Under Construction

At nearly six months preggo, Frank and I decided it would be a ggggrrrreeeaaaatttt time to do a major (and I do mean MAJOR) home renovation project.  To this point, we dabbled in minor projects--refinishing hardwoods, changing light fixtures, and painting.  That just wasn't enough, friends.  This time, we decided to really up the ante.  On May 17th, we broke ground on a new master bath/laundry room/mud room addition.  Yes, I know.  You must have soooo many questions.  This is what the back of our house looked like before.  So sweet.  So innocent.  So...not muddy.

And this is what it looked like circa May 18th.  Heart. Attack.  Believe it or not, this pic doesn't do it justice. It was way worse than this in real life.  Trust.

You may be wondering why in the world we would tackle this project at such an interesting time in our lives.  Never fear, there is a method to our madness.  See, our house was built in 1937.  Clearly, a laundry room wasn't a top priority at the time.  So, when the technology came along, the laundry facility was placed in the basement.  The unfinished (and slightly dingy) basement.  That's not all.  To get to the basement, there are thirteen steps.  I know because I've counted.  Pre-pregnancy, I fell down these steps not once, not twice, but three times.  Luckily, I lived to tell about it.  Mr. Hubs, however, was not impressed and decided something had to change with the Baby on Board news. So, there you have it.

And since we're going to build a place for the laundry, we might as well add a master bath (also not important in 1937, apparently).  After all, baby Emma Jane needs a super awesome tub to play in (eventually). 

Throughout this project, I've learned A LOT.  So, maybe you're planning a major home project, or maybe you have some not-so-major projects that you want to tackle.  Here are some important things I've learned along the way.

1.  Download the Houzz app.  Or go to the website.  TOTAL life saver.


image from here

 You can "browse by space" and search thousands of super awesome bathrooms/living rooms/bedrooms/patios.  By scouring this site for hours on end, we formed a vision for our space and came up with a functional layout that will also (hopefully) look great.

Here are a couple of our inspirations:

2.  Hire the best Contractor you can.  Ask around and check out his/her work.  Our contractor found some major water issues that needed to be fixed.  Rather than overlook them and pretend they didn't exist, he fixed them and saved us a LOT of trouble down the road.  Being able to trust your contractor is probably the best thing you can do for your project.

3.  Make a REALISTIC budget and stick to it.  Formulating a budget is a waste of time if it isn't realistic.  Major projects, or any project really, should be done correctly,  so don't scrimp on the important things.  Having said all of that, falling in love with special-order marble tile from Italy probably isn't one of the most important things.  I learned this the hard way.  BUT, after much searching, we found a polished porceline tile that looked very similar for less than half the price.  If Italian marble isn't in your budget, find a solid replacement and move on. 

Looks like I only have three tips.  Oops. 

Now that you've seen the inspirational photos, you can hopefully get an idea of where we are going with the bathroom.  And no, we will not be having that $9,000 super cool bathtub you see in the Houzz photos.  Please reference #3 of the tips section.

Here's what the addition looks like today.  Estimated time of completion?  Two-three weeks.  This gal couldn't be happier, and I can't wait to show you the finished product.  Happy building!!

And again.