New remodeling term alert!!!   Andrew sistered the joists in the ceiling.  Sistering is basically placing new wood along side of the existing wood.  He did this for more support and also because the ceiling was sagging just a little bit.  So, once he sistered the wood, he cut the sag off of the old wood.  Now the Sheetrock could be put in without a bow, nice and flat.  The Sheetrock is now up in the ceiling for both the living area and kitchen! Here are some pics.

You can see we completely removed the wall in between the kitchen and living areas.  It makes the space feel a lot larger.  We also opened up the stairs by removing part of that wall as well.

We were there today discussing lighting and other things.  Next up is rewiring and plumbing.  And I think we have decided to put the washer and dryer upstairs.   Getting more and more excited!!

Squeezing In

One of the things we love about this move is the downsizing and simplifying that this will allow us to do.  Just enough is a phrase that we need to remember in this world where excess is the norm.  We are going from 2,650sq ft (way too much for two people without kids) to 1,950sq ft.  The new house is smaller, but really not tiny.  BUT, there are some challenges to overcome with the style and size of the bungalow.  The first challenge we come to is where to put the washer and dryer??  We have debated upstairs vs. downstairs and bathroom vs. kitchen.  Right now kitchen is probably winning.  We have been looking for ways to make the laundry unobtrusive.  We'll probably have to buy a new smaller washer and dryer and they'll probably have to be front loaders.  (UGH.  Hate the thought of the price!!)  And, we're thinking that we'll hide them away in cabinets.  We found some pictures of examples on atticmag.com.


Here is a washer/dryer area hidden in a kitchen. Pay no mind to the yellow cabinets. There will be no decorating with yellow in our new house if I can help it. Yellow is way too sunshine and happiness for me. (No offense to any yellow lovers. I am just not a bright colors kind of person)

Here is an example of stackable front loaders, and this could possibly fit in the downstairs bathroom.  Although that top one looks like a neck breaker.  Maybe a tad too awkward?

Here is a brave idea.  Having the laundry in an upstairs landing/hallway area.  See, you can do whatever you want.  No one would know unless you showed them.  The only problem I can think of with this is the plumbing aspect and how close this area is to the water.

Other things to consider:  A space for folding.  Storage for detergent.  Enough hiding space for dirty laundry while it waits to be washed.  How to keep the cats from thinking front loaders are tiny caves/beds.  How to trick someone else into doing all of the laundry.