REMODELING: AN AUTHOR'S STORY

REMODELING: AN AUTHOR'S STORY
Friday, July 10, 2020 by SHANNAN TAYLOR VANATTER

Categories: Friday's Fiction

PLEASE WELCOME

SHANNON VANNATTER

FICTION FRIDAY

A few years ago, we changed satellite packages. Yes, I said satellite. I live in rural Arkansas where the houses are too far apart for cable. Now we’re streaming. But I digress, our new package included the DIY channel. As we watched Bath Crashers, Barnwood Builders, and Rehab Addict, we began to dream.

Grant and I started having conversations like, ‘It sure would nice if we had a big family room instead of a den.’ Or, ‘I wish the kitchen wasn’t right by the front door, so it’s the first thing people see whether it’s clean or not.’ Months of discussion ensued, as we threw out ideas on how we could change our layout. He wanted to hire someone. I convinced him we could do it ourselves.

The biggest project we’d taken on in the past was turning my old beauty shop into a guest room and adding a shower in the bathtub. This time, we went big with a three-month demolition. We ripped out all our carpet and put in laminate. We moved the kitchen from the front of the house to our back den, turned the old living room into a huge family room and made the old kitchen on the front of the house a living room.

We hired a plumber and electrician, and then a carpenter to add on an office for me, a screened porch, and a walk-in closet. Our builder did the exterior, we took care of the rest. We designed the new kitchen and put in the cabinets. In the old kitchen/new living room, we patched walls where there used to be counter height plug-ins. In the addition, we did the insulation, floors, ceilings, and walls.

Since the remodel, if the house is messy, we stop company in the living room we always keep neat and clean. If my kitchen is cluttered, no one knows even if they step into the adjoining family room since the pantry and microwave block the view of the sink. We have room for family gatherings, more space for our clothes, and I have a quiet place to write.

Since the major demolition and restructure, we added a second vanity for Grant in the old shower nook in our master bathroom. Now he can literally stay out of my hair while we both get ready in the morning.

Our most recent project, we closed in that screen porch we added a few years ago. It started with a conversation, ‘It’s so nice out here. I wish we could enjoy it more than a dozen times a year.’ We started looking for huge windows on Facebook Marketplace and found just what we needed at a fraction of the cost.

We’ve done the insulation, but still have to do the floors, walls, and ceiling to transform it from a porch to a room. We have the materials and should have it finished soon. But even in its unfinished state, our new sunroom is enjoyable year-round. Furnished with white wicker furniture and thick comfy cushions and offering a pristine view of my parents' farm equipment, I’ve been writing and editing out there.

In the near future, we plan to turn our smallest guest room into a laundry room since my washer and dryer are in an alcove in the hall. And now that my screen porch is gone, I miss my bug-free, outside-but-not-really zone. We’re planning to screen in our front porch.

Remodeling isn’t typical romance, but through it all, we enjoy the process. It’s something we do together to make our home better and more enjoyable. Sometimes, we get frustrated or cranky during a project, but we’ve learned that’s when we need to stop for the day. I don’t know what we’ll do when we get it all done. We’ve talked about flipping houses. Maybe someday.

Do you like to remodel? What do you and your spouse like to do together?

FOLLOW SHANNON’S BLOG TOUR

I’m giving away five copies of The Cowboy’s Missing Memory and five copies of my Western Collection two in one with Jill Lynn – Counting on the Cowboy and Her Texas Cowboy will be split among commenters. Winners will be revealed on Shannon’s Blog on July 15th.

