OBX Beach House Makeover – Day One

Day One – The OBX

Day One in the OBX. Let our adventure begin!

A home makeover means different things to different people, and that certainly held true for our new beach house investment in the Outer Banks earlier this year. Peepaw and I are not naive. We knew we were in for a real, hard working adventure. (Especially Peepaw!) But at our age it can actually be exhilarating to step out of our comfort zone and take a leap of faith. If only our old joints can still survive that leap!

Our son Nick and his wife Sarah have already proven themselves to be successful owners of multiple properties. So we felt excited to be a part of this Corolla, North Carolina beach house investment and makeover. I’m anxious to share our six week adventures. And as Sarah has reminded me…she only made me cry once! (Details about THAT will come later.)

Welcome To The Outer Banks

We left our Fort Lauderdale winter home in late March,  a month earlier than usual,  so we could help with the beach house renovations before we could began to rent it weekly to guests. I’ll admit it was a shock to our systems to leave the 80 degree Florida weather behind. The temps in Corolla were only hovering in the 40’s in that early springtime!

Talk about a leap of faith. We had never even been to the Outer Banks before investing in the property! The beautiful finger of land is reached by navigating this HUGE bridge.

It was an incredible feeling to watch the mainland disappear in the rear view mirror and to wonder what would lie ahead!

Our daughter in law Sarah flew in to Norfolk (the closest airport) and she drove to meet us after she attended the closing. We were thrilled when she met us at a local restaurant and handed us that house key. It was really happening! 

Welcome HOME!

Our first glimpse of our house was to remark at the size of the lot, and the beautiful Live Oak trees. The setting is like a page out of a Southern novel. 

Our first impression of the house? It is BIG! And TALL! And BEAUTIFUL!

Our quick tour of all three floors was certainly made easier because of the fabulous elevator in the house. That elevator is a real godsend for someone with mobility issues like me. My knees were grateful every single day!! (You’ll get an in depth view of all the rooms during the renovations.)

All three of us couldn’t wait to make the climb up to the Crow’s Nest from the wide deck off the main living area on the third floor.

That vantage point provides a 360 degree view of the Atlantic Ocean, Currituck Sound, the Currituck Sound Lighthouse, and all of Corolla. (I’ll share sunrise and sunset photos from there.)

After our quick tour of the house and decks we headed to the beach. It’s only about a three minute walk to the public access walkway.

The beach is everything we hoped it would be…pristine and beautiful for sure.

But little did we know…this would be our ONLY walk to the beach during our six week stay. We had other priorities this time. And those priorities were worth it for sure.

Let’s Celebrate!

The three of us headed back to the house where we felt that a celebration was certainly  in order. So I explored the kitchen cupboards (MY domain!) where I found dishes and glasses and everything I needed. We had made a brief stop at the nearby grocery store before we headed to the house, and our cooler from Florida still contained everything else I needed. So I quickly whipped up a charcuterie board. Of course I opened a bottle of wine too. CHEERS to our new digs!!

It felt incredible to sit down at that table…now OUR table! We only wished our son Nick could have been there the celebrate with us on that Day One, but he had remained in Indiana “to keep the home fires burning” for their three daughters. You may be surprised to learn that Nick had not yet even set foot in the house! (During the upcoming renovations Nick and Sarah would take turns spending weeks at the beach house, either flying in or driving.) Sarah had flown in to inspect the house before they put an offer on it. Yes, their “tag-team” and teamwork handling of their rental properties is a thing of beauty. (You’ll see what I mean when I begin to share the renovations and decor.)

Now, about those renovations…

Let The MAKEOVER Begin!

After an hour of eating and drinking and basking in the glow of new home ownership…It was time to get to work. And I mean WORK!

Sarah quickly began her walkthrough by marking all of the large furniture items and artwork she planned to donate. That’s when the realization began to sink in for Peepaw and me. It turned out that MOST of the furniture in that huge house would be GONE! 

Unlike most places in America, there are very few donation options or thrift stores in the OBX. But the good news?  Nick’s earlier online research had led him to a charity called Outer Banks Dare Challenge.  Now the bad news? Their schedule was already almost full for weeks…and their ONLY opening was TOMORROW! They would be arriving EARLY THE NEXT MORNING! So everything to be donated on all three floors of that house had to be tagged before we could call Day One a wrap!

Yikes! Even this poker table was tagged for donation…

Remember our dining table? BYE BYE!!

But those of you who know me know both our Heartland home and our Florida condo are filled with thrift store finds. In fact, thrifting is one of our favorite hobbies. To check out our Florida condo “trash to treasure” decor…CLICK HERE.

By the time darkness fell I was both physically and mentally exhausted.

Seeing all of this perfectly good furniture being marked for donation had been very hard for me. VERY hard.  Sarah knew it would be. (She knows me so well.) She just gave me a knowing smile and said, “Trust me.” And that’s when our trust in their financial and design choices kicked into high gear. Don’t get me wrong. It was NOT easy for Peepaw or me. But we did it. And I didn’t shed a tear. At least not on Day One. 

Sarah reminded me later, “I only made you cry…ONCE.”

So stay tuned for the waterworks…on Day Two.  In the kitchen, of course.