Wednesday, June 03, 2009

The New Porch

Just to give you a little perspective, hubby and I have been in this house together for over 12 years. Hubby lived here with his five children for about four years prior. When we got together the house was only one level with two bedrooms. We're talking nine people in about 800 square feet! No, there is not a basement.

The dormer was started, but it took another couple years to finish. So, it's been about 10 years since stage one was complete. Then, we remodeled the main floor. What a project that was. We doubled the size of our kitchen and our bathroom and created a wonderful master bedroom. There are quite literally only two walls in our home that have not been touched outside of fresh paint. We're talking A LOT of work here people!

The outside of the home is the "final" stage. As if anything is ever totally complete when it comes to your home! I have been waiting FOUR years for the front porch to go up. I couldn't be more happy. Hubby and his buddy completed it in a weekend; over 30 hours of labor!

The remaining project for this summer is to add shutters to the windows and put a BIG star in that void to the right of the upstairs window. Talk about a face lift. Adrian's guitar instructor didn't even recognize the house when he came to give him his lesson after it was first finished. The complements abound, and we are ever pleased with the results.

What may seem obvious is that we have accepted the fact that there is no way we can move in this economy. We've gone from owing less on our house than what it's worth to owing so much more than what it's worth that we cannot even refinance. What a joke! So, our dreams of country life are on hold. Therefor, we decided to create an oasis with country charm right here in the city. Next summer will see the same thing done to our back deck. There is still gardening left to do for the summer that will hopefully produce enough food to put up and share with the local food bank. We'll see how it all pans out.

8 comments:

Salute said...

You guys got it looking good.

Karen, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry" said...

Owning a house sure does keep one busy, not to mention what a money pit it is. But, it's worth it when you fix up your home the way you want it and it looks so nice!

Tina @ The Zoo Crew said...

Salute - Thank you very much!

Karen - You are right, right and right! When I was younger I never wanted to own a house. Sometimes I wish I had stuck with that train of thought. However, I have come to the conclusion that we are where God wants us, and he has gifted us with the ability to make our house a home. A work in progress is never complete, and that is okay.

Maria@Conversations with Moms said...

I know you have country dreams but still, it must be amazing to see the transition in the home. Enjoy the "new" house.

Unknown said...

It looks very nice. I like it.

Tina @ The Zoo Crew said...

Maria - Yes, it is amazing to see the transformation. It nowhere resembles the original home that was built in the early 1940's. It's come a long way, and it is refreshing to have changed gears at gotten back into making the home we envisioned.

Laane - Thank you!

Anonymous said...

What a very odd looking house with only 1 window on the front lol

Good Job on the porch though!

-- Christopher

http://life-accordingtochristopher.blogspot.com/

Tina @ The Zoo Crew said...

Christopher - You should have seen it before the porch! Now you know why I like it so much, and why we are not finished. I cannot wait for the shutters and the star to go up!

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