Front door Hallway

When you entered our home for the first time you would step back into time, literally. The shocking green on the walls to the horrible paneling that we later found out covered up holes where the kids had knocked thru fighting with one another was something really to behold. What really took the cake was the fake brick linoleum at the doorway that covered wood floors. Due to them being covered up trapping moisture there was a lot of damage, so we opted to put in ceramic tile. The tile wasn't the worst of it the carpeting that went from the front hallway thru the living room was something really to behold. The radiator was painted a dark brown which only helped in making the front door area really look like a nasty dark spot you didn't want to linger in.

We, after several attempts with color, have decided that the way to go in there is to lighten it up completely. The walls are a creamy white, the ceiling we went with an embossed fabric wallpaper (don't even go there again, my husband tells me!), the radiator has been scraped and repainted a bright white, the ceramic tiles are in various Mardi Gras shades from Home Depot as well as the lights from Home Depot, I just love them. The doors were changed out twice, once from the hollowcore plain doors that they had to sliding doors (but when a little miss entered the picture I decided that sliding doors and pinched fingers would not go hand in hand so well) to finally these doors I found on craigslist that someone had special ordered and oops wrong size. So when they oopsed we were so happy, the cost of these were cheaper than buying the builders grade from Lowes/Home Depot. These special order doors are SOLID! We found another door at Lowes that we special ordered to match for the door to the basement. Antique brass fixtures and the hallway is done as far as I'm concerned. We did bring down the mirror from the bathroom upstairs and had that framed in an antique style lookframe right after we bought the house and we have loved it in the hallway, it reflects the light and opens it up.

My my screen the photo colors aren't coming out as bright as they are in person.

Dining room

We took the dining room from a dark room with old paneling that splintered into pieces when we removed it to a color that I like to call eggplant, but not as dark. We removed the two layers of linoleum on the floor and installed ceramic tile. Tore off the sheet rock on the exterior wall to re-insulate, check the wiring and

Tore down the ceiling that was hiding wiring that led to theupstairs, it was a tangled mess up there and hidden junction boxes as well.

Our new lights: similar style from Lowes website

We chose a small single drop over the kitchen sink, a ceiling mount over the by the fridge and a three drop over the dining room table.

Compu carve

So hubby has had this compu carve for a little while now. He's done some signs for family members. pics of those to follow He made this box for our darling granddaughter, mind you this was a practice test piece of scrap wood. He needs some stress management therapy lately, it looks like this is where he will be doing it playing with his compu carve and working some more projects. This toy box has since been painted white. I'm looking forward to the projects that he will be making. A couple of years ago he made these boxes we put little wheels on to put under the tree with our names on them. He has to make one for the wee one and then we'll be ready for next Christmas.

This one was for my sister. The comment her boys made were precious when we gave it to her: they told her "mommy our house isn't white it is yellow". Too funny!

What color should it be?

I'm breaking this out of the basement and putting it to good use again. There is a little person in our house that would benefit greatly by having this come out of storage and put to good use.

The question is, what color should I repaint it. Right now it is a bright yellow. The fabric on the seat needs to be changed out as well, so outdated and worn.

This is sorta what it looks like! (found this image on the web) I will have to take a picture of the one I have but this is the closest I could find. Two steps that pull out to get easily up on the stool.

My kitchen is a light green color almost like a pale misty green with a fruit motif in the dining room and an eggplant color on the walls. Yes I know lots of color going on there. :) After all those years in apartments and military housing I vowed that the house would be full of color. :)

I like the idea of putting possibly vinyl on the seat portion and the backrest.

kitchen part 2

Where the pantry, washer and dryer were housed, we decided to move the washer/dryer into their own little closet.

The fridge took the place of the washer/dryer area, next to it became the enclosed wash room area.

The stove moved the other exterior wall so it could be exhausted outside.

Kitchen

From this to this:

The remodeling process, down came a wall and framing went up in it place to house the washer/dryer properly instead of having them next to the stove.

Living room

The old fireplace. We replaced this pretty much after our first fire and noticed that there was smoke coming into the family room behind it. When the mason came to do the work we discovered that whoever did the masonry the first time had it attached to nothing. A simple tug and it all came down, there was scorch marks on all the mantle wood on the underside and the wall. What a huge surprise that there was never a fire in this house.

We built the mantle and surround after finding that our fireplace was an odd size to begin with. No going back after the masons were completed with the work so we worked around that.

We decided to put in a bookcase where there was once a window to the outside, covered up by the family room addition of 1975. The window was still there and you can see it in the following picture with the train on the paneling. The big picture window is so nice to have but that poor metal awning is about to bite the dust. I love the awning but it is rather loud when it rains and the water is hitting it. So that might just have to come down this summer.

Updated photo to come.......

Yes that hideous rug is gone, the heater register is no longer "green" to stick out like a sore thumb. :)

french drains

Oh my goodness we had a time of it for the first couple of years with a flooding basement. Unfortunately there was never full disclosure that the basement would flood in heavy rain, had we known that we would have taken care of that first thing.

This is the process in which we found all the missing mortar.

As it looked when we bought it

We have started painting the aluminum siding of the house, put on a new roof and took down the shutters that house too many wasp nests. The little entranceway has new columns, railings on the porch and will have new handrails going down the stairs.

The bush out front is no longer there due to having to put in a new drainage system around the house when it rains it would POUR into the basement. We found after digging out around to put in a french drain system that the mortar was eaten away allowing for water to pour in and fill up the cinder blocks.

The stairs

We love having a staircase, even if it is mostly enclosed. I had dreamed of having an open staircase but that would take too much to do here, this one is nice and large so it doesn't make it feel all closed in to begin with.

The beginning

We purchased our home, me in NY and hubby here in VA finding a home. I saw pics of it but never laid eyes on it myself until we actually had purchased the house and walked in for the first time as a homeowner. Dan had been here pulling up horrible carpeting and cleaning up the floors.

This is the 2nd floor hallway looking at the attic drop down door. Notice the glowing green on the walls! That traveled down the stairs and thru the main hallway entrance downstairs. oh what fun. It was a Dow fabric grass wallpaper the first one they came out with back in the early 1970's or so. Painted after they grew tired of seeing the grass cloth I'm sure.

We close to lighten the wall colors just a bit so that they didn't stand out so much and let the light filter in.

Holidays

I can't believe that the holidays have snuck up on us once again. Only one week to Christmas.

I've had my shopping completed for some time but the house is not nearly decorated like it has been in years past. Although after much discussion tonight we have a plan for the new year of when and who and how things will get done next year. Let's all cross fingers that it actually works out better.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!