Fatigue is the best pillow.
- Benjamin Franklin

We are in the midst of remodeling 4 different properties. Here’s a sneak peek.

We’re doing a Ronald Reagan (“Tear Down That Wall”) in the first property:

We are still in the middle of the remodel, so I don’t have an After picture yet. Here is a glimpse mid-construction:

Another property is in need of some major concrete repair work:

My favorite new project is a house that is over 100 years old. There are FOUR leaded glass windows. Be. Still. My. Heart. Here’s a before shot of the entry hall:

Benjamin Franklin was right. I’ve been sleeping like a baby lately.

HGTV Dream Home 2009

Thankfully, we have a system in place to keep from overdoing it. Before we purchase a property to remodel, we have already decided 1) what rooms to rehab and 2) the extent of the rehab.

Rooms to Rehab:

The process of deciding whether or not to remodel a specific room depends largely its current condition. We ask questions like:

Are there wood floors under that carpet?

Will paint alone be enough?

Are the kitchen cabinets salvageable?

Is that a load bearing wall?

Extent of Rehab

The extent to which we rehab a home depends largely on its neighborhood. We always plan to be the nicest house in our price range but not excessively so. The MLS has a wealth of information about real estate neighborhoods. So we put on our sleuthing hats and scope out River Heights.

We investigate similar homes that have sold recently as well as homes currently on the market in the neighborhood. Pictures on the MLS listings offer information such as:

What type of countertops are in the kitchens of this neighborhood?

Are the shower walls tile or a plastic surround?

After

Does it have a garage?

That's our daughter #2!

After we “Nancy Drew” the remodel project, we practice self-control. A kitchen can still be beautiful without granite counters. It allows us to keep the price of certain homes within reach of more families.

Sleuth and budget. Works every time.

Linked to:
Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Here’s what a fresh coat of paint can do…

Loft After

Paint, however, can be quite fickle. Many people have found the perfect paint swatch only to discover, once it was on the walls, that it was NOT the perfect color. Paint can “turn” when it is exposed to different light. It’s almost like it has a mind of its own.

The worst example of unfortunate paint choices for me was during our latest rehab. We had a very dark, upstairs hallway that we wanted to lighten and brighten. The photo below was taken with a flash, so you don’t get a feel for how dark the hall was. Trust me, it was dimly lit.

Hall Closet door before rehab

My paint consultant from Sherwin Williams and I thought a soft, cheerful yellow would work well. However, the 2”x3” paint swatch we used to choose the color was NOT a big enough paint sample to accurately preview the color. When we painted it on the walls, it looked like a Preschool playroom. The kind of playroom where the kids scream all day long.

I rushed to the Sherwin Williams nearest the property. I grabbed a bunch of paint chips, went back to the house, and narrowed down my choices. Then I went back to the paint store and bought a quart of the color I thought might work. I painted a wide swath of color on the wall to make sure I really liked the paint. Here is the result…

Hall without closet door.

I have been working with Heather, my Sherwin Williams consultant, for years and have never needed to repaint a room. Normally, I love our paint choices. Wrangling the colors in this hall, however, taught me a good lesson. I need to preview a large sample of paint on the walls of a room before I make a final color decision. One quart of paint is waaaaaaay less expensive that having painters re-paint a property.

Linked to:

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Before/After Party at Thrifty Decor Chic
Power of Paint at Domestically Speaking
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Hope may be part of my infatuation with Before & After pictures. They remind me that it doesn’t matter where I am right now. I can always give myself a new beginning.

Before

After

North Bedroom Before

Built-in cabinets in North Bedroom

Note: Can you believe how beautiful those floors are? Just sanded them and put on three coats of polyurethane. I love uncovering beauty.

I pictured Laura and Mary Ingalls… nightcaps on and snuggled under heavy quilts.

This is Minnesota. It gets cold here in the winter, and this rehab project house had no heat in the upper level. Really. The kids who slept in these bedrooms (Hi, Flo & Arlyne!) were hearty souls.

Venting went through the dining room to reach upstairs

The furnace in this home needed to be replaced anyway, so we asked the HVAC guys to add vents to the upstairs.

Dining room after HVAC addition

North Bedroom during HVAC

There are so many angles to the upstairs bedrooms that the new venting additions are barely noticeable.

North Bedroom After

Now it’s nice and toasty. Even after yesterday’s foot of snow.

UPDATE: If you’d like some insight into what life was like in this home, you should read comments from previous posts about this house. Some kids, grandkids, and even a great-grandchild of the original owners of this home have left some fun comments.

Before

The bathroom window brings in soft light, but the room still felt dim. Much of the light was sucked up by the dark linoleum on the floor. Also, the cabinets overhead were great for storage but made the small room a bit claustrophobic.

Mauve, textured tile

The tile is still in great shape but not as up-to-date as buyers prefer.

Beadboad trim is composed of three different pieces

Instead of re-tiling or re-coating the existing tile, our budget required us to put up a tub surround. It is a nice, clean look. Brian Toutge, our carpenter, created a beautiful beadboard wall for waaaay less money than buying new tile.

Brian Toutge Carpentry & Remodeling

Painted beadboard and trim

After

Add a few touches here and there, and we have a peaceful, light-filled retreat.

Closet door before rehab

The bedroom next to the hall closet did not have its own closet. While you can use a wardrobe for clothing in a closet-less room, this attic bedroom is fairly small (made even smaller by angled ceilings). We decided to give the room more potential space by switching access to the closet from the hall to the bedroom.

Entrance to closet changed from hall to bedroom.

We took out the old door and replaced the baseboard with what was inside the closet.

Hall without closet door.

To save money we could have reused the old door in the bedroom, but it was really just thin, painted plywood. Instead we spent $60 on a new, solid wood door (thank you, Menard’s) and replaced the interior closet baseboard.

New closet access for bedroom

Inexpensive, quick, and easy. Now the new occupant of the bedroom will have a place to hang their clothes without dodging a wardrobe and the angled ceilings.

Just for fun, here are Before/After pictures of the rest of this attic bedroom:

Before

After

Joined this post in the Frugal Friday linky party at The Shabby Nest.

As you can see, the painters had already begun repairing the walls.

The stairs in this house are fun.  I love the way the last tread wraps around the wall into the living area.

Pardon the construction dust

I also love the hidden compartment.

Wonder what was stored in here?

We will be restoring the wood on the stairs to their original condition, not painting them.  Painting the risers and the trim can look beautiful, but it really is a matter of personal preference.  We’ll let the future owners make that call for themselves.

It is an older home built in 1946.  Even the exterior has character…

It needs a lot of work, but that’s what we love to do!