or, how the view in my house changed in the span of four weeks.
from this
to this
and now this
(my office)
(mckennas new color and new fan in her new room)
this whole experience has been pretty painless. we surprise everyone when they ask us “so hows the remodel going?” and we actually say “GREAT!” the company we have worked with is Upright Contractors, and they arent asking me to do this, but if you are in the surrounding areas of orange county and you are looking to add space to your house-these are the guys to call. every single seperate contractor they sent to our house from prep to carpentry to electricity was totally cool, very accomodating, and sensitive to the fact that i had four kids running around. one of the carpenters even helped us when one of our other pieces of furniture broke. went and got supplies and fixed it for us. they showed up when they said they would, they cleaned up every day before they left, and they have finished ahead of schedule.
we are SO HAPPY with the house now. we still have to add floors and then we get to do my favorite part-decorate.
but first the floors. we are getting all new floors throughout the house. our carpet was just………well…….lets just say beyond repair. our dear darling anna was quite the scientist in her 2nd and 3rd years of life. everything from paint, stazon ink, and red gatorade has been spread into the fibers of our front room carpet. we wont miss it.
because our house is tiny as it is (1375 sq ft)-and my scrapbook stuff and office work area took up the front room of our house, we are now going to have so much more living space. the entire downtairs will now be just a big place to hang out and relax when people come over. and to help seperate the limbs and noggins in our house from bumping up against each other so much.
and for me to have my office space upstairs, out of sight from anyone who should happen to come to the front door is such a lucky thing. i feel so lucky.
and for sweet kenna to get her own room, and sweet anna to be able to sleep in her room again. (for the past six months, anna has slept on the floor of the boys room to give mckenna the space she needs) if mckenna has to share with anna, she (mckenna) cant get to sleep and ends up keeping everyone up. one of her little quirks that we deal with is how hard it is for her to sleep. so this is going to make it more comfortable for all of the kids i think.
and the boys, they pretend to feel a littel jipped, but come on, we all know they would come crying to mommy the first night they had to sleep alone.
and i seriously dig that about them.
Cool to see the before, during and after. I am glad you survived and it sounds like you had a great company. Enjoy your new space.
Love the new banner – you take amazing pictures! I love that part of home remodeling – the re-decorating!!! So glad you had some great contractors too!
love it tara…looks great…so need MORE space in my little seaside gem…uggg..have a good day…
m
Loving the banner.. your text always looks so effortless (and yet i am not sure it is..LOL) .. and the remodel is going so well. Look forward to seeing the decorations :) Nice to have a little more space! We have downsized. My studio is about 1/3 the space but now it is in its own room rather than the front of our house.. it can be more ME, I can make a mess, I can shut the door.. it def. has its advantages!
Wow this is awesome! What a great way to make more useable living space….I am a jealous of your office area!
hee hee.. that’s us.. Tara.. so excited.. can’t wait to see more.. and I totally understand.. we’re in an 888 sq ft home.. and we are bustin’ at the seams.. can’t wait to upgrade.. hahaha thanks for sharing.. : )
wow- looks great, Tara! Great use of all that ceiling height. Congrats on the new space!
It looks fabulous Tara.. wow
looks beautiful!! i love the colour!
The house looks really great.
Have you ever seen that episode of The Wonder Years where Kevin and his brother Wayne finally get rooms of their own? They can’t wait, but when they are finally alone in their rooms they can’t get to sleep because they were so used to the other one being there. What you said about your sons made me think of that. :)
I see – the front open area will be your office and the back part, McKenna’s room. Cool!!! Looks great! :)
Congrats! it looks great! enjoy the new space :)
it looks great. super excited for you guys with all the extra space. i’m sure it’ll be a huge difference and improvement for everyone :D
Looks great…….so glad you had an easy experience with the contractors, I have heard nightmares. Can’t wait to see it decorated.
Tara – thanks for posting the remodel pics. Can’t wait to see it all the way finished! As for living in a small space – though it can be difficult and frustrating – I think it is highly underrated. We spent 7 years with the five of us in 1050sf and one little tiny bathroom. There is just something special about having to get along with what you have. While we do live in a bigger house now (thank you idaho!) there are some things that I miss about our tiny house.
It looks great Tara. I can’t wait to see what you do with it. You still need to come see our remodel. Maybe after school gets going again.
That looks amazing! Thanks for posting the recommended contractors–we’ve been thinking about it but I’ve heard such nightmares about contractors–glad to hear one that is actually raved about! Congrats on your new space!
Everything sounds so cool! Glad you are happy with the work and that you had GREAT contractors to work with. Good luck with the decorating!
Love your new banner! And how cool your house!!!! :-) Enjoy!
wow, looks great! Glad everyone is happy with their new spaces!
Looks awesome, Tara. Great idea. Can’t wait to see your space all set up. :)
I can’t wait to see it all set up either!
LOL my boys are like that too. i’m so happy for mckenna and her new room!
Congrats on the new addition. You are gonna love it. I can’t imagine living in that small a space with 4 kids. We had 2200 sq ft ranch in Florida. Only 2 boys, a dog and we felt like we were crawling all over each other. This bit of breathing room will be great!
i have to say it is so refreshing to hear of good contractor stories. what an awesome guy to come and fix broken furniture even. so sweet. awesome tara! can’t wait to see it in person someday!
looks great tara! it sounds like this will be absolutely great for your family. be sure to post pictures when you get you office all gussied up.
The remodel looks awesome! I have totally been dreaming of doing exactly what you have done, just for an office though, no bedrooms. Did they have to put beams down to your first floor to support the floors? and if so . . . . are they obtrusive and how are you adjusting to not having the high ceilings anymore? (I think the tradeoff would be worth it, USE-ABLE space vs. not!) THANKS for sharing.
how nice is going to be to have the extra room. you’re not going to know how you ever lived without it. love the natural light and color on the walls. i cant wait to see the kitchen cupboards.
cindy:)
Hey T, Just been thinkin about you and thought I’d check in! Looks like you’ve have a busy summer! LOVE the new space you added! I’ll bet you are LOVING it! I’ll be in town this weekend for my sister n laws wedding. Would love to see ya! Call me if you have a minute! Mar
Bonjour,
always good pics.
tfs
PROLIX
{ThE fReNcH tOuCh}
http://prolix.typepad.fr
What an ingenious use of space!
It looks fantastic!
Good job!
Wow!!! To have a loft! I’m working out of my kitchen!!! Good for you!
i know all about small space challenges. Tara, it is looking amazing. Cannot wait to see it all complete!
– nia
room looks great! love hearing wonderful contractor experiences. husband is a tile contractor and he is always getting comments like “wow,you are so clean and on time.” i am sure everyone will enjoy there new spaces!!!
Wow! That looks *brilliant*! How cool – you guys are going to LOVE it!!
LOVE the new color. I painted my twins’ nursery the same shade. So soothing. I can’t wait to see pictures of the finished “decorated” product.
Totally love remodeling photos, so happy for you!
I know you must be so glad to get this all finished! It looks great!
If you don’t mind, I’d LOVE to know the name of the color you used. We’re painting our entire downstairs and that green would be just perfect.
Thanks! And I hope you have a wonderful trip to Mexico-
Whitney