Flipping a Flip

Hello Blogland! It's been a minute. 

We're only just over two weeks in and 2018 is already getting off to a very exciting start for us. As you know if you read this post, we bought a house a little over six months ago. We have had so much fun making it our own and even though it's only been a short amount of time, it is finally starting to feel like  it's "ours". Although honestly, it will probably take a few years for the whole concept to sink in when we don't have to look at rent increases or lease renewals down the line. 

You also probably know that the house we bought was a flip. Basically, anything in our budget in this market is either going to be really old, like 1940's old, or a flip. A flip is defined as a home that is bought and sold again within a 12 month period. And many flips are done within four to six weeks. So just like the shows on TV, there is no way that they can update the home that quickly and not take a few shortcuts. It's just how it goes. A lot of the homes we looked at while we were house hunting were flips and we knew they had a complicated/bad reputation but we didn't fully know what to expect. When we came to look at the house again after we put in our offer (and it was accepted), I think it set in that the house we were buying was 75 years old. To us, it looked brand new inside. We were never 100% fully sold on the exterior but we told ourselves that is something we could work on later. Since, you know, we sort of have all the time in the world since the inside was already updated. Plus, wouldn't you rather have everything look nice on the inside (where you spend 95%+ of your time)? That was my logic. While we don't hate the exterior, we do have a million ideas for how we can modernize it and make it more our style. But, that is a topic for another day. 

Today I want to bring you guys up to speed on our Master Bathroom or "MBA" as we abbreviate it.  Due to a few water leak issues we discovered soon after moving in, we decided to spend our money redoing this bathroom instead of spending it on repairs. Despite this little setback, we are still so excited about the house and actually it's been so fun picking out all of the finishes and fixtures.

Here is my "vision board/collage" that I created which includes all of the actual pieces we will be utilizing for the remodel. To say I am excited is the understatement of the year. This has been in the making for a LONG time!

(1) Wall Sconce / (2) White Subway Tile / (3) Towel Hooks / (4) Mirror / (5) Knobs and Pull / (6) Showerhead  / (7) Faucet  / (8) Shower Control Valve  / (9) Toilet Paper Holder / (10) Quartz Countertop  (11) Tile Flooring

My initial vision for the bathroom was black and white - totally minimalist with graphic bold cement floor tile. Once we learned more about finishes and costs, we decided to go in a slightly different direction. #youknowhowthatgoes The above is what we came up with after working with our contractor / designer and I couldn't be more excited. We ordered a few of the specialty things but our contractor is dealing with everything else - from permits to shower glass. The project is starting in a couple weeks and I cannot contain myself. I will do another post with some more sneak peeks including our drawings and what our design appointment was like (hint: it took 6 hours to pick out EVERYTHING).

Overall I feel like we are doing a really good job putting our "stamp" on the house and transforming it to a perfect urban oasis. As you know, I work from home 100% of the time. Jake does about 60-75% of the time, so our home has to feel cozy and warm and be cheery and bright. That sounded like a Christmas reference, but I think you know what I mean. 

So far, in the past six months we have:

• Updated some minor electrical 
• Had TV mounted above fireplace
• Installed roller blinds on windows
• Replaced Front Door
• Replaced Kitchen Door
• Updated plumbing connections 
• Repaired/replaced sprinklers
• Cleaned out attic (sort of)
• Added attic air vent covers 
• Had gas leak fixed by utility company

SPRING 2018:

• MBA Remodel - early February 
• Front Door to be painted - mid-late March
• Kitchen Door to be painted - mid-late March
• Planning front/backyard Landscaping - early Summer 

Have you ever worked on a remodeling project? Did you do it yourself? or hire out? What was your experience? I am so curious to hear how everything went as this will be our first rodeo dealing with, really, anything like this. Wish us luck!

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