addition update : so close yet so far away

I go through stages in each renovation. I see this reflected in our clients a lot too, so it must be a psychological thing. {Someone really needs to do a study.} We often feel like a combination of therapists and marriage counselors when we help our clients take something on, because been there done that, and it’s a real process. My cycles of emotion usually look something like a mixture of this: 

Excitement – obsession – struggle – one two skip a few – fixation – so close so far away – tiny details – completion.

Except that’s oversimplifying and in the one two skip a few, there’s some blood sweat and tears in between planking, painting, and more. If you can’t tell, we’re in the so close yet so far away, phase. Because it can feel never ending when you’re in the middle of it. This time, there has been flooding, water damage in another part of the house, {Wheee! more on that below} and a lot of steps and product delays to make this happen. Each phase has felt like it’s literally taken forever.

So we have never been so stuck, yet so productive in all our lives. Though there haven’t been many space reveals here lately, we’ve been quietly getting new ones off the ground and as I mentioned in this post, we have a few projects left, just waiting. I know our sweet {oh so patient!} clients feel the same. HALP. Thanks inflation and Covid. Coming soon. Promise.

In between client work we’ve been filming + generating content for brands, and trying to tackle quite a few things. All whilst being productive. So our last update was in March, and you can start there with backtracking if you want to see some more progress stuff before this – we have it linked there too in case you have no idea what we’re talking about.

Just a little round up of the past: {If you’re familiar, you can skip this part} 

• We were thrilled to announce our primary owner’s suite addition this past summer + a history of our house. It’s been a really long process for us, one we weren’t sure would happen. So we’re adding on and expanding in an awesome way for our family.

• Here, we shared our plans, and little of what we’ll be taking on in our front yard, to solve our mullet prob, as well – coming this summer. And the beginning of it all, here.

• I’m also in the middle of tackling stained glass doors, because when things are crazy, let’s drown ourselves in another project!

But I’ll try to keep this update short + sweet. Brevity has never been my strong suit. 

1. The infamous hole! 

It’s here. All trimmed out. Hidden behind this plastic which looks like E.T. could be residing behind. We now have to enter and exit via a hole in the wall in our kitchen, like proper rednecks. The pressure was on, before we knocked through because we weren’t sure if the floors would meet up, or not. Close enough, Padawan. Close enough. But oh the floors! Another saga coming soon to a computer screen near you, below.

Here’s the view once the E.T. plastic is pulled back. 

Which means that redneck Narnia is gone!

I have no idea why our dog is sitting like a statue. 

My closet now looks like, well, a closet.

I shared what the other side looks like now, here. 

I thought nothing could be better than windows. I was wrong.

I can’t tell you how large our house feels now, especially since we started out with 1600 sq ft when we moved in, 5 years ago. 

2. Planks + Trim + Caulking + Beams

We’ve been busy planking! Trim is finished on the inside, which we took on ourselves, to save thousands, since we also wanted planked ceilings. It’s how we roll. Then it was on to caulking. Pocket doors are in and beams are up. We also finished up the drywall with little pieces we were waiting on. 

It’s just all really starting to come together. This is the part where things start to snowball. And we really needed things to snowball in a good way. Here are a few views we’re not tired of looking at…

The fireplace/space for a tv. Here we’ll have bookshelves flanking each side, with drawers at the bottom for storage. I can’t wait to have a lazy day here. 

Where our bed will go…

Looking back from the bathroom to the butler’s pantry entrance from the kitchen.

Our bathroom!

This is the entry from the outside – with that fabulous window world door and a punch of our favorite grey. 

And the other side, where his vanity will sit. 

How fun to see a peek of this! It’s a good sign when doors go in. This one took three men {one of them Jamin} since it’s made of iron. They are my heroes. I decided on the frosted glass so it would be nice to close this door when people are over if I prefer to pile my messes in the laundry like a normal person.  

Peek of the laundry room.

And our toilet room has a door! We actually have a separate toilet room! It’s the little things y’all. 

3. Siding – outside! 

Meanwhile… If you remember this fall, we took on an entirely new roof on the house – which was much needed for both practical and aesthetic reasons. Bye, brown. We’re excited to see the outside come together slowly but surely, since the shakes + siding have been added. We plan to paint soon, but because the elevation was off via the plans, {long story} we were waiting on landscapers to excavate a little more dirt.

