Day 4 and 5... and PICS!

We have gotten such a positive response from so many of you guys! Thank you, we hope we can deliver all the proposed plans we hope to achieve and keep you entertained :)

Tonight, TJ and I finished covering up hallway! We are on cloud nine and feel so accomplished. Now we cover up the old door with compound and plaster to smooth out the wall and blend it all in. TJ and I are thinking about hiring a professional resurfacer(not a word) for the entryway walls. We do think we could do it on our own, but we definitely want the walls to look consistent with the remainder of the house.

Our next project tomorrow (Friday) will be to complete all the of the cabinets and get ready to start the prepping for painting the walls and trim. We have also collected soo much debris and junk, so this weekend will also be a lot of cleaning.

I wont talk much tonight, but as promised,here are a few pics of the house and the project. I hope you all enjoy!

Day 2 of Renovations

We ordered our cabinets from Ikea on Sunday and got them delivered the following day. We have never been so terrified and nervous in making a purchase that required so many options, upgrades, and color variations. We finally decided on the cabinets shown. We ordered our fridge and stove on Monday and are expected to get it in mid February. We are very, very excited! Thank you Obama for the $8,000 tax credit. It is definitely coming in handy.

On Monday, TJ and I resumed on the hallway project and began the next steps in clearing out the hallway. Our friend Jerry came over to help us and we quickly found out that he loves to build things from IKEA. We were in luck! Thanks Jerry!

TJ's parents were so kind to let us have all of their power tools. I mean they hooked us up with matching DeWalt cordless tools! We are so fortunate, so thank you. The tools not only saved us time and money, and trips to hardware rentals, but made the job a lot easier. Seeing TJ with a saw and his tool belt made me smile...but scared... for my own safety. He did look very sexy though.

After Monday, we finished up the hallway and were now ready to begin the entire drywall/patching process. We hit a small snag as we lately found out different options that are available to us. We have not decided if we want to cover up the door with drywall or take off all the plastering off the walls and have one uniform, smooth wall. The work will be hard and we have to make a decision soon. We have also thought about getting someone to plaster/texture the walls to give the walls a more updated look and also hide minor imperfections throughout. We have a guy coming over on Thursday to look over the walls and gives an estimate.

Meanwhile, TJ and I have been doing our research regarding countertops. We are torn with several options, but do not want to pay an arm and a leg for minimal counterspace. Although, my colleague gave me a great referral on a few men who do granite countertops for super cheap. $30.00 a sq ft cheap! Granite tends to run in the $60-$70 range per sq ft. More on this later.....

And It Begins!

So a little back story on the house. We live in what is considered Goose Island/East Village, which directly borders the trendy Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village neighborhoods. The home is a 2-flat(two units) and it was built in 1890. TJ and I will be residing in the top floor unit and we will be leasing out the bottom unit as income property. Both units are small and cozy

So the house itself is in pretty good condition for being over 100 years old. Aside from some uneven floors, the house just needs some updates. Our first project is to convert the existing living room into the bedroom. TJ and I have a king size bed and we refuse to give it up. So what's the best option you ask? Build/move the house around the bed. :)

For our first funovation, we will:

• Remove the closet wall
• Reroute the entry way
• Remove living room door and jamb
  
• Apply drywall and cover the old living room door

The day we got the keys from the current tenant, we immediately got a hammer and started taking down the closet wall. We were foolish and naive to think that the wall would have been made of drywall. Instead, we were greeted with what we thought was a wooden wall. The hammer would not go through the wall. We cursed and asked ourselves what happenend to all the videos on youtube and DIY network that had taught us to just hammer out the drywall? We continued to use the hammer and finally broke through a layer of what was none other than, plaster.

Although we were disheartened at the fact that it was not going to be as easy as we had thought, we really gained a lot appreciation for the history of the home and level of craftsmanship. By the end of the day, between me, TJ, and Sara, we had taken off all the plaster and cleaned up the major mess. During the tear down, the amount of the dust that we were exposed to was unnerving. Luckily for us, we live around the corner from an ACE hardware store and we were able to get goggles and masks. I am sure we inhaled things we were not suppose to and will pay for it later....

Welcome Home

On January 14, 2010, TJ and I became proud homeowners of a two flat in East Village, Chicago. The process itself was an emotional rollercoster, consisting of headaches, cold sweats, and plenty of excitement!

With that said, we would like to thank our dear family and friends for their undying support during this hectic time. Your words of encouragement and happiness really assured us that we had made the right decision and that we had a good support system in place. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our broker and agent, the amazing Steve Bote at American Street Mortgage and the lovely Danielle Dowell from Koenig & Strey. Thank you both for all the support and help in making our dream a reality.

After TJ and I went through the entire process, we felt in a sense that we just gotten married. We realized that this was going to be as close to a legal marriage as we could get in the meantime, so our first home was not just the acquisition of a property, but rather a commitment to eachother and our relationship.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, I invite you all to join us as we convert our little home into our haven. Although the projects that need to be completed are minimal, the time and effort that will be required will be a different story. We hope to document all the fun, crazy, and scary moments on here for you all to see and enjoy.

Pictures to be posted soon.

Many Cheers,

Amhir & TJ