Due to the intensity of renovating this fixer upper, we laugh even though we’re mostly overcome by exhaustion.
My husband’s running joke is that we have another chapter to add to our book of how to not DIY…since everytime we call a contractor, they shake their heads in disbelief at the latest problem, created by faulty DIY projects long before my hubby purchased this house.
STRATEGIC ADVISOR YEARS
Originally, I was merely the strategic advisor for a bachelor, who after a few years of my adivising, he asked me to marry him!
During the strategic advisor years, he needed to replace a new kitchen faucet, get a working garage door, install a new hot water heater, and get a new garbage disposal.
After interviewing painters, we conducted our own research on the effectiveness on Behr paint. We won our arguement!
When a contractor renovated the front courtyard with new pavers, he shook his head in shock after removing the old ones, which revealed a poorly done DIY project.
Wanting to restore beauty to the fixer upper, we interviewed contractors for renovating the bathrooms, fireplace, and deck, which remained a work in progress when we eloped.
DECK PROJECT DELAYED BY COUNTY
Nailing an amazing deck company who addressed every single problem of the massive repairs needed for the horrid front entry stairs to the townhouse, the double deck in the back, we were elated they promised they could conquer in the spring…about the time we eloped!
However, in the weeks leading to our elopement, we found ourselves proof reading new contracts when a few small issues popped up, which delayed the project to the end of spring.
Oh well…we optimistically called it a wedding gift to enjoy after our elopement!
UNPACKING AMIDST CLUTTER
Unpacking after our elopement was rather insane, trying to find storage that was rather non-existent in this townhouse.
Surely, two adults and a cat can coexist in a townhouse?
I don’t know…the cat kept reminding me that her former bachelor master allowed her full ownership of the couch, as long as she laid on remnant blue jean fabric I gave him a few years ago when he fussed about her long fur taking over the furniture. 😉
All my boxes and my vanity, my recently stitched Jinny Beyer quilt safely protecting the mirror amidst mid-century modern bachelor style…
Hovering over the dining room table, hidden by my wardrobe boxes because there are no extra closets for me, is the chandelier of doom that still needs to be replaced. 😉
At least you can finally see the light sage green walls conquered at the beginning. Can you imagine painting with all my boxes added to the mix? 😉
My new hubby has designated the basement that we painted a few years ago as my sewing room, so in the days leading to our elopement, he purchased two more storage units for all the clutter that used to inhabit this space.
On moving day, my son placed my old bookcases exactly where I wanted them and secured them! Oops, we forgot to mark the spot of the electrical outlet on that wall to carve a hole in the back of that shelf. Add that to the punch list with many other projects in this room.
Between the two of us I’m the cook, so I began clearing out all the unused old stuff in the kitchen, to unpack all my kitchen stuff and pantry items.
Despite this newly renovated kitchen which attracted much attention when it was put on the market, I quickly saw that it was poorly planned.
Kitchens require a proper work ratio triangle for efficient cooking, which this kitchen lacked.
In the remodel, too much storage was permanently removed.
Of the existing cabinetry, many shelves were broken.
Where to put everything? I think my headed exploded that first week of sorting out the old stuff that hadn’t been used in years, laying them on the dining room table, then organizing the kitchen for an active cook, and then letting my hubby choose the items from the dining room table that were essential for him. A lot! 😉
OOPS! ARE WE REALLY MARRIED?
Meanwhile, I was taking care of marriage paperwork that ran into a hitch.
When I unpacked my suitcase after the elopement, I found the manilla envelope with the marriage license signed by the officiant, which he was supposed to mail it to the Fairfax County court
That morning I drove to the courthouse to submit the paperwork, but they caught an error.
Oh, right. I forgot about overhearing the groaning former judge, who asked for liquid paper while filling out the marriage license at our ceremony.
What else could he do at that point, but certify best he could…yeah…no white out is allowed.
Uh, oh…does this mean we’re not really married? Sounds like a movie…
When the clerk gave me new paperwork to give to the officiant, he told me the officiant needed to mail it in himself.
Calling our elopement venue, I explained what happened and asked for the name and contact information of the officiant.
