Demo Months

June 7th, 2017 

Hmmm, when is the last time I really updated you on the progress at Caldwell? And I call myself a blogger- shameful!

Anyways, I'm just going to jump right in or we both might be here all day. I want to start by saying "Demo Day" is a fantasy. It is right up there with the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Here at Storybook Homes we have Demo Months. Like, seriously, it NEVER ENDS! This is true for any home we work on but this project has been especially daunting. No joke, I bet we have dumped our 20-ton dumpster at least 20 times. And that's 400 tons of true JUNK because at some point in this project Rory had the brilliant idea we should start a salvage side business so we have been saving and storing any reusable materials we find.

In addition to the obvious size difference of this house vs our previous projects another HUGE contributing factor to the excessive dumps was courtesy of the raccoon tribe that had held regular meetings in our attic over the last who knows how many years. I told you about that right? Yep, I bet we had AT LEAST 3 dumpsters worth of raccoon poop and insulation.

I know you could have done without that picture, but this crap was part of our life for much of the last month, so I thought you should at least get a taste.  Seriously, it was the worst job EVER, and I only got in on the fun near the end. Rory and Cole spent every morning (before it got too hot) for at least 2 weeks scooping poop infested insulation out of the never ending attic. 

Oh wait! I need to introduce you! This is Cole, our very first Storybook Homes Employee!

Cole just finished up his first year at UCA and has been such a blessing to us this summer. In the 1 month he has been working for us we have had him in the attic scooping poop, under the house spreading visqueen, and performing every grueling task between those two spaces.  Moms, want your kids to be motivated to finish college? Send them to work for Storybook Homes for the summer.  No really, he has been the hardest worker and has had the best attitude- he has definitely earned Employee of the Month.

Ok back to the poop.  Once they removed the large chunks, I suited up and swept out all the leftover debris.

Then to make sure the attic was completely clean, sanitary, and odor free I sprayed the place down with an odor eating enzyme followed by an organic antibacterial spray. THEN at the recommendation of a restoration company, I climbed into the 110 degree attic on my hands and knees and rolled oil based KILZ primer on the attic floor and in my hair.

Ladies and Gentleman, Caldwell now has the cleanest attic in Conway and if this flipping business doesn't work out I now consider myself an expert in the field of raccoon droppings excavation.

While the raccoons were a surprise we hope to NEVER encounter again, Caldwell has presented us with a few good surprises. Like the day Rory was removing the old trim in the "Sean Connery Room" and discovered another 4 foot of ceiling space!

When Rory hollered for me to come see, it was like the Heavens had opened up and the angels were singing. This was the answer to my grand library vs master bath debacle! With the discovery of another 12 foot room, now this manor could have both! And with it's proximity to the downstairs guest bathroom, this room can now easily double as another downstairs bedroom.  I also incorporated another fun feature in this room.... but you'll have to wait till the reveal to see!  

And then, 2 weeks ago, a good 2 months into the renovation, I discovered a new room! Yep! I knew the space existed, I just had no idea how big it was.  It had housed the upstairs heat and air unit but the space was so creepy and dark I had never really studied the space before. But when I peaked in after the heat and air crew took the old unit out a light bulb went off in my head- this room would make a great bonus space for the upstairs. I knew this kind of last minute change would freak Rory out so I quickly coordinated with the heat and air team and electricians to move the new hvac unit to a new location and wire the new room for lighting and TV/Internet before Rory ever knew what I was scheming. Once those things were squared away I escorted Rory to the space and sweet talked him into moving 1 wall 13" and knocking out a closet to make the new room more spacious.  The new room does not have a window so we can't call it a bedroom but it will make a great "man cave" or homework hangout for the upstairs residents. 

Framed in new closet for adjoining bedroom since we stole the old closet for the new space.  

Also, I feel I need to prepare you for something before you discover it at the reveal- the mammoth rock fireplace- it's ggggone.  I know! I know! I was devastated too. BUT, I have to admit, it was the right decision. The space seems so much larger and more usable with it gone. In it's place we added some new windows to add interest to the wall but also to let in more light.  

I've got Waterhouse Market on the hunt for the perfect piece to fit under those windows that will help illustrate the Story that this house has been whispering to me throughout the renovation.  

Meanwhile, the outside has been undergoing it's own transformation. The carport is now (or will be when the garage door is installed) an enclosed garage.

The guys of DNV Construction have started installing the new Hardie board and batten siding. And we have a new roof!

