She’s Again! Emily Bowser Talks By way of Her WILD Storage Renovation Journey (Prices Included)

Right here for my yearly check-in. In the event you don’t know me, that’s comprehensible, it’s been a minute. I’m Emily Bowser. I’m a contract stylist and labored for EHD for just a few years pre-pandemic. I often come on right here and share the woes and wins of shopping for and proudly owning a home in Los Angeles the place I reside with my husband (fellow inventive and freelancer) and our 3 lovely kids. 

They’re cats.

Final we talked was Might 2023 the place I “concluded the saga” of my entrance yard reno that began in April 2021. I’m nothing if not proof that in a single day renovations are *possibly* for the wealthy and for home-related TV exhibits that mislead us about the whole lot (a subject for one more day maybe). We put a pleasant little bow on that renovation with a stunning city backyard by All the way down to Farm. Replace: the summer season crop was nice, possibly a bit uncontrolled tbh:

As we speak we’re going to be speaking about renovating my storage. 

Fast obtain/historical past of the area: We reside on a two-on-a-lot and have renters in a again home. Our small home sits above two, one-car garages. The garages are separated by a wall that holds up greater than half of our dwelling. Let’s simply say, permits in 1930 aren’t what they’re now. Either side of the storage is about 7’(ish) large and 28’ deep. The left facet (in case you are trying on the home) was “ours”, the appropriate had beforehand been utilized by tenants of our again home. We didn’t need our tenants to should take care of fixed flooding, so we took the left facet which is decrease and extra more likely to flood. Why didn’t we simply repair the flooding? Effectively, it’s not for lack of making an attempt, however quite, a scarcity of cash. Alas, if you wish to put my identify within the search bar of this weblog, you’ll discover fairly just a few posts that may paint that image for you.

In my line of labor, I would like quantity of area to hoard. Phrase to the sensible, don’t develop into a stylist (you might put a interval proper there) in the event you don’t have extra area (or in the event you could possibly be joyful doing actually anything). The issue is, we solely have 2 closets in our entire home, a small corridor closet and a medium garments closet in our bed room, and 0 attic area. The storage needed to be an area for my hoard, Andrew’s hoard, instruments, keepsakes, and home overflow (suppose paper towels, rest room paper, cat litter, and so on). We did the most effective with what we had, it was organized chaos. Due to the frequent flooding, the whole lot needed to be in waterproof bins and/or off the ground. Each time I had a job it was like a sport of Jenga. It was robust, there wasn’t sufficient area to maneuver round or pack issues up and infrequently my driveway regarded like this:

In 2021 I began a challenge that took me over a 12 months to complete: I photographed each single decor merchandise I owned and made a spreadsheet in order that I wouldn’t should tear my storage aside (as a lot) each time I needed to pack up for a job.

Rewinding a bit – In late 2020 new tenants had been transferring in and introduced they’d no want for the storage *cue the heavenly sound impact*. I instantly began planning Andrew’s eviction. Only a reminder, as a result of it’s by no means not humorous that we lived like this, THIS was his workplace in peak COVID occasions:

The outdated tenants moved in and out Sept of 2020, Ron, our slippery contractor did $5,000 of “waterproofing” on the again of the storage (spoiler alert: it did NOT in actual fact proof any water). We painted the area, threw down a jute rug, put a chunk of plywood on a set of Ikea drawers, purchased an area heater, and stated “adequate” for THREE YEARS.

In April of 2021, we started the development on the entrance yard, there’s like a 34 half sequence about it on the weblog. In a kind of, I talked about how, in making an attempt to assist the never-ending difficulty of my storage flooding, we put in a french drain in entrance of the storage and likewise prolonged our “touchdown area” on the prime of the steps right into a full-on patio. One drawback we had been having was water dripping down the home, straight into the highest of the storage door on the left, the patio created an overhang to assist maintain water out. Extending our terrace inadvertently added about 50 sq. toes to the storage and when your entire home is simply 860 sq. toes, each foot counts.

