Anniversaries…blogiversaries…what about a demoversary? It’s hard to believe, but one year ago today we (along with some brave friends) tore apart our house. We were excited, motivated and most-importantly, optimistic. In our post-demo post I wrote,
“The ultimate completion date is mid-September.”
Well, obviously we didn’t meet that deadline. But the more I think about it, I think we needed to be overly optimistic. At the beginning of any project, motivation starts high and dwindles over time and we needed to sustain enough momentum to take us from bare studs to drywall. And we did. By mid-September, the space was livable but definitely not finished (hey, we still had a party!). During the last six months we installed the flooring, cabinets, doors and all the finishing touches that take forever but have a huge impact. And tonight, on this one-year demoversary, we installed the last sliding barn door.
[fist bumps all around]
Now I know everyone likes a good before and after, so here you go – from demo to (almost) done:
Our old back porch and kitchen became our new kitchen. The ceiling framing came out to make way for a new vaulted ceiling.
Our old dining room and kitchen became our living and dining room. The loft was not part of the original plan, but by the end of demo day we knew that little sliver of attic space was worth using.
The wall between the old dining room and kitchen came out to open up the space.
The old basement stair enclosure was demolished to make room for a friendlier, open stair and access to the loft.
The basement stair needed to be reconfigured and widened, which meant cutting out a portion of the floor. The basement space below served as our temporary living quarters.
Our old living room became a “flex” room – a space that could easily serve as a bedroom, office or extension of the main living space depending on our needs.
The bedroom and bathroom (already completed) were sealed off and soon became our havens from plaster dust and debris. Little did we know it would be nearly 12 months before we’d have real doors again.
We still have some things to finish, but this project is substantially complete and it feels really good to say that. We’re grateful to everyone who cheered us on during this last year. It wasn’t easy to work weeknights or eat in our makeshift basement kitchen, but your words of encouragement often gave us the boost we needed to get through a tough week or tedious task and for that we say thank you!