Some Before and After of the place we will call home as we serve at the Home of Life.  To give you an idea of space, the floor tiles are 12″ square.  Dear friends rented it for the past 5 years until their recent move back to the states.  The saddest part of making it ours is that we can’t share it with them.

Original house front. Without space for a table inside, our friends shared mealtimes on the patio.

Original kitchen. Along the wall opposite of the sink, our friends were able to fit a half-sized stove, a small fridge, and a hutch to store food and dishes.

Work in progress. We framed a 9′ x 10′ addition onto the front patio to become the new kitchen.

This is our front yard, complete with two tangerine trees. Picture the kids bouncing around here, and Kris planting something beautiful. Sadly, we do not get to keep the VW bus.

We were able to keep a bit of the garden box in front of the new kitchen wall. Now to decide: Flowers or Cherry Tomatoes?

A window on the side of the kitchen will help add light and air movement.

New front. Stone from the now-covered wall on the left was moved to finish the top of the right wall. The underside of the roof was also finished.

Looking in the front door, we will have our living room. We have permission to paint over the royal blue trim that our friends were asked to leave in place. On the left side moving back is an under-stair storage space, bathroom, and the utility area.

Turning left from the front door. This 7′ x 9′ space that used to be the kitchen (with the yellow counter) will now be our center for crumbs and conversation, aka: dining area. It opens into the new kitchen on the left.

This is it! What we’ve all been waiting for. Our full-sized stove and fridge will fill in the spaces on the right. A pantry worthy of all Kris’s Rubbermaid stands on the left. Yes, there is a man on the ladder outside of the window.