To recap: Andrew moved into the storage in Sept 2020 and it was an enormous enchancment for him…and our relationship 🙂 We catnapped Gremmy off the road in Jan of 2021 and there he lived for NINE months. Seems he was feral and wanted a number of rehabbing. We started the entrance yard makeover in April of 2021. Andrew wrote a film, launched a Kickstarter for stated film, and did all of the preproduction in that storage. Don’t fear, when he left to location scout in Sep 2021 I made him rehome Gremmy upstairs. When he got here dwelling from capturing, he returned to the storage to edit his film and acquired into Sundance 2023. Cat tax:

The storage fortunately stayed fairly cool, till 95 levels or so, then it turned a sizzling field, however he was capable of make it work with followers when it was sizzling and area heaters when it was chilly, outdoors of some weeks of the 12 months the place he would come work out of the eating room. Regardless of the efforts to repair the flooding, we solely curtailed it barely. We had many, many extra floodings, too many to maintain rely of however it *largely* stayed on “my” facet of the storage nonetheless, there have been just a few occasions that it was so dangerous that it overflowed into the opposite facet. Many days had been spent wet-vac-ing, dehumidifying, and fanning out the area. We tried to maintain Ron accountable however the slippery man ghosted me for actual this time. It appears as if the one manner I used to be capable of maintain him round fixing issues for years is as a result of we owed him cash, however as quickly as he had our cash (about $260,000 from 2016-2021) he was gone. Le sigh, we realized lots a couple of contractor relationship, that’s for positive. All that to say, we knew the water was greater than a nuisance, that it most likely was attending to the purpose the place it could be a security hazard for Andrew to proceed working down there, to not point out the framing of the storage held up the lounge, visitor bed room, corridor, and lavatory upstairs.

After the entrance yard saga, lengthy after Ron was gone, I began slowly working with a contractor named Javier, who I’ve cherished working with. He did smaller tasks in late 2022 for us, just like the sizzling tub space and our mini-kitchen makeover. It was good to have the ability to construct belief with smaller tasks earlier than leaping into one thing that was much more costly. On the finish of 2022, I requested Javier to offer me an estimate for what wanted to be executed within the storage. I assume one lucky factor about the truth that we overlook what rain even is for 9 months of the 12 months is that I knew I’d have till October of 2023, nearly a full 12 months later, to save lots of up earlier than the rain began once more. I wished to know what it might price to boost the ground up (it was decrease than the driveway, making any water that entered, pool inside the area), actually waterproof the ENTIRE storage (which included a French drain behind the storage, underneath the home), put in just a few extra overhead lights, temperature management the area and add a bathroom and a sink. His estimate got here again at $25,000 and so we began scraping and saving. As these items go, the price range ballooned. We added a few small issues, amongst them had been including storage underneath the home within the crawl area together with some cabinets underneath the steps and placing a concrete slab on the facet of the home in order that we might put in a ten’x4’ shed. Sadly, the largest price range buster was a kind of enjoyable ones that occur solely as you’re ripping partitions down and it’s too late to show again. The prior water injury and termite infestation (we acquired a brand new roof and tented for termites once we purchased the home) had been on full show when the partitions had been eliminated and the framing for many of the home was uncovered. In the event you touched the 28’ beam that divided the 2 areas and held most of our home up, it LITERALLY turned to mud. I’ll spare you the nervous breakdown. $45,000 later, we had our new storage. In fact, it clearly was essential that we did this work, it’s technically superb cash spent however, you realize, it’s $20,000 greater than we had been anticipating. I’m older and wiser now, however I simply need to say this for renters in case it’s unclear to anybody: don’t purchase a home except you’ve a niceeeee cushion financially or you may be stressed each month for…ever? “Throwing your cash away” due to renting vs shopping for is just not the one issue to contemplate. For instance, there isn’t actually a worth one can placed on the understanding of realizing “that is precisely what I’m going to owe each month for this agreed-upon period of time”. Budgeting month-to-month as a renter is 10000% simpler IMHO. I do know concerning the uncertainties that may exist when renting, we did it for a very long time, I’m simply saying there are uncertainties once you personal as nicely, just like the factor that your total monetary future is hinged on (my scenario) might actually crumble to the bottom except you throw $20,000 at it, instantly. I get pleasure from proudly owning a home and regardless of the whole lot, I’m nonetheless glad I did it (I’ll admit as quickly as I typed that I used to be like – “am I??”) and I’d nonetheless, if I offered the home proper now, become profitable. I simply suppose there’s one thing to be stated about having your cash in your pocket vs tied up and I’m right here for you, renters, to mirror on, “Do I would like that?” 

