Curb Appeal

Ok, so this is a filler post since we don't have alot  to show in the way of tangible progress lately. Immediately after making an offer on the house, we got a little overzealous and explored options to add some curb appeal to the house. (If only renovations were as qiuck as they are in photoshop)

Sometime in the '60's the owner of the house decided to "modernize" the front porch by removing the tapered columns and putting in the faux wrought-iron "gems" that are there now. There is also a cheap hardware store light fixture to top it off. The decorative shutters and bright red trim aren't helping either. So, after our bedroom / bathroom renovations are complete, this is the next project on the list.

So far the only thing that we do have for the porch restoration is a period correct light fixture sans glass globe (thank you ebay). It's sitting in our growing pile of house parts in the basement.

Weekend Warriors

Nicole's parents came to lend a helping hand on the master bedroom/bathroom renovation this weekend. Getting the framing for the bathroom and closet was first on the list of things to do, then plumbing. We got a lot done and learned a lot. Very excited to see the layout of the room coming together, and it was a fun weekend visit with the parents.

Framed out bathroom and closet.

Adding the plumbing to the shower.

Ripping up the linoleum tile with Mom.

Mike's first cut on his new saw. Our house warming gift!

The before picture.

The after.

We stripped 4 salvaged doors for the upstairs, they came out great!

Thanks for all the help!

Bathroom Renovation - Inspiration

Bathrooms have to be one of the hardest rooms to decorate and renovate. You have to organize so many functional items into the smallest room in your house. Having a clean slate has been fun, but also had its challenges. We are deciding what is the best way to organize the door, vanity, shower and hopefully linen closet. Moving the toilet is not a option, so we have to work around that as well. Picking out the tile, colors and decor is the fun part. I couldn't help but marvel at these finished bathrooms.

Bathroom Inspiration.

Master Suite Renovation - Before and Demo

When we bought the house we knew the master suite / bathroom was lacking, but I don't think we realized how much until we started trying to use it. The closet is very small, well small considering my love for clothes, purses, shoes, but whatever its small. The half bathroom was a good thought and we are very grateful someone took the time to plumb it, but it stops there. The vanity sink is one huge watering hole that splashes everywhere when you attempt to do anything with it, so its pretty much a room with a toilet. So again days into moving in renovation begins. At least no one can say were lazy.

That's where the waterbed would have went, and the lava lamp right over there.

And the tile comes off the ceiling.

Meet Hazmat Mike.

He said he was smiling under his mask -- I don't believe him.

This is a picture we found in the attic, The back reads Dennis Juella. We think he picked out the green linoleum tile.

Master Suite Renovation - end of weekend reno. 1

That is where the bathroom was on the left.

Highlight #1 was we found salvageable wood under the green linoleum tile. We think they will be gorgeous refinished.

This is our backyard currently. The backyard barbecues may have to wait, unless everyone is up to date on there tetanus shots. Which is funny because Mike and I were trying to recall when we last had ours.

Staircase - Way Before

It took us 48 hours before curiosity got the best of us and we began tearing at the corners of the carpets upstairs to just take a "peak" at was underneath. And the next thing we knew the entire upstairs room had no carpet and we were looking at the gorgeous potential of the hardwood floors underneath. Sure some peculiar owner before us had painted over some areas with white paint (still debating what could have encouraged someone to think that was a good idea), but completely salvageable. This led us to the stairs; were they hardwood as well? Oh the curiosity is killing us, so the next night we began on the stairs, luckily the carpenters who laid the carpet used copious amounts of staples to ensure the carpet was hurricane proof. We eventually got to the landing... oh no water damage. That will have to be replaced, but the rest of the stairs are in great condition and we are so excited to get them refinished, most likely they will have to be refinished in a slightly darker color. Too bad that will be the very last step in our Up Stairs Renovation, but here are the carpet shots and then after we ripped them out.

These are the tools we used to remove the carpet.

 

Our final vision for the stairway although this portion of the project is very far away will include the following. 

* refinishing wood floors, replacing the landing floor boards due to damage. Need to find reclaimed wood in similar grain and color.

* opening staircase which was closed in at some point, include period correct banister throughout staircase to upper level.

* possibly do lower portion of wall in period correct wallpaper and paint the rest. 

*Add lighting in ceiling if possible (depending how much we care at end of master suite renovation). Change out hideous 80s era lighting before I "accidentally" smash it.

A Home of Our Own!

Closing date March 4th, we finally found the home of our dreams and experienced the move of our nightmares. We moved in anything we could carry, in the pouring rain and freezing cold. Having Nicole's car battery die, was the icing on the cake. It was worth it to finally have a place we could truly call home. The next day we had our furniture moved in, and got everything in place. We already feel at home!

We have been waiting for this day for such a long time and are so grateful so finally be here, thanks to everyone for there support and love. We are so excited to have a place to call our own and make our own, we will try and update this blog regularly to keep everyone informed on whats going on.