I know I have been MIA on here for months and months! I am slowly coming back on here but it may not be as often like before as I am trying to figure out whether I want to pursue blogging regularly or try something different – I haven’t figured it out yet. 

However here is the real reason of this long break from blogging and posting. Back in early March I had a major water leak in my house and flooding which left so much water damage. It started from my ensuite and ran downstairs into the main floor area and into the basement. Thank goodness l didn’t have a finished basement so there wasn’t any damage in that area. 

It was definitely a freaky accident and I have no clue how it happened. All I remember was on the Sunday night I couldn’t sleep that night, tossing and turning, made two bathroom trips. I was still wide awake at 1:30am and that was the last bathroom trip then I went back to bed. I didn’t fall back to sleep till around 2am. Then I woke up around 5:30am because I had to go to the bathroom and sometimes I don’t get up because I’m too tired but this time I did because I noticed my room was too warm and I was all sweaty. I couldn’t figure out what’s going on and why am I feeling so hot?! So I thought maybe something is wrong with my furnace and I usually keep my furnace low at bed time. So I thought I better get up and check to make sure there’s nothing wrong with my furnace.

When I got out of bed I noticed my carpet by my ensuite door and dresser was soaking wet. I turned the lights on in my ensuite and saw my bathroom sink tap was on full blast with blazing hot water running and over flowing from my sink. The whole ensuite was all steamy and it was pretty spooky! I was in total shock thinking what the hell?! I’ve lived in my place for 12 years and always made sure my tap was off. I was so sure I had my tap off after I washed my hands. I have no idea if I made another bathroom trip later on that night because I don’t remember anything and worst part is that due to my hearing loss, I don’t hear anything when I am sleeping. 

Being in a panic mode, l had to get towels to put on the floor and carpet. I went downstairs to the main area and I was like omg omg, I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing that my ceiling was falling apart and my carpet was soaking wet in the family room. Some parts of the kitchen floor had puddles of water. I was shaking and so distraught. I had turned the lights on in the main area and noticed my light fixtures were full of water so I shut them off right away. I had to watch where I was walking and avoid anything electrical. 

I texted my mom just before 6am and told her what happened and sent pics. She was in total shock and thought what a nightmare! She called my sister to tell her what happened and asked her if insurance will cover the damage since my sister works for an insurance company. So she and her husband came over to have a look…they were in shock and felt bad. 

We had to wait till 8 or 9am to start calling my insurance company and have someone to come over to look at the damage. I had to take all of my accessories from my family room upstairs and wall accessories as well to prevent more damage as the water was still dripping from my ceiling. Luckily my family room furniture was okay including my TV and I had my MacBook laptop that I use for blogging on my coffee table, thank goodness it was closed as I always leave it closed…it was covered with water puddles on top. I took it and wiped it off with a towel. I was told to put in a plastic bag with rice for a week which I did that and my laptop works! Whew! 

The insurance people came to have a look at the damage and took pictures. The good news was that my insurance was able to cover all the damage and that they will be able to put things the way l had it before including crown mouldings, same type of ceiling, etc.. I had to pack up a bunch of stuff to take with me since my house was not liveable and ended up staying with my mom while my house was under construction which took 4 months due to the pandemic and lockdowns. 

They had to rip the whole ceiling and crown mouldings off in my main area and parts of my drywall as well. They had to leave fans on to dry everything up for 4 days before they could start working on putting up the new dry wall. 

It was definitely a nightmare and stressful time for me. I did a lot of running around with my mom because she suggested that I might as well renovate the whole main area with something new and different. I didn’t want carpet again and decided to replace the whole flooring in my main area downstairs. I wanted a new look that’s more updated and more of my style so I ended up getting vinyl planks for the whole main area because I don’t like the choppy look with ceramic then hardwood or vinyl. I like when there’s the same flooring through the whole level as it gives the area a nice flow and it looks bigger as you can in see my before and after pics.

I never understood why builders mix ceramic floor in the entrance then hardwood or ceramics by the kitchen – especially if it’s in an open concept house. It’s different if the house is not open concept that you can get away with ceramic and hardwood. 

I also ended up getting more electical work in my main area by putting in 10 pot lights and two pendant lights instead of pot lights above my breakfast bar to give it a richer look. I ended up getting a quartz countertop instead of a standard counter. I’ve always wanted a light quartz counter top with a marble look. I already had my new backsplash picked out 3 years ago and kept it in the basement till it came in handy to redo my kitchen. I ended up getting my kitchen cabinets painted white instead of getting new cabinets because it was ridiculously expensive for a small kitchen. Some of the Reno’s were paid out of my own pocket where I decided to upgrade certain things. 

They had to rip out my vanity in my ensuite and ceramic floor. I had to get a new vanity and floor as well. Sharing the before and after pics…

This was quite the ordeal and the good outcome is now I have a newly renovated house. Every time I leave my house or go to bed I double check everything and heck I even take pics of my sink so I know what time it was last used and that it is turned off. I know it’s crazy but I am super paranoid and still traumatized by the water leak! 

Right now I am enjoying my newly renovated house and l feel different like more alive now that my place is so much brighter as I’ve always like light colours like this.  I find that bright places boosts my moods and energy, and makes me feel more motivated for some reason. I guess everyone is different and has different tastes in what they like in a house. 

Now I am looking to get a finished basement as I would like to make a little gym area since I already have a treadmill and a bike that I use in my basement but it’s not really enjoyable working out in an unfinished basement. So that’s on my next checklist and I’m saving up to finish my basement next. I will probably do one thing at a time with my basement.  I am finding interior design so much fun with picking out flooring and paint colours etc. I love home makeovers and love watching shows like the Property Brothers, Love it or List it and Cristina on the Coast. 

Anyways this about it for now and I hope this blog on my renovations was enjoyable and gave some ideas, tips, etc…I’ve linked up some of my house accessories on LIKEtoKNOW.it and bought a lot of my stuff from Wayfair.