We had Dan come today for our first official "meeting". He was here for about 2 hours measuring (very detailed), drawing pictures of each room and taking pictures of different things inside and outside. He said our next step is to start researching things we would like to incorporate into our addition..to each make an individual list of things we need (as opposed to want) and decide what fits our lifestyle.....to give him some ideas of where we want to go with this. Then to sit down together and come up with a combined list. ........What he doesn't realize is that this may not end pretty...while Joe and I are on the same page with most things we have quite different ideas with other things. This should be interesting to say the least..but still fun! Keeping an open mind! ;oP
As far as Dan's next step..he will begin with drawing "original plans" of the house..how it stands now...with all the details he measured, etc..and then adding what the town tells him (as far as how large we can do, and the specifications we need to follow).
He described the process as follows: Think of this first drawing as a very broad aerial view...as if someone took a picture of Earth from the moon.....with each new step (plan) we take......it's like zooming in......to a closer picture, which includes more detail....until we have a real plan of what we are doing (like a helicopter view of just our property), and this would be the final drawing. I thought was a nice metaphor..... spoken at my level.....and so easy to understand. This is why we like Dan so much!
So now we do our homework..........and try not to kill each other in the process! ;oP And I will start adding some pictures to this page..and gathering ideas! We meet with him again in 4 weeks!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What's the Plan?
Tomorrow we will be meeting with Dan for the first time..he will come and do a full measure of the house so he can start the plans for us. We have decided to stretch this process out a little longer then normal for a few reasons...1 being we'd like to save more money for the addition. Another reason is b/c we don't want to break ground in the winter, or have it built in the winter months. And finally we want this to be perfect..so we will take our time with it all.
As of right now, we have an idea of what we want to add on and what we want to change to the existing house.
First off, we need a bigger kitchen. The 8x13 galley kitchen isn't working for us anymore. So the addition will go off the back and the first floor addition will be primarily the kitchen. Also on the 1st floor along with the kitchen we are looking to do a mudroom, laundry room and smaller bathroom (full bath with stall shower).
The 2nd floor addition will be a master bedroom suite. Bedroom, full bathroom and walk in closet. Making 3 bedrooms upstairs.
And finally we are bumping out the basement the same size as the other 2 floors.
We will be turning our galley kitchen into a butler's pantry -- connecting the new kitchen to the dining room, removing the full bathroom on the first floor and making a hallway into the new kitchen, and creating a small hallway on the 2nd floor.
New siding & central air for the entire house will also be part of this project. We'd also like a deck off the kitchen in the yard.
As of right now..before even meeting with Dan, this is what we want. I am sure things will change and be removed and added as we go..but this is our VERY preliminary "plan"..in our heads!
I am so excited to start this process tomorrow! It's been so long, and we are finally doing it!!!!
As of right now, we have an idea of what we want to add on and what we want to change to the existing house.
First off, we need a bigger kitchen. The 8x13 galley kitchen isn't working for us anymore. So the addition will go off the back and the first floor addition will be primarily the kitchen. Also on the 1st floor along with the kitchen we are looking to do a mudroom, laundry room and smaller bathroom (full bath with stall shower).
The 2nd floor addition will be a master bedroom suite. Bedroom, full bathroom and walk in closet. Making 3 bedrooms upstairs.
And finally we are bumping out the basement the same size as the other 2 floors.
We will be turning our galley kitchen into a butler's pantry -- connecting the new kitchen to the dining room, removing the full bathroom on the first floor and making a hallway into the new kitchen, and creating a small hallway on the 2nd floor.
New siding & central air for the entire house will also be part of this project. We'd also like a deck off the kitchen in the yard.
As of right now..before even meeting with Dan, this is what we want. I am sure things will change and be removed and added as we go..but this is our VERY preliminary "plan"..in our heads!
I am so excited to start this process tomorrow! It's been so long, and we are finally doing it!!!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly....
Now that you know what we've been through the past 6 years...let me tell you why we decided to stay and not move to a different house. Should we stay and put an addition on??? Do we move to a house with everything we want??? These 2 questions haunted Joe and I for a few months..we both went back and forth, pros and cons, what towns would we look in, which school district is best for our family, would we ever find all the good this house has, in another home?
What are these good things you ask?? I'll tell you....first and foremost our house has some history. It's a Sears Modern Home and was built sometime in the 1940's. We believe it's The Dover model. Even before you step foot in the house, you can sense the charm just by looking at the large, wooden radius door. LOVE that it adds so much to our Tudor/Cape. Once inside you continue to feel the charm and oldness of the house from the beautiful archways and the old doorknobs on closets, to the baseboard trim and the old radiator covers. Our house is a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath..with so much potential.