Right here’s some enjoyable transformations of the area as a palette cleanser:

We had been out of city, had COVID for the primary time, after which out of city once more for many of the building so my course of pictures are few, however let me attempt to clarify a few issues. On the appropriate facet wall, on the appropriate facet of the storage, there are doorways that entry underneath the home, you possibly can’t see nicely within the straight on however you possibly can see slightly higher right here:

That’s our crawl area the place we now maintain keepsakes, vacation stuff, and so on. The stuff you don’t want typically. It’s additionally, for security causes (stays very temperate), the place we maintain further paint. There’s one other door partially open on the far finish of the wall within the picture above, that’s the storage underneath the steps the place Andrew retains quantity of substances. Each are necessary to have the ability to entry and needed to be thought-about when deciding the place to place furnishings.

As talked about, we reside in a one-bathroom dwelling, which more often than not is okay. It’s humorous to me to suppose that the expertise of most individuals within the US is having a number of loos with a number of sinks and vanities and so on. We have now 2 sinks in our home: our teeny tiny lavatory sink (in the event you use it for something apart from washing your arms, you need to put down a towel) and our very normal kitchen sink. I wash my face within the kitchen sink. I additionally clear my paintbrushes within the kitchen sink. These items are regular to me and doubtless not for lots of people. Including this utility sink was *chef’s kiss*. I wished a really “storage” vibe as a result of I didn’t need to have to fret concerning the floor if I used to be cleansing paint brushes, for instance. However like, make it stylish, proper? I discovered this outdated workbench on Craigslist and requested Javier if he might make it work to not solely home the sink but additionally lower out an area to place a small fridge Andrew already had within the storage. 

The bathroom. I LOVE this rest room. My grandmother had the precise one in her lavatory and it’s giving nostalgia. I purchased it on eBay, it’s classic however by no means used. I made a decision towards a door for the bathroom room due to restricted area. My plan was all the time a thick curtain and sure, my contractor did suppose I used to be bizarre. We did put in a really loud fan/gentle to assist make it really feel extra personal although.

Strolling via that vacant area was, I’ve to confess, very satisfying. Checking account was on E however the payments had been paid, and eventually, it felt like an actual area that individuals ought to really be in. The additional area we created by placing within the cabinets within the crawl area and the shed on the facet of the home was going to be game-changing for me notably. The left facet of the storage would lastly simply be mine, I wouldn’t be sharing it with all of the misc storage and energy instruments. I’d be capable to manage and discover props after I wanted them. Truthfully making area for myself and my profession actually, helped me achieve this figuratively as nicely. This made my choice to exit alone as a stylist really feel extra “official”.

