House flippers

We're not really house flippers but we did buy, renovate and sell our 1st home in 6 months. It was totally unplanned but it happened. After going back and forth for 5 years about whether we should buy and stay in the Chicago area, we finally took the plunge. Trever was enjoying his job and by the end of last year, we felt confident that we would be living on the North Shore for at least another 3 - 5 years.

Before we even started looking our friends approached us about buying their home. They had just purchased the home 6 months earlier and ended up taking a job offer in Atlanta. They were selling the house for a good price but it definitely needed A LOT of work. After taking a look at the inspection report and having several conversations, we decided to purchase the home. After a long close (3 hours) on Valentine's Day, we took the family out to dinner, packed up our bags and headed to California to thaw out, relax and spend time with family.

Two days after we arrived in California we met up with an old co-worker of Trever's. They were kind enough to have our family over for brunch at their beautiful home in San Francisco. It was a perfect day, 70+ degrees in February! During that brunch, Trever's friend opened the discussion about having Trever come work for him. If you are putting this all together, this would mean a move back to the Bay Area after we just closed escrow on our first home. Ai yi yi! On the drive home we felt excited and deflated (maybe it was just me that felt deflated). What to do?

Well, we moved forward with the renovations and ended up renovating even more than we had originally planned. In 6 short weeks, we removed paneling, updated electrical, renovated two bathrooms and a kitchen, made other minor changes throughout the house and painted the entire interior. This involved a lot of decisions and a lot of internet searching and trips to Home Depot. Luckily we had someone doing the work for us, there was simply no way we could have pulled this off on our own during this busy season of our lives. In addition to the work done by the contractor, my parents came from Michigan to help us with other updates to the home. Tree trimming, new handles and hinges on all the doors, casing around bathroom doors, electrical work outside, curtain hemming, the list goes one. My mom also came out to help us with the move and stayed a few extra days to help us get settled. We are so grateful for all of their help and handwork. I am not sure we can convince them to help us with house projects or moves any time soon but I am pretty sure they will still come visit. ;) Here are a few of the before and after pictures.

Entry

 Before - removed beautiful sconce and added can lighting. There is a lovely door knocker on the front door that is just as amazing as the sconce.

After - can lighting, new paint, new knobs

Living Room

  

Before - painted out bookshelves, replaced chandeliers, painted entire room, patched wall near kitchen, removed curtains and large panel over curtains

After - I would have decorated differently, more mid-century modern but you get the idea. I love how the bookshelves turned out!

Kitchen

Before - we totally gutted the kitchen but left the same foot print. We removed the soffits and took the cabinets to the ceiling. We also removed the paneling for both the kitchen and family room areas. 

After - we are totally happy with this kitchen and love the white cabinets. Trever nailed the sink and we were pretty pleased with the counter top. Pretty sure we would do something similar if the opportunity presents itself in the future. 

Hall Bath

Before - this bathroom was a doozy! We originally planned to remove the shower doors, re-tile the shower and re-glaze the tub but we ended up redoing the entire room. When you start renovations, one thing leads to another. I am happy with the way it turned out and think it looks 100X better. 

Jane and Cate's Room

Before - removed shutters and paneling, added new light fixture, patched wall near door and painted. There was still more decorating to do but I loved the changes we made.

Master Bedroom

Before - painted paneling, fixed panel over sliders, dry walled the ceiling over the bed, removed light fixtures, and removed furnace.

After - this picture doesn't capture the entire room but you get the idea.

Master Bath

Before - removed wall paper (Trever), cased out doorways and added closet doors (Trever & my Dad), removed soffit above sink, removed shutters and painted entire bathroom.

So there it is, an entire house renovation in 6 weeks. This house had a great layout and still has so much potential. In the end, this was a crazy 7 months of our life but we learned A LOT! If we have the chance to do this again, I feel like this experience will be helpful. I did enjoy this house but didn't have much time to get attached to it or create memories. Strangely enough, the house I miss the most is the one on Wood Ct. The small 3 bedroom home where we were busting at the seams. Cate and Lizzie were born when we lived in that home and it will always be a special place for me. We hosted several family visits and celebrated our 1st Christmas there. We were also surrounded but the most amazing neighbors and Jane's best friend lived two doors down. 

I am still adjusting to our life in the Bay Area but know that we will create new memories in time. While it's nice to have a beautiful home, its more important to have a home where you feel love, create memories and simply enjoy being together. And so we begin another chapter.