There’s one main factor that indicates whether your dream home addition is heading to the bank or burrowing down a DIY tunnel: what you’re not willing to compromise. For my husband Chris and I, it was the benefit of southern exposure—a naturally well lighted space. Two walls made almost entirely of windows was estimated to cost $25,000 if we hired out. That investment would essentially would make it part of our house but still a long ways from being a livable room.
We had other visions: floor to ceiling (and ceiling!) shiplap, a herringbone tile floor, and a sliding glass door to make the backyard an easily accessible place for coffee or a work call. When you live where you work, the idea of an office space spills outside the box, where practicality meets embellishment. Doing it ourselves meant the ultimate compromise was time. It wouldn’t and couldn’t be done overnight, or even in a year, but we knew it would be a very near version of what we really wanted.
The once windswept and underutilized back porch is now 168-square-feet of productive work environment, complete with the frequent chaos of pitter-pattering paws and small hands and voices tinkering around. The entire project tallied up to $8,000, furnished. Now, we let time and taste adorn the walls, because great work takes time.