Day 29: Project 1896 (Our Home Renovation)

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read and/or comment on my One Room Challenge reveal last week.

I am overwhelmed by the feedback, and couldn’t be more delighted with the results. It stands as one of my favorite projects to date – I adore creating unique and imaginative spaces for children that will grow with them for years to come!

But this post is about a big project that’s not even close to being finished. I cannot believe we are a month into our home renovation. The first few days of demo went by at lightning speed – I couldn’t believe how fast the progress of demolition was. Before we knew it, the whole first floor was stripped down to the studs. Even though I know a fair amount of structural work lies ahead, I couldn’t help but be optimistic that this project had the potential to get done super-fast – maybe even ahead of schedule!

Then the pace slowed. Of course, this is not unexpected or unplanned…it just ebbs and flows. I am learning not to stress out when I am working in my office and the crickets are chirping in the construction zone (no wait, that’s the smoke alarm battery I still need to change). I’m also realizing that a lot of the work that needs to happen now is dependent upon the weather, and ours hasn’t been great lately.

The chimney that stands between our kitchen and family room was removed, brick by brick, last week. Now that it’s gone, preparations are underway for framing out the new spaces, and pouring the new foundation (the kitchen is being bumped out a bit on two sides). There are some interior and exterior walls that will be coming down to connect and open up these rooms to each other (not to mention some serious steel).

Of four original chimneys (one of which was in the back of the kitchen, I believe, and removed long, long ago), now only two remain. We are still left with four fireplaces, plus the gas one we’re adding in the family room on the side wall.

This morning I’m meeting with Jewett Farms, with whom I’m collaborating on my kitchen and mudroom cabinetry. The kitchen cabinets were finalized and ordered before demo even began, and today I will sign off on the final mudroom cabinet drawings. For sure, these two rooms set the tone for the entire renovation project, and are so important to get right.

This week I’m also onboarding my landscape designer, who will hopefully help us figure out how to incorporate a dog run, and figure out the puzzle of our back patio, which is a little tricky due to an elevation change. It may not end up being tricky at all; but my brain just shuts down when asked to think about an exterior design problem. Or even plants. I’m hopeless.

Since I really need to think about the pretty things that will happen much, much later in the process, here’s a peek at the wallpaper I’m pretty sure I’m going to use.

It’s from Root Cellar Designs, and it actually depicts hydrangea, but in a way that is more rhythmic and geometric than strictly botanical. Still debating on the color way, but I’m leaning toward green. With near-natural stained walnut cabinetry!

Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram Stories for the more frequent updates on the progress of the renovation! And I will be back on Friday, after my ORC hiatus, with a brand-new family-friendly find.  xoxo