It’s been several months since my now husband and I began renovating his late-grandparents house. The main part of the house is nearly 100 years old, built in 1927. It’s actually a Sears Catalog house!

One hundred years ago, in 1925, the Sears company opened its first retail store in Chicago, but the Sears company predated the brick and motor store. In 1888, Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck started a mail-order catalog where they sold household items, clothing, books and more. They started selling kit houses in 1908 which they called “Modern Homes.” They continued this practice until 1940 when the Great Depression and World War II led to lumber shortages. During those years approximately 75,000 Modern Homes were sold and an estimated 49,000 of these still stand today. The department store remained in operation until 2019 ending it’s more than 130-year reign.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 82 million single-family homes in the U.S. as of 2021, so to live in one of only 49,000 remaining Sears catalog homes is certainly a rare thing!

However, this amazing house comes with certain drawbacks stemming from its age and geographical location in southern California. Temites thrive here with no freeze in winter to keep them at bay and the hilly terrain has shifted over the decades.

When we began the work on renovating the house, we knew there were problems that needed to be addressed but had hoped that most of it would be cosmetic in nature. Needless to say, cosmetic changes were not our primary focus for the first several months once we discovered extensive termite damage and a settled foundation. With the help of a small army of contractors and laborers, the house has been transformed.

We pretty quickly discovered that this house had even more surprises in store for us. Beneath the thick green carpet that every house had in the 90’s was subfloors that needed repaired, and beneath the linoleum was another layer of linoleum that had a layer of tile secured by tar beneath it. Behind the lath and plaster in the kitchen was a doorway and a half wall with spindles from the 70’s. Every time we turned around or thought something would be easy we found some other thing that needed to be fixed first.

These renovations have reminded me of the scene in Shrek when Shrek is explaining to Donkey what ogres are like onions. This house has been like that. With every layer pealed back, there is another layer, and so on and so forth. Surprises layered on top of one another. We definitely reached a point where we couldn’t take any more surprises.

Along the way, I’ve learned a great deal about my own personal limitations, and I learned even more about my husband. Turns out he’s the cleverest person I’ve ever known and he deserves every ounce of credit for his brilliance!

In the midst of these renovations, we were planning our Vegas wedding, preparing for a family reunion in Iowa, and planning a reception back home to celebrate our marriage with our family and friends. Now that we have successfully navigated these events, we can settle in!

Part of settling in has been unpacking. Dishes and heirloom pieces wiped down and put away in their cabinets, pictures hung on the walls, and clothes hung in the closet. The worst of the unpacking though was undoubtedly my books! 50 Home Depot boxes filled to the brim. But now, all my 1,500 books have made their way onto the shelves, and my office is finally all in order.

So much went into the house: all new electrical, all new plumbing, new framing, new ceilings and drywall, a fully remodeled kitchen, all new floors. It’s been an adventure. There has been a lot of sweat and blood, even more tears and profanities, but now we have a house we can live in and cherish for the rest of our lives. And though I never had the opportunity to meet my husband’s grandparents, I’d like to think they’d not only approve of the changes we’ve made but also be happy for us that we’ve taken this home and made it our own in a way that honors their years of hard work and all the love they shared.