As much as the DIY spirit possesses my boyfriend and me, there are just somethings you can't do alone. One of those things, for us, was building the addition.

We decided to hire an architect to help design our kitchen and master bath as well as provide detailed construction drawings that will allow us to more easily receive work permits from the city. The part of Austin where we live is controlled by very specific size and space restrictions, so we also wanted a professional to help make sure we stay within all regulations.

We spoke with three architects, walking them around the property and telling them in detail what we wanted. We'd already done quite a lot of research and day-dreaming so we pretty much know what we can have and how we want it to look, but just needed a fresh set of eyes to look at the project and see things we may have overlooked.

After about 2 months we settled on one architect and last week we paid him a retainer fee and sent him away with a list of needs, wants, and a few sketches we'd made of our ideas. It should be very soon when we hear back from him and get to see his first set of design ideas and drawings.

The changes we are proposing will add about 600 sqft to the house, replace the condemned kitchen with a large and lovely kitchen/breakfast area, will extend the bedroom back a few feet and will add a master bathroom. In addition, he will be designing a two story woodworking shop and photo studio to go in the backyard.

I'm extremely excited. It's one thing to toil away on a project a little bit at a time, it's entirely different to have a set of drawings, a literal blueprint for the future. We're in the big leagues now.