Before going further in to professional projects I thought it'd be fun to describe a couple home renovations. My father was a carpenter and instilled in me a love for woodworking and more generally for building all kinds of things from Legos and model airplanes to landscaping and feature walls.Â
My 1st reno was a single-family home converted into a duplex to create a studio for rental income. This involved a budget of $30k with most of the work done by a hired contractor. Many of the final touches for the interior design I did myself.
Contractor work:
Removed a wall to create an open concept living/kitchen/dining room.
Added a wall to separate the main 3/1 home from the studio apartment.
Added a new kitchen to the studio apartment.
Replaced a window with french doors opening to a new deck.
New exterior door and stairs to the backyard.
Fence for the studio apartment backyard.
My work:
Feature wall using reclaimed wood in the living room.
Bead-board paneling and trim in the dining room.
Industrial shelving in the bathroom.
Burlap and denim walls in a bedroom.
Landscaping in front and back yards including 3 garden beds, 2 low-maintenance beds, tons of decomposed granite and gravel and 5 new trees. My favorite tree is the Japanese Coral Bark Maple because it has lime green new growth in the Spring and pink and orange bark all Winter.