Everyone was so nice and apologetic and the officiant quickly sent the perfectly completed paperwork to the courthhouse, himself.
Obtaining my properly certififed copies of the marriage license at the courthouse the following week, so I could pursue my legal name change, etc, etc, etc, I breathed a sigh of relief.
JOHNNY DEPP AND I AT FAIRFAX COUNTY COURTHOUSE
As I left the courthouse, walking down the long hallway of massive floor to ceiling picture windows looking out to the parking lot, I noticed tons of reporters expectantly waiting for… Johnny Depp, who started his trial against his ex-wife that very day!
So our future book has the chapter about the movie star in our own movie drama! Just gotta laugh!
MY KIDS HELP A MONTH LATER
The day before Easter, my son and his fiancee surprised me with a visit…and they brought my daughter and granddaughter with them, none of whom I had seen since the move a month ago!
Although my son and his fiancee helped with the move, my daughter and granddaughter had ever seen the townhouse, so I gave them a tour.
While everyone wanted to love on the cat, the cat ran away as she usually does with new people.
Meanwhile my hubby bought a huge rolling cart at IKEA for the microwave to free up counter space, until I found a cart I liked better.
Helping W with his massive to do list, my son and his fiancee assembled the cart for me!
Happily, I made the kitchen feel like home by setting up my periwinkle blue Kitchen Aid and bluebonnets to feel at home. (see header)
SHAKING THEIR HEADS IN DISBELIEF
Despite our desire to renovate the ugly, we felt more like Cary Grant in Mr. Blandings’ Dream House with all the unhappy distractions that popped up.
A month after my kids visited, I discovered the kitchen sink backed up.
Ever since I cleared enough space in the kitchen to have room to cook, a new event in this townhouse since new ownership, I started experiencing issues that grew to impossibility.
Long story short, the contractor shook his head in disbelief when he discovered plumbing running uphill. (That took six weeks to figure out the problem and conquer.)
While going weeks without a kitchen, I discovered plenty of water flowing from an old watermain in our front courtyard, running into the street.
Thankfully, that was the problem of the county, whom we called so they quickly fixed that by midnight.
In preparation for our decks to be redone, we hired Junkluggers to haul away as much consruction debris discovered underneath our huge deck…the company shook their head in disbelief.
To address water leaks in our house, the contractor shook his head in disbelief when he realized there was no flashing under our front door, that caused massive rotting of wood on the floor and door frame.
That took nearly a year to chase down, beginning when I was a mere strategic advisor.
Sometimes my hubby teases me that he married me so I’d move in to handle all the problems more efficiently. 😉
ATTIC FAN SOLVES MASSIVELY HOT HOUSE IN SUMMER
Since we were totally roasting in the summer time in the 4th floor master suite, we hired a certified electrician to install a new fan in the attic, as the inspector had originally advised, because the old fan didn’t work.
When the electrician couldn’t take out the old fan because it was wedged in too tightly, we had to rebook so a roofer could cut it out and repair the roof after the new fan was installed.
What a nightmare, but quickly resolved and it made a huge difference in our air conditioning bil!
Our fourth floor master suite is now quite comfy with efficient air conditioning from the floor level unit in the summer!
LAUNDY ROOM AGONY
My hubby told me that upon moving in, he found lots of sand in the washing machine that took a long time to get rid of.
When I moved in after our elopement, I quickly learned that the old dryer in the basement laundry room fried the clothes, so I had to haul wet laundry up to the fifth floor loft to dry on one rack, while another rack held my wardrobe until a closet could be built for me.
Finally finding a lull in other problems to research and buy a new washer and dryer, the delivery team kept bringing the wrong units to our place. =/
At last the right set came, and we got new venting too!
THE PLUMBER REFUSED
Then a few months after the replumb of the kitchen, I realized that the water flow of the faucet became less and less each week.
Surprised, since the faucet was only a couple of years old, I asked a plumber to look at it but he refused to touch it, saying that code requires low volume faucets.
Understanding that, I asked him to just look at it, because this is beyond what the code limits, but he refused.
