Blog Series
The House Remodel
Renovating a 1956 Salt Lake City home from the ground up.
First night was September 27. Master doors are brown, the bed and blinds are in, and a closet is delivered and waiting to be installed. Still painting some doors brown. Washer and dryer arrive Thursday, October 1. The goal is still to be fully moved in by October 4. Read the September 29 entry.
The house in 3D
Compare Before, Current and Finished 3D views from the same angle. Explore the current bedroom with its striped bedding, wood furniture and green globe lights, then preview the daylight studio with a desk for two, project wall and window bench, IKEA kitchen, mudroom and AURDAL office/primary closets, light warm-gray brick with darker gray exterior wood trim, concrete front steps and large pavers in Finished. Historical and proposed details are labeled. Open the bedroom fullscreen →
The bedroom, as it is now
The bed sits beneath the rear window, with two wood nightstands and green globe sconces. The dresser and TV face the foot of the bed. This arrangement now appears in Current and Finished in the house model; Before keeps its historical state. Furniture sizes are estimated from these photos, using an assumed queen mattress. Explore the bedroom fullscreen →
Bedroom reference photos · October 2026
Office options
October 9: A daylight studio for two. A fresh office-first design: pale oak workstations, a blue-green project wall and a rust-cushioned storage bench. Four earlier desk-and-futon layouts remain for comparison. Explore the room in 3D.
New: two cozy reading-nook ideas. An olive window chair or a warm evening library, both keeping the desk for two. Compare the images, chair references and a provisional footprint plan.
Generated furniture studies for the office. These are not photographs of the installed room. Click a photo to enlarge, or open the office options entry.
New recommendation · daylight studio
Office first: two workstations, a place for ideas and a shallow storage bench. See the measured plan and reasoning →
Generated office option A
Walnut desk, leather chair, green daybed, plants, and warm orb lights.
Generated office option B
Same warm wood palette with a ribbed green daybed and wood-slat blinds.
Photos
New photos from September 27–29: we moved in, the master with brown doors, the empty closet, and doors still getting painted. Click a photo to enlarge, or show all the progress.
Entries
- A Daylight Studio for TwoOctober 9. An office-first rethink with measured plans, a window bench and optional guest mode
- We Moved In FinallyWe moved in. Master doors brown, bed and blinds in, closet waiting
- First NightFirst night in the house, a window scare, doors and trim still going
- Office OptionsTwo generated office furniture studies: walnut desk with a green daybed
- Paint and Tile274 days in, painting done, tile in, move-in actually getting close
- Move-In UpdateDrywall up, surgery recovery, move-in target now end of April
- 35 Days OutDemo 99%, electrical 85%, bathtub framed, fireplace demoed
- 67 Days InDemo 98%, electrical 40%, first fire, brick wall lesson
- 57 Days InSoffit done, 95% demo, Einstein breakthrough
- 56 Days InDumpster six, clearing wood pile, backer board nightmare
- 55 Days InSoffit demo, tile out, dad on electrical, visitors
- 54 Days InKitchen demo, bathroom wired, first sponsorship
- 53 Days InKitchen demo, electrical with Steve, IKEA planning
- 52 Days InFull project overview, timeline, gameplan
Progress
Remodel Spending
A receipt-backed ledger of materials, contractors, disposal, tools, and finish work. Planning estimates stay separate from money actually paid.
Loading the remodel ledger…
Skills Developed
The Team
The Story
Closed on November 12, 2025. Keys in hand on the 13th. Work started the 14th with a sewer line replacement using a borrowed backhoe.
The house had galvanized plumbing, cracked brick walls from earthquakes, decades of questionable renovations, and a backyard that was basically a jungle. We're doing most of the work ourselves.
We moved in. First night in the house was September 27, 2026. The goal is still to be fully moved in by October 4, 2026.
Want to help out? Materials and coffee always appreciated.