Here are a few recent photos from the renovation that clearly won’t be done this month as previously indicated.
Renovation Update
Renovation Update
I haven’t posted an update on the house lately simply because most of the work being done was not particularly apparent in photos (plumbing, electrical, etc). Also because things are behind schedule. Now that we’ve moved passed the first rough-in inspection, drywall is starting to go up and the walls smoothed out, closing off former doorways and fireplaces. It’s startling how much of a difference it makes to have the living room, spare room, and master bedroom closed off as separate rooms. Soon drywall will go up in the kitchen and bathroom as well. It’s beginning to not feel like an empty shell but an actual home. I can envision our furniture in place, art on the walls. These photos aren’t exactly exciting, and clearly there’s a lot more to do, but I’m happy there is progress.
Lately
I forgot I owned this dress until recently when I saw a very stylish woman at the doctor’s office wearing something similar. I wanted to compliment her but was too scared, of course. I dug this out and wore it twice last week.
Happenings at our bookstore during the Arts in the Heart Festival.
Goods purchased from my favorite potter, Wade Franklin, at the festival. I go a little overboard every year. He has a sale at his home in November and I do the same there. I really, really love pottery, especially when it’s functional and beautiful.
The weather is getting cooler and I’ve been living in this KY sweatshirt I found recently. My father-in-law went to school there, so that makes it even more awesome.
My dear Apollo, looking regal and somber as usual.
David and I call her Shelob. She’s back (or one of her kin) and terrifying as ever.
Delicious buckwheat porridge that I’ll be eating for many breakfasts. Next on my list to try is this chocolate peanut butter avocado pudding. Comfort food at its best.
Two quick progress shots from the house renovation. The first, a view of the back of the house where the laundry room has been extended a couple feet. The second, a view of the wall in our bedroom where there’s going to be some recessed shelving. It may be my favorite feature of the house.
A really incredible piece of art, a carved wood whale by Jay Jacobs (y’all, he’s so good), that we were able to buy at a very good price. I couldn’t even wait until daylight to take a better photo. I’m still figuring out where to put it, but I’m so excited I get to look at it every day.
These crazy looking flowers (they’re probably really weeds or something) popped up in the front yard of our future house. I knew they’d look perfect in this pitcher.
House Before, Renovation Weeks 1 and 2
For many years it’s been my father-in-law’s plan to retire from architecture at 70, move here from Florida, and buy a historic building downtown to renovate and live in with us (David and I are immensely blessed and thankful for the incredible generosity and love of his father). This space would house our bookstore as well–store downstairs, apartments upstairs. After years of searching for a building and having multiple options fall through, it was decided that for now a better plan would be to buy a house instead. This, of course, is an incredible gift, but it’s not just for us! The house needed to either have an existing apartment or the capacity to add one relatively easily. After much searching we finally settled on one we all loved and perfectly fit our needs (I could go on and on about how thankful we are that David’s dad included us in the buying process and cared about our desires). It’s in our favorite historic neighborhood, where we all already live now and knew we could never leave. The two story house was originally built in 1936. At some point, the upstairs was converted into an apartment with its own outside stair access. The previous owners kept the spaces flowing as one, using the upstairs for extra bedrooms. For our purposes, the upstairs will be closed off as an apartment for David’s dad and the downstairs is the perfect size for our needs. It’s been more than a year since my father-in-law bought the house, and after some difficulty getting the contractor situation figured out, renovation has finally begun. Hopefully everything will be completed before the holidays. What a wonderful way to end the year, celebrating in our new home.
Before the contractors started, David’s dad went ahead and did some demolition on his own (71 and still working hard), so these photos (of the downstairs only) aren’t exactly how the house looked when he bought it, but you get the idea. There’s a nice fenced in backyard, but I’ll get to that another time. I’ll also post before photos of the upstairs apartment in a few weeks, once renovations start on that portion. Click through below to view more photos.