Is Renovation for You?

After selling our tiny one-bedroom condo, we bought our first house-you know, the kind with a roof you have to replace yourself? The, it's now my responsibility to worry about the boiler, mole holes, humidity in the basement, poison ivy, mouse poop, nanobots... etc.

Don't get me wrong-I love being a homeowner. It was always huge dream of mine to own a detatched home. But after three years of updating an older home, we have thrown in the renovation towel and are relocating to Austin, Texas where we can have a brand new house with a two-car garage, central air conditioning, a fitness center, a neighborhood pool for the same price as our little 1950's one bathroom ranch on a busy road, with "great bones".

home exterior in 2010

I thought I would have this place transformed in no time. Just needs weeding and painting right? A year and a half into it I'm like, what is taking so long? Why do people ask us when we sell stuff on Craig's list, "are you moving?" Why isn't anything on the wall? Why doesn't it feel cozy and homey? 

home exterior 2013 

The answer is that fixer uppers take so long. Especially the "cosmetic" fixers because you are doing absolutely everything yourself. Every door, piece of trim, light fixture, cabinet door hinge, piece of moulding, caulking, sealing... It's a whole lot of little things that add up. Making a house a home takes time, especially for those of us with small budgets in expensive areas because you have to put most of your money towards paying for the actual house first. 

Original Kitchen 2010 

Kitchen 2013

Our house wasn't in bad shape when we bought it, but it was tired and-grumpy. It was built in 1954. The outlets were all two prong when we moved in. The woods were constantly at war with the grass. (the woods kept winning) The cute little trees of 1954 grew into towering oaks that rained down acorns in anger on our defenseless Hondas, and-in really bad snowstorms-menacing limbs, that smashed our windshields. Our driveway had a giant hump that needed a major excavation. A colony of mice decided to winter in the basement, mostly in my artificial Christmas Tree.  Apparently mice really like peanuts.

dining room fireplace 2010

dining room fireplace 2013

I am pleased to say that three years of hard work did make our tired old house cute and cozy. We slowly turned a brown and white bore to a modern and updated home that still reflects the character of the house but with the freshness of today. As I look back on the past three years, I am proud of the work we did and what I learned in the process. I now can look at the photos and enjoy what they represent. No one was paid to do any of it, except the driveway excavation (which I'll show in another post) and the hardwood flooring in the kitchen.

living room 2010

living room 2013

My advice to you budding new homeowners: While the after photos are fun to look at, I can honestly say that unless you and your spouse have a passion for fixing stuff, there's nothing wrong with wanting to live in newer construction. In some parts of the country, this may mean a smaller home or even a townhouse or condo, but if you want to relax on the weekends and watch TV, be realistic about what you purchase. 

If you enjoy renovation, by all means, go to town!