and another one...

we have one more contender on our house-hunting list...

the pros:

* untouched {well they did put in really bad laminate flooring which sucks to replace...but other than that!}

* feels larger {although it's still 1100 sqft like the others}

* more potential for living space in the basement

* has a double garage 

{one that needs a lot of work, but still, it has a garage!}

* the price!!! {that's really the bottom line isn't it?!}

* awesome neighbourhood for families

the cons:

* no ensuite {not even a two-piece?! come on!!}

* needs quite a lot of updating {windows, furnace, etc}

* the area, being a "suburb"

{although really, in the grand scheme of Calgary's expansiveness, not really!} 

probably has a lower resale value

* lots of updates + lower resale value = tricky to do the job how we want to {ie the right way!}

* currently owned by smokers {not a hard fix but still, stinky!}

how do you like me now...

419 dining room facelift

{new view towards back deck}

{new view towards living room}

{new view from kitchen}

{new view towards kitchen}

This room didn't need too much work...

once we got rid of the doors and added a new, bigger patio door

the room really opened up.

Can't say that the light is something I would have ordinarily chosen...

but when you're already over due with a giant baby in your belly 

and family is coming to stay with you,

and you have to get the house in a functioning state...

it does the trick!

Oh babe, the lights not THAT bad!  and its even better when controlled by a dimmer (every light is better that way)


Green Alert; every light controlled by a dimmer is automatically more efficient by around 10%
hahaha.... seriously.


and we used low voc paint, and a lot of the materials were recycled too that we used so...  just wanted to say that if you can, try to make that a criteria for your reno's too


ok, thats enough from this dork.
ciao

remember when...

the dining room looked like this?!?

{view towards back deck}

{view towards living room and front of the house}

{view into dining room from kitchen}

{veiw towards kitchen from dining room}

The dining room felt even more claustrophobic than the living room.
So first things first,
* those doors are coming down
* that darn light {which caused too many bruises on the head to say} is out
* the dark green paint is gone
* the room needs to be opened up

Stay tuned...

first round down...

This weekend brought seven houses to look at.

While they were interesting {to say the least},

there was definately lots of potential...

along with lots of work!!

Here's a glimpse of what we saw:

{pics taken from realtor.ca}

A

B

C

D

E

F

G


What do we know for sure?!
* we're not doing a massive overhaul this time, so room sizes have to be right
{none of this taking out a bedroom to make the house livable!}


* we want a house untouched by other people's "handiwork"
{really, if you're not going to do the job right or completely, save the materials}


* exterior work can eat up a budget, so it's got to have good "bones" outside too
{sorry arches, this means you}


* 1600 sqft is probably too much house for us at this point
{we don't have the furniture to fill you , nor do we need 3 living rooms}


So...
the contender from this weekend is little ol' letter D,
untouched in all its 1960's glory.


What else will come along...

it's official folks...

the deal went through, we've sold!

What a beautiful sign!

The search begins...

60 days to find somewhere new!

We'll update you with all the options that come our way!

how do you like me now...

419 living room makeover

 {new view towards the front of the house}

 {looking towards the spacious new entry!}

{view towards the newly opened dining room} 

{the updated fireplace - just needed some love!}

Gotta say, 

what a difference it makes when you open some doorways!

{and lighten the colours!}

The living room is all of a sudden giant!!

So giant that it can accommodate a 93" sofa from Pottery Barn!

{awesome floor model sale price - score!}

Also, opening the room gave us a new found love -

for the fireplace.

{you almost got torn out there buddy! so glad you changed our minds and are here!} 

To be fair - it seemed to take up the whole room before.

We didn't think we could fit anything else in there! 

and

it had gold metal on it - that's a deal breaker!

but

spray paint is a wonderful tool!

we did it...

we sold!!!

{well pending inspection and financing - but celebrations anyway!}

Naturally, we celebrated with a session of jumping on the bed!

{doesn't everyone celebrate big life moments like that?!}

Gray may not know what the excitement is for -

but he likes it!

Many power fists and super jumps later...

'the ROD' came by and we signed the papers,

and yes, pending the inspections {which I relish the outcome!} and financing, 

this stage of our journey is over.

July 13th - we open a new chapter.

I honestly love this house, the work we've put into it, and the time we've spent in it.  

But, with everything we've learned here and everything we've done, we're ready for the next phase and it's time to start again, and begin ...

life IN CONSTRUCTION 2.0 

remember when...

your living room looked like this, 419?!

{looking towards the teeny-tiny entry way}  

{looking towards closed-off dining room}

 {the giant fireplace that seemed to take up the entire room}

{looking towards the front of the house from the dining room}

OLD!

 (Brian will get this, as well as all the rafting "supercrew")  OLD.

full stop

those weak, "designer" colours make the room feel small and closed in, 

not helped by the small doors and awful lighting.

prescription:

* 4 parts destructive anger

* 1 part (semi-) handy fellow 

{wifey here gets to veto that - he's beyond handy!}

* 2 parts good taste 

and BYAH!

{oops. sorry, you'll have to wait to see the reveal}

stay tuned......

guess whaaaaaat...

We listed!!

It's finally on the market...

we had a last minute list of "to do's" {you know the kind that go on and on and on...}

so there was a scramble to actually finish those items!!

{hence why we've been M.I.A for almost a week...}

We had our first showing yesterday,

three tonight {yipe},

one more tomorrow,

and an open house Sunday {double yipe}.

No time to slow down!!

On another note...

We had a second first yesterday...

We VOTED!!

{I know, I know, it's sad that it's taken us BOTH so long to declare this, 

but better late than never ok?!  You gotta start somewhere!}

Now here's pictures of Gray to distract you!

{taken on the way to vote, so it's somewhat related}

We'll keep you posted!