We're up to two rooms pretty much done in the new house, with about 7 more to go, we're starting to learn a few valuable lessons.
Move In
Driving 40 minutes home every night at 11pm was killing us. As was trying to maintain basic living supplies in 2 places. Many nights our dinner plans were ruined because the milk was at the house or the ketchup was at the apartment.
Once we moved in, life became so much easier and more relaxed. You feel less rushed to get there in the morning and it's comforting to know when you've worked yourself into a catatonic state that all you have to do is fall into bed.
Little Things Add Up
Being the diligent budgeters we are, we formulated a plan before embarking on the remodeling process. We budgeted for paint, appliances, tools, pool equipment, all kinds of things. What we didn't budget for was hundreds of dollars in pipe connectors, outlet covers, screws, rags, shut-off valves and sandpaper. To date the unexpected costs have come in at around an additional 20% in expenses.
Whenever it's feasible, try to work on one room at a time, rather than one "project" at a time. For example: I wanted to get the trim done. That involved popping the trim off in every room, sanding, patching, and painting each board. Not only did we have to come up with a system for identifying which boards went in which rooms, but we found it difficult to find space for all the boards when painting and drying them.
Now that the living room and bedroom are done, we've adjusted our system. We're not ripping out the carpet in the downstairs bedrooms or patching holes until we're ready to finish them. Which is good, since they're both currently filled with boxes...
Wait To Start Major Projects
Our largest planned project is our kitchen. Because we have the baby deadline (July 20!), we decided to hold off on the kitchen until next spring, since the plan was to rip out a load-bearing wall and replace all the flooring on the main level. It's a good thing we waited.
Last night Brian and I both came to the conclusion that we may not actually want to rip the wall out. The living room isn't as cramped as we'd feared, the kitchen is already huge, and while we love an open floor plan, the addition/dining room is a great entertaining space and provides for easy conversation in the kitchen an access to the pool and deck.
Sometimes living in a place is the best way to figure out what you really want from your space.
Driving 40 minutes home every night at 11pm was killing us. As was trying to maintain basic living supplies in 2 places. Many nights our dinner plans were ruined because the milk was at the house or the ketchup was at the apartment.
Once we moved in, life became so much easier and more relaxed. You feel less rushed to get there in the morning and it's comforting to know when you've worked yourself into a catatonic state that all you have to do is fall into bed.
Little Things Add Up
One Room at a Time
Whenever it's feasible, try to work on one room at a time, rather than one "project" at a time. For example: I wanted to get the trim done. That involved popping the trim off in every room, sanding, patching, and painting each board. Not only did we have to come up with a system for identifying which boards went in which rooms, but we found it difficult to find space for all the boards when painting and drying them.
Now that the living room and bedroom are done, we've adjusted our system. We're not ripping out the carpet in the downstairs bedrooms or patching holes until we're ready to finish them. Which is good, since they're both currently filled with boxes...
Wait To Start Major Projects
Our largest planned project is our kitchen. Because we have the baby deadline (July 20!), we decided to hold off on the kitchen until next spring, since the plan was to rip out a load-bearing wall and replace all the flooring on the main level. It's a good thing we waited.
Last night Brian and I both came to the conclusion that we may not actually want to rip the wall out. The living room isn't as cramped as we'd feared, the kitchen is already huge, and while we love an open floor plan, the addition/dining room is a great entertaining space and provides for easy conversation in the kitchen an access to the pool and deck.
Sometimes living in a place is the best way to figure out what you really want from your space.
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