Getting started

For about 3 years my husband and I would watch renovation shows and think “that looks like fun.” So, we bought a home and started to dream about what we could do to it, but really had no idea what we were doing as we had zero background in doing anything other than buying paint and changing a wall color.

My brother and dad showed up with know-how and taught us things like framing, tiling, refinishing floors, etc., and a couple of friends taught us things like plumbing. Wild. Thankfully, our first house really just had cosmetic changes that we were capable of learning and doing successfully. Though we could’ve done a massive kitchen renovation, we decided to simply update it and then because of a few life things, we decided to sell and move across the state. So long to the best first house you could dream of - the little red brick 1920s craftsman.

After our move, we bought a house with my brother to cash in on the “fun” of home renovation. Suddenly, “fun” was not the word that I associated with home renos; but, I would say it is rewarding to take a forgotten home and breathe life back into it. We’re not really flippers - we are more like slow renovators who like to figure out what the house once was, and what style we need to adhere to for congruency of the exterior and interior of the home. It’s more like a blank canvas waiting for its turn to be a beautiful art piece again. A decade later, we have fixed up a handful of homes - the coolest one being a Civil War era farm house.

As for my husband and me, since selling our first home, we bought a dutchlap sided 1920s home. Different from our first home, it needs much more than cosmetic updates. Most probably would have torn it down (the norm in our town), but we wanted to preserve the banister and the fireplaces, and the cool little foyer in the second story landing. So, we live in a renovation zone - slowly changing what we can. We are not sure what style the house is… I call it “the simple Victorian” since it came with some nods to that lovely era; but, it is also very plain.

It feels like we are just getting started, even though we have been sanding down tired surfaces, painting fresh colors, and reimagining worn out spaces. But, each house has its own past, and it takes time to figure that out and fix it up accordingly. <3.

Our First Home