Welcome to Myyyyy House

…. play that music too loud, we don’t like to go-o-o out…

Finally. We’ve settled in and construction’s ceased for a spell at our new radical ranch remodel. We’re taking a breather before tackling further projects (whilst simultaneously allowing our construction fund to rebound) and working instead on making our new house a home. We hope to find our rhythm, routine, and get our sea legs in our new home/city.

We got accustomed to living in a construction zone, with workers just outside our windows like in The Money Pit.

Exterior shots, before & after new siding, paint, fixtures, & trimmed out windows. We took out the wrought iron picket porch fencing, brick, & shutters for a more modern, clean look. We trying to work with the classic ranch style versus fighting against it.

Blatantly copying our dear friends the Colbys, who did the hard work of finding the truest gray on the color wheel, the body color is ‘Dovetail’ and trim is ‘Creamy’. Though we love it, we didn’t copy their signature aqua mermaid door, opting instead for ‘Little Black Dress’ which especially delighted Audrey Hepburn-loving Firstborn.

The front porch rockers were my great-grandparents’. They got them second-hand from a local country club where their brother-in-law was the resident golf pro, so they could very well be nearing 100 years old. Though they’re rickety and weathered, they are treasured family heirlooms and I easily recall fond memories of rocking in them on my grandma’s screened-in porch. When I couldn’t find new black seat cushions for them recently I instead dyed the woefully faded existing ones back to matte black with a bucket of $1 Rit dye and felt as though I was channeling my Great Depression surviving grandma– quite industrious indeed.

Little Man Cave before & after: paint, flooring, mucho elbow grease, rewired/relocated/replaced light fixture, & updated window coverings

His is always the first room we complete in a house, to minimize upset.

Main bathroom redux: After painting, replacing the flooring, installing a new vanity, mirror, toilet, & window coverings, we’re having the tub enamel resurfaced & switching out the fixtures. We looked high & low for a replacement light fixture that was sufficiently modern & simple, and noting the stores carrying similar versions in black, I had Husband spray-paint the existing one with heat resistant grill paint and the dated 90’s trademark is hip once more.

So that’s our Money Pit; it’s starting to feel like home already. Color me shocked to discover that under all the grime was a house that we actually love! Husband recently mused aloud that despite years of visiting right next door we never once even noticed this place. I like to think we’ve improved the neighborhood eyesore. More to come!