Three Months In and Loving it, But Lots of Work to Go!

Scott recently related to me that his biggest worry about buying the retro ranch was that we'd move in and be roughing it for quite a while before the house was livable. He was worried he might resent the move. He went on to say that even though there is much work we want to do, he is pleased with our progress, the overall livability of the home and is very happy at 3301. We've been here for three months now, so it seems a good time to review our progress and reset our expectations for the next three months.

We have checked off many items on our original list of projects including a new furnace, cleaning the ductwork, new electrical service box, replaced all the outlets and switches, painted all the bedrooms and tore out all the carpets revealing gorgeous red oak hardwoods. We had the crawlspace cleaned, a new vapor barrier installed and Ben the rat has been evicted. We've applied elbow grease to the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, the wood doors and trim, and the exterior removing plant material that was encroaching in the eaves and soffits.

Outside Scott has begun the task of controlling the plant life in the yard, trimming back overgrowth and removing clay pots from the yard. We've received a quote for trimming up some of the trees, which will happen in the coming weeks. Inside we've added closet solutions to all three bedrooms gaining tons of storage and almost making up for the storage we miss from the condo:  

Master bedroom closet

Corner bedroom closet

Office bedroom closet (media and guitar storage)

We hung guitars and pictures in Scott's office, completing what we are calling the bedroom "wing" of our home...another thing checked off the list! The color on the office walls morphs as the days grow longer and the lighting changes, moving from a golden color in daylight to almost green in evening light:

Scott's bedroom office

Scott's bedroom office (the fun part)

Still to come in the bedroom wing are new window treatments for the office and master bedroom. And I ebayed the cutest vintage pink glass tulip swag light for the corner bedroom that we'll be hanging this week.

We have big plans for the next three months. In addition to the exterior work that will begin as the weather dries out - exterior paint prep, more landscape control, and downspout drainage issues - possible projects include:

Replace all the old galvanized water lines with new pex waterlines:

Repair or replace the chimney, desperate for attention:

Replace the old water heater, moving it to the garage leaving more room in the laundry room for future improvements:

We received a recommendation for a general contractor from a trusted friend for our planned renovation of the bathrooms. Today the general contractor brought their sub-contractors through in order to get quotes for the extensive work required. We'll receive the overall quote in a few weeks and then start planning for the following three months. But, for now I think we have our work cut out for us.