End of the first year

In 2013 we....

Bought the Bunny Manse
Cleaned out the house
Finished 95% of the interior demolition
Completed the plans for what the inside will look like one day (Thank you Madam Sara! for getting us on the same page about so many small details that will make our house a home)
Repaired the plaster in two rooms and two hallways
Replaced the floor in one room, sanded & sealed the floor in two other rooms and a hallway

Installed our dream kitchen (to 95%) which one day will be even more amazing with a butler, laundry, and sunroom all accessible right there too.

Paid off the loan to my parents - THANK YOU! They loaned us the cash to purchase the vacant lot next door - our South Lawn - and we finish paying off that loan this week.

So far we're at 190k spent on the house, the lot, and the repairs. We're halfway there!

In 2014 we hope we will...

finish the downstairs (bulter, bathroom, laundry, living room, hall/entry, closets)
finish the upstairs (4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, hallway)
finish the new construction portion (sunroom, master bath, decklette)

2015 will then give me the chance to....
LANDSCAPE!

A rose garden outside the downstairs bathroom
A kitchen vegetable garden outside the kitchen
A lovely place for Madeline to run jump and play
Beds for my bulbs
Circuitous pathways to get lost in the yard or enjoy solitude in the middle of the city.
plantings in the front yard, along the sidewalk, and by the driveway
An actual fence that is pretty and in the right place

Comments

Budget

Dad was asking about the budget and how we're doing so far. Initially we had a total budget of about $350k for the house. As we negotiated the purchase price up and found more information about what the house needed that budget went to a maximum of about $415k. As of today, we anticipate spending around $400k or ~$111/sqft. As a comparison, Oakwood cost us $90/sqft and we sold for $106/sqft and the new owners are doing all kinds of neat stuff we dreamed about doing. So far we're under budget in a couple of areas, within budget but ahead of schedule in some (which can also be read as over budget...) and just going to be way over in a couple of key areas. Our original plan including making a temporary kitchen that we could live with, but would be massively overhauled within a year or two. Instead we decided to do it right the first time and enjoy it the entire time. To this end, our temp budget for cabs, appliances, and counters, was initally $5,600. However, that's g...

a second kitchen design

Taking into account comments, good ideas, and original plans I think we have a new contender. No, before we hadn't thought about where the microwave would go or the trashcan. :) Originally Sara had us putting the range on the chimney and running counters all around it. We couldn't figure out how in practise that would work and started dreaming about dual ovens and cooktops in counters and all sorts of things that are fancy and pretty, but not really needed for how we live now or plan to live later. This one gives Harris a gas cook top and me a convection oven. Dual fuel from bosch and we're both happy. It also creates two separate work stations on either side of the range and will fit around the door that will exist for the next year, but not forever. I like that this way we're not building out something that will have to be torn out in 12 months. I really really hate that. ...

Light rebuilding

Living Room Light, before we bought the house, hanging in the living room with the dropped ceiling, termite eaten floor, and paneled walls. You'll notice it is both electric and gas. Harris rebuilt the light fixture, cleaned the hell out of it, and hung it in the entryway to the house. In the process he flipped the direction of the bulbs so it is now an uplight fixture.

Adventures at The Bunny Manse

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