Meanwhile, a girl friend suggested a youtube search.
I learned that something could be clogging the faucet from within, so I removed the nozzle carefully, while trying not to lose the hose within by slipping the end of the fork up the shaft to keep the hose from getting lost in the neck of the faucet.
Analyzing the screened section of the nozzle, I found large flakes of something that I removed.
Apparently this can happen every few years with most faucets.
Wow! I conquered that one myself!
LATE OCTOBER PROGRESS PHOTOS
Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some pictures of what we’ve conquered!
Since we assembled an IKEA PAX unit for a coat closet in the foyer with some effectiveness when I was merely a strategic advisor, my hubby decided to conquer storage with more!
For kitchen pantry storage, my hubby assembled IKEA units last May in the dining room.
We also had an electrician install a new chandelier.
Although my hubby really wanted to hire someone to build a bespoke unit around the tv for media storage of our DVD collection, we found these bookcases and a media storage unit that he assembled himself last May.
This photo is on the other side of the tv, where another IKEA unit went for DVD, etc, storage.
He built another IKEA unit last May for more storage, of basically his many snacks, etc, which allows me more space in the kitchen. 😉
By early June, my hubby built a couple of IKEA PAX units for my new closets in the master bedroom!
Alas, the doors were on backorder, as were white units, so I was stuck with dark grey.
Since I couldn’t stand the dark grey, I glammed up my closets, which I really like! Now my hubby says we should add a third unit to fill out the space, which will be perfect for my historical clothing, now contained in the guest room closet.
EARLY JANUARY PROGRESS PHOTOS
We finally have French Country chairs and new sisal rugs that the adorable fluff ball adores.
She’s also learning how to share the couch, most often snuggled on my lap in the evenings.
Back when I was merely the strategic advisor, I asked the bachelor what was most important for him to have displayed in the main living area, to help me design the space.
Showing me this painting by his uncle who died in WWII, after whom my now hubby was named, I said it had to be hung on that wall as the first thing everyone sees when they enter the house.
Everything I advised the then bachelor was based around this painting.
When he wanted to buy a mid-century modern table, he asked me which color to choose for the chairs.
I chose brown leather, since it’s masculine and would ground the space, pulling elements from the painting.
When he saw some of my finished quilts, he wanted me to sew one of a vineyard design for over the couch.
Although I had recently finished sewing the perfect quilt top to coordinate with his vision and this painting, I told him I would sew another one just for him to keep.
Since he kept me so busy with the renovations, I never started it.
And then…we eloped!
When winter set in, I dug into my perfectly packed plastic boxes for a quilt sandwich ready to hand stitch while watching Christmas movies.
Knowing exactly which one to quilt, I laid it next to the painting to check the effect.
While the purple allows a small pop of color in this former bachelor pad, I blended the effect by purchasing navy blue pillows and door mat.
After Christmas, I decided to decorate this cabinet with some of my finished quilts, which freed up some space in my sewing room.
Putting out miniatures of my kids when they were babies, I’m sneaking a little French Country glam into the room!
This morning we awoke to snow, which makes the damaged deck look pretty good against the million dollar view.
Happily, we nailed the deck contract to appease the county, although we are still fine tuning the plans.
Nevertheless, it is hopeful our deck/patio/front steps renewal will be conquered this spring.
Also in December, we nailed the fireplace contract, which is currently in the works, which is great news, because massive amounts of cold air blow through that fireplace in the winter, despite our attempts to block the wind.
BEACHY BATHROOM REMODELS
We also found an amazing contractor who renovated our guest bathroom!
While checking all the bathrooms we’d eventually hire him for, he became distracted by obvious work projects, some of which I’ve shared here.
Quite knowledgeable, he chatted with us about all of those and has become a great reference.
He’s currently remodeling our master bathroom! Stay stuned!
SOUVENIRS FROM TEXAS
Meanwhile my son and his wife came to visit with souvenirs for me that they brought home from their recent trip to Texas.
I’ve been devouring that cookbook of Tex-Mex history!
What new chapters will we write this year? Stay tuned!
