Putting down roots

After 2 years in the Comox Valley, we finally found a house that would suit our family! We bought it at the beginning of April, took possession at the end of April and immediately started ripping it apart!

We replaced almost all of the flooring, every speck of trim, took out a couple of closets, opened up the living room, reworked the mudroom to add a shower and cubbies and repainted the entire interior. We also added a wall and closet in the rec room on the bottom floor to create 2 new bedrooms. It was a big job! But with the help of some excellent trades people, we got it done. We moved in at the end of June and are so happy to be living in our own place! 

Kids helping me remove the old flooring.

I love before and after photos, so I thought I'd post some here. You really need to see the before photos to appreciate the afters!!

 Living room area before. 

Living Room after. 

Turquoise armoire currently in front of the fireplace until we replace it.

We took out a large coat closet where the plant is on the left. It completely opened up this area and makes it feel very spacious.

Dining room before.

Dining room after.

Front entry way before.

Front entry way after.

Kitchen before.

 It had already had a facelift, so we left it pretty much alone. We just repainted and put new drawers in the pantry.

Kitchen after. 

Also added new grey laminate to sides of lower cabinets. Gives a much softer look.

Family room before.

Family room after. 

We're loving this big open space! Still a work in progress!

Family room before with coat closet by back door.

We took out that closet and completely re-configured the mud room. 

Inside of mudroom before.

Mudroom after. 

4 new cubbies, shelves and new shower.

  Bella's room before.

Dark red wallpaper on the walls, old carpet and a paint speckled, wooden triceratops mounted to the wall! 

Bella's room after. 

Soft aqua walls and lots of pretty colours!

Thor's room before.

After.

Walls are a sky blue. Still to do in here: Cover the box spring with fabric and add legs. Make curtains and a new duvet cover.

Kid's bathroom before.

After.

Painted wood cabinet white.

Sewing room before.

Sewing room after.

Setting up this room and making it functional will be one of my winter projects!

Master before.

Master after.

Upper hallway before.

After.

Lovely new built-in to display our shell collection!

This is the hallway looking down into the lower floor before.

There used to be one big rec room down there at the end.

Now there are two doors at the end opening up into 2 new bedrooms. No photos yet!

Green tape indicates paint touch ups needed! 

 Laundry room before.

After. Just a new coat of paint!

So that's a little tour of the renovation project! The house is in a lovely older neighbourhood, so lots of mature plants in the yard. We have an apple tree, a couple of kiwi vines growing over the arbor, some grapes and cherries.... pretty nice!

Thanks for taking the virtual tour! We are loving our new digs and enjoying a beautiful summer in the Comox Valley. xo

Embracing Fall!

Once again, a whole lot of time has passed since my last post! We're well into fall and it's starting to feel like winter! Dreaming of Hawaii, but working on embracing the cold, dark days in the Northwest!!

 

We are enjoying living in the Comox Valley and settling into life there. We have a lovely rental place until spring and feel grateful for a warm, cozy place to call home. The kids are enjoying activities that we've been too transient to participate in until now! Gymnastics is the highlight of the week for all of them and we're enjoying a weekly swim with the homelearning group. We are meeting new people, making new friends, and enjoying time with old friends.

Our lovely home for 6 months.

 

 

 

A visit to the pumpkin patch. The kids loved carving pumpkins... first time for Bella and Thor!

 

 

 

Beautiful sunsets at the ocean nearby!

 

 

Fun with friends and fire at the ocean. Ocean potlucks with friends at the beach... anytime of year.... awesome!

 

 

At the Comox Harbour

 

 

We celebrated Zara's birthday with a weekend in Victoria. We love that city! We enjoyed some of the tourist sights, walking around the inner harbour, the museum, the Imax and our favorite restaurant of all time, Rebar!

 

The birthday girl with her favorite kind of cake!

 

 

Our time in Victoria was wonderful and the weather was equally so! Blue sky and sunshine both days! Bliss!

 

 

The Comox Valley is full of parks! I've never been in a place with so many parks and playgrounds and green spaces. It's amazing! We spent lots of time at the parks this fall, soaking up the sunshine and blue skies!

 

 

At this moment we are in Kelowna for a week. We came up to help out my mom after she had foot surgery. She can't weight bear on that foot for two weeks, so getting around is pretty challenging! I'm so glad we're here to make sure she gets good food and good care!

 

 

We're enjoying time with friends and family while in Kelowna. The kids had a fun afternoon last week dressing up with their cousins! Love the rainbow!

 

 

I've been busy sewing as I'm doing a craft show with my sister Leah next weekend. We'll spend a few days in Vancouver doing city things before the show, then head back to the Island.

 

 

Time to settle into winter. We're lighting the candles, putting up fairy lights, keeping the fire stoked, doing puzzles, and enjoying some down time! Life is good!