dinners together when we can, the more space for two bodies to move from the fridge to the cupboards, the better. Option 3 is our winner, and I am excited to see it come into fruition. Who knows, having a new kitchen may inspire me to become the next Julia Child... Or at least attempt some of the Tasty videos, :p. |
About MeKyle and I just became new homeowners. The house we purchased is not what one would classify as "move in ready"; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Built at the turn of the 20th century, our Victorian style house is both beautiful and terrifying in its ancient status and will be a project in renovation. This is a documentation of our triumphs and lessons learned, as we deconstruct and reconstruct this house. The end result? A space that we can proudly say we created. Archives
December 2016
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