modern southern bungalow: the girl who cried remodel

It is One Room Challenge time, which of course means I’m back on this website. Some of you (Hi, Mom!) have been hearing about our impending remodel for what seems like ever. This time last year, I redid the girls’ room on the cheap because we were soon to be starting a remodel and just needed a temporary fix. This time two years ago, I converted a ridiculous add-on in the back of the house into a family room because we were soon to be starting a remodel and just needed a temporary fix. You all know about the boy who cried wolf so I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.  

However, as with the real story where there was, in fact, a wolf, we will (eventually) have a remodeled house. And it is beginning to look good. We have plans that are approved by the requisite departments. We have a signed contract with a builder. We signed the financing paperwork this week. Our builder has submitted our plans to permitting. We may even have a demolition crew at our house as early as Saturday. Demo party anyone?

If you have been through the building or remodel process, you know that a TON of work goes into the project before anyone actually picks up a hammer. I’ve been hesitant to write about that work up to now for fear that we would never actually get to a remodel. But since we are finally just waiting for permits, it seems like the time to get started. I’m not going to participate in One Room Challenge this fall. I’m going to create my own One House Challenge.

First, let me introduce you to our house. Built in the 19-teens, it is a classic two-bedroom, one bath bungalow. The exterior of the house is less than impressive (we will talk about that soon). What hooked us on this house was actually the yard. Our lot Is huge in urban terms and the house is situated in such a way as to have plenty of room to add square footage to the house while still preserving outdoor living space.

Let’s back up for a minute. Our existing house is a ONE BATHROOM. And we shared that one bathroom for the whole of last year with four kids. Is anyone still wondering why we are remodeling? Ok, good. Our newly remodeled house will have three and a half baths and four bedrooms plus a media/family room and a large attic bonus space. The kitchen, though, is where I plan to live. It is going to be so fantastic, I may even be inclined to cook.

One thing that I’ve already learned in this process is that unless you are starting from scratch and have unlimited resources (and a husband who says “yes, dear” to your every suggestion), you just aren’t going to get everything you ever wanted in a house. I’m still not super thrilled with parts of the layout (almost all of the upstairs), there are pieces that still need to be worked out (laundry), and it is missing some things that I really wanted (dedicated homework/craft space near the kitchen), but overall, it is a huge improvement from our starting point (I repeat: one bathroom).

I’m excited to get started and hope you will follow along. I am open to suggestions, so please pipe up along the journey!