Happy Wednesday! Real talk: fixing up a house sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is. It takes a lot of time. And and lot of work. It takes a lot of energy, a heck of a good attitude, and oh, a lot of money, too.
Chip & Joanna Gaines basically had me convinced that I needed to try out a fixer upper of my own by the end of Season 1, Episode 1. It looked so fun to take something, old, sad, and unloved, and change it into a new house catered to your own style.
{cue our hunt for the perfect little old house}
Ryan and I made the decision to buy an older house for a few reasons:
The price was right.
Price is a huuuuge factor around Boulder! Investing in a new build is just out of our price range right now, and we are very careful with finances. What if one of us lost our job? What if we couldn’t get a tenant in our condo and had to pay two rents? It is much easier to sleep at night knowing that we’re not “house broke.”
The location was right.
We fell in love with the neighborhood we landed in. We’re close to the elementary school, we can bike to our favorite little downtown, and the open space is within walking/running distance.
It just felt right.
I know that sounds vague, I do. Our real estate agent told us we would know as soon as we walked into a house that it was our house. TBH we did not have that feeling with this house! That’s probably because it was covered in dust, the carpet was stained, and nothing had been updated since the 1970s. But after we walked around the place and saw it’s potential, we decided to take a gamble and put in an offer.
shirt // jeans // booties // purse // sunglasses // similar earrings
Sooo you might be wondering how getting a fixer upper has made my life better.
Well, for starters, it makes me appreciate the time I am given. It has made me really focus on how I utilize my time. I used to think there was never enough time in the day. (I still do believe that ha) BUT now I know that if I’m focused and efficient, I can accomplish so much more that I thought was possible!
It’s made me appreciate my husband more that ever. Y’all, there have been soooo many nights when I come home after work and don’t want to do physical labor. Ryan always has an upbeat attitude – idk how he does it – but it keeps me motivated to work hard every day.
I have spent less time on my phone since we began work on the house. There’s just no time to sit around and scroll mindlessly!
This house has been good for our marriage. (Hope I’m not jinxing this LOL!) Other than planning a wedding, we have not worked on a big project together before. It has taught me to actually listen to his ideas. (Sometimes I’m not the best listener when I already have an idea in my head…) We’ve gotten to spend time together in a different kind of way. We’ve made major decisions together. (Deciding the exact type of shiplap we wanted was no easy task you guys! Seriously, there are SO many options!)
Basically, this house has made us grow together in a different kind of way that traveling together does. We’ve been pouring both our heart & soul almost every day into this structure that is ours. We call it our child. Ha!
I can’t wait to show y’all the finished product someday! (timeline is still TBD haha) We officially have all the ceilings textured, walls painted, most of the laminate placed, and the baseboards & doors are slowly but surely being placed.
Oh did we mention we’re doing all the work ourselves?! It’s hard work, but it sure is rewarding to see it start looking like a house again!
Have you ever done some at home projects like this?! I’d love to hear your fixer upper stories!
Thanks so much for reading! Less than a week till Christmas 🙂
Great perspective on your project! Sounds like it is definitely worth all of the hard work you’ve put in together.