We're Moving!

Okay, so we're just moving a few miles east of our current house, but exciting nonetheless! For those of you who may not already know, Billy changed jobs in early December. He went to Ernst & Young, and so far it has been a great move for him. Though E&Y is one of the big four accounting firms, they have a small sub-groub made up of mostly attorneys who basically do what he was doing at Thompson & Knight--structuring and tax planning for mergers and acquisitions and various other business transactions. Once he landed this position and we knew we were staying in Dallas, we decided to start casually house hunting. Our main goals were a little more space for us to grow as a family (and no, kiddo number three is not yet in existence) and a larger backyard for the kids and Laney to play.

We found that and so much more. On March 7th we'll close on our new house and begin a major remodeling project. Our new house will undergo a major top to bottom remodel that will take roughly 6-8 weeks (I'm betting on 8 considering how these things usually go). If you do not have "vision," please do not go any further because you will think we are crazy--just wait for the pictures of the finished product instead...

Here are a couple views of the house from the front--front door, shutters, and trim will all be repainted. There is a circular drive in the front and the driveway is on the right. (They already have a basketball goal installed, which I'm sure Billy is excited about.) (Ed. Note--I am excited; the fact that there is a decent place for the kids to safely play basketball was a big selling point for me.)





The house backs to a huge tree-lined creek that has a paved walking path running on both sides. Since the backyard slopes down to the creek, we'll be putting in a retaining wall to level the yard and then we'll have stairs leading down to the path. We'll likely put up an iron fence along the back to retain the view and paint the doors, shutters, trim, etc.







Here's the entryway. What you can't see is a huge indoor fountain located on the right side behind the brick. Yes, a fully functioning indoor water fountain. I can only imagine how much fun Will, Cate and Laney would have with that. In case it's not clear, yes that thing is coming out! We'll be replacing the light fixture and putting in dark hardwood floors. To the left is a hallway which leads to a half bathroom (keeping the cabinets but otherwise getting fully gutted), utility room, and the door to the three car garage. To the right is the formal dining room. [Note: There are tons of other things to be done throughout the house that I won't bore you with--retexturing "popcorn" ceilings, removing the intercom system, window blinds in some of the rooms, etc.]



The formal dining room is probably my favorite room. The dark hardwood floors will continue into here and we'll replace the light fixture. The wallpaper will come down and that wall will be repainted.



The living room will get dark hardwoods as well. The mantle will be stained darker to match the floors and we'll replace the light fixture and the two sconces on the wall. You can see the stairway in the first picture. The hole under the stairs will disappear and a new wooden banister and handrail will go up. We'll likely do hardwoods on the stairs and come back with a strip of carpet down the middle to make it less slick for the kids and Laney.





The second living space will be our playroom (that is after the padded wet bar and fur down are all removed). We'll also be replacing the fan, adding some can lights, and replacing the carpet.



The kitchen/breakfast nook is going to be one of the bigger parts. The dark hardwoods will continue into this area and we'll paint the cabinets, trim, and doors. New hardware will go on the cabinets and stainless steel appliances will be installed. The wood on the vaulted ceiling will be darkened to match the floors, and the hot water heater located in the kitchen will be removed (tankless system going in attic I believe) and I will gain a decent pantry space. The vent hood, fluorescent lighting and cabinets above the bar area are all going away. We'll be replacing the backsplash, countertops, sink, and faucet. The biggest change will be opening up the wall between the kitchen and living room (this space is on the left side in the first picture below) (Ed. Note--this was another big point for me; I want the kitchen and living room to feel open.).







The guest bedroom and bath are the only bedrooms downstairs. The bedroom needs a new fan/light fixture and new carpet. The guest bath will be completely gutted (only keeping cabinets) and we'll probably replace the shower/tub with just a shower.





Moving upstairs...

As you come up the stairs, to the left is the master bed/bath and to the right is a small room that leads to the kids' area. This is a picture of the landing space (looking into the double-doored nursery) which needs a new light fixture and new carpet.



This is the nursery. Initially Cate will be in here in her same crib. At some point she'll move out of the crib and into Will's toddler bed in another room. Now to convince Will he wants to sleep in a big kid bed... The nursery just needs a new fan/light fixture and new carpet.



This next room will eventually be Cate's room. Like Will's room shown in the picture below Cate's room, it just needs a new fan/light fixture and new carpet.





The three kids' bedrooms share one bathroom. Like the guest bathroom, this one will also be gutted except for the cabinets which will be painted.



Last but not least, the master bed and bath. In the master bedroom we'll be replacing the fan, adding can lights, doing something with the built-in desk, tearing down those awful window treatments, replacing the carpet, and removing the kitchenette (seriously?!?!, we can go downstairs to cook). The master bath is going to pretty much get gutted--it's pretty awful (Ed. Note--Does anybody seriously believe I am going back in time to before we remodeled our current master bath to include an 8 foot tall shower? No way in Hell. There will be a massive redo on the shower here.).











I hope this gives everyone a glimpse into the project we (and by "we" I mean our contractor who will be doing all of this work) have ahead of us. I pray that it goes smoothly and that Billy and I don't kill each other before it's all said and done. We're hoping to time it right so that we can sell our current house and move right in to a finished house and avoid any temporary housing situation. Things are going to get a little crazy for us for awhile, but I'll try to keep the ol' blog updated as March 7th approaches and things start moving...