We removed a half wall, indoor grill and a open fireplace that code would not allow us to keep to reveal a view and installed a 55 foot wall of glass along the back of the house.

Top photo is before the wall was removed, bottom is after:

WOW!!!! That view is to die for! You guys have come a long way! I love it! Congrats.

Btw, is your house the one that had a peacock that would visit every so often?

Oh wow! That's going to be spectacular when you finish.

Amazing work but the view is even more so. Congrats.

thanks. aktillery, yes, this is the peacock house. We've had problems during construction with the peahens coming in and pooing all over the place. Maybe they're trying to tell us something?

tibbrix, LOL. Looking at those before photos I remember how bad it was when we found it. The previous owner died in the home and there were cat or dog urine stains everywhere. All the doors and windows were covered up with heavy drapes and dark wood blinds. It lingered on the market for a long time. Everyone thought we were crazy to buy it. I brought a friend over to see it after we bought it and she looked in the front door and wouldn't even go inside.

Pipdog, I can't believe it has already been more than 2 years since you moved. We went to an event out in your area a while back ... I'll have to check if you have downhill views of the house we went to!

Everything looks great so far and I'm sure you can't wait to move back in.

UMMMM.....are you kidding me with that VIEW!!! WOW... Loving all the windows.

That is a view to die for! (And I'm in no way referring to the previous owner!) Love the window wall and what will be that infinity pool. I know you are so excited.

That is one diamond in the rough that is already finding it's facets and being buffed up. You are surely going in the right direction.

Wow, impressive. What a project. I'm facing a project of a similar scale, I will no doubt come to you often for advice. I'm so happy you were able to salvage the structure, it looks fantastic. What elements remain to be completed?

Wow. I can't imagine waking up to that view every morning. Your place is looking amazing.

thanks gail618, rob333, outsideplaying, always1stepbehind, crl and yayagirl (and anyone else i missed!). We've enjoyed this process, although 6 months in we're starting to reach decision fatigue time. We've
selected most of our finishes (tile, lighting), but still need to iron
out the details of the kitchen cabinets.

sochi, looking forward to seeing how your project comes together. I love your new house and your house in the woods is still one of my all time favorites. As far as this project, we still need to pass inspection on electrical, plumbing and HVAC. Then the drywall goes up. The pool and lounge excavation has just begun and the roof will go on in the next few weeks. Here are the renderings for the exterior (the green areas will be beds filled with plantings):

chispa, small world! I hope you enjoyed your time down here. We really enjoy the area.

Excuse me, but that view is unfair.

Pip, how was was your town for getting permits/variances, specially for the addition of sq.ft. and the pool?

In my area, one of my friends bought a very interesting MCM in the hills and the town did not approve their addition based on hillside restrictions. Silly, because they aren't adding much, compared to what is already there.

OMGoodness! great vision and steadfastness. you'll deserve all that incredible pool and view. want a cook/housekeeper? who needs Ventana when you have that!

Beautiful. The pics reminded me about a recent drive my husband and I took through San Pedro. I've lived in So. Cal since 1969 and never been there. Great views and some really cool homes.

Absolutely stunning views! Am. So. Envious ;) Can't wait to see the finished article!

Oh Pip, I just can't wait to see what you do. I've wondered often how it was going for you. It must seem never ending, but tis going to be amazing when you are finished.

Be still my heart. You are living my dream-well, maybe not the work, but the vision, progress, and what will be your finished home. You must be thrilled.

Amazing! We've started looking at downsizing and I can already tell that I will miss having an expansive view. You are really brave to install a hillside pool in this land of temblors.

Pipdog! This is great! You have done so much!!! And that view...wow!!! The pool is going to be spectacular! Please post more pics!!!

I like reading your timeline and tribulations, because they parallel my mcm renovation too. It somehow comforts me to see someone else going through it too. My house was abandoned for 10 yrs. and unliveable when I bought it too. The realtor thought I was nuts. I cant wait to see more updates on your house!

Beautiful, and what a gorgeous view! I can't believe you lived there for 2 years.

Gives me hope as we're about to move into a fixer upper farmhouse that many would consider a tear down. The plan is to live there at least 6 months before starting the remodel, to figure out what we want to do and to give us time to breathe a little after finally finishing the remodel of our current home. I'm a bit anxious about that :)

My dream home... MCM with view of the ocean! Can't wait to see more.

So glad to see an update, Pipdog. Will be awaiting each reveal. Lovely home in a perfect setting.

thanks, arapaho, czarinalex, Fun2behere, cyn427, bethpen, lisasam, linelle, and raphaellathespanishwaterdog. So glad so many familiar faces are still around that remember my little house. I lurked a little over the last two years and have enjoyed watching all the projects here.

chispa, it was a long and complicated process. We thought it would take 6-8 months to get plans/permits, but it ended up taking 2 years. I won't bore you with the details, but it would have been a lot easier and less expensive just to tear down and build new. Our city has so many building restrictions and a complicated approval process, as they don't want it to turn into another overdeveloped area, which I support and understand, but as a homeowner just trying to improve on a property that needed a lot of work, it was challenging.

1929Spanish, I love San Pedro. Such a great little city with character, and the views are unbeatable.

rockybird, I didn't know that your beautiful house was abandoned for 10 years! wow! You have done a great job thus far and it has been fun to watch it evolve. Did you decide on counters? We just purchased our Neolith. I'm little anxious about being a bit of an early adopter, but it feels like the right choice for our home.

tnfarmhousefixin, we did a 2-3 month clean up before we moved in to
make it livable. We had the house fumigated, painted the interior, and
installed all new flooring except for the baths. At that point, the
scope of the remodel was smaller -- we were going to keep the existing
footprint and just remodel the kitchen and baths and upgrade the
exterior. But after living there for a year or so, we realized the layout did not work
for our family. The kitchen had no storage and no pantry and was isolated from the rest of the home, and the open
living area went largely unused but had the best view in the home, so we decided to move the kitchen into
that space, and turn the existing kitchen into a den/TV room. So it
expanded from a fairly small scale remodel project to a much larger project.
I'm glad we lived with it before we launched into the remodel, as it
gave us time to figure out the flow and what worked.

Wonderful view. Wonderful vision. Keep the faith and before long, you will have arrived!

Amazing!!! The process could be a TV show....with us all drooling over the finished product. Absolutely cannot wait to see it progress!

Incredible! You have done an amazing job of transforming the house. The view is spectacular! So many elements to drool over, but the pool area is over the top!

So exciting! It's wonderful that you were able to save the house and take advantage of the fabulous view. I'm pretty sure your friends must be lining up at the front door now! :)

What a nightmare with those permits!!! But it might not be so bad. I dove right into the remodel and now wish I had waited. There are things I am redoing.

I will be using caesarstone quartz - whatever the whitest one is. it matches the bathroom tile almost perfectly. I cant wait to see your counters!!!!