This is a little bit of a if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie situation, because it’s also related to all things flooding problems we’ve been having. So while the yard needs some grading, we also plan to do something about this look.

Yes. Hot mess express.

The good news is, we were able to save the giant magnolia, which I was very adamant about from the beginning. The yard just needs some serious landscaping, which will all come in due time.  

You may also remember that during Covid, we planted ALL THE TREES in your acre yard. This wall was essentially for privacy, and it was moved back to accommodate the primary suite. That means our patio around the pool will be expanding, and makes for more seating for guests, beyond the cabana. In the future that is. Because we like to throw ragers. JK not really. We just love our back yard. 

Ahhh much better.

TL;DR, It’s all connected. Fabulous siding from the amazing Window World in. Paint coming soon. At least the giant pile of dirt that sat for four months in our front yard is gone. We almost put Christmas lights on it for funsies in December. The front is a hot mess. We have plans for all of this. I promise, neighbors.  

4. Painting 

DO YOU KNOW THAT AFTER THIS PART, we can do TILE?! and after that, FLOORING?! and while we still have some custom cabinets to bring in, then we CAN MOVE IN BEFORE THAT?! Color. We’re happy to see it.

The kids {younger two are 12 + 14, M + F, still sharing} are SO excited about finally getting their own space. Wheee. Almost there.

We’ve had some {more} pivots… since everything is connected. So things have changed a little. But after all the trim work and caulking we’re here.

Which brings me to…

5. Design Pivots

They happen. I can design spaces all day for clients. My house? I’m all over the place. My family really just wants me to make up my mind and MOVE ON already.

This rug arrived, which I fell in love with and found a great deal on, via Overstock. Win. It should tie in beautifully with those stained glass colors for the double doors. This photo doesn’t do it justice but I love a good hit of purple + blue together.

Stained glass is happening, in between EVERYTHING ELSE. Not a pivot. Just touching base. Reminding myself that I love it and that I can still make this happen even though life is chaos. 

Again, these photos just don’t do it justice.

I still have some oil paintings I plan to do for our spaces, and the kids’ which we have also JUST started designing.

But this is my most exciting creative project right now. I can’t wait. 

Yes, I did turn this side of the pool room into my studio to hold all the things. 

I have a new series coming where I plan to share some fun projects so we can do this together, if you’re so interested. I know just enough to be dangerous, {and fun!} but hey. Let’s create. 

And… you may have seen last week where Kichler just released a new line, and I’m obsessed.

Guess what’s going in our bathroom now? The other chandelier is equally fabulous and is now going over our bed. Because chandeliers. 

6. Floor Pivots

I’ll keep it short. But this is the main reason I’ve been all over the place. Our crappy {off brand} kitchen faucet went south, and started to leak about a month ago. Water on the outside + water on the inside. Yay.

It went down the cabinets. Through the floor. Our current kitchen floors are hardwood. I caught the leak early, but the floorboards are warped, and now coming apart. This. Is. SEWIOUS. {Name that kids’ show.} 

Even though we caught it pretty quickly, since water damage literally takes a millisecond to happen, this sucks. Our hardwoods are continuous throughout the house. That means insurance would dictate what we choose for new floors. And oh PS these are discontinued. Yay. I’ve gone back and forth about what to choose for the addition, because we knew that eventually we’d be redoing these inside anyway, what I wanted more than anything is uniform floors. 

Sometimes life is weird with timing. And sometimes, you live in a camper while they redo the ENTIRE inside of your house this summer, even if it is a headache on top of a headache. But also an adventure? That means I’m changing my mind again, about hardwoods. Can you blame me?

We’re going for simple – White Oak, sealed with Loba 2k Invisible Protect. Now that the doggos have chilled a little, we’re ready to lighten everything up. NO obnoxious shine. I’ve been doing my homework. I want simple and real. I should never tire of this, and it will gloriously hide all those smudges that drive me crazy, whilst also being beautiful for years to come. 

So wish us luck. We’re close. Excited to see some major progress. 

Stay tuned + thanks for stopping by!