Change What You Love, Love What You Change

We’re living among the shrouds. Our entire first floor but for the kitchen and one small table is covered in plaster-dusted plastic tarp. Sofas are tucked under the dining room table, chairs stacked, electrical equipment stored under the piano. All this to bring the rest of our 1942 home into the 21st century.

This is our third renovation project in the 30 years we’ve lived here. This time, it’s just the living room, entry and a bit of the dining room.

The house is an award-winning end unit, art deco rowhouse in the sought-after downtown DC neighborhood of Adams Morgan. We immediately built a two-story addition on the side and essentially turned a three-story, five-room house into a two-story, two-room house with a rental unit. The layout is an open plan and there’s only one interior door in the entire house, that door being to the bathroom.

Rita and I bought this place soon after our practice marriages ended. We love it, nurture it, and keep improving upon it.

It had always been a dream of mine to design and build my own house – not by my hand, of course, by professionals. And working on this addition 30 years ago came satisfyingly close to fulfilling that fantasy. We worked with a good architect for months, finalized the plans, and then every morning at 5 AM, I’d open it up for the contractors. I watched them demo an exterior wall, dig and pour a foundation, frame and enclose it, then put in the windows, doors and finishing details. The whole process took six months. Fortunately, we didn’t have to live in the mess, like we are now. We stayed in a condo Rita had purchased a block away until this place was finished.

By the time the house was finished we were so ready, we unpacked, placed all the furniture, and even hung our art by the end of that first day.

Over the course of time, we have redesigned and replaced two patios, planted several more trees, cultivated a lush garden (Rita’s doing), gutted and renovated the kitchen, demolished and redesigned the bath, rebuilt the dressing area, and now are undoing and redoing the living room and dining room. Thus, the shrouds, plaster dust and total disorder surrounding us.

Gone is the fireplace we’ve hated since it was first installed. It’s been replaced with a cool stainless steel model. We’re having custom cabinets built for additional storage in this tiny house, swapping out the 80s track lighting for newer, sleeker stuff, and have given up our reputation as “white wall people” by planning to paint actual colors in a few well-chose areas. We also redesigned the entry foyer to include a larger closet, and replaced the old front door with a custom model designed to match the tall, narrow sidelights on either side.

Work has progressed far enough that we unpacked the big-ass TV for the weekend and hooked it back up to our Dish. But we had to hide it again before the workmen got here Monday morning, lest they think we’ve been enjoying ourselves.

We’re looking forward to a day when everything is back in its place, the house is clean and our cat will have all her favorite nap spots back. They tell us that might be another couple of weeks. Or maybe four. Or five.

But the wait will be worth it.