01February 2022
Meet Woodbridge: The Before Tour
The 1970s house I bought in December 2021, room by room, before we touched it. Plus what I wrote six weeks in.
Read more »The house stories
Woodbridge, start to finish
In mid-December 2021 I bought a 1970s brick house we call Woodbridge. It had been sitting empty for a while and was in definite need of TLC. My partner Caleb helped me renovate it, and we did the work ourselves.
It opened in spring 2023 as New River Gorge Retreat. Today it’s Gorge Getaway, our pet-friendly home near New River Gorge. I never blogged this one while it was happening, so I pulled the whole story together here.
New · Before & After
Woodbridge Before & After: From Fixer-Upper to Gorge Getaway
The way we found it next to the way it looks now, room by room. The kitchen cabinets guests cook in today are the same ones from the first before photo.
See the Before & AfterFrom the archive · Instagram
The Renovation on Instagram, 2022–2023
Every post, story, and reel, with the captions I wrote at the time. Priming cabinets, the grout vote, the porch coming down, and the first look at New River Gorge Retreat.
Read the Instagram diary
Start here
The living room the way we found it, with carpet and a wood stove, and the same room today. The stove came out and new floors went in through the whole house.
December 2021 – today
The story, in order
Three posts: the house the way we found it, the renovation as I posted it, and the house today.
01
022022 – 2023
The Woodbridge Renovation on Instagram, 2022–2023
Every Instagram post and story from the renovation, in order, with the captions as I wrote them.
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03October 2026
Woodbridge Before & After: From Fixer-Upper to Gorge Getaway
Every room, then and now, plus the fenced backyard that makes it the house to book when the dog is coming.
Read more »The house today
Now Gorge Getaway
Today the house is one of our vacation rentals near New River Gorge. It’s pet friendly, with a fenced backyard and a fire pit. If you’re staying there now, the green kitchen cabinets are the original ones. We just painted them.