During

I feel like home renovation programs and content creators focus a lot on the before and after comparisons. To the extent that the goal of these undertakings is typically to go from one (before) to the other (after), this makes perfect sense. What gets lost though in this focus on results and comparisons is what it's like during the process. I was especially struck by this over the last month. During that time we've had four separate contractors in the house working on four separate rooms or projects. 

Bill has been working on the kitchen. Matt is doing the second floor en suite bathroom. David and Pecos are doing drywall, and James has been doing some miscellaneous electrical work. And that's just the regulars. Add in the garage door technicians and the crew that came out to install the new radiator, and the almost mansion has been busier than ever in recent weeks.

And it shows. Not only do people need room to work, they also need places to stage and store fixtures, materials and supplies. The result is that the house has come to fully resemble a construction zone, with each room playing it's part in the process.

So, to make sure there's an adequate record of this portion of the project, I submit the following documentation representing the "during" phase:

New cabinets, new appliances, and old appliances have to live somewhere during the renovation. In our case they're living in the dining room. The old electric stove pictured here will go to a good home. The cabinets and the refrigerator (cleverly hidden under a tarp), will go in the new kitchen.

A dining room of an older home is filled with kitchen cabinets, appliances, furniture boxes and a fan.

This bedroom will be a bedroom someday. For now it's a staging area for materials and supplies that will go into the en suite bathroom. I honestly don't know how we could do any of this if we were actually living in the house. There's just so much stuff!

A second floor bedroom is shown filled with a variety of building supplies and accessories.

Lots of drywall work and plaster repair was happening in this room. At some point David and Pecos ran out of drop cloths and started using the cardboard from boxes the kitchen cabinets arrived in to cover the floors. Also, a thing I never realized is this: five gallon buckets are the backbone of every renovation project. 

A room with French windows is pictured. There is cardboard on the floor and buckets and trash cans throughout.

The living room is part of the reason for the drop cloth shortage. It's the biggest room in the house, and the entire ceiling was getting new drywall. They really did an amazing job with this room, and I can't wait to see it properly cleaned and painted. That said, I was glad to see it like this too. The white drop cloths, white walls, white fireplace and white trim give the room a kind of Christo meets Kubrick vibe that I like. 

A living room of an older home is pictured. There are tarps on the floor, fresh drywall on the ceiling and a marble fireplace on the far wall.

Technically, this is the master bedroom, but I think we're going to outfit it more like a study/library. Either way, it also needed a new ceiling, hence more cardboard and more drop cloths.

A master bedroom is seen with drop cloths and cardboard on the floor. There is a fireplace on the far wall and a pair of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

And last but not least, the kitchen. Bill has the floor installed and is beginning to rough in the cabinets. That floor is the first finish we've seen go in, and it couldn't have come at a better time. This room looked so sad for so long that it's good to see it start to take shape. I'll note here too the my wife was absolutely right about getting a bigger window for this room. It really does make a world of difference!

A kitchen is pictured during the middle stages of remodeling project. The floor and some cabinets are in, but lights, appliances and fixtures are still absent. 

Of course the interior of the house is only half the story. Despite the dust and debris we're living with on the inside, the view outside remains spectacular.