June 10th, 2011….Our Son Tyler bought his first house.
Tyler transferred to the University of Minnesota and needed to live closer to the school. Craig & Ty went searching- and there she was, a 60 year old beauty. “She” was definitely a “Grandma” kind of house but she had great bones with vast possibilities. That summer would be filled with a ton of work. Many months later we finally finished just days before his classes started. It was a summer to remember – mostly of Allie, Tyler & myself painting tirelessly in the heat. I look back at the pictures and I am amazed not only to see the changes in the house, but of my Son as well <3
Craig & Ty started outside with the landscaping removing all the existing bushes with the exception of one huge hosta which Craig split up enough times to go around the entire house- no, really he did… make sure you look at the final pictures of the outside ; )
Allie & I headed upstairs and scraped off old wallpaper for 9 hours straight. We couldn’t feel our fingers that night…
The kitchen is always the first area we dive into, delivery of cabinets can take an average of 4 weeks after you order them.
The upstairs was a fun project…
Not sure what the prior owner had intended with this wall but one thing for sure, he need not apply for a construction job-
The “wall” came down, a closet went in, ceilings were skim coated & sprayed and we continued from there with lots of little extras for a beautiful bedroom for Ty.
I LOVE working with plaster and faux finishes. The venation plaster was completed in 2 days. I believe I broke some kind of record…Ty had a quick lesson when I didn’t feel like sitting on the board- he’s a chip off the ‘ole block…
We always tear into every room at once when we renovate a house. Eventually the day came for carpet to finish the upstairs space. Somebody was VERY happy!
The living room needed some TLC…Craig tackled a lot in here. Ty, Allie & I prepped and painted every wall, ceiling, door & trim in the entire house – twice.
The two bedrooms on the main floor were not a ton of work-
BUT- the bathroom was! What a disaster! Ty took on that project with our buddy Dan. The tile apparently was never finished…. The boys did a beautiful job matching the tile and finishing it all up.
The living room was now ready for more venation plaster- out of all the painting I’ve ever done these crimson red walls are my absolute favorite! I think I may have to do them in my downstairs as well!
Ty prepped and painted the original doors- he’s very good with restoring damaged areas – so much time and effort was needed for this project and they turned out amazing- very nice job Ty!
The basement had potential…
Sheetrock, drain tile, and a new look with fresh paint and carpet.
Allie and I are a great team for painting- in this house she learned the art of painting trim work. To me, this is the hardest and most tedious of all painting in a renovation. We discovered that Allie was extremely good at it- lucky for us – not so lucky for miss Aller….
Meanwhile, with the cabinets delivered, it was time to work on my favorite space in the house.
We all love it when the fridge goes in- so much easier when you work long hours and your food is nice and cold. I love this picture- you know when my Tyler is home when you see a spoon and a jar of peanut butter. Seeing it in his new refrigerator made me smile…
Exterior doors & floors-
What a difference when you update your exterior doors! One of our all-time favorite things about renovating properties is when the people in the neighborhood stop by and comment on the work that we’re doing <3 We got a lot of response to the new front entry door on this house.
When Allie pulled up the old carpeting in the hallway we knew that we for sure could revive the original hardwood floors.
After pulling a million staples out it was time for Mr. Ty to learn how to sand floors.
Craig’s method of teaching is as such- you are told several times how to do the process and what not to do- then he leaves. This method builds character thats for sure. Ty had everything ready to go and lets just say he learned reeeaaal fast. He got the feel for it very quick and they turned out incredible.
With the hot summer days and many coats of varnish we turned on the heat to speed the drying process. I can officially say that we did “heat yoga”. Ty & I were drenched and sore ! Its times like this with him I treasure- we work incredibly well together and its memories like that I’ll have forever.
With the floors and the majority of his house done (and his school about to start that next week!) it was time for him to move in. I was so excited for for this new chapter in his life… I cried my eyes out for two weeks because he was no longer living with us. He’s my rock with an amazing old soul.
We barely moved everything in and these two just had to try it out…
Back home I sewed up shades, drapes & curtains-
With every flip house we always find something VERY interesting in the walls or on the premises, nothing was found here except a 60 year old organic garden! Oh my! We were beyond pumped! The original owners had built and lived there for 60 years- their whole life. She grew tomatoes and canned them and he had a little workshop in the basement and built her shelves for all her goods. That is love. Something to be said about the simplicity of the old days. After they passed, the house was sold to some guy (temporarily) who attempted to do the wall in the upstairs and the tile in the bathroom. When I overlooked those things it was fun to see what the old couple had intended. I also try to keep one item from each of the renovations to decorate in my home (it keeps me grounded and reminds me to count my blessings) I didn’t find my item for three years! This past spring I finally found it- an antique hoe in the far corner of the garage <3 Here are the pictures from when we discovered the hidden garden when he bought it to Tyler’s very first garden – no judging the weeds, he was a full time student ; ) He made great use of all the produce that came out of this fertile soil!
Something “hilarious” also usually happens on each property and this definitely was no exception! I had written a post here about how Ty & I were really into practical jokes ( My partner In Crime…) – but not on April fools day… so the day before April 1st Tyler calls me at home- “What is going on?!!!” well, why? He continued to tell me that a huge 30 yard dumpster was just unloaded in his driveway blocking his truck in!
Now he was already living there for 2 years and it wasn’t for him! Apparently Craig gave the dumpster company the wrong address! Our Chelsie and Ryan had just bought a house around the corner and both addresses were on Craig’s desk- oh my gosh did we laugh!
Tyler also tackled this backsplash in between his classes- its funny, you teach someone a skill and its amazing to see what they do with it!
Tyler graduated this past December 17th, 2013 and landed a job with a great company here in Minnesota . On January 10th, he left for 5 months of training in Georgia for his new job and the decision was made to sell his house. Craig & I spent the next few months helping him get it ready to sell. He listed it Thursday morning of the Memorial Day weekend and it sold in 1 1/2 days with 5 full price offers resulting in a bidding war. It sold for more than the listing price. Maybe just maybe the economy is back ?!!
Ty had a lot of great times in this house, the videographer even shot some footage for Chelsie & Ryan’s wedding there! (upcoming post!!!!!) and now he’s onto yet another chapter in his life- CONGRATULATION’S Tyler Joe- we LOVE you!!!!
Here are all of the before and after pictures. To view the picture larger, click on the image!
<3 all the best, Teri
