a glimpse at the ongoing updates of Apricity House and thoughts on house renovation.

One year ago we purchased our house. We knew it needed a lot of hard work but could see the beauty that was just waiting to be brought out. One year later, it still needs a lot of hard work. While at times it seems like the renovations are never ending and we never fully finish a space, we still have come a long way. It is exciting to look back at the progress and celebrate the accomplishments, even if no room is photo ready and we still have unpacked all the boxes from the move. As part of that celebration, I want to take you on a journey of what we have done and our many ongoing projects.

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This year saw us tackling downstairs rooms for updates. What we thought would be a relatively quick progress, soon enlarged as we learned to fully appreciate the many steps it takes to prep a plaster wall for painting. We tried a thousand (ok maybe only 4 or 5) different ways to remove wallpaper and never found one that worked very well (if you’re wondering, steaming was the best) We learned how to fix cracks in plaster, how to scrape paint off of woodwork, and yes, how to finally, after all those steps were done, paint.

After slogging through the prep work, the painting was so rewarding and the contrast with the old yellow walls astounding. The lounge now is a beautiful blue, the dining room is incredible with dark green and white, and the entry way is bright and clean with fresh white walls. Just with these small areas, you can see how beautiful the rest of the home will be.

While there are still finishing touches to be added to those spaces before they are fully done, we have updated outlets, and light fixtures, bringing a bit of modern flair into our lovely old home.

While beautifying is amazing, one can’t forget the more practical fixes that take priority at moments. One of the first practical measures was replacing the water softener followed by doing plumbing work to stop a leaking toilet, updating valves to have hot water upstairs, insulating pipes, and yes stopping a leak that I may have made by accidently screwing through a pipe (a poorly designed pipe layout was to really blame – not me). Wrapping our year up, most of the key practical fixes have been completed which lets us focus more on visual updates.

While interior work has been progressing steadily, right now it is on pause as we take advantage of the warm months to work on exterior updates. The biggest update of the exterior is the siding has been replaced – no more ugly peach, only beautiful blue. That being said, the exterior still needs some work. We opted to keep wood soffit, facia, and trim to keep the character and beauty of the house. Because of that however, we have been fixing rotten wood, preparing, and painting in those areas. The task is a large one that will likely span over a couple of summers. In between the paint drying we have been tackling a few additional outside projects.

Most of our landscaping will wait until next year, but we have done a ton of cutting back and removal of existing bushes and trees. And we put in raised beds and fruit trees! Our other fun project has been working on installing a fence! Right now the first few pickets are up and I love how it looking so far.

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This has been a wonderful year. The house has seen such a transformation from steadily declining and decaying to becoming lively and beautiful. Even more encouraging than any care or update we have done, are the friends and family who have helped us along the way. It is these people and the life we share with them that truly make this house into a home. Thank you to all who have taught us, lent a hand, and encouraged us in our renovations. I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring!