A home of one's own not only shares a partial title to a Pollan book but is also a long-winded entry for another day. Today is about before and after photos to show the work we have done so far on our home-to-be. It's a one-month and four-day time capsule into how we've been using up any energy reserves that can still exist after days, nights and weekends of working our "day" jobs. Whenever we've had the spare time, it's been spent here. This is the front of the house. It was built in 1890 and has a Victorian-esque flair.

We have big plans of renovating the kitchen but not before winter sets in. We didn't do a thing with the kitchen except move the refrigerator and move our things in to the one room of the house that would not be a construction zone.

Five kids were raised in this home and the parents occupied it for 55 years. When they moved in, there was no indoor washroom…just the (still standing) outhouse. What was the bedroom of two boys will be our master bedroom. It's a "train" room--the type where you have to go through one room to access another. The first perspective is facing the entrance from the back of the room with the view of two closets. Under every bedroom's carpet we found two layers of linoleum and one layer of newspaper from 1956. The green walls were offensively neon, though the photos don't accurately depict their shade.

And an attempt at the other side of the room. Look for the nook in the back of the room to keep perspective. The bump out is due to the chimney for the once-working fireplace below. The hardwood floors were in such poor shape that after Josh did repairs, we decided to paint them.

The next of three bedrooms, this room is the access to the master. As Josh will be taking over what would be our den for his office and Roost Architecture operations, this will be our den of sorts for the time being. We wanted to call it the parlor or lounge but know we can't get away with such a foolish nickname. Instead, we're going to try for "sitting room" and see how many people buy it.

Moving downstairs, this is the laundry room on the other side of the kitchen. Two different perspectives here. The wall between the laundry and kitchen was plaster covered, but my husband had to have a look underneath and we found ourselves with a brick wall. Phase II will come with kitchen renovations.

The living room took on a big transformation. Yesterday we stained the floors and the next step will be the coats of polyurethane. Then we should be ready to begin moving in. Again, I'm kicking myself a bit for not keeping formal photo perspectives. Across from the bay window is the stair. To the right is the kitchen.

To sum it up: plaster patching and painting galore. I've become a bit of a master-edger. There has been more sanding involved than I ever thought could be necessary. Sanding, whether it be spackle from patching cracks in plaster or operating serious floor sanding machinery is definitely the most strenuous part. We're very thankful for our friends and family who have put in such hard work to help us along. It'll be a work in progress for some time, but we're almost ready to move in.