For two years now, we've talked about whether or not to try to move up into a larger home. The economy being as bad as it has been, we have chickened out on more than one occasion but not before doing a little annual home renovations here and there. This time we are serious.
When we first bought our house in March of 2005 we had a hard time finding home insurance because the roof was so old, there was no documentation of the last time it was replaced. The floors were hardwood, but bared from years of wear and tear. The kitchen was doable, but had verdigreen marble laminate counter tops, a pesky white porcelain sink that stayed stained, and matching stick up plastic laminate posters that were also verdigreen marble. To match that lovely green someone had painted the kitchen walls adobe orange. It was lovely.
The master bedroom had cheesecloth from what we assumed was a grasscloth removal project gone bad. There was also a random door jamb that protruded from a bad drywall job in both the master bedroom and what is now Little Philip's room. We assume this was the original back door to the house before the addition of a third bedroom (circa 1975 maybe?). To divert attention from the cheesecloth, the previous owners apparently sponge painted orange and yellow on the walls, and added purple drapes to complete the Mardi Gras look.
Since then we have:
Replaced the roof
Replaced and expanded the deck
Refinished all the hardwoods in the house
Replaced the hot water heater
Gutted and renovated the master bathroom
Added crown moulding to all rooms but the kitchen and baths
Put up wood fencing facing the street
Replaced the counter tops, sink, and all appliances in the kitchen
Replaced the cracked sink and fixture in the front bathroom
Replaced old ceiling fans and fixtures in most every room
Painted over knotty pine in the laundry room, and replaced the flooring
Painted every single room in the house, even changing colors ourselves a few times
All of the above projects were done out of love for our family, with the hope that yes, our house will sell quickly this spring but also, if it should not sell, that is is exactly what we wanted to do for ourselves in our home to make it more livable for us.
We love our little house and we hope someone else will fall in love with it too.
