We are bad at posting

I mean, we’re pretty on top of instagram stories, but beyond that, shame on us for not providing a well-timed distribution of content! Since Operation White Band-Aid so much has changed! About a month after that project, we tackled the atrium which made a world of difference since you see it from all over the house, we ripped out the massive and horribly unhealthy Western Redbud tree in our front yard, replaced all the siding on the bedroom wing, then figured we should rip out all the drywall/doors/windows while we’re at it (😱what were we thinking?) and added back a privacy window and exterior door to OWBA. Essentially we tried to do a couple things that kept domino-ing into bigger and more complex projects that NEEDED to be addressed right away. I’ve been using the hashtag #DIWhy a lot.

Currently, the atrium is looking great––a post detailing what we did is soon to come (for real). It was a pretty straight-forward and relatively inexpensive DIY and we’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment from it this Summer and Autumn. The plants we put in the ground have acclimated nicely and we hope they’ll continue to thrive in there!

Our front yard however is suffering quite a bit. Since tearing out the tree and bamboo and not dedicating time to remove tanbark (will it ever end?!), it’s just been a big brown blob of an eyesore–sorry neighbors! When we removed the siding from the bedroom side, we had to detach part of the fence so that too is leaning on the house and looking pretty terrible. We’ve come up with a rough plan for what it will look like, but we’re still not sure when we will get around to completing it since it involves replacing some of the siding in the front, painting it black (horray!) and re-landscaping/pouring a new driveway.

The biggest beast we’re battling is the drywall/insulation/electrical/window project. Once we tore out the siding, we found a lot of new problems and opportunities that led us to decide to re-do 1/3 of our house. We found some extensive termite damage to posts, black mold and weird soggy paint/drywall stuff that was not what we bargained for when we signed up for the whole indoor-outdoor Eichler thing. Once the walls were out, we decided to seize the opportunity to add and move some outlets and light fixtures, add ethernet wiring throughout the house (turns out weird walls and glass doors are not optimal for WiFi signals) and replace some swinging doors with pocket doors. We also capitalized on the opportunity to insulate every. single. room. This is great for when you don’t want to freeze to death or overheat or hear someone whispering from 50 feet away! It’s also been cool since we mounted our cool Samsung Frame TV to the living room wall that backs up to the bedroom. We even hid the cord inside the wall so it really looks like a picture! It’s been challenging to do a lot of the work since Paul is just one intuitive guy learning all of this from YouTube and it’s been an extra rainy year. Not to mention we are expecting a baby in April which puts a huge rush on the whole project! Not ideal conditions, but we’re getting through it and getting close to completion or at least a stopping point. We are both so ready to be able to (kinda) relax on this one and have a celebration beer!

Although it’s been a huge challenge, we’re really getting to know our house (and ghost) on a whole new level and have made some big decisions and progress on long-term planning that we can’t wait to share! Think mini Eichler playhouse, mini Eichler doghouse (how many mini Eichlers is too many?) and edible side yard garden. We are also very excited to have the most goth house in our neighborhood and don’t regret choosing black paint for a second!