We are well underway with our next and final stages of renovations to our home. Its been a wild ride, but also so humbling. Yesterday was a big step in this process and as I stood looking at our house, this was my exact thought “This was the missing piece to our puzzle”.
Truth be told – everything falls in place when its supposed to! All in divine timing. Sometimes it isn’t when you think it should, but it is.
This process we began a few years ago with our plans back and forth with our architect, but it just wasn’t the right timing to get started, for us it made more sense to invest IN our house vs start with the additions. The basement had already been underway, so we finished that up and began upstairs in the main living areas. It was that June, just 3 months after finishing the basement that it flooded – while we were living among renos upstairs in the kitchen, dining room, living room. It almost broke me, it bent me pretty hard. All of us actually. We thankfully had some great contractors to work with who helped ease this as we had two massive projects now on the go and our family living in our bedroom and living room!
All in divine timing.
Spring of 2019 I reached out to our township inquiring about getting things moving on our addition process. As much as we needed a break, there was a part of us that just wanted to “get it done”! The permits were issued and it was suddenly GO time!
Patience truly is a virtue. We spoke with the township to figure out what had to be done as this process was pretty major, including us doing a LOT of prep work. Oddly enough this all fell into place. Being a snowmobiler it makes me sad we do not have snow, however on the flip side this has been such an incredible blessing! We received a call around the end of November that our framers, a local company who’s work we admire, wanted to fit our job in before the end of the year!!! I was out at a meeting and my husband messaged… my response “Its GO TIME!!!”.
With every single renovation we have made to this home, its felt like the piece that was missing, it also while during the process was much more heavy than I had ever thought it would be. However I look back over the 4 years and I am filled with so much gratitude. We truly love our home, our property, the layout and purpose of the house. Once the basement and main floor were complete… we saved the best for last! What I thought was not going to be too disruptive to our life, has been. With having very little snow, our dog regularly tracks muddy foot prints into the house, which is not fun when he likes to go out more than once a day. But once again its teaching us patience, everything happens for a reason and gratitude.
Standing in our driveway last night looking at the additions, looking at the work done to the front of the house… its exactly what was missing. Truly the missing pieces to our puzzle.
Last night I joined a friend at a local Women’s Circle. Where all these feelings were validated. It was incredibly refreshing, solidifying as well in that I am on the right path, we are on the right path and everything happens for a reason all in divine timing. As well the importance of setting your intention, positive words, surrounding yourself with positive people and experiences but also knowing how to support yourself through any negativity or turmoil.
Although Ive taken photos during every single process. I haven’t shared much. I am absolutely stoked with our progress and feel even more sure in our decision for our home. Its not just this project that was the missing piece, it has been everything thats got us to where we are today. All of our renovations were done while living here. Some not as disruptive, others extremely disruptive. They have all been created with so much love and purpose. Our kitchen, which was under way when the basement flooded, we had our main layout, but weren’t sure how to finish between the old kitchen and new kitchen. So we lived with an unfinished space for a while until we got a feel for HOW we truly wanted to use the space. Had we finished it off like how we THOUGHT we needed to use the space (when it was just on paper), it wouldn’t have been what we truly needed. While being patient we were able to finish off our dream kitchen, create a beautiful laundry mud room and it functions exactly how our family needs it to!
The bonus… the additions are exactly the pieces that were missing. Not just for our lifestyle, but for the look of the house! Before we began the renovation process, we contemplated selling. We weighed the pros and cons of renovating vs building including location. I am so thankful we chose to #makeourhouseahome and create our #zmijanest. It may have taken us time, but it suits our family and lifestyle SO amazingly well! When I was absolutely terrified about the cost, this… this right here makes it ALL worth it! Every single dollar we have and will be spending. This was meant to be, this is what the house and our family was waiting for!
Do not ever be afraid of following your dreams. We went through SO many designs for so many years, weighing the pros and cons of each, pricing out, then even thought we should skimp on somethings to save a few bucks. In the end we jumped right in and although it felt super scary, last night everything was validated for me. When my husband asked me what I thought, my response was “Its what the house was missing”.
Always follow your dreams, no matter what those dreams might be. Set your intentions, write out what you want to see manifest and be grateful for the process! Regardless of where you live, your space should be a reflection of you! Whether you own or rent your home, take a look around and ask yourself how you really feel in the space. If you aren’t completely at peace in your space – which you should be – how can you shift it! It could be as simple as decluttering, rearranging the furniture, changing the paint colour to massive projects like ours ;). Let your space be a reflection of YOU!
Your Life As Art Essentials 