I’ve shared many real-time renovation updates on Instagram Stories, so here’s a longer catch-up post for anyone who prefers reading. We’re about seven weeks into our largest renovation in over five years, and the house looks exactly as chaotic as we expected. Walls are open, ceilings are coming down, and new rooms are framed. Progress is steady—along with a lot of dust.
The quickest way to catch up is the video below, where I walk through every space, explain what’s been completed, and outline what’s next. If you can’t watch with sound right now, return later—the post that follows gives a concise written update and practical tips for dealing with dust and optimizing a smaller home during a renovation.
Note: You can also watch this video on YouTube
Two persistent issues had been bothering us over the last several years: our son’s small bedroom and the lack of direct access and sight lines to our backyard pool. After exploring many options, we landed on a plan that solves both problems without moving the kitchen or running complicated plumbing upstairs. The estimate even came in lower than expected. Our main goals were:
- Enlarge our son’s bedroom to better suit his interests and needs as he grows;
- Open up and improve access to the backyard pool area so it feels connected to the main living space.
We also added an ensuite to our bedroom while everything was already torn up and trades were onsite. It was a smart, relatively simple plumbing connection under the raised deck—an efficient add-on that improves daily life without major disruption.
Finishing the Porch
After many iterations, we realized finishing the covered front porch into a conditioned interior room would accomplish everything at once. Converting that space into our daughter’s new bedroom lets us open up her old room into an L-shaped shared living area that leads directly to the pool via large glass doors. Absorbing the previous hallway into our son’s room widened and deepened his space dramatically.
Outside, the new bedroom shell is up though the interior still needs finishing and paint. We also relocated electrical boxes to a fence to keep them out of sight from both the street and porch, which cleaned up the façade.
A Better View and Access to the Pool
Previously the pool was hidden from the downstairs living area by a laundry room and our daughter’s bedroom. Now that wall is gone and a bright new lounge opens to the backyard with French doors. The space offers sofa seating with direct pool views, easier entertaining flow, and an extra hangout spot with a TV—something the kids are thrilled about.
This change floods the house with more natural light and makes the whole main level feel significantly larger. The former kitchen sitting area will move into the new lounge, allowing the kitchen to gain a peninsula and extra cabinetry while the dining table can float and seat up to eight comfortably—much better for hosting friends.
The lounge will be vaulted, which adds volume and a more open, airy feel. From the bathroom view you can already see how much more open the framing makes the floor plan look and where the new laundry closet will be tucked into the layout.
A Bigger Bedroom for Our Son
By converting the hallway into part of his room, his bedroom grows from a narrow 7′ to an 11′ width and gains depth. We relocated his entry door and installed a much larger window—these changes together create a dramatically more usable, light-filled space. The ceiling can also be vaulted higher, bringing in more of the house’s highest peak and increasing the sense of volume.
We even uncovered a small safe set into the concrete foundation—an unexpected Indiana Jones moment that we shared on Instagram.
Our Ensuite Bathroom
Adding a small ensuite made sense while trades were on-site. Plumbing ties into the system under the raised deck, so the connection was straightforward. The new bathroom reclaims a nook in the bedroom where floating shelves once were and turns the L-shaped bedroom into a simple rectangle with an attached bath.
The remodel required moving the bedroom door to make room for the bathroom and rethinking wardrobe placement. The plan includes built-ins and a floating vanity nook opposite a wall-to-wall zero-entry shower tiled to the ceiling. The bathroom isn’t huge, but it will be comfortable and highly functional.
Other Renovation Tasks
We’re also rebuilding an outdoor shower at the back of the house and extending the patio to tie it into the new French doors. Roofing and siding patches will patina over time to blend with the existing structure. We’re repurposing an existing window from our son’s old room into the current bathroom to increase light—the replacement factory-frosted window had been darker than we wanted, so swapping windows improves daylight without sacrificing privacy.
How Are We Handling the Mess?
Renovations are dusty and disruptive. Here are practical steps we’re taking while living in the house during construction:
- Drop cloths—we cover sofas, beds, and sometimes tape off whole doorways to reduce dust migration.
- Small shop vac—handy for quick cleanups of sawdust, staples, and small debris that hide in corners.
- Wet vac / vacuum-mop—this has been the MVP. It picks up fine dust and mops in one pass, removing the chalky haze that regular vacuuming leaves behind.
My advice: do whatever keeps you sane during a renovation. We haven’t lost our main kitchen or bathroom for long periods, which helps, and while the process can be trying, the end result is always worth it.
Tips for Living Large in a Smaller Home
After nearly six years in a downsized home here’s what we’ve learned:
- Keep bedrooms comfortable in scale—avoid tiny cramped rooms but don’t make them oversized.
- Maximize sight lines and natural light in shared spaces; vault ceilings where possible to increase volume.
- Furnish rooms for regular use, not just occasional formality—let the living spaces support daily life.
- Identify sticking points and solve them—this reno addressed two big issues and several smaller annoyances.
- Consider larger, fewer pieces of furniture to make rooms feel purposeful and not fragmented.
- Prioritize storage—tankless systems, built-ins, and smart cabinetry can dramatically increase functionality.
Before the renovation the house was about 1,400 square feet; converting the porch increases the finished area to roughly 1,520 square feet. It’s a meaningful downsize from our previous 3,150-square-foot home, but choosing this location—walkable to the beach and local shops—was worth it. Renovating here also proved far more cost-effective than trying to buy a slightly larger house in the same neighborhood.
We’re excited by how much the house already feels transformed—even unfinished, the new views of the pool and the additional upstairs hangout make the home feel larger and more flexible. Two separate common areas—one upstairs for kids and one downstairs for adults—also make hosting easier and the house feel bigger.
Next steps: finish electrical tweaks, insulation, drywall, tile, fixtures, and flooring. We’ll share another photo and video update as progress continues—follow along on Instagram for the most frequent updates and check back here for a fuller recap soon.
P.S. If you missed our first post about this renovation, it includes background and additional photos about the project.
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