Treetops Renovations: Part 3 [The Downstairs]

Treetops- April 2015

Renovating the downstairs of my grandmother's garage apartment was one of the most emotionally and physically draining tasks Brandon and I have undertaken together. For six months, every conversation, every thought, every Googled item, every store run revolved around the Treetops Renovation Project. I have never been happier to complete something and I have never been more proud of my husband than I am right now.

the drywall and mudding begin

our downstairs view from November-January

 We had the generous help of so many friends and family members. My brother often drove twenty minutes just to bring us a saw; my aunt painted late into the night; my mom brought home-made food so we weren't living off of Barbarito's and Chick-fil-A; friends (hi, Breity's!) came from hours away to help us install doors and countertops; family lent us their trucks and gave hours to help us move furniture (again and again), install drywall, lift a refrigerator downstairs; my 72-year-old dad lifted a dryer 4 feet in the air so I didn't have to; out-of-towners texted encouragement; my pregnant sister-in-law cleaned our house for new renters. You guys, we have been so loved, surrounded and served over the last six months. We are floored.

August was eager to help.

drywall is done.

I was just touching up trim, don't worry. Baby is safe.

"Daddy cut a hole in the wall!"

future laundry room/ pantry space

I explained The Plan in a post a few days ago. As a reminder, Brandon installed drywall throughout, replaced the garage door with French doors, painted the entire interior, created a small, usable pantry space*, installed kitchen cabinets, countertops and connected the plumbing for the kitchen sink. We hired a plumber to run water lines for the kitchen sink and washing machine and an electrician friend to install several new outlets as well as the dryer outlet.

*When we discovered the bathroom door was too narrow to fit the washer and dryer, we decided to install a faux wall to slide the washer and dryer in and out. To conceal the wall, Brandon created a narrow pantry with removable shelves and a screen door. Win, win for everyone.

Santa approves of Brandon's countertop cuts

cabinet staining is not my favorite task

This is not a perfect renovation. A lot of errors were made due to our inexpertise; Brandon learned much of what he did from YouTube videos and the advise of friends. We often had to chose the cheaper, more durable route than the aesthetically pleasing route. However, this is the exact renovation we needed to make this space usable for us today and rentable for future tenants.

Here is a fun before/ after panoramic shot for you:

before

after

The Bathroom/ Laundry Room:

one of the few Grammie-pink items left: the countertops

The Kitchen/ Pantry/ Dining Room: 

The Library/ Entryway: 

The Living Room/ Office:

If you have any questions about our process or resources, please ask in the comments. We are happy to pass on our hard-earned, still relatively limited, knowledge.

The Garden/ Porch:

Little Loy banner, hung in anticipation of baby's arrival

We still need to add cabinet pulls, paint the hardy plank around the French doors and grow some grass in the front yard. But this renovation is 98% complete so I am calling it done.

For additional Treetops Renovations posts, click here.