The Downsizing:

The Downsizing: Follow our adventure as we prepare to send one child to college, the other to kindergarten and attempt to renovate a tiny, circa 1950 farmhouse of just under 1200 s.f. The house has been sitting vacant for several years following a past renovation attempt that went awry by a previous owner. Our goal is to accomodate an active family of 4 (plus Mulligan the Westie) in a much smaller (yet stylish) space which will hopefully free up more of our time and financial resources. In addition to renovating the house and half acre of land, we'll be doing some serious editing of our possessions since we're coming from a home twice the size. The property borders an up and coming development featuring new homes along with a town center, shopping, and schools all set in a rural farm village setting.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Future Vision

"Think Napa not Tuscany."  Those were her exact words. While researching design ideas last year for my friend Jane's wine cellar, I came across this delightful little house located in Napa Valley, CA. It was love at first sight for me. The simplicity and clean design both inside and out made me want to chuck all the clutter in my life. Ironically at the time, I didn't really have a use for it.  I just found that I kept looking at the photos over and over, studying every detail.
 
After my epiphany and we had targeted the Jerome area as where we wanted to be, Roy found our house.  The first time I looked at it, I had no interest at all. It just seemed ridiculously small and right in the middle of everything. After looking at a couple more fixer uppers and eliminating them we revisited the house and I saw it in a new light.  Suddenly I saw all the similarities to this Napa house and saw new potential. Even the idea that it was right in the middle of everything sounded kind of fun. There would be a lot to do and much of it within walking distance, yet we could still maintain a rural environment.
Our Jerome house had so many similarities to this Napa house even down to the side entrance. The Napa house was listed for $1.8M and sold for $1.4M.  Our budget is several 0's less.
View more of this Napa house here:
To bring our vision to life, we are working with Smucker Construction of Plain City &
Our To Do List includes:
  • all new plumbing, electrical, heating & cooling
  • new detached garage
  • upstairs dormer creating space for tub/shower in half bath
  • new vinyl siding and metal roof
  • front porch addition
  • side entrance overhang
  • bath fixtures in 2 bathrooms
  • kitchen cabinets & appliances
  • refinish old pine floors first floor
  • install new pine floors upstairs
  • paint entire interior
  • some new interior & exterior doors
  • stair railings and trim
  • gravel driveway
  • back paver patio
  • clearing the lot of all the dead trees and brush
  • probably a few other major things I've forgotten or am not aware of yet
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)