Keeping up with the Joneses: Demo Day One

This blog was written by Jenn Jones

Our closing date had finally arrived! We were officially the owners of our little Wedgwood home. We rushed over to the house as soon as we got the go-ahead with boxes delicately packed and a cheap bottle of lukewarm champagne. Tyler carried Addie over the threshold. We prayed in the kitchen together. It was one of my favorite moments we've shared to date.

Twelve hours later, we were back in the house, lit up in all its splendor by the morning light – but this time, we were not alone. We were surrounded by a swarm of contractors, worn tarps strewn over the original hardwood floors, walls missing huge panels of drywall. What happened to my beautiful home?! What had we willingly done?

This is normal right? To wonder if updating the plumbing and electrical was a good idea? Wasn't it fine before? I feel like I'm hurting the home!!

Enter my first lesson in home renovations: While it is slightly traumatizing to watch perfectly good walls be torn through, replacing things behind the walls is both nauseating and worth it. It will be worth it to give Addie a bath without wondering if there's water leaking behind the walls. It will be worth it to be able to plug in my laptop without worrying about tripping a breaker. Actually, I don't even think we have a breaker box…the electrical is that old!

Let the renovations march on. Goodbye orange countertops. Farewell nasty linoleum. And as my husband says, "Onward and upward…"

One change I will not second guess… removing the window from the bathroom.  Because it’s a stained glass bear with a hat and a honey jar.  And because that bathroom honey-bear window leads into… wait for it… another room!”

Tyler Davis Jones is a Windermere Real Estate agent in Seattle who, with his wife Jenn, recently traded in their in-city condo for a 1940s fixer-upper. Tyler and Jenn, along with the help of some very generous friends and family members, are taking on all the renovations themselves. You can follow the transformation process on the Windermere Blog or on Tyler’s website and Instagram. 

Next week on the blog: how much does it cost to update a bathroom?