And Now For Something Completely Different

Some people buy homes that are move-in ready, not a thing needs to be done to it.  From it's perfectly painted walls to it's shiny granite countertops all that is left to do is fill up the rooms with your furniture and maybe over pay for some ugly curtains.  When Thomas and I set out to buy our house we knew we had something a little different in mind.

Our wish list was pretty simple:

Within our budget

A large yard

A place that we can make our own

We viewed house after house, we even put in a few offers that were beaten out by other bidders willing to shell out more than we were.  Within 10 minutes of walking into The House we submitted an offer.  Within a few hours it was accepted.  It was ours a month later.  

We were expecting a few months of renovations and some inconveniences, but that was before all hell broke loose and our lives were turned upside down for a few months.  However, even while dealing with my mother's death we still made progress in the house.  When the weather turned colder outside we slowed down, and then me losing my job in December put off plans we had for the beginning of the year.  Thankfully we bounced back and continued with updating the house.  

While we were hoping to have already completed the updates by this point I am still happy with what we have accomplished.  

I give you The Before:

This was the first thing you would see as soon as you walked through the front door.  Paneling.  I loathe paneling.




Dark paneling, outdated sunken living room.




Awkward step up to the sliding door that cut off a good amount of the living room space.  Yard was dry and dead.

And now, The After:





Paneling removed.
The entire room required finishing the sheetrock behind the paneling.
Texture and painting of the living, dining, entry, and hallways.
The sunken living room was a problem, so we had the entire floor raised to meet with the kitchen and entry floor.
New hardwood floors and trim installed.

The only project we did not complete on our own was the floor raising and the sheetrock work. Seven months and a lot of work later, this is our progress.  While I still have some small things I need to add I am beyond proud of our work and our success.