January 14, 2017
We are still in the dreaming phase where we are picking out finished and details to get a better idea of more accurate costs. We created a list of must-haves from our mood boards, then jotted down an even longer list of nice-to-haves. One of our must-haves was to insulate the main living room and expose the rafters (costly but it had to be done to achieve both a functional and aesthetic need). We were also adamant about having a three seasons room over just a screen porch. We included using reclaimed oak flooring throughout, a potbelly stove, big picture windows, refinishing old doors vs. buying new ones and reusing any old wood from the home on walls/shelves. We also tried to cut out some costs like using less expensive windows, reusing old light fixtures or making our own, keep to a smaller footprint and decided to not do the barn as part of this renovation. Oh! and a big thing we had to cut out was not putting in a basement. I already feel like this was a huge mistake but at some point, you have to stop, say NO, walk away and just tell yourself life will be OK without it. But will it really?
