Michigan House Renovation Progress Months 2-3

OK, time for an update! I really wanted to document this house renovation process more thoroughly than this, but alas, I haven’t had a ton of time to do it because we’ve been busy actually work on the house in our free time! (I should have anticipated that, right?).

Most of the bigger work we’re having done we outsourced to a contractor, but Mark and I are still doing a lot of the little things ourselves, which we’ve been trying to do during naptime when we’re up there on weekends — so our portion of the project has been slow-going. We’re painting the whole place, inside and out, doing all of the landscaping/ outdoor work (of which there is actually a lot given the small footprint of the house!), and making all of the design decisions as we go along.

As for the big stuff the contractor is handling, it’s moving along nicely, although we’ve definitely hit a few snags along the way.

Like: apparently there was a fire in the house we didn’t know about, so some damaged beams needed to be replaced. There’s lead paint all over the house, so we have to take super-strict precautions doing all of the work since I’m pregnant and we have a toddler. The rood needed to be replaced. The toilet couldn’t be moved as easily as we thought. And things have also just gotten delayed due to the contractor’s schedule, having to special order certain things, etc.

STILL! We’ve made so much progress and I feel like this house is going to be awesome when it’s done. 

For example..

The tile is up in the bathroom! 

That’s it going in.

And here’s what it looks like currently! So much better than where it started!

Downstairs, the floor is in, and we started painting the living room and fireplace, which has been a game changer for the space. At the same time, I totally underestimated how many coats of paint it would take to cover that green color. We’re on number three. 

We also got the kitchen cabinets in! No hardware, sink, light fixtures or appliances just yet, but I’m envisioning it….

Oddly, one of the things I’m most exciting about is this bannister. Knocking out the stairway wall was one of the best decisions we made for the house because it opened up the space so much and lets a ton of light into the living room. We’re going to stain it to match the floor, although I kind of don’t hate it being so light…

The floors have also been refinished upstairs, and one of the bedrooms is completely painted. This will be the kids’ room. 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be finishing the bathroom, getting the kitchen appliances and sink in, and doing a TON of painting. I’ll update soon!