this whole adventure started with a leaky dishwasher in our old rental unit.
one thing led to another, and we started hunting for houses.
we found a great team of real estate agents – shawn and katie – at blu realty, and after a very short month of october, we’d signed an offer, and were moving into our new home.
it was definitely a change for jess and i, no longer living on top of each other, we now had two floors, and double the amount of space.
we are slowly adapting and getting a better understanding of how to make the space more functional.
to get our feet wet in the renovation game, we started work with our support team over the recent christmas holidays.
the stage area upstairs was scheduled for demolition.
it really wasn’t functional for much of anything, and made the whole space feel rather claustrophobic.
we developed a plan of attack, and after unwrapping the wrecking tools christmas morning, we set to work.
everything came apart easily, just nails and screws, and the biggest issue we had was dealing with the garbage we were creating.
thank you superior disposal for your bin in the alley…
so after four days of work, we had dismantled the stage and rebuilt the space to make it livable for the next few months when we’ll tackle the next step – electrical work.
now that everything has been opened up, we’re better able to visualize what we have to work with.
to mark the new year, we spent a few hours with a roll of masking tape and a tape measure to layout a floor plan.
we’ve come up with a layout that will allow for a bedroom, reading area, and home office with two desks (and mountain views!).
we’ll raise the area behind the staircase (the west end of the suite) to create a bedroom area.
bookshelves will line the wall to the south beneath the windows in the reading area, and two desks will go along the east wall looking out over the ports and to the mountains in the distance.
everything is starting to come together in our minds, and we’re starting to get a feel for colors and finishes we’d like to see.
we’re hoping to outfit the space as sustainably as we can given our budget while keeping with the historic nature of the building.
windows will be covered with drapes that jess will make from a still-to-be-determined fabric, and we’re hoping for reclaimed douglas fir floors (or bamboo).
a glass and metal railing will protect the opening for the stairs, while still allowing light to make its way down.
bookshelves will most likely be painted out in the same colour as the walls, where we’re thinking in whites.
and then bringing a brick colour into the space with the furniture upholsteries.
all together we’re hoping to create a space that is warm and comfortable, but still has an industrial quality to it.
big changes are in the works over the coming month as we hope to pick drapery fabrics and paint colours, choose a floor, and come up with designs for a railing and the bookcases.
all 20 windows in the space will be replaced with brand new units (that close properly!) early in february, and our fantastic new ASKO combination washer/dryer unit will be delivered this saturday.
stay tuned for trade and product reviews!