If it’s been quiet on the blog there is a reason. This past spring, we finally decided that the house would never be finished at our current pace. There were just too many other demands on our time and too many projects more enjoyable than remodeling. We were fortunate to find a really good builder, one who mostly works on projects far nicer than ours, and set about planning a whole house renovation.

The bathroom was gutted and a new layout designed with a separate tub and shower. It was made bigger by incorporating the closet which formerly attached to Lee’s office.

The kitchen grew several feet in each direction, with a new layout and four larger windows. Cabinet construction starts next week.

We stripped off the first 9′ of exterior siding and sheathing was added for shear. This complements the shear upgrades we already added to the second floor.

Gutters were finally installed–a long overdue upgrade, given Oregon’s rainy weather.

New windows and door were added to the back. Our builder suggested that we open up the rear first-floor bedroom as a new dining area, a decision which refocuses the best views from the house out into the backyard. We spent the last six years puzzling over the floor plan and never considered this as a solution to our lack of dining space.

The whole house has been re-plumbed and the first floor re-wired as well.

The living room gets two new half-height windows to bring in light without messing up the furniture layout.

The whole process has been overwhelming, time consuming, and very exciting.