We’re coming up on 7 years of owning the house – it seems like it’s been so much longer than that, and yet at the same time it feels like yesterday. When people say the days are long but the years are short? It totally applies to home renovation.
And some days, it literally feels like there’s no way we’re ever going to finish.
It’s still SO SO fun, but it also seems like it won’t end. And I guess that’s okay! I mean, if we’re having fun, and the fun is never ending, that’s a GOOD thing, right?
Making the house ready for pictures helped to clarify a little – sometimes I forget how much we’ve done, and looking at the finished spaces (because that’s all that was photographed) made us feel a little more accomplished. I’ll share the last round of pictures I took of the prepped house (again, these are mine – the magazine ones will be so much better!).
Nothing is new in any of these pictures, but I’m sharing them anyway, with some wistfulness and goals sprinkled in for good measure.
So, to keep us up to speed at where we are as we begin year 8……
Spaces “Completed” : Kitchen, Laundry Room, Butler’s Pantry, Study, 1st Floor Bath, Dining Room, Front Bedroom, Exterior (not windows).
Spaces & Major Projects To Do : Windows, Wood Floors Repaired and Refinished, Backyard, Parlor, Entry Hall, Library, 2nd floor hall, Corner Bedroom (my future studio), Balcony Bedroom, Balcony Bedroom attached Bathroom, Hall Bathroom, Master Bedroom, Master Bath, Third Floor Bath, Third Floor Workspace, Third Floor Living Space, Third Floor Storage Space.
17 to go. 8 completed.
So, we’re roughly at one finished space a year. (This bathroom took 18 MONTHS!)
Maybe I’ll start thinking of things like a Chinese New Year. Like, this year will become “The Year of the Library.” Or “The Year of the First Floor Wood Floors.”
This house – she is a project and half. But she is so worth saving.
We’ve fallen in love with this house, and we keep falling in love with her. My goal, for ME, as we move forward, is to be more patient. We can’t afford to move too fast, and we need to do things right. Doug is really good at that. I am not – I have too many visions in my head that I want to see completed RIGHT NOW. But I’m really, really going to work on that. Appreciating the massive work we’ve done, more than wishing I could do the rest right now.
She’s made it 117 years. She’s not going anywhere.
We’re glad she chose us.
Everything you have done is incredibly beautiful! Your bathroom restoration is my favorite of all time!
Thank you SO much!
Thank you for keeping us posted. I am living vicariously through you and Doug. A historic renovation is a bucket list item so this is as close as I’ll get for a while.
What a lovely update. Thank you!
The time and care you’re taking with your home is really inspiring and I’m so glad you’re sharing your journey. Also, that bathroom remains the best bathroom I have ever seen in any house of any time period. Seriously, what other bathroom has dragons!? Perfection.
So what are your plans for the permanent balcony bedroom work?
I’m year six into my big old house restoration.
And you are WAY ahead of me!
Congrats and BIG hug!
Awesome Amy! Everything you have done is just so awesome!!!!
We’re about to embark on a carpenter’s gothic renovation in Parkersburg, WV.
I don’t think our budget will match what you’ve been able to do, but we’re diving in anyway. Your hard work is an inspiration.