Our Home: Before tour and Our Sustainability Plans

@gceldridge Our house tour!! this house was a lot of things when we first saw it (after closing 😱) but growing up in a home just like this one, I'm confident we can put our stamp on it and make it the perfect space for our family. it was built in the 60s-70s and pretty much has not been touched since then so it needs a ton of work! head over to my blog for full details on that merakikaiagapi.blogspot.com #homedecor #homereno #renovationproject #housetok ♬ Our House - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Hi! Wanted to share some before pics (and a video) of our home, and also talk about our goals for making our home sustainable, weather-proof and low waste wherever possible. In many ways these goals are intertwined, as things like hurricane-proof windows and doors are also better at sealing in heat or cool. 

This is it! A pretty typical style for our neighborhood. My favorite part about the location- it's right across the street from where I grew up.

A major goal of our renovation was to do things as low-waste as possible, but also within our budget. I had a lot of ideas about this, some of which we had to put off or abandon all together, but I think we’ve reached a point where we are getting the best renovation we can within our price range, and have a plan for future renovations that we’ll work towards doing every 1-2 years. 

Our living and dining space had some pretty interesting color choices.

One of the four bedrooms- the house is pretty small by square footage but has lots of great usable space.

The kitchen hasn't been updated since the home was first built.

A look back from the entryway into the 'family' room, with the kitchen to the right.

Our kitchen with this awkward low ceiling that was apparently popular at one point- it's all demolished as of today!

The bathroom is very pink! We debated keeping the color, but ultimately decided to go with a clean white look.

It’s hard to see from the photos, but while our home doesn’t have the most practical layout (looking at you, entryway pantry-closet!), it does have really good bones! So as much as I’d love to change things up with a full remodel, we’re really just updating existing structures for the most part. This also feels less wasteful to me since we won’t need to destroy and rebuild things that are working pretty well as is (again, just a guess.) Once we finish with this round, we also plan to keep things more or less the same with a few exceptions. Here’s a few ways we plan to make this renovation sustainable:

Sourcing materials secondhand or recycled when possible: For items like fans, ceiling lights, and bathroom vanities, this makes a ton of sense! Unfortunately we don’t live locally yet, so it was difficult to hunt things down leading up to our renovation on places like FB Marketplace and local secondhand stores. I have my heart set on furnishing the space slowly after we move in, so hopefully we’ll have better luck in this area when we buy our furniture, since we plan to gift and sell the few pieces we have in Massachusetts.

We had some big dreams to use recycled products when possible (I had my heart set on recycled glass countertops or this super intriguing material made of recycled paper- more on that here!), sadly it just was not in the budget as it would have cost us at least 25% more than traditional countertop choices such as quartz. We are saving for another big chapter of the renovation next year that we think will be a huge step toward a low waste lifestyle (see below!)

Weather-proofing the house. This actually started before we purchased the home. We had been looking for a few months at the time and already knew we didn’t want to buy in a high-risk flood zone, given Florida’s risk of rising water levels (more on that here.) We ultimately got lucky enough to find a home in a low- medium risk flood zone away from any canals or large bodies of water. 

Apart from this, we chose to install a tile floor rather than wood. Wood is a great look, don’t get me wrong- but tile will sustain water damage much better in the event of a flood. There are other options too, as you can see on this website, but we were happy to go with tile as it has the added benefit of helping to keep the house cool.

Decrease energy and water usage: I lumped all of this in one category because while the approach is different it’s ultimately the same end goal: reducing reliance on the grid. Florida Power and Light is notoriously difficult to deal with and has no plans for divesting in fossil fuel energy, which is pretty wild to me considering we live in the sunshine state. So our next big ticket item is going to be a new roof and solar panels! The newest Federal Laws around climate change have extended the 30% rebate on solar panels for several more years (yay!), making this change a bit more affordable. You can find more info on solar panels in Florida here.

We also plan to swap out older appliances for high efficiency-grade ones. The biggest saver here will typically be the fridge, but toilets, washer-dryers and dishwashers can also make a difference. There are also smart sprinkler systems that help avoid unnecessary watering (more on that later, and a link with some info on energy efficient appliances here.) 

The garden- we're very excited to start planting here!

The house has a pool that was just about the only thing that had been updated in recent years. 

Eco-friendly gardening. This might be the part of our new home that I’m most excited for- the garden! We live in a sub-tropical climate where planting can go on year-round. I don’t want to be too ambitious because I haven’t had much luck with gardening in the past, but lucky for me Peter has a pretty green thumb! In addition, we’re hoping to eventually adjust our landscaping to add more native plants and flowers that will benefit the local flora and fauna and attract some native pollinators, add in a smart sprinkler system like this one, and start composting! UF has an amazing website and app about native pollinators and sustainable landscaping- here is their about page for more info.

