Soul Kitchen

This is how our kitchen used to look. Nice, right?









So who in their right mind would turn it into this?






I don't care how much of a seasoned home renovation-esque person you are or how much time you've spent at Home Depot. Nothing prepares you for this. It's truly shocking.

The Basement Tapes

Ohh, now tell me where can you party, child, all night long?
In the basement, down in the basement, yeah.
Oh where can you go when your money gets low?
In the basement, whoa down in the basement
And if a storm is taking place, you can jam and still be safe
In the basement, down in the basement, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah -- Etta James

The new basement space is on its way! No more scary dropped ceiling tiles falling on our heads! Usable space with eight-foot ceilings! A cleaner, brighter basement with a spankin' new laundry room and more space for the kids to play and extra guest space and...

It's just cement blocks and a poured concete floor, I know. But it's all ours. And I'm a little bit excited about it.

Castles made of sand

So we learned this week that our house was built without footings. The house was built in 1929, so it's pretty common, but still a little -- if you forgive the pun -- unsettling. Our contractor needs to create an underpinning wall to support the foundation, so there will be a bit of a delay in pouring the foundation for the addition. Serenity now.

We also learned that a small bump-out addition that one of the previous owners created in the 1950s was REALLY built without footings, which explains the sloping floor and occasional leaks in that part of the kitchen. Our contractor really wanted to take the excavator to it and demolish it once and for all, but our architect intervened and found a way to support it properly so we can build a second floor over it. We narrowly escaped the loss of our kitchen in a 24-hour period.

I can't wait until they start demolishing to see what's underneath these floors and in these walls!

The Way We Were

This used to be our backyard.

















Not no more it ain't.









Construction has begun on the Harris House. It's official! Check our blog for regular updates and photos. Aside from the chaos, the confusion, and the craziness, this home renovation stuff is a lot of fun. We swear.