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Home Renovation – Complete!

By Brian | December 23, 2008 | Share on Facebook

Well, we did it! Our home renovation is officially complete. All that’s left now is the arrival of two more couches (early January, they promise!) and hanging up a couple more pictures on the walls.

Nothing compared to designing the house, revising the architecture plans, picking out bathroom fixtures, choosing a hot tub, choosing an air tub, selecting a material for the deck, designing a kitchen, buying kitchen appliances, selecting kitchen cabinetry, selecting knobs and handles for cabinetry, deciding where each outlet, Internet jack, phone jack and cable jack would go, choosing the type and location of each and every light fixture, choosing the type of light switch in each room, deciding where each heating and air conditioning vent would go, choosing the air conditioners and heating units themselves, choosing the types of doors we wanted, deciding what kind of door knob or handle would go on each door, picking a wood floor, picking a stain color for the floor, choosing carpeting and area rugs for each room, finding new furniture for the kitchen and family rooms, choosing paint colors for each room, picking mirrors for each bathroom and the front hall, designing our walk-in closets, choosing two ceiling fans, picking out four flat-screen HDTV’s, selecting two home theater systems, determining where audio speakers would go in nine different rooms, and the other two hundred decisions we made in the last six months. Needless to say, it’s been quite a wild ride.

I’ll take credit for the initial design, but most of the credit for the rest of it goes to two people – my wife, Sherry, who was at the job site every single day, briefed me on the way home from work, and then reported back to the foreman all of the decisions that needed making, and David Ginfrida, our contractor, who not only showed up on time, provided us detailed plans and cost estimates, and built us a beautiful home, but did so aheadof schedule. Find another contractor that’ll do all that – I dare ya!

But wait, there’s more! What’s a good house construction project without multimedia!

Those who have been following along on our House Construction photo blog can click over there to see the full set of 183 photos, starting from the day Ginfrida put the big, red sign on our lawn until just this past weekend, when I photographed each finished room in all it’s glory.

Those who are happier with instant gratification (and really, who can blame you) can click on this summary photo set, which contains a more manageable thirty-three (33) photos, showing each completed room of the house without all those pesky construction photos to click through to get there.

And then, of course, there’s video. My House Demolition Video received critical acclaim from its (mostly biased) audience, including one claim of actual tears! The three-part, thirty minute tour of the construction site got more mixed reviews, including words like “fast-forward” and “boring.” The final installment incorporates feedback from the others – it’s set to music, so you don’t have to listen to my not-so-clever narration, and it’s only ten minutes long. Also, it’s right here:

Enjoy the tour, and if you’re ever in North Jersey, drop us a line! We’d love to have you over for the real-life version of the tour. It’s much more satisfying (particularly the part with the hot tub…)

Topics: Family Matters | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Home Renovation – Complete!”

  1. Ilya says at December 23rd, 2008 at 6:07 pm :
    Congratulations, Brian! Nice job, both by you and Sherry and, apparently, by your contractor. One of these days we’ll take you up on your offer :)

  2. Erica Kaiser says at December 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am :
    I loved the video! Loved the muzak! Enjoy your new digs! Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!

  3. jason says at December 29th, 2008 at 8:33 pm :
    Hey, Brian, I finally had a chance to peruse the photo set at leisure. The house is beautiful! Congratulations, and may your family enjoy it for a good long time.

  4. Steve says at January 9th, 2009 at 9:42 pm :
    What an absolutely beautiful house!! Best of luck… Looking forward to seeing it next weekend!

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