Schur Home Renovation - It's Finally Done!

When we bought our first home 18-years-ago, we had no idea how long we'd live there. I was 24-years-old and we weren't even married. 

Two years after buying our "starter" home, Steve and I were married. We weren't planning on having kids, so we didn't need much more room. It met our needs and we were building equity. 

Lakewood is where I grew up and we loved living there. The walkability and proximity to downtown and our jobs were the highlights. Early on, we talked about moving to a warmer climate, but that never came to fruition. 

…and there was always something special about Lakewood. We had no idea it would become the hot commodity that it is now!

A few years ago, we were having some plumbing issues and were were just fed up with living in a century home. Everything is old and the project list is never-ending. 

We also knew Lakewood is where we wanted to be and there was no other option. Plain and simple. 

The market in Lakewood has been outrageous for several years and we were constantly baulking at the selling prices of homes similar to ours. That also means we were floored to see the selling prices of houses better than ours! We quickly learned that buying a new and improved home was out of the question. We just couldn't justify or afford it!

So, we did it. 

We turned our 101-year-old starter home into our dream home.

Demolition started on June 1, 2021 and the project finished up in January of 2022. We managed to live through it all!

We dreamed our dream together. Steve was the brains behind the layout of the addition and I designed nearly every single detail of the renovation.

Here are some before pictures. Most of these show the complete transformation of the first floor. It's unrecognizable. The remaining show how we changed the upstairs dramatically - now offering the ideal guest suite for visitors near and far! 

Can you believe we made our extra tiny "yard" even tinier?! :)

As I said earlier, we lived in the house during the entire renovation. ALL SEVEN+ MONTHS! We really had everything we needed. They waited to start the demolition of our existing bathroom until after they finished the new bathroom. Cleaning dishes was the biggest challenge, but the contractor installed a new utility sink in our basement shortly after they started. We used a lot of paper plates and disposable pans. It  actually wasn't as bad as we expected!!

Here are demo and construction pictures galore!! 

Yes, we lived at the scene of the crime for all of it :)

Here is the final product! We are so incredibly happy and love love love our new house!!

We created a new main entryway in the back of the house with double French doors. The addition didn't really take away too much of the patio. We're still able to fit our table and grill...what more do we need?!

We opened up the entire first floor, so I'm not always stuck in the kitchen and away from the fun. Our six-burner Blue Star range is the centerpiece of the kitchen and our pride and joy. 

The new addition added the first floor half bath we've always wanted. We also added a walk-in pantry with Steve's very own ice machine. 

 

On the second floor, we added a laundry closet, new bathroom off the the main guest room, and also completely reconfigured and renovated our existing full bathroom.

Our guest bedroom now has a brand NEW en suite bathroom, complete with a bidet (the highlight for many of our guests!)

We reconfigured our existing bathroom and added a massive rain shower...and bidet, of course!

In addition to the construction project, we replaced our roof, replaced the carpeting on the second floor, replaced most of the windows on the first floor, and installed central air! So much of what we have done is "normal" for many, but this old thing really needed a lot. We loved it when we bought it 18 years ago and have fallen in love all over again. 

Cheers...and come visit!