First things first

Summer is all about patios, barbeques, and gardens for city dwellers. So why, then, did the person(s) who built the 10' x 10' addition off the back of the house

not put a door to access the back yard? Currently, should you want to have a glass of wine under the grape arbor,

dig around in the garden,

or throw a chop on the barbeque, you either have to go through the basement

and up the steps to the back yard,

or exit the front door and walk around to the back. Not very practical, and definitely not taking advantage of what could be a great feature of the house: a sun room.

This is our very first challenge. We hope to put in a reclaimed french door and some reclaimed windows lining the three walls of the room to give us the light, the view of our small garden, and a place for our daughter to tromp in and out of in her muddy rubber boots one day. We'd like to take out the cheap laminate floor and install a reclaimed hardwood floor. And lastly, we're talking about installing a living roof over this room to create cooler ambient air and a lovely view from the room above it, currently overlooking grey asphalt shingles.

We're hoping to get that old country house or cottage feeling, a place to have a cup of tea in the mornings, sit with a good book in the evenings, and from which we can watch our child play.

So. To do this, we are calling in a contractor to take a look at the condition of the addition, and estimate time and costs. Do we find the right antique door first, and maybe some reclaimed windows? Or do we price some new, energy efficient vinyl-clad (on exterior) wood (on interior) windows?  A visit this weekend to Pollard Windows to see these new windows that are ultra high-efficiency (LEEDS certified) is in order, yet craigslist and kijiji are being scoured for just the right antique windows and door at the same time. A visit to the Door Store will also be on tap, just to get inspiration, even if we cannot afford their prices. Can old doors and windows be installed to have the same efficiency as modern versions made to look old and charming? We'll have to speak with persons representing both options as well as our contractor and take into consideration the costs of both. Check back when we report our findings.

The Journey Begins

Here it is, the first entry of our new blog. 2010 has been a year of firsts: the most dramatic was the birth of our daughter, then followed our first car, and now our first house. In one short year we've gone from renting an apartment and living the life of a young downtown couple – zipping from event to work to party on our bicycles – to a happy little family with a new set of priorities and responsibilities. While we still zip about on bicycles, it is more often to pick up something for the baby or the refrigerator than to attend an art opening or a meal at our favorite restaurant.

So five months after the arrival of our daughter, we have purchased a house. The search for a house had taken us almost a year, and I won't even bother to go into detail about the ups and downs of that experience in Toronto's crazy housing market. Rather, I'll focus on the journey from the moment we got the signed papers proving that we were about to embark on the ups and downs of buying, renovating, and maintaining a home of our own.

So, where are we at this point? Two weeks away from possession of the house, and one of our two allotted visits to the house complete, armed with a camera and measuring tape. No packing done, no contractors called. Just talks after the baby is asleep about what we COULD do, WANT to do, and HAVE to do to the house over the next weeks, months, and years. Starry-eyed like those first months with a new love, we are dreaming of all that could be, and cannot imagine there could be any hiccups to come.

And so it begins...