My 2010 Project

As previously mentioned, the husband's father passed away this fall after a brief battle with cancer. The husband has inherited grandpa's house, located on a few acres just outside of town. As the husband and I are renters, the "gift" of a house will be put to good use!

Kind of. Grandpa was an older man living alone, so the house, while perfect for a bachelor, is QUITE small. And the builders clearly got a good deal on hideous knotty pine paneling, because it's in almost every room. And grandpa, God love him, was not big into throwing things away. (He's from that Great Depression era)

We've slowly been cleaning out the house, and I have begun the painting process. Every room is getting painted, both to freshen things up and to hide the ugly paneling. The kitchen cabinets, even the counter tops are getting painted. (I had a dream of me walking in there with a paint sprayer and just hosing the place, but I think I'll stick to brushes and rollers.) But that stuff is just for the short term, because the big project will be the remodel!

The husband and I sat down with a designing program and drew up a plan that will hopefully be "cost effective" (read: cheap) and still give us the space we want. The existing structure was once a studio "cabin" with attached garage. When the couple had a baby, they sectioned off the garage to make bedrooms. (When they had their second baby they bought a bigger place, if that helps you get a mental picture of the size of the house!)

Our plan is to turn the bedrooms back into a garage, and make the kitchen/dining/livingroom into a large, hearth-style kitchen. The dining room, livingroom, master suite and a small bedroom and bath will be in the new addition. In the attic space will be two more bedrooms, a bathroom and a rec room of sorts.

The husband plans to do the lion's share of the construction himself. (Both to save money on labor and also because he is super picky about this kind of thing!) I've seen the other houses he has built when he was working construction full time, and I feel pretty confident with his ability to pull this off! As things progress, I'll probably be adding pics to my project blog, so if you are interested in that sort of thing, you can check there for updates.

I know that we will be able to make this tiny house into a home and have the space for the husband's projects and my own! It will be the perfect place to raise our children...I think grandpa would approve!