The bedrooms are all nice sized..and from the outside the entire house's size is very deceiving.
The backyard is one of the main reasons we are staying. It's a very large, park-like setting, and something you don't find common in this area. It's a child's dream yard (in fact neighbors often tell us how jealous they are of our yard.). And we are on a cul-de-sac in a wonderful neighborhood...we actually might be one of those few people who like ALL their neighbors....imagine that??? Lots of kids and dogs and just fun to live here. It doesn't get better then that. The town itself has everything you scould want, and all of it within walking distance..anything further is a train ride or a short car ride to all the major highways. A few other added perks.....it has a fireplace, a dining room, 2 full bathrooms and a small 2 car garage. It's just a great house..one that we LOVE..but one that we are growing out of...way too quickly.
Now aside from growing out of it....the BAD......the kitchen.
Cooking is something I enjoy, but have a hard time enjoying it in my 8'x 13" galley kitchen. YUP....did you know they make kitchens that small?? So small that I can't open my dishwasher and the cabinets at the same time, so small 2 people have to shimmy past each other when going in opposite directions, so small that I only have 1 high cabinet (GASP!) and 3 low cabinets. Not much space at all.
Another bad...only 2 bedrooms upstairs. We have 3 total bedrooms, but one of them is located on the first floor..and used to be Joe's office (before he got kicked to the basement to make room for all the TOYS!!!! Uggghhhh those damn toys!), and is now the playroom.
And finally we don't have much storage..we need closets. All of our closets show their "history". They are very deep...but not very wide at all, and there aren't many closets in our house. The basement has become our place to store everything..and if we don't do an addition soon..poor Joe will be kicked to the garage! That wouldn't be good for our marriage..although there is an extra fridge in there which means lots of space for adult beverages!!! (Let's just keep that between us -- he might like that idea!) ;oP
What are these good things you ask?? I'll tell you....first and foremost our house has some history. It's a Sears Modern Home and was built sometime in the 1940's. We believe it's The Dover model. Even before you step foot in the house, you can sense the charm just by looking at the large, wooden radius door. LOVE that it adds so much to our Tudor/Cape. Once inside you continue to feel the charm and oldness of the house from the beautiful archways and the old doorknobs on closets, to the baseboard trim and the old radiator covers. Our house is a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath..with so much potential.
The bedrooms are all nice sized..and from the outside the entire house's size is very deceiving.
The backyard is one of the main reasons we are staying. It's a very large, park-like setting, and something you don't find common in this area. It's a child's dream yard (in fact neighbors often tell us how jealous they are of our yard.). And we are on a cul-de-sac in a wonderful neighborhood...we actually might be one of those few people who like ALL their neighbors....imagine that??? Lots of kids and dogs and just fun to live here. It doesn't get better then that. The town itself has everything you scould want, and all of it within walking distance..anything further is a train ride or a short car ride to all the major highways. A few other added perks.....it has a fireplace, a dining room, 2 full bathrooms and a small 2 car garage. It's just a great house..one that we LOVE..but one that we are growing out of...way too quickly.
Now aside from growing out of it....the BAD......the kitchen.
Cooking is something I enjoy, but have a hard time enjoying it in my 8'x 13" galley kitchen. YUP....did you know they make kitchens that small?? So small that I can't open my dishwasher and the cabinets at the same time, so small 2 people have to shimmy past each other when going in opposite directions, so small that I only have 1 high cabinet (GASP!) and 3 low cabinets. Not much space at all.
Another bad...only 2 bedrooms upstairs. We have 3 total bedrooms, but one of them is located on the first floor..and used to be Joe's office (before he got kicked to the basement to make room for all the TOYS!!!! Uggghhhh those damn toys!), and is now the playroom.
And finally we don't have much storage..we need closets. All of our closets show their "history". They are very deep...but not very wide at all, and there aren't many closets in our house. The basement has become our place to store everything..and if we don't do an addition soon..poor Joe will be kicked to the garage! That wouldn't be good for our marriage..although there is an extra fridge in there which means lots of space for adult beverages!!! (Let's just keep that between us -- he might like that idea!) ;oP
Monday, April 27, 2009
My Very First Entry...Bringing you up to speed!
It's my first entry!!!
I decided to start this blog so family and friends can follow us through our newest journey (which will probably become more like a 3rd child).....our addition! This addition has been about 5 years in the making -- maybe even longer...so let's take a trip down memory lane...shall we??? This will be long, but I am rewinding 6 years..Bare with me..OK?