Projects for further down the line: While I’d love to have more room in the budget to accomplish all of our goals, like most folks, we’re going to wait a couple years on a few things, including our primary bathroom, adding insulation, and adding hurricane-safe windows and doors. We’re not entirely sure how long we’ll be in Florida, but it was important to us to reduce our carbon footprint since we are privileged enough to live in an area with so much potential for sustainable living. Do you have any questions? Better yet, any advice- drop them in the comments! Would love to hear from you if you’ve had experience with eco-friendly and low-waste renovation :)

Just Things

Hi! It's been a minute, hasn't it? Getting back to work after a long time away can be quite a jolting experience, one that pulls me from this space for awhile. The fact that my mood correlates so strongly with the temperature doesn't help, though I'm thankful the New York winter decided to show its ugly face as late as it did. Oh well, it had to start some time, right? And we've got an unusually busy travel itinerary the next few months, which is great- it's always nice to have a warmer climate to look forward to this time of year. Here's a few interesting links and articles I've been discovering lately.

Our first trip this spring is Israel- not a destination I felt super strongly about visiting, but since diving into books and articles about the country's rich and sometimes turbulent history and culture, I'm wondering if the 4 days we tagged on to Peter's work trip will be enough! I suspect the answer is no...either way this brief article about Tel Aviv, sold me on a city I really didn't know much about before this trip. Most vegetarian-vegan friendly city in the world? I'm in!

This piece on surviving the cold on Man Repeller was a refreshing break from prior pieces on the subject. I'm all for hygge and koselig, but sometimes you just need to have a margarita themed dance party and use blankets as a fashion statement (the people of Lesotho are exceptionally good at the latter, as exhibited here.)

Not sure where this stained glass art trend came from, but I'm into it. Colorful macaw wall hanging, anyone? Also loving this beautiful, less expensive piece (especially if you're on the hygge bandwagon!)

Also on the topic of hygge and home, I've been on the hunt for a vintage pendleton blanket for quite a while, mostly to save money but also because I kind of love some of the older designs. If I were to get a new blanket, I love the line designed by Native American artists (this one's my favorite) with the National Parks line being a close second

Speaking of National Parks, I'm so grossed out that the shutdown led to atrocities such as this one. Can't believe someone thought this was ok!! Here's an article on how to help the parks get through the shut down (hint: it starts with not marring the landscape and cutting down trees and ends with just don't effing litter, ok? Jeez it's like people were raised without common sense or decency...)

It's not to late to get a flu vaccine if you haven't already! It's not just about you, you know- this youtube video has a great explanation about how your life choices impact the lives and safety of others. And while your at it, if  get your goddamn measles vaccines too!! Seriously can't believe we're even talking about this in the 21st century (this applies to those who haven't gotten them :)) but we've had so many cases in the New York area due to under-vaccination and loss of herd immunity. Bottom line: vaccines save lives. Just get your shots!!

Lastly, this global eclectic Bahamas house is design goals for me! Wood + persion rug + lots of green accents = swoon-worthy home, IMO.

Ok that's all for now. Will try to throw another post up next week. Have a good one, y'all!

First Week, Third Year

So, uh,

wow. 

I started my clinical years of medical school this week

in psychiatry, no less.

In the span of two days I have met 

a teenager who has been pregnant twice in a month,

a man with homicidal thoughts,

and countless suicide attempts,

bipolar patients,

runaways 

and children who seem to have no moral compass.

It's fascinating, intimidating, and heartbreaking all at once. 

I think it's safe to say, 

I am going to prefer third year to the first two years of medical school. 

This weekend, 

Peter came to visit us in our new beach house!

another roommate, K, had two friends visiting as well, 

so we had a bit of a full house.

I introduced Peter to my colleagues and classmates

and awkwardly showed off where I now live

We attempted to lay in the sand a bit, 

but alas, the Florida weather would have none of that nonsense, 

and kept us away from the beach for most of the weekend 

Peter was heartbroken. 

Luckily, 

the crummy weather didn't interfere with Peter's cooking skills

He made us the yummiest peperonata with chicken

a satisfied chef

yes, we lit candles. because we are romantical.

the best recipe for the peperonata can be found here

*cough* skip the sugar *ahem* COUGH

Peter's got a soft spot for Waitrose,

as he worked there growing up as a bag boy. 

This weekend I go HOME

to welcome my sister back from the heart of darkness Sub-Saharan Africa,

(sorry, that was the literary nerd in me.)

which she has somehow managed to navigate WITHOUT contracting malaria

unlike another family member that we know

(looking at you, Dad.)

Hope everyone has a lovely and safe fourth of July!

Let freedom reign 

and fireworks fly high

(ideally without anyone catching flame in the process.)

Music Monday

Wow.

Sorry for being MIA all week

Moving was exhausting,

and we only just got internet last night

But this house is incredible. 

I won't do a tour until we are more settled

(our kitchen is in a horrible state

and I won't even tell you what my room looks like-ugh)

but here is a sneak preview (;

this is technically the front yard

but has become the backyard over time. 

And the beach is literally a stone's throw away.

it's awesome. 

And I am super-excited.

And here is a happy song. the end.

Have a great week everyone!