Before and After – Home Renovations – Our Bedroom

For almost three years Josh and I have been living through extensive home renovations. Trying to raise our boys in the midst of the chaos and change has been… trying. I’d love to share a bit of our journey with you as I highlight some pictures and memories from Our Home Renovation Saga.

Our bedroom used to be the living room for the upstairs tenants when they lived with us. I have always loved the HUGE window in that room that looks out onto forested backyards and the train tracks – the tracks look especially cool in the winter, when it’s snowing and a lighted train is coming out of the darkness – just like Polar Express. So when it was time to renovate, we knew this room would be perfect for us to call our own.

Here’s our bedroom when it used to be a living room. The boys used the open space to play in as much as possible before we had to rip it apart. This is also where my Mom’s Moments playgroup started in the fall of 2005. This grew into a newsletter and an online ministry that continues to reach many women!

Different views of the room – when we moved in it was covered in wallpaper, the stucco ceiling was stained yellow and the carpet on the floor had to be taken out immediately. Everything had been subjected to years of smoking and pets and all kinds of other things – the house was basically slummed out for 12 years before we bought it. Boy, our neighbours were glad when they found out we actually owned the property and weren’t just renting!

I’m not sure how many cans of odour-kill paint we went through the first week we owned the house. We had to get the upper floor ready for the tenant to move in ASAP!

This is just before we ripped the walls off – the carpet we bought when we moved in hid the extremely uneven floor really well for a few years! Here’s a shot of the cool tiles that are tarred into place throughout the entire house – now under layers of subfloor and laminate.

And there’s the Shop Vac we used and abused throughout the renos – I just put it away on November 27th – hopefully not to surface again for a VERY long time! Having to do my regular household vacuuming with a Shop Vac means that things are just a little out of hand!

And now we start ripping things apart!

Totally gutted and scripture stapled to the walls. Time to insert some R12!

Josh stared at the ceiling in awe – there are two completely different heights of ceiling – WHAT are we going to do about THAT?

We will make closets! Big closets! And two of them! Disclaimer – Josh has more clothes than me and really needs the bigger closet, but he graciously gave it to me. I’ll do my best, but I am a girl who DOES NOT like to shop!

Josh has conquered this room! He will not be defeated by these puny renovations with their puny problems! And his muscles are also huge from all the labour-intensive hours he’s been putting in at home!

Here’s the awesome window all nice and insulated.

Here it is again getting ready for the second round of renovations when it will be framed properly.

Here’s those closets before the framing and doors go on – whose side do you think is whose?

And we’re out of here!

And here is the finished product! Still have to get a closet organizer for myself and hang a few more pictures – but it’s so cozy and lovely in this room. The blanket was a gift from Josh’s grandma. I believe her mother made it decades ago. I love it.