Bringing Down the House

Disclaimer: The post is long with lots of pictures.  It may be duplicative of an old website.  So sue me.

Most friends know that we remodeled the house in 2010 to accommodate my progressing disability from ataxia.  The primary issue was deciding what to do.  Was it financially feasible? Would modifications devalue the house?  Would selling now be more reasonable?  Should we be downsizing at this time in life?  Earl and I talked with family and friends, then embarked on an exploration of other, smaller houses.  For a multitude of reasons, we decided it was best to stay and modify.  At 3600 square feet, the house was much larger than we needed.  But access to the front entry, garage entry and back entry was already a single, manageable step. That in itself, is hugely important to someone with impaired mobility.

Not everyone can or should do a major redo.  It's a big undertaking, but it was the right move for us.  Remodeling is expensive, but so is selling a home and relocating in the midst of an unstable housing market.  Most of the living space was either on or could be moved to the main level. Although some choices were spendy, many of the most helpful modifications were relatively low cost. 

 After 30+ years, moving from the family home was hard to think about.  They say, "location, location, location" is one of the most important considerations in real estate.  Our quiet, one–street neighborhood of acre lots and its residents are two of the best things about living here.  The neighbors know me, have and would rescue me in the event of battery power loss, and no one comments (at least, to my face) on my appearance as I scoot up the street.  Scooting While Vain post 

Once we decided to stay and hired contractors, dealing with the 70s trend of living in a multi-level house was the next issue.  That may have seemed like a good idea when we were in our thirties, but it was a major headache for me now.  However, if a home has enough accommodating positive features, doing things like eliminating clutter, installing motion detection lighting, making bathroom modifications, and substituting low nap area rugs for plush carpeting, are affordable and easily done in any home. 

Earl was willing to stay here, move, size-down... whatever made sense.  He came up with an idea that made the notion of remodeling feasible versus prohibitive.  

Sunken family room–before

Affordable design–after

We knew we couldn't afford to raise the roofline or the existing window in the sunken family room when we raised the floor.  The new floor plan left that level alone and created an adjacent small, narrow area.  That space was going to be primarily decorative, but my daughter-in-law furnished it as the kids’ reading and craft area instead.  The grand children feel "under the radar" and out of sight, even though they can still be seen by parents.

Crafting cousins

Reading nook

Pocket door to bathroom

The contractors kept my impairments (current and future) in mind, but also knew I didn't want the house to scream "handicapped".  Cliff and Dan built wide doorways, put in pocket doors where possible and paid attention to the direction of a door swing.  That never even occurred to me.  They installed everything (decorative hooks, towel racks, rings)  as if they were available to grab.  I don't use them as grab bars, but it's reassuring to know they're professionally installed and I won't bring the house down in a fall. 

Our interior designer had an eye for both form and function.   Earl and I (16 crayon people) left most color and furniture placement choices to our 64 crayon designer.  The last thing I wanted was an institutional decorative theme.  I can still avoid or go around inconveniences, but remodeling eliminated navigational barriers.  Wall to wall carpeting in the family room, dining room and master was replaced by hard wood floors and area rugs.

Family room fireplace and TV

New family room

The garage is attached to the house, and relatively clutter free.  Although the remodel pre–dated Skeeter, she and Winnie have their home in the garage and I can get to them without over–reaching or lunging.  Earl installed a small grab bar that I insisted I didn't need.  I use it–always.  It's so much better and more dependable than grasping the door jam. 

Skeeter and Winnie parking

Garage grab bar

I'm pretty good at getting rid of things.  Some people regard me as a scary order freak with no emotional attachment to tangible items, but that's another post.  My remodel rule was, "If it isn't lovely or meaningful, it goes to a better home."  That was added to my signature rule– "If it hasn't been used in a year, it goes."

With the sunken living room left as is (4 steps down), the project became affordable as opposed to prohibitive.  It's not that I can't manage steps at this point in time; I just wouldn't have to all day.   If wheelchair bound at some point, I can choose not to go down to the formal living room.  We considered making it a dedicated music/theater area, but the living room is already the fine listening/piano room and a reasonably safe super hero launchpad for the grand children. 

Music/Super Hero room

Window with a view

We left behind the old second floor master suite.  It had a big window a pastoral view, bathroom, and two walk–in closets. So what to do with a big room?  We combined the kids’ playroom with the guest quarters.  Guests have privacy, a TV and their own bathroom.  The trundle bed takes minimal space, accommodates sleep–overs, and converts to a comfortable king-sized bed for couples. One closet houses "kid" things and the second stores our things.  Although the decor is pretty juvenile, the grand kids are medium good sharers.  It's the first place they head to when they come over. Although the playroom is upstairs, it's directly over the family room–out of sight, but not hearing.

Tree and blackboard wall

TV and lots of pictures

Asian decor

Do we miss our master suite?  Initially, I thought that would be the hardest part, but nope.   I no longer had to go up and down stairs unless I wanted to use the Wii fit or the exercise equipment.  The new master on the main floor had beautiful windows, a fireplace, a walk-in closet (Earl and I learned to share), and my own office corner to retreat, gaze out a window, and compute.  We used all the things we and my parents collected in Asia.  It looks a bit asian–over–the–top, but that’s what we had and liked.  We never thought the fireplace would be comforting as well as beautiful, but we use it every day. 

My corner office

Left to master; right to bathroom

Fireplace in master

 





































It's unseemly to have an attachment to a room, but I love our bathroom.  Not everyone has the space to avoid a shower door, but the flip up bench, hand–held shower attachment, shower gel/shampoo/conditioner dispenser, grab bars, and grab bars pretending to be towel bars, make showering a relaxing activity, rather than an exercise in terror.  I've showered in death traps before and it's no fun.

No shower door?  Heaven!

Welcoming shower

Chair height toilet

 





 

Part of the renovation plan was to improve the backyard. There is a big, single level deck in back suitable for summer gatherings. But the old fence was rotting and had to be replaced, the landscaping was redone, a fire pit was added, and we put in a gazebo.  It also became the family plot.  In 2010, we toasted my Dad and spread his ashes around the “Dad” tree (the big, round one); his dog's ashes went around the neighboring "Dog" tree.  When our dog, Lucy's number was up in 2011, in she went.  The 3rd tree is "Ours" since the current plan is to leave feet first and haunt the next owners.

Level deck

Fire pit and gazebo

Family Plot

People asked us if Earl and I were ever on the verge of divorce or at least in counseling.  When I think about it, there were several reasons why that wasn't the case. There was never a time when our home was unavailable to family and that probably made the biggest difference. We were never without water, a kitchen, laundry, or sleep.  Even when the family room was torn up, the kitchen was still functional and, to my mind, pretty pristine. The grand children had their playroom while the kids’ area in the family room was being created and furnished.  Our bedroom wasn't affected until it was time to move downstairs. 

The project lent itself to compartmentalization–one area was finished before moving on to the next.  Our contractors, although nicknamed the Dust Brothers, weren't.  Cliff and Dan came and went as they pleased, tolerated our barking, incontinent old Lucy, and cleaned up at the end of the day.  We missed them when they were finished.

Lesson:  There's no place like home.