My husband, Brian, has wanted to flip a house for several years (thanks to his sister for planting that idea), but I always said no.  I knew how many hours it would require and how few hours we had available to devote to it.  Eventually, I told him I would be on board with a few conditions…1. we find a house in our price range, 2. we (he) had to be able to do most of the work, 3.  it is in Assumption, because I didn’t want to put that kind of time and money into a house in another town.  Fast forward a couple of years, and…well, wouldn’t ya know it….

We call this the “Tillman House” because that’s who lived there while we were growing up.  It needed some love, and a new kitchen and bathroom.  Before I knew it, the main floor was gutted and we were in this thing up to our necks.

The plan is to completely remodel the bath and kitchen, possibly add a new HVAC unit, new flooring throughout, new windows, new kitchen cabinets, new light fixtures, and paint and landscape outside.  Our time line has already been doubled, but that’s okay.  We took this on to see what we are capable of with the spare time we have, and we have learned what can be accomplished and what needs hired out.

Dining room with built in cabinets and table nook.

Bathroom is to the left of the sliding doors.

The dining room featured built in closets, and a built in table nook.  They have been removed, and we have exposed the brick chimney.  We plan to put in a sliding antique door for the bathroom, which is left of the sliding glass doors.

The master bedroom is a good size, with a nice closet and extra storage.  We have removed all the paneling and faux wood beams, and have put up new dry wall.  New flooring, windows, paint, trim, and a light fixture, and it will look great!  I tell Brian that we may just want to live here when it’s all said and done…he’s not on board.

This is the living room.  The photo on the left shows the foyer, a space that I would love to have in my own house.  The photo on the right is a shot of the picture window and main living room space.  All of this has new drywall, new windows going in, and soon, new paint, trim and light fixtures will be added.  You see that trashbag that is covering the hole in the ceiling?  We were terrified that the new roof was leaking, as it turns out, the window upstairs needed caulking.  Easy fix, thank goodness.

The laundry room was huge, and smack dab in the middle of the main floor.  We have closed off a door, just to the right in this photo, and moved the window.  This also allowed us to bump the kitchen wall to provide the kitchen with more square footage, while still leaving plenty of space for a nice laundry room layout.  The laundry room will now feature a door that closes (Amen), and room for cabinets and possible pantry shelving.

The stair way and foyer will be painted, have new flooring, and the railing will be repaired or replaced.

This is the bonus room, the topic of many discussions at our house.  It’s a ton of square footage, but only tall enough for me to walk down the middle (I’m 5′ 7″).  It has built in storage on both sides, and it would make an amazing attic space.  However, I think it has potential for a very cool play room or bunk room.  It’s fate will be determined by what is left in the budget, unfortunately.

The two bedrooms upstairs have new dry wall, but still need new carpet, paint, trim, and light fixtures.  A closet will be added to the little blue room.

It may seem that we have lost our ever-loving minds, but, honestly, I can’t wait to see what this house becomes.  I did not want to see another house in town run down because the owners did not care for it.  This is a way for Brian and I to put our money where our heart is, and do something to better our community.  Don’t tell him this, but I don’t think this will be our last remodel project.

P.S. If anyone has any ideas for that bonus room, I’m all ears!

Saturday night, the Assumption Community Pride Association hosted a community dinner where committee members shared their plans to improve our small town in the areas it needs it most. Around 200 people showed up and showed out, lending a hand, cooking food, making donations, and spreading positivity like wild fire!  It was amazing! 

There were previews of what is to come.  Ideas for housing improvements, beautification, economic development, and events to fill our calendars! 

We unveiled our new website, http://www.AssumptionIL.com, which will go live next month! We have an awesome future ahead of us, and with a little innovation and a lot of elbow grease we can truly make our little town a place even more people will love to call home!

Let me tell you a little something about my small town…okay, tiny town.  It has just about 1100 people in it.  However, they are pretty much 1100 of the most dedicated people you could ever meet.  Sure, we have our problems, our differences, our needs, but we do a pretty good job of taking care of each other.  This Saturday night, our little community is coming together for dinner, to celebrate some hard work that is going to make our special, small town shine.  What makes us special?  Nothing, really, except those 1100 people.

Community members have been spending time together for months, setting goals and making plans for the areas that need a little elbow grease.  We have some big things in the works, and a lot of people motivated to get involved in making those things happen.  The best part about this process has been the opportunity to watch multiple generations of civic-minded people come together to share history of the town we love and put their heads together to come up with ideas on how to brighten our collective future.

Wish us luck as we venture on this journey… I’ll report back with updates very soon!

P.S. This sign came from the cutest shop in town, Grey House Goods!  Check it out on Facebook, or better yet, come visit in person!

I have been contemplating a blog of my own for years, but life kept getting in the way of that “publish” button.  I love the idea of having my own little corner of the web to share my experiences of small town life.  Here, I plan to share stories from my little town, Assumption, IL, as well as snippets of my family and work life.  We have a lot of irons in the fire around here, so there will be a little bit of everything.  I hope you come back to visit from time to time to check in on my Big Life in a Small Town.