Now We're Getting Somewhere

Hi, everyone! I'm so, so sorry for being absent for soooo long! I'll try not to be a deadbeat blogger from now on!

If you're new to House Affairs, I'll catch you up to speed. We bought this early 1900's Victorian in a small Mid-Western town last summer. We moved from GA to our town in August. Our original plans were to renovate the house a little bit at a time, but when we started investigating, we learned the house needed more than we thought (of course) and it would be best to do everything at once. So we spent the fall getting bids, choosing a contractor and getting permit approval from the village. We started construction January 4 and have made a lot of progress since then! Almost all of our possessions are in storage while we live in our 700 sq. ft. garage apartment. Oh, and by the way, on top of it all, we're expecting our third child (a girl!) in about two weeks! Yeah, the more chaos, the better! I hope that explains my absence! Plus, I was waiting for something cool to show you and here it is...

Not very pretty, but it's progress! One of our main goals for the house is to return her to her former glory. Sometime in the late 1930's/early 1940's, the house was converted from a single family to a two-flat. The front porch was mutilated enclosed as part of that conversion. Here's what we started with:

As you can see, we've opened up the porch so it will look more like the original house. I blogged about the original porch here. We had to get the village to approve the changes so it was a tedious process, but worth it!

The house needed a small addition on the back for a mudroom. It's no fun living in the snowy Mid-West without one. We're expanding the kitchen into what used to be the mudroom. Here's what the back looked like before:

And now:

It looks kind of ugly goofy without the deck and the siding, but you get the idea. I also just noticed that it looks like it's leaning. It's not. It's just the angle of the photo (and the photographer). Dear Hubs says I always stand crooked.

A lot of people are interested in our coach house. So I'll show you the outside loveliness (haha). You don't get to see the inside until we move out. Two adults + two active boys + soon-to-be baby + 700 sq. ft. = A LOT of mess.

Don't ya just love the blue powder room? I'm thinking the purple refuse receptacle is my fave! What I always dreamed of in my yard! But, seriously, the coach house was one of the reasons we fell in love with this property. It's very unusual to have a detached living space in this town. It will be perfect for out-of-town visitors (we have many) and it is great that we have a place to live while the house is under construction. It's also warm and dry, something for which we are thankful.

By the way, did you notice the new header photo? That is the cupola and weather vane on top of the coach house. It really was the horse barn and was converted to a garage and apartment in the mid-1940's. In the distance to the right, you can see our neighbor's barn that hasn't been touched. A little bit of country in town!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay with me...we'll get to the "pretty" pics soon (I hope)!

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday! Once I get all of my tableware unpacked I'll be back for Tablescape Thursday as well!