Renovations...part two

Things are moving along! We walked into the house and I said, "Oh, everything looks so beautiful" I think our contractor thinks I am a little crazy. But, we can envision how it is going to turn out...even while in shambles!

There has been quite a bit of clean-up for electrical and plumbing. There were 42 electrical junction boxes throughout the house...17 of those were shoved right next to the front door. We don't know why. Some of the plumbing pipes went from 3" to 4" back to 3"...a definite no.

We are so grateful for our contractor - he is beyond amazing, nothing rattles him! He has so much experience with these older homes, but there have been a few things uncovered that have even made him wonder what in the world has gone on over the years! If only the walls could talk!

We were able to gain 6" in the family room ceiling, which is very important when they are only 7' high...7 1/2 is fabulous!

The original stairs to the attic were very narrow and steep (we affectionately called them "the ladder") and the only access was through the master bedroom...not ideal. When you are renovating a older home and change something, like the stairs, they then need to adhere to current code. For the stairs, that means 3' wide. A tall order when your home is not very large! We had gone to the store to purchase a measuring tape and got the 16' tape because there isn't a room bigger than that! So, it was going to be a little tricky. Our contractor worked tirelessly on figuring out the stairs going to the attic and got them to fit! He is the best!

Another fun thing that was discovered, was that the future powder room sat on bare dirt...no foundation! Welp, that will be rectified...concrete will be poured.

Our cozy colonial cottage is going to be amazing...I just know it!

The hole for the stairs to go to the attic...there has never been such a beautiful sight!

Renovations...part one

Renovations have begun and we couldn't be more thrilled!

It was so wonderful to walk in and see the progress! It helps when you can put eyes on all the changes and see what you would like to do or change.

Originally, the powder room was in the dining room (3rd picture down). We really didn't love it, but didn't feel like there was a different place for it...until Bryan had a brilliant idea! Off the kitchen, near the stairs, was a very small room where the washer and dryer were located. Earlier, we had decided to move the washer and dryer downstairs to the basement and convert the little space into a pantry. Here is where Bryan's genius came into play...he suggested that we make the space into the powder room! It is the perfect size! It will be a much better location than where everyone is eating :) It also gave us more room in the dining room/library which will be welcomed.

I love building and renovating with Bryan, we make a great team and have such a good time with it all.

Heading back out to NBPT on the 18th...more to show then!

Congress Street

In July, when we were in Newburyport, we looked at two houses. We wanted to be able to get a feel for the size of home we were looking for, what we could afford to buy, the area of town we would like to be in and just begin the very early process of looking.

The second house we looked at was on Congress Street. It was built in 1750. It was located in a beautiful neighborhood, within walking distance to downtown. We really liked the layout and potential - but had ABSOLUTELY NO thought of purchasing. We had a year before we were planning to move and it just wasn't even on our radar! We came home and continued to see homes pop up on our saved searches. Weeks passed, then months. The Congress Street house was still for sale (a very unusual thing for Newburyport) One night, Bryan and I were thinking and talking and found out that we had both been thinking about Congress the entire time...but, we each thought it crazy to buy something that early. We both felt like it was ours and had since the very first time we saw it. We looked at each other and said, "Are we doing this?"...we closed on Congress Street in October!

Let the renovations begin....