Registry
While your presence is present enough we recognize that it is tradition to help the newly married furnish their new life. In 2005 we bought our first house and have begun remodeling to expand its tiny 600 sq. ft. to a little less that 1,200 by finishing the basement. To finance this project we have started a house account that we are putting money into each month. Since we cannot foresee what we will need for this project and from where it will come, in lieu of gifts we would greatly appreciate contributions to this account. With a little help from you we will be able to turn our little house into a home. And when we are done we will be reminded of our friend and family by each room and all the special details in our house and remember what a wonderful time we had with you on our wedding day.
Please click on ‘Our house’ to read a little about our house and see pictures of the progress we’ve made so far. After the wedding we will use this web page to keep you posted on our progress.
Story of our house
In the summer of 2005 we decided to buy our first house. Eager to own, we got excited about each house we saw but found we couldn’t afford any of them. We vowed to stop looking but the internet makes that impossible and unbeknownst to the other we both spotted a potential keeper. I went out of town without mentioning it because we had given up. When I got home Steve excited told me about this house he’d checked out with my mom. Burke street hmm, now why did that sound familiar… That Sunday we zipped over so I could see it. We waited several hours for the realtor to come let us in, and by the time he showed up we had a million plans for remodeling the house and landscaping the garden. It was love at first sight! In a flurry of activity and much help from John we put in our offer. We were sure we’d be out-competed by some big developer type, but a week later we got the call- we won!
It is a tiny button of a house on the north end of Greenlake. Set back from the street and the neighboring houses, it has lots of privacy for a city house. It was built in 1922 and has retained its old craftsman charm. It has beautiful old windows with wood trim, and under wall-to-wall carpeting are fir floors waiting to be exposed and refinished. It is a cozy 600sq. feet with an unfinished basement below. The floor plan is simple and modest, as you’ve probably suspected. The front door opens into the living room, which extends across the width of the house. Behind it on the south side is a galley kitchen with a little eating nook. The nook was added as part of a previous remodel to enclose the basement stairs. Off the north side of the living room is a teeny hallway with a bathroom to the side and a bedroom at the back. The bedroom has one itty-bitty closet and is barely large enough for a bed.
We have big plans for our little house. When we moved in the basement was one big room with a sloping concrete floor and low ceiling. We are planning to finish the basement. We have a four room layout: small bedroom/office, bathroom, TV room, and laundry/storage. When the basement is complete, we plan to open up the kitchen so there is space for two to cook and we can entertain while preparing dinner. We will fix-up the bathroom with new fixtures, tile and other details. At the very end we will paint the walls brighter and bolder colors, take up the carpet and refinish the floors.
We started work on the house soon after we moved in. First, we knocked out the basement slab. Then dug a deep trench around the perimeter and poured a new foundation wall. With the house secure, we next dug the middle down two feet. Once the new floor level was reached, we put in underground plumbing and a drainage system. We poured a new floor and two additional steps. We are currently working on strengthening the basement walls to make our house earthquake resistant. Once the last of the basement dirt was carted away we also began landscaping. Using recycled materials we constructed a path and made a little fence. While you are in town we hope you come see our house in person.
Photos of our house
Click on any photo to enlarge
