My husband and I have a 1925 bungalow cottage in Arlington, VA that is in dire need of repair and expansion. At 1,000 square feet, it is a cozy abode for us, Alex (my 10-year old stepson), our black lab, and our cat. With plans to expand our family, we need to expand the house. We'd like to make the renovation as "green" as possible, but have a tight budget to work with-$200,000. We have been working with an architect for about a year now trying to come up with a budget-friendly design that provides the space we'd like. The plan is to tear off the two most recent additions to the house and leave the original 1925 cottage, which is four rooms: bedroom, bath, living room, and dining room and a 5 foot-tall cellar. We would then add a three-story addition to the back of the cottage, which would include an unfinished basement, first floor with kitchen, laundry room, and family room, and second floor with three bedrooms and two baths.
I should mention that neither of us has any experience in the renovation/building/handyman field. So this project will be a tremendous learning opportunity. The blog will be a collection of our experiences as we navigate the home renovation process and try to balance the two most important goals of the project-building "green" and keeping costs down.
We hope the blog will be a resource for other young couples in the Northern Virginia area who want to "go green" without going bankrupt.
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