Hello Beautiful!

Welcome to my remodel!  We have been making some serious progress the last couple weeks, the best and most exciting being that I almost have a working, not to mention gorgeous, kitchen again.  All the many individual decisions I've been making over the last 3 months are coming together and looking exactly right.  I was able to take my idea of a dream kitchen and main floor and actually see it come out way better.  Phew!  What a relief that is.  Now I can admire it and know that I really wasn't crazy, our old out of date house did have the potential!  We are now in the finishing stage but still so far from being able to use our space.  There are a million things that have to be done and I can hardly stand it I'm so excited!

  In my last post, the walls were finally going up along with texture and paint.  As soon as that was done we moved on to hardwood floors and trim.   It went from this...

...to this

This my friends is the exciting part...when you get to see all your finishes in your very own space.  You can look at countertop slabs in the warehouse to your hearts content, but nothing can prepare you for how it will look in your home.  I'll admit that a lot of our original plans had to be altered because of one thing or another.  Remodeling an older home versus building a new one comes with many challenges.  We had to "think outside the box" on a lot of decisions and hope for the best.  Now, as I stand in the space and take it all in, I wonder what all the stress was about!  It looks amazing and feels completely functional for our family to live in.  I guess it's just our nature to worry and stress (or at least mine anyways!).

  This week we are doing a lot of electrical and plumbing finishing touches.  My faucets, toilet and sinks are being hooked up and under cabinet lighting along with my island pendants will be done today.  Next thing on the list is kitchen backsplash and fireplace grout.  Oh the joys of choosing grout (don't even get me started on that topic)!  Check back soon to see the finished product (and my feet up on the couch!).

~Trisha

2 weeks and Counting!

The countdown to regaining my sanity has begun!  We are in the home stretch of our massive main floor renovation.  We started in August and have been hacking away at this place to make it more functional, and of coarse beautiful, ever since.  I literally cannot believe that the holidays are sneaking up on me this year.  I usually begin my countdown to holiday festivities sometime in September.  This year I was completely bamboozled when November came.

We are still living only upstairs and really feeling crammed together.  It's just the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs so we eat toaster oven meals on the floor and use our beds as our couch.  When we first moved completely upstairs, I filled the kids' rooms to overflowing with toys from our downstairs playroom so they wouldn't get bored during the renovation.  I also had to put all the cleaning and cooking things in my room.  So, as you can imagine we're pretty chalk full here!  I can't even begin to be motivated to take out any extra holiday decorations and start to put them up.  Not to scare you, but this is our dish washing center, aka my bathroom sink vanity.  Isn't it just wonderful?!

I try to remind myself that I was the one who pushed so hard to live here during the construction rather than spend some of our reno budget on living in temporary housing.  It makes me very happy to sleep in my own comfy bed every night.  There has been several occasions where we haven't had running water or electricity all day.  The key to making it through, is to embrace craziness and learn to be ok with being unorganized.  It has actually been a blessing in disguise to be here and be available to go downstairs and check the progress and see everything being installed.  Many of you who have done any type of remodel know that sometimes things don't get installed the way you'd like.  I appreciate being able to watch the work being done as it happens, rather than asking the workers to correct mistakes later.

Now as I see the light at the end of a very long tunnel, the pains of living through this are starting to fade.  I'm so excited to be finished by Thanksgiving and have a beautiful new space to use and share with family.  Sometimes I go downstairs and stand in my soon to be finished kitchen and just dream of standing there drinking coffee looking out at our gorgeous view or using my new appliances to bake cookies with my kids.  It will all be so amazing and so very much worth it.

~Trisha

Resources Close to Home

Shopping local is a concept on peoples minds these days.  Whether you are looking for used goods or brand new and shiny, chances are that there are plenty of local shops near you that can offer up just what you need.  I'm always excited when I come across a store that I never knew existed in my city.  Sometimes it can be tricky to find these (hidden) gems unless you are specifically told about them.  More and more people are getting more interested in reusing rather than consuming.  For those of you who live in the Seattle area, I've decided to share some of the places that I've wandered into and have found many treasures.

For salvaged goods check out these great options:

Second use

Earthwise

The ReStore -recycled paint too!
Pacific Northwest Timbers, LLC

Another great way to shop when something new is need is to support local shops.  A little Internet research can lead you to some of the best shops in town.

For home remodel needs check out these stores:

Rejuvination-lighting & house parts (started in Oregon/pacific northwest)
Seattle Lighting

Best Kitchen- Cabinet & granite supplies

Superior Cabinets

For used furniture, baby items, clothes, etc. check out:

Varagesale
OfferUp
Craigslist (of coarse!)

No matter what you are looking for, it is always fun to find a shop or individual close to home that has just what  you need.  I wish you luck on your shopping local journey and don't forget to share your favorite shops with me!

~Trisha