The Fixer Upper - Window Placement N' Stuff

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Thanks for checking in on me today even though I've been AWOL for the past week or so. I've been meaning to write some good posts about some of our decision making over at The Fixer Upper but it's been way too chaotic for me to sit down and even try to write a coherent sentence.

Until today. It's so hot that the little guy and I are just vegging on the couch with all the blinds and shades drawn to keep it cooler in here. I thought I'd fill you in on a few of the big realizations we've come to since taking on this giant project a few short weeks ago.

1) We really were pretty crazy to take this on.

2) We are both WAY too perfectionistic (is that a word?) and OCD to "flip a house" in the quick and cheap kind of way.

3) We have much more work to do than we thought, as we've decided to make some major changes to some of the work that was done prior to buying the house.

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Our first example is window placement. There is a new bedroom and a new bathroom framed and drywalled in the back of the house that were part of the original laundry room / mudroom. I think that this was a great idea and a good use of space. However, the Flippers kept the original window locations that made sense for the laundry room / mudroom but not so much for the new bedroom and bathroom. See, both windows face into the side yards. There isn't a single window (or door) on the main floor that looks out or goes into the backyard. Which is weird. How are you going to yell at someone from the deck to bring out another beer orange juice? Or yell at the kids to stop play-fighting? Or check to see if the dog is trying to escape again?

This picture is of the bedroom. You can see that there is one side window: 

Main floor bedroom.

This picture is the other side of the bedroom and you can see there are no windows that look into the backyard:


Main floor bedroom.
The next problem is the window placement in the new bathroom. They used an existing cut-out so the window is kinda large and looks right into the neighbour's driveway. Um, not so good for privacy ifyaknowwhatImean. It's also completely blocked off when the door is open which would be most of the time. 

Photo of the large bathroom window being blocked by the door:



So, here's what we decided (see #2 above re: OCD).  

We are going to take the two side windows (the one from the bathroom and the one from the bedroom) and re-install them both on the back wall of the bedroom. Having two large windows at the back of the bedroom will let more light in, help with furniture placement in the room, and create a nice view to the backyard.

Since that leaves no window in the bathroom, we are going to purchase a new, smaller one and install it on the back wall also facing the backyard.

Phew. Sounds like a plan.

Here is a photo of my handyman (Alex) removing the bedroom window:



I know that we could have just lived with the windows how they were. That's what regular Flippers would do. But ultimately we want to have a house that is attractive AND functional, both for Alex's parents now and for the future owners down the road when/if we decide to sell.

What do you think? Good decision or a waste of our time and money?

In case you missed these posts:

The Story of The Fixer Upper - Part One
The Story of The Fixer Upper - Part Two

13 comments:

  1. I think it is a great decision. Having a view in the bedroom will be wonderful and really who needs to see the neighbor's driveway from the bathroom.

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    1. Thanks Trish! And also, who wants to unload groceries and look up to see someone getting into the shower in the buff. EEEEk!

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  2. you guys are so nuts! But awesome too. As a mother of a 5.5 month old...I dunno how on earth you are managing all this. But you ROCK. Even managing to blog has proven to be a huge task! Hopefully I am back at it...p.s. I posted some new pics of my lil man...hope you come take a peek :)

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    1. I'm not going to lie, it's been pretty hard. Alex has been working on the house almost every night and every weekend since we got it... which means I've been on solo baby duty most of the time. Our families have been great though and are always around to lend a hand and hang out with the baby while I mow the grass or take a shower. I can't believe your little one is already 5.5 months!!! I'm going to go check out the pics right now.... :)

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  3. AnonymousJuly 04, 2012

    I think you'll be glad you did it rather than wish you had. ~Dawne

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  4. I think you did the right thing with the windows, you have to see down the road at what you would do if you ever sell! Your not nuts just smart!

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    1. I just tried to think about if I were living there... what would bug me and what I could live with..... it's starting to cost me a lot of money though. Hahaha!

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  5. I think you did a fantastic job with the window. I don't think your nuts, i say go with your first initial and gut feeling. Whatever you decide to do we'll all support you! Keep up with the great work!

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    1. Thank you!!!! I think if we left some of the stuff that bugs us.... it would just keep bugging and bugging us more and more and more.

      So you're right about the gut feeling thing. For sure!

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  6. totally worth doing and makes sense. Moving windows is that that expensive and it will make a big difference to the privacy and functionality of the rooms. Totally worth it. Instagram is cool isn't it. Jump on to www.simpleasthat.blogspot.com (rebecca cooper...she might just be a .com - just google blog name) and 2 posts down she has a whole lot of links to how to get great instagram pics. etc....worth a look. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

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