Now we simply needed to put all of this away:

As you possibly can see, we took out parts of the center wall. Earlier than there was no option to get from one facet to the opposite with out strolling outdoors. We did this for two causes 1) the AC needed to be put in on my facet of the storage except we wished to place it on the entrance of the home as a result of it’s the one wall that’s an exterior wall. We clearly didn’t need the eyesore, to not point out we didn’t need to make any of the doorways non-functioning. The opening on both facet of the middle wall helps with airflow for the mini-split. 2) with a purpose to match a kitchenette within the area we wanted a bigger wall to place it towards and the plumbing wanted to be within the again proper nook due to the place the water/sewage was underneath our home (the lavatory upstairs sits proper above). The structure simply made sense to position a gap in the back and front. I thought-about simply having help beams the place mandatory via the middle and protecting a extra visually open structure. After drawing the whole lot this manner and that, I spotted I wanted wall area. My facet wanted to be primarily cabinets and that is an instance of when having issues closed off extra you possibly can really make extra use of the area thus making it really feel greater as a result of you possibly can match extra issues in it, vs open so visually “greater” however not as useful. I had this expertise in my upstairs workplace/guestroom/exercise room. The extra stuff I put in it the larger it felt as a result of I might now use it for a lot greater than when it simply had a sofa and a dresser.

It was just a few months earlier than we had furnishings from Article, which was okay, we wanted to unpack a number of bins and I had a number of measuring and planning on doing on my facet of the storage. One of many first issues I purchased was a customized jute rug for the appropriate facet. Customized rugs on Etsy are my favourite. I had just a few smaller classic rugs I wished to layer in to heat up the area and separate out the completely different areas, however the jute rug helps maintain all of it cohesive.

The rug is 7’ large by 17’ lengthy. It helps with sound, coziness, and heat within the winter. We measured and taped out the furnishings however for a few months, Andrew lived with folding tables as we unpacked and deliberate.
On my facet, I picked out shelving and found out how I might show and retailer my throws and towels on the similar time. I settled on wall-mounted curtain rods.

I used to be recent off of a challenge the place the designer William Hunter and I used classic textiles in some actually unconventional methods and was feeling very impressed. I started working discovering classic material for the curtain to go underneath the sink and to be the bathroom “door”. In addition to sourcing customized curtain rods and rings for stated curtains.

As life goes, that is what it regarded like for just a few months. I wished the area to really feel textured and layered and classic so on and on I sourced for cupboards and lights and towel hooks and bathroom paper holders and trash cans and so on and so on whereas we waited for Article furnishings to reach after which…

YAY!! So thrilling!! So THANKFUL!

And right here’s the place we’d lower to fairly pictures Sara took however…

bum bum BUM….

My

Storage

Flooded

Once more.

…

..

.

I actually don’t know if I’ve the capability to put in writing about this, emotionally talking. Possibly that’s why I’ve been having such a tough time getting this weblog written. I acquired the furnishings, we set it up, we had been ready for just a few classic items to indicate up, I turned FORTY, I lastly completed organizing each single prop I owned, bodily and digitally, after which it rained. And rained and rained and rained. The sump pump failed (don’t they all the time) and that added to the issue. The 17” lengthy rug? SOAKED. New drywall? Soaked. Stunning new polished concrete flooring? Cracked, with water coming via the seams. 

There aren’t phrases. 

And apparently, there aren’t pictures both. I believe I made Andrew take care of it whereas I disassociated? He doesn’t maintain pictures as a result of he doesn’t consider within the cloud and saves all his pictures on precise arduous drives like he’s 100 years outdated. I’ve to complete this weblog so we don’t have time for that. Simply think about just about the completed pictures I’m about to indicate you however then additionally WET. It was sooooooo cool.

I do have precisely one picture of the sump pump failing:

Taken round 1 am and despatched to Javier in a panic. This contractor expertise was very completely different although. Javier came to visit, in the midst of the evening and wet-vac-ed (not a phrase) for hours. Over the next weeks (because it continued to rain) they repaired all of the water injury, found out the place issues had been nonetheless failing, and stuck them. Not less than all of us hope. He’s really coming over subsequent week to look over just a few issues earlier than our subsequent wet season begins. Y’all, I could also be combating a dropping battle. We’ll see. 

I believe it is a good place to pause. Tomorrow I might be again with the conclusion of this saga. Please come again and hearth off any questions within the remark part under.