Fingers Crossed our new energy efficient wood clad windows will be installed tomorrow and then DNV can finish working their magic, trimming this baby up!

Plus, if you get a chance to drive by you will get to see something pretty awesome happening to the brick. It's not finished so I'm not going to ruin the surprise by posting a half finished picture BUT I couldn't be more pleased with the work of Wills Stonework.  

And speaking of brick. This happened Monday!!!

More to come for that space.... but I already think it looks 10 times better.

These were just a few of the highlights of what has been happening at the English Manor over the past 4-5 weeks.  Drywall should start tomorrow which signifies the end of Demo Mode and the start of put back together mode.  Hallelujah!!!!

Craziest Week of my Life!

Do you remember TLC's show While You Were Out? It was on in the early 2000s along with Trading Spaces. I loved it. The premise behind the series was a friend or family member would orchestrate a surprise renovation of an entire room while the unsuspecting individual was out of town for around 32 hours. Then the TV show would record the individual's reaction to the renovation. Most of the time the response was positive but ever so often you would see a surprise go terribly wrong and result in upset tears and/or bleeped words.

For me, While You Were Out not only provided an hour of entertainment each week, it also changed the way I approached most home improvement projects. You see, when Rory and I were first married he had an opinion about how we should decorate our house. He weighed in on every piece of furniture and decorative knick knack I brought home. Most of the time we agreed, but he wasn't afraid to nix a proposed project idea if he didn't like it or if he didn't think it would "add value to the house." It was during the first season of While You Were Out that a lightbulb went off- "Instead of asking Rory I should just "surprise" Rory!" Genius! He gets a fun surprise and I get to make all the design decisions! Win Win!!! So over the last 15 or so years, Rory has come home from many a business trip or guy getaway to painted rooms, distressed cabinets, repurposed furniture, chalkboard walls, and the like.  This strategy has worked brilliantly. Thru the surprises, Rory has learned that #1 most of the time my projects really do work out, therefore, he rarely doubts my ideas anymore and #2 he really enjoys the surprise because it means he gets out of DOING the project. For me, this approach to home decor has taught me that I LOVE a good reveal.  And, for the record, thus far, none of my "While You Were Out" projects have resulted in upset tears or bleeped words....yet.

So with years of practice under my belt, I decided to tackle the biggest "While You Were Out" project of my life last year while Rory went on a mission Trip to Belize. The target was our Master Bathroom. Our bathroom had been in need of some work since the day we moved in. Rory had wanted to paint the bathroom from the beginning but I always put it off because I was afraid if we invested the money just to band-aid the job with paint we might never feel the need to fully renovate later- after all, who sees the master bath except us?!? So she sat with lime green walls, single sink vanity, fiberglass shower, gunked up jetted tub and builder grade lighting, tile, and faucets for 7 years. 

Despite her ugliness, I knew there was no way Rory would willingly agree to do a full bathroom renovation after living thru our kitchen remodel, especially since the ugly bathroom truly functioned fine (except for the pocket door that refused to stay on its track). Therefore, I realized the only way our master bath was ever going to live up to its full potential was if I took matters into my own hands and Rory stayed far far away from the chaos of the renovation. So, when Rory announced he was going on the 2016 construction mission trip with our church I knew this was my opportunity to make it happen. The idea for this While You Were Out project actually came to me while Rory was on his first construction mission trip in 2014, therefore I had been $aving up for the past 2 years. Luckily he gave me a 5-month heads-up before he left because I used the first month to gather up my courage to actually commit to the project and the next four months to coordinate the materials and construction plan. I snuck subcontractors into our home to discuss their role and precise timing in the plan in the weeks leading up to the renovation when I felt confident Rory wouldn't be coming home, but I had a ready excuse why each man might be in our home just in case Rory did come home unannounced- it was all so scandalous. I had my tub shipped to my brother's house and had to make sure my cabinetry was built and ready to go prior to the trip because my cabinet maker was also going on the mission trip.  All the other material I was able to hide in plain sight because we were in the middle of our Irby flip at the time and I knew Rory would just think all the stuff was for that project.

