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Though this cottage house in the mountains was Jenna Diermann's fourth flip for her blog, Jenna Sue Design Co., the project was much more challenging than she had originally anticipated.
"It was an unseasonably cold and wet winter, so there were snow storms and power outages that set us back weeks," Jenna tells CountryLiving.com about the six-bedroom Mi Wuk Village, California, property refresh, which we'll be revealing room-by-room throughout the next month and in full in an upcoming issue of Country Living. "Living three hours away and having to commute back and forth every week also took its toll."
Jenna cites bouts of delusion and sickness and 17 new gray hairs as additional evidence of the difficult renovation process. But the labor of love was well worth it, as Jenna describes on her the first before-and-after reveal of the exterior on her blog.
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Just look at the amazing transformation photos of the exterior. Jenna and her team installed a new foundation along the front perimeter, plus new siding, windows, window trim, shutters, railing, and porch ceiling. They also rebuilt the back porch, created a new entryway, retaining walls, and staircase, and of course, painted and landscaped.
Here's the before ...
During ...
And after ...
Here are the four major lessons Jenna learned from the experience:
1. The harder the struggle, the greater the reward.
"This has been the most mentally and physically challenging undertaking I've endured, but reaching this point has become my greatest accomplishment, taught me a lot and made me stronger in many ways. Every bit of blood, sweat, and tears were so worth it."
2. Start small.
"I would caution others who are considering a similar path to start small with DIY upgrades and renovations around their own home first, and become familiar and comfortable with the process and knowing what to expect for each project."
3. It takes a village.
"I learned how important it is to have a team of contractors, friends, and family who are dedicated to the job. It truly takes a village to successfully pull this off, especially on a tight deadline. Communication and flexibility is key—you can't plan for or predict a lot of things, and you must be willing to adjust (your design plan, timeline and budget)."
4. Work with the house.
"This was my first time taking on a house of this magnitude, and I took the approach of preserving the original character while bringing it into this century with modern amenities. Working with the existing charm made my job much easier—normally I am trying to add those unique details to a home but here I only had to uncover and highlight them. Because of the nature of this home as a vacation getaway, I decided to have a little fun with it by adding touches like stencils, lace doors and brick pavers. There were many new DIY projects tackled and now I have those in my arsenal to reuse for future homes."
Check back for more makeover photos of the interior spaces as Jenna reveals them, one by one, and see the full story in an upcoming issue of Country Living.
