It's finally time to share our big news! We bought a house! This is not something we were planning or expecting to do (we were going to wait 3 years before we bit the bullet and invested) but after a major spike in rent (and I mean, major spike in rent) and the car fiasco, we decided it was time to look for a new place to live.
Fortunately, Ron and Sharon Riemink came to our rescue as the most wonderful realtors on the planet. Ron and Sharon are incredibly patient, thorough, and willing to share all their expertise and advice. A few weeks ago we looked at 5 houses and ended up falling in love with this one! Now, you must understand, this house is a fixer-uper (if you couldn't tell...) so don't judge us just yet. We are going to have a 3-4 week overlap of our apartment rental and closing date/ownership, so we are going to plow through some major projects before we move in. I'll be sharing that project list, as well as project updates and tutorials with you, as we begin the process.
But, without any further adieu, here's our house!
// the outside
The foliage is much more overgrown than shown in this picture (I snagged it from the real estate website), so we have an eternity of weed whacking, digging, and mowing ahead of us.
// enclose front porch/mudroom
This enclosed front porch is on the front of the house, it was an addition to the house, so the "front door" actually faces the street perpendicular to our addressed door. And yes, it's paneled and the floors are completely unfinished. Fortunately the windows, and all the windows in the house, are very new!
// dining room and living room
The dining area and living area sit directly behind the front porch and are open as one big room. Yes, the walls are sponge painted (it appears they sponge painted around the existing furniture, gah) and a ghastly rose pink color. However, a gem lies beneath the old, stained carpet--hardwood floors!
Although they need some MAJOR work, I am still so excited these floors exist.
// kitchen
Really, you're not allowed to judge the kitchen. The walls are faux brick, painted white, with blonde wood trim. The walls are, unlike the pictures suggest, actually a fairly bright blue. And yes, thank you for asking, why that is an apron wallpaper border around the ceiling!
// hallway/entryway
The hallway and entryway are going to need a lot of work. They are layered with 2 sheets of pressboard paneling plastered (plastered!) to the walls. The flooring in the kitchen and hallway/entryway is a cheap, very light wood pergo.
This door leads out to our carport. Can you see those steps through the door? They lead up to a beautiful, large deck! The second set of stairs leads down to the basement.
A random cut-out area. Hopefully this will be altered and can become a washer and dryer closet.
You're wondering about that machine in the wall? That was the previous homeowners first attempt at central air. Ha. Again, this device is plastered into the wall.
Thankfully, a half bath was installed on the main floor. However, it's far wall (the one with the towel bar and hand rail) is 2 layers of press board paneling, which will need to be replaced. The other walls are, thankfully, dry walled.
// stairwell
I do really love the arched doorway!
There's more hardwood under that carpet!
// master bath
The master bath is in fairly good condition. There is a brand new shower unit and we are planning to tile the floor, I think it should shape up nicely. We are also going to replace the light fixture, vanity, sink, hardware, and mirror. There is extra storage, shelving and cupboards, behind the door in the right of the first picture below.
There are holes in the floor where a plumber had to do some work. Thankfully, we're getting all the plumbing fixed and ripping up the floor and laying a new one!
// first bedroom
This bedroom is quite small and rather oddly shaped. However, the built in bookcases have stolen my heart. Hello future sewing room! Please notice the pretty hardwood, again.
// second and third bedrooms
Our biggest project is going to be combining these two bedrooms into one large room. We're doing this mainly because our queen size bed won't fit in either of the rooms as they exist now. We're leaving the two closets so we will each have one on either side of our bed.
See that door?
Yes, it's a creepy beer/party/storage room. We're going to wall it off.
The third bedroom has a bay window.
More DIY central air. In case you were wondering, there is central air in the house, so these units are just hanging out, not necessary.
// basement
If you haven't already guessed, we are buying this house from a little old lady who is currently living in a nursing home. She left a lot of her stuff. The basement has a lot of room for storage, though, which is great! The washer and dryer work, but we are thinking of investing in a new set. The furnace, air conditioner, hot water heater, etc., are all new!
We are hopefully going to be closing within the next 2 weeks, and it's been a flurry of paperwork, contractors, and meetings. We are excited, and ready for the challenge. Projects are going to be tackled one at a time, so I hope you're reading for a bunch of new house DIY and tutorial projects!
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