We wanted a project or two… and ended up with more than twenty. Five years later we’re looking back on why we did it, how we made it happen, what we’ve learned and why we wouldn’t trade our journey for anything else (and no, it ain’t over yet)! This is the story of our House Baby.
After six years in the same studio apartment, my husband Chris and I knew it was time for a transition. Despite each commuting an hour in opposite directions every day to different states and filing our taxes four different ways, we still loved our happy little mid-point, Providence, RI, and we weren’t ready to leave. We loved finding different little pockets of the city and watching them flourish over half of a decade. We felt that there was so much more growing we could all do. So, we decided to buy.
It all happened surprisingly organically and very, very quickly. Between a Mechanical Engineer and an Architect we are each other’s worst enablers. We both love projects and we knew we wanted a place where we could add our own touch and pour our own ideas and elbow grease into. We thought a kitchen and bathroom project sounded “fun,” sounded “manageable.” After one day of touring houses we put an offer in that evening. Call it destiny, a gut feel, or sheer impulsion, we found something we were ready to take care of, something we came to jokingly yet lovingly call our “House Baby.”
5 Things to Look For (or Avoid) in a Fixer Upper
The house was vacant for a few years and on the market for several months. Our inspection was brief and our closing was smooth. We blinked and the keys were in our hands. I’ll never forget our collective feeling, as we popped champagne on our porch, stepped inside and took it all in, which I can only describe as eloquently as possible as an “Oh Sh*t Moment.” This investment, this piece of the world that we owned and was truly ours, came into focus - the cracks, crookedness and inoperable everything. We hadn’t really grasped how much work we had ahead of us. We set up two aero beds, a desk and a dresser in our sunroom, tarped up the door opening and hunkered down... consider this blog a portfolio of sorts paying homage to our long and beautiful journey.
Comments