Renovation Ramblings & Updates

Hello everyone!  How is it that it's already mid-October?!  PLEASE . SLOW. THE . TIME . DOWN .  We have so much to get done "house-wise" before the holidays.  With the exception of two years in our thirteen years of marriage, it's been our annual tradition to host an overnight Christmas Eve/Christmas Day gathering for our immediate family.  The two years that we didn't host was due to the fact that I had just given birth to our first child days before Christmas, or we were in our way-too-small-for-all-our-family interim rental.

CAD INTERIORS I OUR PREVIOUS HOME

Our current house has been in some state of renovation or remodeling mode since we purchased it last year.  Since we had only been in our home for a few months before the last holiday season, we just spruced up the house a bit to host our first family Christmas here.  It's amazing what holiday decor can do to camouflage the unsightly things!

CAD INTERIORS I HOLIDAYS 2013

This year, and especially in recent months, we've been tackling more major renovation projects - and it's got me in a doozy!  Remember our main bathroom renovation that started back in August?  Well, it's done, at least from a construction standpoint.  Hooray!!!  Although our contractor crew is great, it's been nice to have the house back to ourselves.  That being said, the front exterior makeover is on the horizon, and we're waiting for the frameless shower enclosure to be installed.  I'm hoping to reveal the completed new space with all of you very soon!  In the meantime, here's a recent sneak peek of the room (it was given a little fall decor for the season):

There isn't much going on with our new laundry space.  Construction has been done in there for weeks, but it still isn't functional since we have yet to purchase the stackable laundry units!  Aha!  With the expense of the main bathroom and laundry renovations, and upcoming front exterior makeover, it's just one of those things that keeps getting pushed aside for the time being.  We did purchase a pretty light fixture and some shelving for it though!

Speaking of the front exterior, we have been busy meeting with numerous contractors for the project.  Construction crews all seem to be back-logged in our area, so we've had time to price-compare several contractors.  No one is available to start the work until later this month anyway (at the earliest).  I can't tell you how excited I am for the day when I don't have to drive up to the dirt "landscape", unevenly painted stucco'd walls, and the crumbling brick pathway!

This photo is from the MLS listing.  We since tore up all the landscaping and replaced all the windows.

At the moment, we are also replacing moldings around doorways and adding new trim around passageways... as well as sprucing up our home office.  Although it's been hectic juggling multiple projects at the same time, it's been nice to slowly see the home improvements come to life.  We still need to cover up the windows too!

Happy Monday!