You always hear that the kitchen is the heart of a home. Well this home’s heart is not a healthy one and is in need of a heart transplant. So it is time to plan for this surgery, to increase the health of the house and give it another lifetime to live. We start by looking at the existing layout of the kitchen. The kitchen is currently 11’X11’ with a hallway that goes through it connecting the entry to the…
Today we tackle the area of the house I keeping eluding to, but keep avoiding. You are about to find out this has been for good reason. I told you this one deserved a story of its own. Well here it is… the workshop junk maze. What fun will we find at the centre of the maze once we wind our way through? Let’s start this story with a little reminder as to why we waited on this one. As…
We continue our material selection journey by looking at flooring options. So what is the best flooring for this house, given its age, the subfloor, the style and design theme we have chosen. If you have ever looked at flooring it is quite overwelhimg with all the different products that now exist. Gone are the days of just carpet, lino, hardwood or tile selections. Now? Well there is carpet, lino, hardwood, tile, engineered hardwood, cork, bamboo, laminate, vinyl tile, vinyl…
My apologies for the delay in this release, but it appears the rat race is getting the best of me these days, and has taken me off track from our journey. Non stop travel, long hours… haven’t even been able to find time to book a hair cut or dentist appointment! I have chipped a tooth and still yet to get in to see a dentist due to my schedule. Ummmm… I think I may have my priorities mixed up….
As we continue our journey down the less than uplifting remediation and demolition road, I decide to turn my attention to a happier topic and one that brings a great big smile to my face… planning the resuscitation of the house. As I previously mentionned I look at houses as living beings that need care and attention. And we know this house has lived a tough life and needs some love. So it is time to plan its makeover, and…
So in this post we enter the interesting and educational world of environmental assessments. Or as I refer to it, as going down the rabbit hole, as I have to admit I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland. As mentionned in my previous post Asbestos, Mould and Rats – Oh My!, we discovered we had asbestos in the drywall mud in the basement and a mould issue due to an ongoing leak in the bathroom. In Demolition Day –…
So after taking stock of the state of the house in our post ‘Keys Please – And the Journey Begins’, the real work begins. It is now time to see what we really have… time to tear it down in order to build it back up. But where to start? It is a little overwhelming as there is so much to do. As I stand in the middle of the house somewhat shell shocked, my husband gives me a shake…
Well we originally thought we would not begin any work on the land until the renos were complete. The intent was to just start prepping the land in the summer for planting the following year. We have discussed a lot about what we would grow, and have landed on quite the eclectic mix. I have opted for garlic and mushrooms. My husband, high rotation vegetable garden. It is yet to be decided what we will actually do. However, I have…
After our initial shock of the Asbestos, Mold and Rats pre-story, the journey from the rat race to country space officially begins, as we have finally received the keys to our little farmhouse and get see what further awaits us. Yay! I am excited and nauseous all at the same time. As I look at the house again with fresh eyes and a sense of reality, I think… what have we gotten ourselves into. I have to admit that the…
As mentioned in my previous post, Is There an Escape from the Rat Race?, my husband and I have purchased a delapitated old farm house in an effort to get back to the land and begin our journey to tranquility. First thing is to get the house reno’d before working the land. Ok I know most would not think of renovating a beat up house as a tranquil experience, but oddly enough the thought of it actually brings me great…