Construction Complete... except for the ten million things left to do

19 weeks ago, we embarked upon an epic quest to transform our home.  It's been a summer of dirt and dust and noise and giant trucks and scads of strangers traipsing around and through our home. It's been a TON of work (even though we paid people to do the real work). And it's been a joy to invest in this home we love so much and to add space and functionality and a look that we will enjoy for decades. Because after this, Lord knows I'm not moving again!

Here's the "before" photo - your multipurpose 1960s split-level. For many years, we've praised the functionality of our home - there aren't many floorplans that would allow 6 people to live in (comparative) harmony for almost 20 years. It's so dang functional. 

But it lacked a few things we really wanted: 

1. Curb Appeal (let's face it, it's your multipurpose 1960s split level)
2. Gear Storage (we have so. much. gear.)
3. Office Space (we decided a while ago that we didn't need more bedroom space. After all, our children may eventually vacated their bedrooms. But we did want more multipurpose/family space. This need has been dramatically underscored by our COVID-19 experience with all of us at home for work, school, and EVERYTHING ELSE)

We knew what we wanted (sort of) thanks to the list above and the Pinterest skills of several friends. About a year ago, we started shopping for architects and builders who we could partner with to bring our concepts to life. 

We were especially blessed to sign with a builder who was meticulous, funny, and has become a dear friend to us. In this season of social isolation, it's been so fun to have somebody at our house every day who is making our home a better place and will enthusiastically consume anything we put in front of him.

By late January we had all of the permits necessary to realize our plans, and in early April, demolition began! Our removal and construction plans didn't enter the footprint of our home, which was a blessing because it meant that we could still live in our house while all of this was going on.

We still haven't snapped our "official after" photos. We really want to get the ski lift chair into place in the front yard. And the sheds aren't in yet, so there's still "shed stuff" all over our back yard. And the front gardens aren't planted yet. And the sod is still rooting. And our skis and gear are still in storage. And the new chair hasn't come for the sunroom.

There's no such thing as done! 

But not-done as it all still feels, we did get our final inspection complete last week, so it seems like a good time to celebrate all that's been done!

Thanks to everybody who has been watching our Insta posts and dropping by the house to say hi and cheering along this project. It feels great to be this far and to have this much done. We love the space we've created and the updated look of our home.

Now... to work on the ten million things left to do!