Renovation Budget

So this is my beautiful home. I live in a wonderful neighborhood, I love my neighbors, and I love my proximity to everything in town without the cramped feeling of being in town. But to tell you the truth, we had our house on the market from about September 2011 to February 2012. This may sound odd to you since you just read how much I love my house. Well there are a few things that I don't love... I do not love that there are only 3 bedrooms and only about 1800 square feet. I do not love that those 1800 square feet, in some parts of my home, are wasted. 

 When we first moved into our home (May 2009), we knew that we would probably have to move when Baby #2 decided to come on the scene. Well, after just experiencing being pregnant and all the not so joyful complications that can bring, I was like oh no, we are not waiting until I'm pregnant to put our house on the market and move. That just had trouble written all over it. Anyway, here's the deal, I guess I would describe my decor as traditional craftsman. I love exposed beams, beautiful woodwork and warm tones, but my heart can also be won by a well placed column and/or crown molding. So knowing that about me and seeing the pictures of my house, you know why I love this house so much. But here are some things that I do not love so much.

P.S.: Don't you love how the decor from Macy's birthday after party is still up... I know, 'classy' is the word you're thinking right now.

I want this wall, with the fabulous chandelier windows (I know, I LOVE them. If you weren't thinking that, are we friends? J/k, but seriously...), to be gone. I want there to be an INCREDIBLE eat-in bar to take it's place. This is want I'm thinking... 

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Having a bar where that wall is will COMPLETELY open up our entire living area. Love love all these looks. Also, after the wall between the kitchen and current dining room comes down, I'm thinking I will turn the current dining room into a sitting area and mount a large TV where our beautiful Organic Bloom frame now presides. More on that in a bit, and now onto the other problem...

Just keep on enjoying leftovers from Macy's birthday decor on the mantel as we continue in our discussion. This is another situation that needs to be talked about. While these built-ins are nice, we need more natural light and this area doesn't really lend itself to a conducive living/family room, hence the wasted space I was talking about. This is what we're thinking...

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I love the windows above these doors in the last picture, and those damask-type recliners with their backs toward us. But can you see where I'm going here? That whole back wall, fireplace and all, would be beautiful French doors, with a wide open view of our beautiful pool, that in time will also have a pergola and nice outdoor furniture on the patio. It would all hit you as soon as you walk in the front door! Ahhhh, too good! It's going to be so wonderful!  

Also, one of the things that was at the top of my 'must-have' list if we were going to move was enough room for a very large dining table, ideally 12 or more. So once we have our eat-in bar and french door- wall, I am planning on switching what is currently our living area with our current dining room. That way I can have my very large dining table. I have very high hopes for this table. Here's what I'm thinking as far as dining tables go... 

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Let's be really honest here. Everything about this photo is absolutely fabulous. This is a salvaged wood table from Restoration Hardware, basically my dream home, but not so dream budget, store. When I measured, length-wise while still leaving plenty of room for chairs on the ends, the area that is now our living room measures up to about 140." This Restoration Hardware table comes in several different sizes, with the largest seating up to 26 people (AHHH!!!). The one that would fit in our spot would be the 108" table that comes with two 18" leaves, adding up to a grand total of 144'' and seats 12 when fully extended! Woohoo! This fact brings me a lot of joy. I just wish that I would've been able to visualize this layout when we first moved into the house! Argh! Oh well, you live and you learn. 

Just in case I've lost you, I made a nice, precise diorama. Haha, what a joke on the precise, I didn't even know how to spell diorama... Anyway...

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So, here comes the not so fun part, the saving. Below is the au-natural version of yours truly, possibly a little too natural, with the inaugural contribution to the renovation budget. It was $43.12, and I was really proud that I still had it left over from my June monthly cash budget. We started saving on July 4th. I am proud to also say that we are VERY determined to make these changes happen, and I think we have almost $300 in the jar. **Side note: I started getting nervous about saving the money in the jar, so we moved it to the bank. So, please don't rob me. The manager does not have access to the safe, nor do I ever have more than like $50 on my person.** I think Cliff has been hoarding change, because we hunted down all the spare change around the house and it added up to over $75 dollars! Woohoo! Hopefully, we can make it happen very soon!!