TO ENTER COMMENT ON THE FOLLOW POSTS:

June 2: Jennifer Heeren’s Blog: https://jenniferheeren.com/blog/

June 11: Joy Avery Melville’s Blog: https://www.journeystojoy.net/

June 13: Patti Shene’s Blog: https://pattishene.com/pattisporch

June 25: Laurie Wood’s Blog: https://www.lauriewoodauthor.com/author-my-blog

June 25: Reading is My Superpower Blog: https://readingismysuperpower.org

June 30: Catherine Castle’s Blog: https://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/

July 3: Inkslinger Blog: https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/

July 6: Amy Anguish’s Blog: https://abitofanguish.weebly.com/blog

July 7: Inkslinger Blog: https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/

July 10: Linda Rondeau’s Blog: https://lindarondeau.com/snarksensibility

ABOUT SHANNON TAYLOR VANNATTER

Award-winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does.

She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.

Connect with her: Shannon’s Website, Shannon’s Blog, Shannon’s Facebook, Shannon’s Goodreads, Shannon’s Pinterest, Shannon’s Twitter, Shannon’s Newsletter Archives, Shannon’s Amazon Author Page and Shannon’s Bookbub. Sign up for her newsletter to get a free e-book, recipes, behind the scenes info, & enter exclusive giveaways: Shannon's Newsletter

ABOUT THE COWBOY’S MISSING MEMORY

Can he reclaim his past…and build a future?

He needs to remember.

She’s his best hope…

After a rodeo accident took away Clint Rawlins’s mobility and two years’ worth of memories, occupational therapist Lexie Parker is his only shot at recovering and regaining independence. Lexie is drawn to Clint…but she’s wary of the amnesiac’s all-too-vulnerable feelings. And with the possibility of him returning to his dangerous bull-riding side job, she refuses to risk her heart. But resisting her charming patient may be harder than she expected…

(Available in Walmart mid-June through mid-July)

The Cowboy’s Missing Memory - Amazon

The Cowboy’s Missing Memory – Christian Book

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Comments

Shannon Taylor Vanna From AR At 7/13/2020 12:14:48 PM

That's awesome Suzan. I almost roped my husband into doing that in my office. But we decided there wasn't room. Instead I bought the bookcase for under the window and we bought a daybed in the sunroom.

Shannon Taylor Vanna From Arkansas At 7/11/2020 3:54:50 PM

Hey Robin, you go girl. I'm impressed, that sounds like a job. But I know y'all will love it afterward. We still sit around, look at the projects we've completed and say, I love this room.

Suzan Burgett From Texas At 7/11/2020 10:33:03 AM

He built bookcases on either side of the large window in the living room. He also built a window bench in between the bookshelves. This reminded me of my aunt's house.

Robin in NC From Raleigh, NC At 7/11/2020 8:08:08 AM

It's funny that you asked about remodeling...we're currently having to gut & restore my 40 yr. old bathroom. Hubs & I are doing all the work ourselves, which includes tearing out & replacing rotted floor boards, but we're finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel! Woot! Woot! ?

Shannon Taylor Vanna From Arkansas At 7/10/2020 6:02:30 PM

Hey Trixi, I left out the part where our roof was leaking and our ac/heat unit quit. We had to get a loan for that, so we decided to remodel while we were at it. That was the major room moving mess we did almost four years ago. DIY saves a lot of money, but there's some things we just can't do.

Shannon Taylor Vanna From Arkansas At 7/10/2020 5:59:42 PM

Hey Natalya. Ours has been going on four years. The end is in sight. When we did the major kitchen part, our son was 14. All the living room & den furniture was packed in one room, with stuff piled everywhere. We sat in a row behind each other and watched a movie together for family time.

Natalya Lakhno From California At 7/10/2020 5:10:44 PM

I’m sure your house looks beautiful! We’ve remodeled two years ago and still have three bathrooms to finish. I totally understand frustrated and cranky part lol It’s hard to remodel when you live in the house with for kiddos ;) We enjoy fishing together better!

Trixi From Oregon coast At 7/10/2020 1:38:38 PM

We love DIY, HGTV and This Old House. We've not taken on any major projects and will leave those up to the professionals! Both our roof & some siding will need to be done this year, but we love our house as is :-) Of course there's things I'd improve, it just takes money we don't have, lol!