In the days leading up to Rory's departure, I started getting cold feet. All my subs thought I was crazy to attempt a complete bathroom renovation in 1 week and weren't afraid to let me know it; and despite the fact I had saved up for the last 2 years, I started worrying about how Rory might react to me making such a huge financial decision without him. So I decided to see if I could gauge Rory's reaction by asking him to tell me what he would most like to see changed in our house. Um Wow! I was not prepared for his answer. Apparently, there was ALOT he was not happy with at our house because he spouted off a list with no hesitation. Luckily, the green walls in the bathroom did make the list but a lot of things I had never even thought of also made his list like:

- he hated that all of the electrical switches and plugs did not match

- he despised the gold door knobs throughout the house

- he would love down lights on the exterior eaves and wished our flood lights worked by the garage and back porch

- it would be nice if our family portrait that had been sitting in our hall closet for the past year could get framed and hung- and how come we don't have any other family photos around the house?

- Our mudroom tile was stained and nasty and would be awesome to replace.

By the time we finished our house tour of disappointments I was in a total panic that I was about to spend all this money on things that were not even on his list of important things. Sooooo instead of calling off the renovation, I decided the only way I could ensure a happy reveal was if I tried to knock off a few things he mentioned on HIS list in ADDITION to the master bath reveal.  And thus the projected project grew. 

Then on February 20th, at 3:30 in the morning, the craziest week of my life began....

Colby, our resident videographer, filmed the process so we could show Rory when he got home. This reno took place before I started blogging/Facebooking about our rehomes/storybook homes; therefore I wasn't planning on anyone but Rory watching. If I had known, I would have tried to look a little more cute or at least a little less scary. But I'm going to swallow my pride and let you peek because Colby worked so hard filming and editing the 50 min video down to 12 minutes, Cohen was adorable, and Rory's reaction.... well,  you'll just have to see for yourself. The lighting is pretty bad in parts so I'll include pictures of the "after" projects after the video.  

You know it's a good surprise when your husband forgets to ask you how much you spent until the next day.  

Here are some close-ups of most of the projects we tackled that week:

Electrical:

Downlights from the eaves:

New Exterior Door Lights

Went from a single dated chandelier to double pendants in Dining Room:

Swing-arm sconces over the coffee bar:

Also switched out all the light switches and plug-ins.  And upgraded several builder grade hall lights and the flood lights by garage and back patio.  

Re-tiled the Mudroom Floor:

Replaced all the gold doorknobs throughout the house to satin nickel.

Framed the boys' picture over the fireplace:

Dad made and I finished the picture shelf for the upstairs hall and for the first time in 7 years we had family pics on display:

Finished decorating Living Room with GIANT Romans 12 project:

And I painted an old round kitchen table Dad cut down to coffee table size: 

In the boys' bathroom, Dad came down and built the tub room window seat and shelf:

And I concreted the vanity tops:

Along with new lighting, faucets, and paint.

And then finally the room that started it all..... The Master Bathroom:

Organizational Bins!!!

Oh man! What a week!  It was not healthy folks. I know I didn't sleep, I couldn't tell you if I ate, and my kids pretty much raised themselves that week. You know it is utter chaos when your school age boys are excited about going to school just to get away from your house. I have no right to complain, I subjected myself to this insanity, but who I really need to thank are the men that I roped into this craziness who did whatever it took not to be the reason this 1-week renovation failed:

Darin the Plumber- he was on site the second the old tub and shower were ripped out to stub in for the new and was back at the end of the week to make sure we were fully functional

Marcos my tile guy- did all the big demo and re-tiled not only the floors but built and tiled the new shower.

Mark Ladd and his cabinet shop- built the vanities and cabinet

James Barr's crew hung the new sheetrock

Nicolas and his crew painted everything we touched 

Hall Electric did all the electric work

Rex helped me with some carpentry projects.

Dad built the window seat and shelf in the boys' bathroom, the picture ledges in the hall, cut down the coffee table and helped me with the wood walls in the master bathroom.

Mom kept my boys fed, on time to school, and alive in the 3 days they were down.

Cohen replaced all the doorknobs

Colby was diligent to take video every morning and night

So there you have it! That was the last of our BIG renovations on Sister.  It has been so fun reliving these renovations with you during the past couple of weeks as we have been preparing to put Sister on the market. There have been a lot of great memories in this house and it's a little (ok a lot) sad to think about saying goodbye.  But the fate of Caldwell and Storybook homes rests on us selling Sister so as soon as I hit "publish" on this post I will be placing a sign in the yard and working on our Zillow listing. I would sooooo appreciate a like and share from our FB friends when you see the listing go live.  And thank you in advance!

After this week I promise to return the blog back to the Caldwell story.  I've got a lot to catch you up on over there!

Front Porch

Next up on our tour of Sister is the exterior renovation.

