Renovation Road Trip: Here We Go!
Meryl and Chris of Picardy Project
Over the three and a half years that we’ve been working on our house—and blogging about it at Picardy Project—we’ve been able to virtually meet and make friends with a bunch of other crazy people renovating their houses. Some think it’s weird to refer to people you’ve never actually met as “friends”, but there is a bond that other renovators and bloggers share.
There will always be drywall stacked against the wall waiting to be used in the living room, plumbing fixtures sitting in the hallway, Romex coiled up behind the bathroom cabinet and a bunch of other half-finished projects all over the house that might drive other people insane, but for us, the insanity is addicting, fun, and oh so rewarding.
One evening several months ago, Chris and I were sitting on the couch (most likely watching Renovation Realities), and we started talking about how cool… and fun… and crazy it would be to visit other renovators. We laughed about it and dismissed it at first, but then the talk got serious.
We drew out the route we would take, thought about other home-related destinations we could visit along the way, and figured out how long the trip would take. And then the lightbulb went off: we were working with Tinkernation on a set of posts for their website and decided to see if this would be a more unique approach. As luck would have it, they thought the idea was just as awesome as we did. And so the Renovation Road Trip was born!
Meryl and Chris of Picardy Project embark on Renovation Road Trip 2012.
I hopped on my computer and wrote to my blogging friends to see if they’d each be willing to host us for an evening. In exchange for the hospitality we would lend our hands and tools to any project they wanted help with for a day. And they all cheered with excitement!
86'n It
Our fellow Bob Vila Nation bloggers Nikki and Marc (of 86’N It, based in North Carolina) were in.
Turtle House
Katy and Brandon of Turtle House in Michigan were on board, too!
DIYdiva
Next, we sold Michicagen resident and BobVila.com contributor Kit Stansley—better known as DIYdiva—on the idea. (Ed: The site profiled Kit as part of its In the Workshop series.)
Russet St. Reno
… and Sara and Shaun of Russet St. Reno in Wisconsin…
Just a Girl with a Hammer
… and lastly Heather of Just a Girl with a Hammer in Oregon.
And as the trip started taking shape and becoming more of a reality, we discovered even more good news: BobVila.com wanted to chronicle our road trip, too! Seriously? Color us completely tickled pink!
Since Bob Vila is the “how-to king”, we’ll be sharing all the details of the projects we tackle at each location. Want to know how to install an awesome wood trim wall? We’ll be writing all about it. Interested in how to tile a backsplash? We’ll be tackling that project too. Discover some questionable wiring when you were trying to install a new light fixture? That’s also on our Renovation Road Trip to-do list! And we’ve got the tools to prove it.
The car is packed, and the Picardy Project duo is ready to go.
And now—after all the planning, the emails, and anticipation—the Renovation Road Trip starts today.
As we depart from our home base in Oakland, CA, Chris and I couldn’t be more excited about visiting the five homes on our cross-country route and becoming “real friends” with some of our favorite home bloggers. Now on to the craziest 14 days and 6,500 miles we’ll ever have!
Follow Meryl and Chris’s journey right here and at their blog, Picardy Project.
