Greetings From Our Old Red House!

Renovated an 1899 foursquare and added on a bedroom, bath, and laundry.

Remodeling cost: $100,000
Time frame: Six years
Where I saved: Reused pickets from the backyard privacy fence for the front one.
Where I splurged: On oak 1x8s to make new baseboard for three rooms.
What I would do differently: Make sure I got a bay window in the dining room, to echo the one in the parlor.

Biggest challenge: Dealing with delays during the building of the back addition.
How I solved it: Renting a skid-steer loader to help out with the job myself.

Pictured: Holiday cards show the house over the years:
A) with the original tan vinyl siding (bottom right)
B) then with the blue-painted clapboards that lay underneath (top left)
C) and the cheerful red, green, and beige paint job it has today (bottom left)
D) Last year's snowy holiday scene (top right)