This is my house.  Cute, isn’t it?  My husband & I bought this place just before we got married, thinking it would be a great “starter home” for the two of us, for the first few years of married life pre-children.  Well, as it happened, we had children way sooner than expected (pregnant 1 month after the wedding).  Since then, I’ve also started my own event planning company which operates out of our home, as well as added another little bundle of joy to our household.

Now our cute little 2 bedroom/2 bathroom bungalow is feeling (not so slightly) cramped.  Why didn’t anyone tell me that kids take up so much room for such little people?!?  It’s ridiculous.  We have toys in the guest room/playroom, toys in the living room, toys in the den which I’ve converted into their bedroom, toys in the dining room, toys out on the deck…  AND we have my craft supplies and office equipment, and wedding/even props and books crammed into whatever space is left.  Needless to say, this house is not clutter free.

The natural idea would be to sell this house and buy a bigger house.  The problem is that I LOVE the location of my house now.  We’re great friends with the neighbours across the street who have kids the same ages as ours, we’re walking distance to the elementary school & preschool my children attend, THE BEST coffee shop in town is literally around the corner, we’re the house on top of the hill & we have killer views of the sunset and mountains.  Point – I don’t want to move.  Solution?  Remodel.

So here’s what I’m thinking:

1: Build a front porch, paint the front door, and change the siding to get the West Coast Arts & Crafts style I love.

2: Extend the back of the house by about 16 feet and build an upper storey.  This will give us space for a bigger kitchen, dining room, family room, living room, and guest room on the lower floor, and 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a laundry room, and a Master Bedroom with spa-like en-suite bathroom and walk-in closets on the upper floor.

3: Build a wrap-around deck in the backyard for some outdoor living space and a BBQ area for hubby.

The catch:  We don’t know where to begin!  We’re so not DIY people when it comes to home improvement, it takes us months to get shelves hung and we have furniture we intended to stain that are still sitting naked in our living room.   It’s like my last post…great intentions…but meaningless.

So I guess the next step would be to find an architect to make up plans, get approval from the city to build said plans, and then find a contractor who can get it done in a timely manner & on a budget?  That’s a tall order, isn’t it?  Is this a hoop dream or do you think it’s do-able?  Where do I go from here, and do you know of any good architects or contractors in Victoria?  Thoughts/Comments/Snide Remarks?