Farmhouse Renovations

I admit, I am a big fan of HGTV and (when I had more free time!) would binge watch episodes of Fixer Upper and Property Brothers for hours.

I grew up renovating homes with my mother, whose father was a contractor, and honestly 10 year old me hated it. In fact, in 6th grade I wrote a poem for school about how I'd had to spend my Spring Break digging fence hole posts and hanging rafters in the hot Florida sun. My mother still laughs about that.

At some point, between my college education and numerous Pinterest boards, I became interested in construction and renovations. Bummer I didn't pay closer attention to all those projects my mom forced me to help with.

Luckily, I have an awesome contractor, a husband who supports my back and forth decision making, and a knowledgeable parent who gives advice (along with her every opinion on the style we choose and the money we put into it 😂) I highly recommend a strong support system like this!

We have been very lucky with the condition of the bones of our home this far, and even though we know the importance of a contingency budget, it still hit hard when we found multiple structural beams with intentionally hidden damage, a scary lack of insulation, and a powder post beetle infestation (yuck!!) We ended up having to use money we would have put towards lovely wall cabinets to fix the behind-the-scenes issues. I used to think there was nothing less gratifying, but I've changed my mind. Knowing we have a structurally sound and safe home for our family and for future families is such a relief (and we are very, very grateful no one fell through the rotted floor up until now!)

I thought I knew exactly what we were getting into when we bought this house and started the list of renovations. Since then, our floor plans have changed entirely, our budget has been re-sorted, and we've taken on so much more construction then I ever imagined possible, and yet- I don't think I ever want to live in a house we haven't made entirely ours!

I can now say "jacking up" a house is not quiiiite as terrifying as it seems, I can relate to HGTVs homebuyers in so many ways, and I've lowered my home project deadline expectations with a toddler to chase after and a business to run. Most of all though, I know in the end it is all worth it.