Andra's Bungalow Revival

04/12/2023

This eyesore has been bothering me since Day 1 but I never actually got around to doing anything about it until today. It was probably one of the cheapest updates I’ve done to date. $8 for one trim board and free paint. What a world of difference though! Power washed, trimmed, caulked, and painted, it’s now been given a new life. I don’t think there’s any concern remaining that there might be a body tucked away inside! 😂😂 I have enough paint remaining that I may paint the foundation block and/or my front porch interior. Now that spring is finally here, the outdoors is calling my name!

11/23/2022

What do you do when there’s only 2 days between guests and you really want a supplemental heat source in the upstairs space? You build an electric fireplace wall! It was definitely a plan-as-you-go build but I think it turned out perfect for the space and was a fast job. So cozy, romantic, and warm now!

04/15/2022

Here’s the office space you’ve been waiting to see! It’s bright and airy, looks nothing like a basement office. SOOOO much work went into this space- drywall, insulation, electrical, paint, lighting, and flooring, the parts that you can’t see that made all the difference. I think our guests will be happy with the space if they have to work while on vacation anyway.

04/08/2022

Here she is! The space that I have spent countless hours in over the last few months, transforming it into a family-friendly game space. There are a few items I still need to do but it is now open for guests to use and enjoy. I forgot to take photos of the office space so I’ll post those next week after my current guests leave. This was a huge learning experience for me and I am very proud of the end product. The half of the basement that I finished took approximately 200 studs, 40 sheets of drywall, 8 pounds of screws, 10 gallons of paint (nearly 5 on the ceiling alone!), 200 feet of electrical wiring, 10 cases of porcelain tile, 32 cases of flooring, and 18 rolls of insulation. No wonder I was tired at the end of every day!

04/05/2022

And a bonus reveal tonight too!! The upstairs has now been updated so we can accommodate more guests for their stays. This huge space now has a beanbag reading corner, a split king bed, and two twins in teepees. I decided to go bold with the painted arch for the bed and can I just say I think it’s the greatest thing ever?!?! It really defined the space that otherwise struggled to stand out and now there’s no need for a headboard. I think my guests are going to LOVE this space!

And yes, I AM for hire if you would like me to make your space look like this too! ❤️

04/05/2022

The basement is finished!! While I still need to get some accent lighting in there so you’ll have a better view of the entire space, I can show you the new bathroom. Due to the location of the plumbing, drain lines, and support post, I had to get creative in designing the layout. The door was not where I originally planned and a regular door wouldn’t work, so I did split barn doors as the perfect solution. The table that I bought was transformed into the vanity and it gives the space some great character. And the shower, I’m in love with this beauty! Although it’s not for tall people, it doesn’t “feel” like a basement bathroom. All in all, it turned out to be a great space and I’m happy to open our home back up to guests again this week. I’ll post pictures of the rest of the space tomorrow after I get some better lighting in there.

03/28/2022

This is the final week of basement finishing! My goal is to have it completed by April 1 (no joke!) and I’m on schedule. It’s been a long time coming but it’s turning out to be an awesome space. Here’s just a sneak peek of the great reveal!

03/15/2022

Today held another project I’ve never done before- stair skirting. I was really nervous about this one, given the price of lumber. However, after a lot of measuring, cutting, remeasuring, more cutting, and fine tuning, the skirting is done. I kept thinking about my junior-high geometry teacher who would have been proud that I still remember what he taught me! The treads and risers were also updated with the same flooring as the rest of the basement. I still have 3 more pieces of trim to put on the edges but it’s a huge improvement from the way they looked this morning!

03/09/2022

You probably thought I gave up on this basement, didn’t you? Nope, just working away, forgetting to take progress pictures and posting updates. I am now just a few weeks from being completely done with this space and I’ll be able to open it up for guests. This is another example of how little the home improvement shows actually show you about what really goes into this work. Slowly but surely, it’s coming along. Here are some pictures from the last month.

01/31/2022

It was a busy day but a very productive one for a change! The tree in the front of the house was 95% dead so it was removed today. The front of the house looks so naked now, it’s going to need some love come springtime. Painted the side door, one new interior door in the basement, and shower tile is going up! The final coat of drywall mud was put on today, it wil be sanded tomorrow and ready for primer (fingers crossed for Wednesday). It finally feels Ike things are coming together and it will soon be a useable space!