A cool March morning in 2003 we hear about a house that has come on the market..we call the realtor and she takes us to it. WE FALL IN LOVE....of course it has it's downers, like the paint colors, the old sheetrock walls with ameturely (I think I made that word up) texture painted walls and the teeny, tiny kitchen...but the positives outweigh the negatives and we call our family to get the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th opinions..everyone loves it!
Now, how do we afford it? We have a wedding in just a few months, some money saved, is it enough??? Wow...look at the yard.....WOW....it's on a cul-de-sac....Ooooooo..look at all the kids in the neighborhood..... OH MY GOD...we bought a house.!! That is how quickly everything happened!
April 2003 we are homeowners!! There is some talk about maybe putting an addition on..down the road. We'll have some kids, save some money, do some research.....
2004 more talk about putting an addition on.....we'll have some kids, save some money, do some research....
January 2005 more talk about putting an addition on..we'll have......well you know how it goes.....
May 2005 -- Our first daughter, Olivia is born, and not only is she born, but MY GOD, babies need a lot of stuff! Cribs, toys, books, toys, clothes, push toys, jumperoos, highchairs, ride on toys, furniture, outside toys, swings, inside toys, bathtubs, bath toys. This is also the year poor Joe gets his office moved to the basement to make room for...YOU GUESSED IT.....More toys!!!!! The addition is revisited...
2007 -- Guess what....Baby #2 is on it's way......Can we fit another baby?? Sure....They had 4 kids in this house at one time. Can we do it comfortably? Probably..but it sure would be nice to have more space.....a bigger kitchen? A third bedroom upstairs?
July 2008 -- Our second daughter, Ava is born....and with her she brings MORE STUFF...it was like right out of the womb...the stuff started pouring into our house again. The addition discussions become more and more serious. We meet with some contractors just to get some ideas...save, save, save....and then FINALLY.....
January 2009 -- We find Dan. You will read a lot about Dan over the next several months......he will take on a very large role in this production . Why, you ask?? He is the architect! YAY we hired an architect..now this is for real!
February 2009 -- We sign the contract
And now that I have brought you up to speed on how we've gotten to this point......I will leave the rest til tomorrow!
I decided to start this blog so family and friends can follow us through our newest journey (which will probably become more like a 3rd child).....our addition! This addition has been about 5 years in the making -- maybe even longer...so let's take a trip down memory lane...shall we??? This will be long, but I am rewinding 6 years..Bare with me..OK?
A cool March morning in 2003 we hear about a house that has come on the market..we call the realtor and she takes us to it. WE FALL IN LOVE....of course it has it's downers, like the paint colors, the old sheetrock walls with ameturely (I think I made that word up) texture painted walls and the teeny, tiny kitchen...but the positives outweigh the negatives and we call our family to get the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th opinions..everyone loves it!
Now, how do we afford it? We have a wedding in just a few months, some money saved, is it enough??? Wow...look at the yard.....WOW....it's on a cul-de-sac....Ooooooo..look at all the kids in the neighborhood..... OH MY GOD...we bought a house.!! That is how quickly everything happened!
April 2003 we are homeowners!! There is some talk about maybe putting an addition on..down the road. We'll have some kids, save some money, do some research.....
2004 more talk about putting an addition on.....we'll have some kids, save some money, do some research....
January 2005 more talk about putting an addition on..we'll have......well you know how it goes.....
May 2005 -- Our first daughter, Olivia is born, and not only is she born, but MY GOD, babies need a lot of stuff! Cribs, toys, books, toys, clothes, push toys, jumperoos, highchairs, ride on toys, furniture, outside toys, swings, inside toys, bathtubs, bath toys. This is also the year poor Joe gets his office moved to the basement to make room for...YOU GUESSED IT.....More toys!!!!! The addition is revisited...
2007 -- Guess what....Baby #2 is on it's way......Can we fit another baby?? Sure....They had 4 kids in this house at one time. Can we do it comfortably? Probably..but it sure would be nice to have more space.....a bigger kitchen? A third bedroom upstairs?
July 2008 -- Our second daughter, Ava is born....and with her she brings MORE STUFF...it was like right out of the womb...the stuff started pouring into our house again. The addition discussions become more and more serious. We meet with some contractors just to get some ideas...save, save, save....and then FINALLY.....
January 2009 -- We find Dan. You will read a lot about Dan over the next several months......he will take on a very large role in this production . Why, you ask?? He is the architect! YAY we hired an architect..now this is for real!
February 2009 -- We sign the contract
And now that I have brought you up to speed on how we've gotten to this point......I will leave the rest til tomorrow!
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