When our family first met Sister there was no denying her Traditional Colonial heritage. Her design DNA was evident throughout but was most pronounced on the exterior with her textbook Colonial 5 over 4 symmetrical window placement and her pediment and column flanked door at the center of her red brick boxed facade. 

Her grand, stoic appearance did not fit our family's personality but we loved her regardless and adopted her as our own in July 2009.  

I found these pictures on the Internet from the old real estate listing:

You can see Sister was raised in a formal environment that perfectly matched her traditional facade. I can only imagine what she must have been thinking as we moved our slip-covered hand-me-down furniture, upcycled garage sale decor, and 2 rowdy boys under her pristine roof. 

Yet despite her past, it only took a new coat of paint and a few weekend DIY projects for Sister to start loosening up. By the time we tackled our first major renovation in 2012 (major being defined as one where we called in the professionals) we had completed enough projects that Sister was clearly starting to identify as a cottage farmhouse.  

Remember the formal dining room of her past. Well, by 2012 she was holding her china in an old chicken coop.

And that red formal living room was converted into my office where I met with my nutrition clients. Complete with a barn door slider I could shut for privacy.

And nothing says Farmhouse quite like shiplap:

Although Sister seemed to be transitioning smoothly into a comfy cozy cottage, outwardly she was suffering an identity crises. Her inside no longer matched her outside. Despite the fact I hung a human size whimsical flower on her door she still left a formal traditional impression on those that drove by.  

So in 2013, I started my campaign to get Sister a facelift. I wanted Sister to be comfortable in her own skin but I pitched the exterior renovation from a different angle when approaching Rory with the idea (the boys in my family have never been fully on board with treating our house as a 3rd child). I told Rory that the secret to me being more laidback was a front porch.

Sidenote: I am a very high strung person. NOT high maintenance, mind you, but high strung- there is a difference. I have an inability to sit still, I tend to be very obsessive and my obsessions are spastic in nature; therefore, I can be exhausting to live with (although not near as exhaustive as if I were high maintenance, right?!?).  

Anyways, I told Rory, (and I truly believed this with all my heart) that if we put a front porch on Sister, I would sit on that porch every single day with a glass of lemonade and just be still and content with my life, thus bringing calm and serenity into our family life.  It would also make us better neighbors. If I had a front porch I would greet all my neighbors that walked by and invite them to come sit on our porch and drink lemonade with me. I might even learn to play the guitar so we could have Andy Griffith style neighborhood sing-alongs on our front porch. And think of the money we would save. Instead of date nights at expensive restaurants and hired babysitters we could just hold hands on our porch swing and have long deep meaningful conversations about all our hopes and dreams for the future, except those conversations wouldn't be too long because all my hopes and dreams would be fulfilled with my new front porch.  

And guess what?! On my 35th birthday, I came home from work to find all the landscape ripped out and the brick steps busted up to make way for our new front porch!  Isn't Rory the best?!?! 

The deck framing was complete within the first week of getting started and the stage was set for our new porch.  I mean literally, the front of our house looked like a giant stage.   

And then it sat....just like that... for the next 6 months. We hired the sweetest, most talented framer in the world to do the project but I'm thinking we were low on his priority list because it took FOREVER to get the thing built. But once the work was complete I couldn't have been more pleased.  

During the front porch addition, we dressed up the windows and hid the old keystones under the wood trim for a less formal feel.

We also replaced the old front door and transom with a new 8 foot 12 light door.  

If you look closely, you might recognize that old transom. 

Rory and I built the porch swing bed.

And my Dad built the table.

Interestingly, this was Dad's first build for me and was the launching point for our furniture business "The Painted Stache." 

Rory and I installed the Landscaping.  Not sure where my right side hostas are this year.  They usually sprout up a few weeks after the left side but so far there are no signs of them.  

Now Sister's exterior fits her interior personality and I still pinch myself when I drive up to the house. Although I absolutely love the porch I am sad to report that it did not change my life as much as I had hoped or promised.  I rarely (like never) sit outside and I don't even like lemonade.  I'm still a terrible neighbor and I'm pretty sure you need all your fingers to play the guitar BUT I still think Rory is the best for agreeing to this renovation and hope Sister's new family loves it as much as I do.  

And a little Caldwell update:

buyer we have had to make some tough decisions that affect the budget and end price point but we decided to go all in and close in the carport and replace all the old windows with new energy-efficient wood windows.  I also heard all you library lovers cries when I mentioned replacing the existing library with a fabulous master bathroom.  You will be happy to know I have figured out a way to give this house both a dreamy bathroom and a stately library!  Stay tuned!