Ready To Rehab...This Isn't Our First Rodeo

The comparison is certainly fitting, given that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is in full force in our great city.  But it’s the truth.

The first house that Steve and I bought after being married for a year was in the Montrose area.  When we called the realtor to schedule an appointment we were told that we had to make an offer before we could even see the property, which was a duplex. I don’t know what possessed us, but we did it!  We walked into the overgrown, weed infested backyard to see a beer keg at the top of the stairs.  The college students living there were not too concerned with maintenance.  After lots of painting, pulling weeds, installing an HVAC system, and leveling the house, we moved into the upstairs apartment and rented out the downstairs unit.  The income from the rental almost paid our mortgage every month.

The other great benefit….we were sold on urban living! There were so many interesting people with a variety of careers and interests.  Parties were fun, conversation was great and everyone had a story.  You could walk to restaurants and shops and even ride your bike to work. I sometimes drive by that house to see if it looks different.  Unfortunately, not much has changed since 1993 and it has gone through quite a few owners, but it started our love of homes and the rehabbing process. When it was time to start our family we knew that suburban living would better fit our needs and we moved back to my hometown of Friendswood.

While raising our girls in Friendswood, the opportunity came up again to rehab a house in a our little town.  It was a foreclusure and needed LOTS of work.  We completely gutted it and used the opportunity to try out some interesting design ideas.  We raised the ceilings and then installed white painted wood planks instead of sheetrock.  Knocking out walls gave us an open design concept and pocket doors gave the space more functionality.  It was a "surprise" house.  When friends would walk in for the first time, they would usually say something like, "Wow, I wasn't expecting this."

So here we are again....ready to rehab.  Our girls are grown and in college.  We decided to get back into it and found the perfect home in a beautiful historic Houston neighborhood called Idylwood (more on that and information about the house in an upcoming post.)  We're calling it the "Cute Cottage Rehab" and we can't wait to share it with you.  The picture at the top of this post is the house in it's current state.  We hope it inspires you to try your own project.  Even starting with one room in your own house might give you the bug.  Trust me...it's addictive!

Thanks everyone!  We will update you next week on our conversation with the owner of the house and other fun stuff.

Julie & Steve