Business Time

It's all happening! Demo. Otherwise known as business time! So just a refresher, things started out with this closet here, which is right next to our "public bathroom." We've moved the A/C unit up in to the attic and have started to take down the wall to enlarge the teeny, tiny, master bath. Here is a before shot:

 

And an "in progress" shot: 

As you can see from the above shot, the master bath has totally been gutted. Thanks to the removal of the master closet, it is looking much bigger! Just to give you a better picture, here is a shot of the teeny, tiny, non-existent master closet.

And of course, an "in progress" shot. We are just jumping in glee at the prospects of our bathroom. Sure, it isn't going to be huge, but it will be such an improvement from what its original layout.

Floorplan

I am super excited to share the ol' shack's floor plan with everyone. Micah and I spent so many hours putting this together, and then analyzing it, tweaking it, analyzing it some more, and tweaking it some more. It was a labor of love, but in the end, I am so happy we did it! It really helped us conceptualize what we wanted to do with the house. Honestly, some of our ideas would have never come to fruition had it not been for this floor plan. We used Floorplan.com to create it, which was easy and straightforward. We considered using Google's floor plan application, but after reading some reviews that explained its complexity, we decided us novices should stick with something basic. So without further ado, here it is, with a bit of a breakdown of course.

1. This closet currently houses the A/C unit. As you can see, this closet cuts in to both the master bathroom and the second bathroom. We plan on moving the A/C into the attic (as small as it is) and completely getting rid of this closet to enlarge both bathrooms. 

2. The hallway wall is also being completely removed. But it is being re-incarnated into a hallway closet. The wall will become a half wall, allowing access into the hall from both sides, and is being shifted two feet in to the living room. We hated losing that space, but this house is an an oldie, and barely has closet space so we figured it was well worth it.

3. Believe it or not, this itty bitty closet is the master bedroom's closet! Well, it is getting cut from the floor plan as well. Just like the A/C closet (refer to #1), it is taking up much needed room in the master bathroom. Be removing these two closets we are going to be creating a good size bathroom for us to have.

4. Now, after reading #3, you may have been asking yourself, "Where the heck are they going to hang there clothes?" We are building a closet along this wall. The plan is to kick it back 2 feet and build a 9 foot long closet. It's no walk-in, but it is close to three times the closet space the master bedroom currently has! We are taking a small amount of space from the office. Small? Yes. Read #5 to get a better understanding of what I mean.

5. The office will not actually be losing 2 feet from the building of the master closet because we are pushing back the closet in here too! (I know, lots of closet moving!) The back wall of this closet will not sit flush with the closet doors of the back room. See that little nook in there? That's really the only space we will be losing. 

Now, of course it is hard to visualize all of these changes. Well have no fear dear friends! We have an updated floor plan for you to gaze your eyes on. I know. It's as though Christmas came early. 

Thoughts are welcome! Anyone have any suggestions? Anything we may have overlooked?

For those of you that know me, you know how much I have longed to own a home. Me and the Mr. are moving in to this "shack" and this fine las is officially a home-owner. Now this is no move-in special...let's just say our first house is a fixer upper. But, it was such a steal and, not to brag, but I am known to be a bit handy. Oh, and I guess it kinda helps that the Mr. is a general contractor. I put this little blog together to share our progress with all of our friends and family, and I guess anyone else that cares. I'll be posting pics of the interior soon!

Fixing It Up

WARNING! The following images may cause nausea, upset stomach, vomiting, headaches, heart palpitations and, in some, extreme nightmares. Alright, alright, they actually aren't that bad, and for some of you, might even be your taste, but for the most part, I see SO MUCH work that needs to go into "this shack." 

The two biggest flaws of this house are 1. lack of closet space and 2. a small master bathroom. We plan on tackling both these problems before we move-in. Other than that, we plan on taking it one step at a time, and doing most of the work ourselves, as we are on a MAJOR budget. We spent a big chunk of change to close on this baby so please don't expect an overnight transformation.

Living Room

We have plans for some serious demolition with regards to that back wall which will help out with problem #1. More on that later. Oh, and yes, that is marble tile, and yes, it is checker-patterned, and yes, I think it is utterly hideous. Be forewarned, the lighting in this picture makes the tiles appear much lighter then they actually are. 

Kitchen

Another kitchen view

 Where do I begin? Granite. Not my style. Cabinets. Laminate is peeling off. Appliances. Well let's just say there is a nest of dead roaches in the oven and the dishwasher is seriously ancient. 

Dining Room

 Nice french door leading to the pool. Kinda sucks the dining room is right off the kitchen.  It is totally messing with our design ideas.

Guest Bath

Looks like a not too shabby bathroom, right? Well, it's right off the living room. I don't know, but personally I think it is weird to have a shower in the general bathroom facility.

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Closet

Master bedroom is quite small, but that is cool with me. I never really understood why people are so obsessed with having large master bedrooms....it's not like we hang out in that room. What does concern me is the itty, bitty closet. Have no fear! We have some plans for expanding our closet space. The carpeting is going bye-bye as well.

Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom

Small master bedroom = small master bathroom. There isn't much we can do here, but we do have some ideas. Let's just say it has something to do with the master bedroom's closet.

Office/Guest Room

Good size. Carpet's gotta go. Big changes happening in this room before we even move in! Stay tuned.

Kiddos' Room

Kiddo's Room

 Lil' rascals get the biggest room in the house! Guess its only fair considering they are sharing. Obviously the carpet has to go, and there will be some other changes going on in here.

Hallway

A shot of the hallway from the kids room. Believe it or not, big changes will be going on in that hallway. More on that later.

All in all, that's pretty much it. It's a small ol' house and who knows what the BIG plan is. At first we bought it as an investment; something we can slowly fix up and eventually rent out. But the more time we spend talking about all our plans for "This Shack," the more we believe we might be here long term. We shall see. Demo starts soon and I will be sure to share pics with you. Please, please, please feel free to leave suggestions in the comment box. As you all may know, I am the most indecisive gal EVER! I would love to hear some of your ideas for this place!!!