There are many that we welcome to our home that did not know us when we were in the midst of  “the transformation”. To them, our abode looks relatively new…

I still remember the day we drove into the drive way of this mint green beauty. “Holy 1960’s” I thought. Little did I know that our futures were intertwined.  The upside was that it was on a little over an acre with plenty of large trees, a far cry from our postage stamp yard on the other side of town. The other fun feature was the acres of corn surrounding this little “diamond in the rough”. I couldn’t even see a neighboring house!

I had trouble finding much to smile about on the inside of this ranch…good bones was all that was detected. These bones were hidden under gold shag carpeting, bright blue walls, an impossibly narrow garage and a very odd kitchen arrangement. (I could go on.)

So as I ponder everything I have just seen, I listen to Rob and the owner discussing the cost of this ‘heavenly property’ and the fact that if we wanted it before the realtor got involved, today was the day to make an offer. As I stood there processing the fact that we needed to do some thinking, an offer was made and accepted…EEEEEEEEEK!

And so our story began. I had a weekend to come up with a design that would convince the bank that there was hope for this 1960’s rental property. It came complete with dog kennels and a tacky redwood deck on the back.  10 years later we are still enjoying the fruit of our labors. (mostly Rob’s labor) We have seen a lot since then and know how to cook with a crockpot when there is no kitchen and what it looks like to totally transform a “farmer’s do-it-yourself special” into a family friendly home.

 

Many ask us, “Did you add on?” The answer is,”We did not add living space”. (We did add a front porch) We used the existing footprint of the house in a new way. This kept the costs down and kept it interesting for me. As I looked at what was there, I realized that there was enough space, it just needed to be ‘different space’. The major parts of “the transformation” included:

• Using the single car garage as part of the Family Room – it was too small for a car anyway
• Moving the front door to new Family Room
• Reconfiguring the Kitchen – the washer and dryer were actually in the kitchen island!
• Upgrading the Bathroom on the main floor with a walk-in tile shower
• Adding a screened porch on the front of the house – we wanted the porch to face north so it would be cool in the summer
• Adding a bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a family room to the basement
• Vaulting the ceiling in the family room and adding a wood burning fireplace (it is capable of heating our first floor during the winter)
• New windows, siding and roofing

Many of our clients assume they need more space, when they may only need ‘different’ space. So before you add on a large addition, call us, we might be able to help you reuse the space you have in a new way.