How we met our house

October 2014

We’re approaching the one year marker when we “met” our house. Looking back through our old gchats, I got lost over my lunch break, reliving the sporadic rollercoaster ride that was selling, moving, buying, and moving again. This time last year, we were cozily living in a one bedroom apartment, our stuff crammed into a storage shed and garage, a mattress squeezed into a tiny bedroom, and boxes were our decor.

Cleaning out the apartment

The ranch had been sold, a harrowing process with an agent definitely not looking out for our interests. We had walked away from a brick ranch that needed more repair than we could handle. We were tired but determined to move on. The apartment was nice, a good price, and life was simpler, too. Granted, you couldn’t watch TV while laundry or dishes were being washed and our upstairs neighbors had some interesting arguments, but overall, it felt a bit like a vacation. Of course, there weren’t any vacation-like things to do, especially in November (unless you count lying on the couch). But after months and months of constantly keeping a house in perfect “show” condition, looking after less than 900 square feet was … kinda nice.

A surreal change: The Ranch House

One year ago, we were living in a one bedroom apartment, trying to move past the dream of renovating a brick ranch on a double lot. The amount of money it would take to fix windows, electric, roof, and plumbing (before we even got to the fun makeover stuff) was beyond our reach. Then this morning over coffee, I stumbled across a new listing. "Our" little brick ranch had been completely overhauled and there's an open house tomorrow. Totally going!

The house when we first saw it

 

I'm going to share some before and afters, because holy cow!

just another "lazy" weekend

Over the past year, we’ve been pretty guilty about “not utilizing” our weekends to start, continue, or finish projects. We can dally like champions! And sometimes we transform into weekend warriors. This was -- unexpectedly -- one of those weekends.

So what did we accomplish this weekend?

1. Painted the green room trim.
2. Bought and selected paint and hardware for new foyer closet doors.
3. Removed the last wallpaper from the dining room.
4. Developed a game plan for the dining room.
5. Cleaned the foyer ledge … ew.
6. Mike painted his kitchen shelf … for the last time.

And it started with closet doors. The foyer closet doors to be exact. Check out these louvered beauties.

Out of nowhere last week, Mike and I got the urge to paint them. Maybe because it’s getting cold out and we’re seeing it more as we reach for our coats. The hardware could also use an upgrade (especially because the knob plate on one was missing, not an uncommon occurrence in this house of random oddities). While contemplating hardware and paint, we noticed the slats were extremely dusty and the thought of cleaning and then painting them--UGH. Our brains stopped right there. Even without knowing prices, we figured there was a time/cost benefit to getting new doors.

So, off we traipsed to Lowes and Menard's to look at bifold doors, hardware, and caulk for the siding (Battle of the Bird). For $39 each, we got two sets of pre-primed panel bifolds, and then splurged on some nice oil-rubbed bronze “dummy” door handles. Plus, Menard’s was doing its 11% rebate, so it was a no-brainer purchase. We leaned the panels against the hall wall, dreaming of the weekend and our glorious transformation.

What's next?

What’s next?

This is the question hovering over our shoulders. The trees are bursting red and orange, we’ve had the most incredible fall weather I can remember, and the only productive thing we want to do is walk around the lake. Or snuggle on the couch and catch up on TV shows or books. It’s also a lot easier to do these things and avoid making a decision on what to do next, because almost every room is in need of our attention.

So, I'll put my thoughts in order room by room. Today ... the dining room. Remember how we inherited it?

Dining room during a walk thru

fall and evil birds

It's fall! And beautiful by the lake. Our tree is the first in the circle to go, apparently. It was a bit of a shock, since for the past 6 years or so, we haven't had to rake anything. Our baby trees had so little to offer.

So we were unprepared and rakeless when the tree started dropping her leaves. We got some of them in the last mow of the year. The plan was to let her dump everything and then rake once, but on Tuesday, with only half the leaves down, our entirely front yard was completely covered and spreading into other yards. So, I bought a rake and five yard bags at Lowes (ignorantly thinking that'd be enough).

Halfway through, I went back for more bag packs. We wound up filling 10 bags before calling it a day. On the bright side, the weather was beautiful and we got some exercise. And I got to jump in a big pile for kicks.



Yesterday was another beautiful fall day. I went for a walk, Mike watched football. When I came back, there was a strange tapping noise coming from the west wall. I went out to investigate.

Be our guests ... in this full house

Last time we had weekend guests, this is the awesomeness that awaited them. A soothing, luxurious stay in our Painter's Tape Blue guest room. 

Alas, the good times had to end and we had to get our paint on. The room isn't completely finished as far as decorating and tweaks go, but we think tomorrow's guests will approve:

upstairs hallway: a fresh look

Remember this hotness? Our upstairs hallway and foyer was your standard cream/light beige, which isn't awful, just bland (especially with the lovely beige carpet). Once we had started painting rooms, the scuffed hall walls (say that three times fast!) were really starting to bother us. Plus, the trim was worn and scuffed and warranted a fresh paint job, too. So, while I worked in the guest room, Mike primed the hallway trim.