Change is hard. But it can also be incredibly rewarding. We are in that strange sub-category of people that enjoy change, hence our foray into flipping and renovations.

How did we get to this point and what exactly are we doing?

It all started with an innocuous look at the realtor.ca app. One weekend while checking out the app, we decided to take a walk by a beachfront property. Once we saw it, we called our real estate agent and accessed the house minutes later. Within 24 hours we had an accepted offer. We went into shock when we realised how quickly (and completely unplanned) we flipped our world around. We needed to sell our current house, find temporary housing and do some major renovations before we were able to move in.

The Beach House was built in 1979 and lovingly cared for by its previous owners, until they were ready to downsize. The house in it’s initial state is heavy with late 1970’s appeal. The following is what we are going to tackle both immediately and long-term:

Freaky Flooring: Hello blue shag carpet! We have allergy sensitive people in our household and the current carpet situation contains 40 year old dust mites, skin particles and who knows what else.

Water Damage: We bought the house “as-is” meaning we knew there was a lot of hidden work. There is an amazing solarium that looks out to the ocean, but it also comes with leaky window panes that cause mold problems within the walls.

Early 1990’s Kitchen: Floral tile and peach tone cabinets are not something we want to incorporate into our aesthetic. It’s all got to go.

Walls, Closets & Chimney Stacks, oh my: The house is 3ish bedrooms. There are three rooms on the second level of the house and another creepy one off of the murder room (more on that later). There is also a chimney stack from an old fireplace that goes through all three levels of the house. In order for this to be a functional space we are doing some major demo and rearranging the majority of the second floor.

Bathroom Bonanza: Who doesn’t love a brown toilet & shower combo? Allows for easy cleaning (or no cleaning at all since you don’t see the dirt!). This is lower on the priority list and something we will live with for a while. We also plan to change the Master Bathroom and add an additional bathroom.

Murder Room: Older houses can be quirky and our’s is no exception. Through the laundry room and down a very ominous set of dark stairs is our first floor/basement like area. It is cold, dark and creepy. There isn’t any drywall on the walls and as mentioned above, there is a very strange bedroom off this space. Just imagine hosts showing this room to their guests for the night…sweet dreams! This is a long-term project since we can live with a murder room below us for a while. But not too long.

Get a Garage: The house has a very nice driveway but no garage at all. Thankfully there is a front area that’s mostly moss & bushes where we can build a garage. This is much further down the road since this is a more involved project.

Keep the Otters Out: Never would have dreamed that we could have a project that involves Otters. We have watched Otters stand-up on their hind legs (they are like 4′ rats) and walk into our neighbours yard. They poop. They stink. They could decide to nest in our yard. We’re looking at fencing and spicy landscaping options to keep these furry fiends out.

Phew, we’re exhausted even looking at this list. In the coming months we will show our progress, after shots and the process behind it all. Renovation warriors take heart! This is the biggest project yet.