01/22/2022

It dawned on me that I haven’t posted progress pics in a while. It’s difficult to capture it but there’s been a LOT of work done. Finally finished framing today, it took 137 studs for the portion of the basement that I’m doing. The exterior walls are framed and insulation is going in. The bathroom drywall is up and the first coat of mud is done. Shower is ready for tile. I added 2 circuits to the panel to supply the bathroom and additional outlets, and upgraded another. Added 10 outlets in total. Tomorrow Tim will help me haul the rest of the Sheetrock into the house so the walls will finally look like walls. It’s slow but it’s still progress!

12/16/2021

So what do you do when the tornado sirens are going off and you need to stay in the basement for shelter? Since I had some time on my hands, I hung some drywall and a door today. I’ve never hung a door before and I’m not saying it wouldn’t have been easier with another set of hands but I managed and it works perfectly! This wall will soon divide the pretty part of the basement from the ugly.

12/15/2021

It’s slow, but still making a lot of progress! Bathroom framed, shower pan down and backer board up and sealed, drywall up and first coat of mud, laundry area framed, and a new window installed. The shower is ready to tile, bathroom will be ready for paint in a couple of days, and the rest of the space is also coming along. Quite a difference for 2 week’s worth of work so far!

12/02/2021

Guess who’s back with more projects?!?! 🙋🏼‍♀️

It’s time to finish the basement of this bungalow! There used to be a bathroom down here which was torn out before we bought the house. I am putting the bathroom back together, including a shower, vanity, and toilet. But first, WALLS!! I started the framing this week and although it’s going slower than I hoped, it’s coming together. I hope to have the back wall of the bathroom framed tomorrow so I can start the mud bed for the shower pan. The exterior walls will be framed and insulated, and I will be putting together a cute little laundry area for guests. I’ve never done this before so it’s all a learning process. I have spent countless hours learning building code requirements for everything I will be doing down here, and permit is in hand! Stay tuned to watch the progress over the next several weeks!

09/28/2021

I haven’t updated any photos lately and realized the house has slowly morphed into a cozy little place for our guests. The plants are loving their new space and I have continued to add more finishing touches to make it as home-like as possible for people who have chosen this as their landing spot while in Omaha. I love spending time here and enjoying the fruits of my labor!

07/18/2021

Always more surprises. This flower bed was on the schedule for an update- I planned to add a small retaining wall, some hostas, and decorative mulch. As I was digging the trench for the retaining wall timbers, the shovel hit something hard. Found this massive water meter cover set in concrete. The design plans have now changed as I’ll have to work around this obstacle. The cover is pretty cool looking though, it’s got the antique look and will eventually add to the curb appeal. Still more surprises!

05/23/2021

It's official- we've gone LIVE with our short term rental! Please head on over, take a peek at our listing and give a little love ❤️ to draw more attention for potential guests! There's been a lot of planning, hard work, and love poured into this home and I hope it will soon be filled with people who enjoy the space as much as we do!

https://airbnb.com/h/bellabungalow

Entire home/apt in Omaha, United States. Newly updated with classic charm in central location close to NeMed & VA hospitals, Midtown, Aksarben, UNO, and downtown. You'll have the entire ho...

05/05/2021

Now that the upstairs is done, the basement needs some major attention. It’s bad. I mean *really baaaaddd*!! Although there is no egress window, there is a “bedroom” down here which I am focusing my attention on for the moment. Walls had been punched/kicked in, hundreds of knife marks from what I can only assume was throwing practice, dozens of phone numbers written or carved onto walls, and a hundred or more tiny indentations from someone’s BB shooting practice. The floor had previously been urinated on by cats and/or dogs, especially one area which had carpet padding remnants stuck to the concrete. I made the mistake of trying to hose off the concrete- what I didn’t know is that water reactivates uric acid crystals from animal urine in the concrete and let’s off a horrid odor. So today I scraped the floor, thoroughly vacuumed it, then applied an enzymatic cleaner to break down the uric acid. After it dries, I will then seal the concrete to make sure the odor is gone for good. I also started drywall repair (oh yay! 🙄) on the walls and ceiling. I don’t think it will take a lot of work to really make a huge difference down here. 🤞🏼 Lots of scrubbing, paint, new light fixtures, and it will be useable space.