The Festivities are over...the tree has been taken down-so now it's back to business-renovation business that is. If you are thinking of buying a fixer upper-stop and read this post first. We've renovated several properties and we learn something new every time so don't go through the rough stuff, let us do that for you!! First thing...Design it before you buy it!! I think this is one of the biggest mistakes a person can make when buying a fixer-upper. You go over your new home with a microscope, looking for cracks in the foundation, faulty wiring and bad plumbing but you never look at it’s “living power”. No, that isn’t some new age philosophy but just a term I’ve coined for this post. “Living Power” means it fits your lifestyle. I love separate rooms for specific occasions but I also like flow. I remember when I walked into our current house for the first time and  I immediately fell in love! I think my realtor was shocked that I liked  it so much but I just knew it was to be mine.

little room off kitchen/back of house

"after" photo taken from the living room into the kitchen

When I walked in the front door I could see all the way to the back of the house. I knew there was potential because I like lots of light and I could bust out a few walls and add lots of natural sunshine. The pic to the left was the "before" of the living room that was separate from the kitchen.  The one on the right was a little room off of the kitchen that was virtually unusable. Here's a BIG tip...just because a wall is load bearing doesn't mean it can't be removed. I don't know why people freak out about removing walls. We've taken out several load bearing walls and if you properly support them, all is well. When we gutted our little 600 square foot duplex in Los Angeles we removed a wall and replaced it with a 200 lb beam in the ceiling. We were told that was overkill...but better over than under!  Now...if you are a super fan of Nicole from rehab addict, like I am, you may be wondering about removing walls yet still preserving the integrity of the house. Here's my take on it. We always keep anything of significance when it comes to mantles, wood work, floors, etc. We try and repair anything and everything we can...but we also have to live in it. I don't regret for a second tearing out the two walls that opened up the kitchen to the living room and the kitchen to the great outdoors! Remember your house needs "living power"! Also...don't rule out an old house because you are afraid of it's inefficiency. You can blow in insulation as well as insulate your attic. Do this prior to finishing your walls because they drill holes about the size of the bottom of a pop can about every 16 inches on all the walls that face the outdoors. You can do this from either the inside or outside and the cost can vary dramatically so shop around. We finished our 3500 square foot place for less than 4-thousand dollars and this included the insulation that expands and looks like giant marshmallows for the kitchen (since it was gutted) and bat insulation for another room that wasn't dry walled. That's it for now! I'm snowed in...so you'll probably hear more from me this week!