Davenport’s First Home | Say What!?

October 27, 2015

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Well by, golly we’re homeowners!

We found a neighborhood with a Chick-fil-a (for us), Whataburger (for Jordan) and Sonic (for me), and called it good! We got our taquito, spicy chicken sandy and vanilla coke zero addiction on speed dial now. Not really. But WOW talk about PERKS! Plus, there’s a Super Target, Lowe’s and Ross next to them—hello, fixer upper!

After about 3 months of living in Dallas with Jordan’s parent’s, our dream of buying a fixer upper came to fruition.   Our cousin Brett helped us find our dream fixer upper, and I’d say we got lucky with our timing.  I’d be lying if I said we weren’t discouraged after looking at about 8 houses that flat out busted our bubbles.  The houses were deceiving online, and the neighborhoods were not at our comfort levels.

Frustrated

We went on a walk one evening after looking at houses, expressed our frustrations, and came home that night to look through some more online.  Patience. We just need patience. That’s when we found this little diamond in the rough.

We looked at it on Google Maps; Jordan went the next morning to drive by; we walked through it that night and made an offer the next day. What!? It was all so fast that I couldn’t really comprehend it.  A few hours after we put our off in, we had a phone call saying it was ours

We continued to hold our breath until inspections, appraisals and all the details were finalized, and then….we took the keys and realized the deal was SEALED!   

We bought this baby knowing full well that we wanted to fix it up.  We saw a cute curb appeal and some solid bones of a home.  If you haven’t already known this about us, we absolutely love watching the show Fixer Upper together.  We love Chip and Joanna, their style, their work, their family lives and have been taking notes on just about every episode we’ve watched lately!

Breaking Ground, Davenport Style

And while we broke ground, so to say, last Friday, we have gotten a lot done.  I say that yet, I have learned one thing among the many in these past 9 days, and that is this: take the amount of time you think a job will take and triple it.  Because it’s going to take longer than you think! However, with that being said, I have truly enjoyed every second of this process.  This is like a new world to me that’s honestly super fun learning about.

If you know the Davenports, you know they are so talented and skilled with their hands.  Jordan’s dad Craig built the houses they’ve lived in, and having him help us has been an absolute blessing.  The Saturday after we closed, we literally demo-ed our home—knocked a wall down, tore up carpets, took up baseboards and tile, and put in air fresheners!

Phew! One thing is for sure, that carpet HAD TO GO.  Once that was ripped up and out the door, things began to smell a little fresher. Needless to say, the owners before had a few cats or 10 over the past 30 years….

DEMO!!

Side note, I totally over use the word “demo” these days. 🙂

So here’s a quick re-cap of what we’ve tackled so far:

1.     We knocked down a wall. We decided to knock down the wall that separated the formal dining area from the living room, and when Jordan and his dad kicked down the wall, we were so pleased at what we saw: more light! It completely opened up the area and lit up our living room. You’ll see the before/after of the dining room and living room in the following pictures below: 

2.     We tore up all the carpets. Like I said, that stuff had to go. And who knew carpet was nailed to the cement!? That was my least favorite job. Pulling it up, scraping up the glue and prying up the wooden slabs around the perimeter. Boo.

3.     We took up the tile in the entryway. We left the tile in kitchen and bathrooms for a later time, but we want hardwoods in our entryway and living area before we move in.

4.     We cut off half of the wood paneling in the living room.  At first we wanted to paint it, but then we had this idea. We plan to paint the bottom half white, put some molding above the paneling to separate that from the top half and then paint it. I love contrast in colors in rooms!

5.     We hired a tape, bed and texture man to do just this to our living room.  We decided that after the guys knocked down a wall, custom-fit a beam for support and sheet-rocked the area, that it would be quicker and easier if we hired a specialist to come in and tape, bed and texture.  And we’re so happy with what he’s done! Paint is next!

6.     I am proud to say that I’ve taken up all the baseboards. Our rooms are so bare now!

7.     We’ve painted the hallway and all the bedrooms aside from our master. The bathrooms, kitchen and living room will be next! Oh and the ceilings for them. Ugh. Who the heck likes painting the ceilings!?

8.     Jordan has fixed the shelves in the closests.  They’re a bit droopy!

9.     He made a major trip to the dump.  Seriously, our porch looked like a mountain! A Smelly mountain!

10. We took out the paneling that was above our mantel, and the guys sheet-rocked it.

11. We took out all the vents, light switches and outlets.  They were an old shade of yellow, so those things had to go!

12. We’ve been watering our garden.  Because if somebody already got me started with basil, rosemary, mint and a few other herbs, then I better take care of it!

All in all, this place has seen a pretty nice demo in the 9 days we’re had our hands on it.  We’ve made several trips to Lowe’s, and a trip or two to the Sonic and Chick-fil-a down the street.  Needless to say, we’re trying to get as nestled into this new neighborhood as we can without actually living here!

Thankfully, we’ve met a handful of the neighbors who have all been so sweet and welcoming.  I hope to show them a piece of our heart by greeting them formally with something baked and pumpkin though! 😉

Next up: paint, paint, paint and some floors!  Our goal is to have the rooms painted and the floors laid before we move in. The rest of the cosmetic stuff can wait for when we actually wake up and make coffee in our kitchen.

Oh what a journey—I’ll be excited to look back on it. But more excited to move into it!! 

  1. Mary Davenport says:

    Chip and Joanna would be proud of you and so are we! Love the life you’ve built together!!

  2. Jeff Mayberry says:

    How fun! I’m so glad you blog and document everything. Davenports are one of my favorite couples to keep up with!

  3. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  4. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  5. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  6. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  7. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  8. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  9. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  10. Can’t wait to read more! Love the color of the front door btw!

  11. Patricia Salazar says:

    What a great blog! As our business cleans and treats for pet problems, if there were some rooms that the carpet/pad showed a lot of urine problems, you might consider sealing the cement before you lay wood/carpet/tile ( if you detect an odor).

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Lindsay Davenport is a newborn and motherhood photographer + educator based in Dallas and available for travel worldwide.

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