February 28, 2011

A Lot Has Happened in The Past Year


I remodeled an entire house!   Wasn't that fun? NO! But the results were worth the time, stress, money and mess.  We now have a home much more open and accessible to Mel and her power wheelchair.  She now even has her own bedroom downstairs.  We also added a stair chair lift so she can be taken up to our new theater room and watch all the latest flicks with us on the big screen. It is now also a place where our ever expanding family can come and hang out on weekends to grill, swim, watch sports out by the outdoor bar or movies upstairs.  Here are just a few pics of before, during, and after.


Before and During
October 2009 to April 2010


tearing down the 200 gallon fish tank...this wall and stairs will go!
Old family room looking toward kitchen
guest room soon to be weight room
old patio, no cover, no kitchen
office/mel's room  
She, carly, I  and the dogs hung out there behind plastic sheeting for weeks
old living room to become Mel's room
upstairs family room.....windows go and door is opened out to new upstairs deck
getting ready to tear out tile and cabinets in upstairs bathroom
Stairs from kitchen and family room to upstairs family room  soon to be gone
Front doors and stairs from front to upstairs family room
upstairs bath before
walls and stairs between kitchen and family room came down
What a mess........all the tile in the house was removed
This is what we lived with for 6 months
Kitchen before walls and stairs were removed
here comes the plastic
Tile in kitchen comes up
The kitchen....floor came up ceiling light came out and walls came down
This is how we were to live for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Thank heavens for Kimberly who opened her home so we could all celebrate
dust free.
beautiful isn't.............UGH
Mel, the dogs and I hid out in the master bedroom.....that
is until they came in to remove furniture and floors



preparation to start building kitchen, cover and upstairs deck
and the walls came tumbling down


Walls and stairs are gone, in their place is a 25ft steel beam
hidden in the ceiling because that was a support wall for
the center of the house.
starting to look like a deck
Poor Mel......when is all the awful dust and
noise going to go away???????


Upper deck, nice that no one lives right on top of us

After




 
The walls and stairs between family room and kitchen are GONE!!
You could land a small plane in here.
Love my new hardwood floors.
Oh yea, the 200 gallon saltwater tank has been replaced
with a 340 gallon saltwater/reef tank (which btw both of my
grandsons love to sit and watch)

spiral stairs to upper deck in our new outdoor living area
our new beautiful summer kitchen
view of our fully refurbished pool deck and family outdoor area



a few more shots of the outdoor entertainment area
our kids are already enjoying it all year long
upstairs family room pool area
this is where the steps used to go up from the kitchen
rest of upstairs game room with door now going out to upstairs deck

This is our wonderful movie theater that seats 12.
(and the rail is actually black.....have no idea why it came out purple)
remodeled guest bath
new walk in shower where old tub used to be in guest bath
Weight room with new soundproofing rubber flooring

Master bath with Mel's new shower behind wall to left
master bedroom with new flooring and fan


A couple of shots of Mel's new bedroom where old living room was.
We just happen to be obsessed with butterflies.
These beautiful etched glass doors close off the two entrances to Mel's room

Front steps, now hardwood, showing Mel's lift
Front entry with new slate flooring and arched entry
dining room (seats 10) and still not big enough
new slate and hardwood flooring

And last but certainly not least of the new additions.
This sweet thing is a 45kw natural gas generator that will run my entire
house when the power goes out.  No more leaving town for hurricanes and
such.  The whole gang will be hanging out and hunkering down right here!

Thanks for letting me bore you with the "dirty details" but I am just trying to update everyone so I can
get back into the swing of blogging!!


Two New Grandsons Have Joined Our Family

Maddox Robb Choate
May 18, 2010


Cohen Giles Dotter
November 12, 2010

Only 6 months apart, these cousins are destined to become best friends.

I was so blessed to be in the delivery room when each one of these little guys entered the world and became members of our family! I could write page after page on the joy of being a grandmother but I will save that for my Goin' to Grandma's blog that Tiff has so lovingly created and I have been neglecting. 

Well, guess that IS a lot to have happen in 12 months.  Now I can move on to what is happening NOW and why we really need the prayers of our blogging friends.

Expect A Miracle...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Cathy, great update. The house transformation pics are super. The only thing better is the pictures of Mel and your grandbabies.

Ruth Evans said...

Cathy, your grand babies are so adorable! And the remodel of your home is incredible. I remembered the old old house well but the re model must have created such a better environment for Melaney and for all of you. I love the hardwood floors and the kitchen cabinets.
We have been praying for awhile and will continue to do so. Miracles really do happen. Blessings