This is going to take awhile!

I can't seem to get much done while I have the kids at home. I am usually the type to be as sad to see the end of summer as the kids are, but this year I'm happy for the free afternoons I'll have. My dad has been busy working on the scaled floor plans for the house while I've still been working on the yard and organizing the surveys and architect. I can't wait until he gets those plans done so that I can start fiddling around with them. I've got so many ideas already but really need to test their workability on a scaled plan. To try and stretch our budget, I'm hoping to work with much of the existing floor plan. I think this is easier to do with the 2nd and 3rd floors, but need to totally rework the main floor. I also have big ideas for the basement, but will have to see where the eventual supports end up.

Can't believe we did it!

After 8 years of admiring one of the houses in our neighbourhood and dreaming of ways to fix it up, we somehow managed to buy it! The former owner was a 95 year old woman who had been very active in the community, but she unfortunately just couldn't stay in her beloved childhood home any longer. When I heard that the family might be selling the house, I decided to make an out of character bold move and send them a note. I wrote about how much I admired the house and the area, and that we would love to buy it from them. To my delight, they responded saying that they would consider it. Although there was some uncertainty about it all for a little while, and we saw so many people going through the house, in the end it all worked out. We managed to buy (and close!) the house in a very crazy 3 days!

So now the work begins. We have a pretty healthy budget for the renos, but we also have some pretty grand ideas for the place! And after speaking with 2 architects, we were told we'd have to double our budget to get what we wanted. A little discouraging, but I know we'll work it out.