In the Beginning

was a 1970s house with 95% of its original fixtures, floors, and wall coverings. When we were looking at houses, I saw this one online, looked at its horrible brown kitchen and quirky brick-walled master bedroom, and said "no way. we don't even need to look at this one. it's a lost cause." BUT we got it for a steal, it has good bones, and we're gonna make it gorgeous.

Since this is the beginning, I should say that "we" is me and my mom. Since I was paying half a house payment to rent a teeny glorified closet during the initial stages of my PhD, my mom and I decided it was a logical investment for her to put the down payment on a house that I could then live in for the rest of my degree and make the payments on (with the help of my roommate). More space for me, decent return on investment for her - win, win. 

So - here's what the house looked like when we bought it:

The super brown kitchen, viewed from the dining room. Note the wallpaper on the ceiling. Our working assumption at this point is that it's structural, and if we pull it down, the whole ceiling will come with it. Also, for those of you wondering if that's a matching formica backsplash - it's not. It's WAY better than that. The formica facade is actually continuous from the countertops all the way up to the backsplash - so that super great brown color is matched from counter to cabinet... high quality stuff for the 70's.

This is the breakfast room (and my lovely mother), as viewed from the ultra brown kitchen. Note the coordinating wallpaper. I imagine, no matter what structural changes we make to this house, wallpaper removal will be the most time consuming task we undertake.

This is the living room as viewed from the same location as the previous picture, but the photographer turned counterclockwise about 60 degrees. That wood paneling is so beautiful, but oddly enough - my roommate and I painted over it within a few months of moving in. I'll talk about that in another post.

Now - onto the really good stuff: the master bedroom.

Things of note about this room:

1. The entrance is directly off of the kitchen/breakfast area.
2. The carpet AND bathroom tile are powder blue.
3. The master bath was not an addition, as the brick wall might lead you to believe. Nope, when the house was built, someone with a lot of creative license thought to themself, "a load bearing brick wall, yes, with two separate openings into the master bathroom. no privacy, no remodel flexibility - extreme awesomeness. that's the ticket!"

And then there's this:

 The master bathroom. I know what you're thinking - where did we get those light fixtures, and are there any left for your remodel? How did someone make a light fixture interpretation of a bucky ball? The questions could go on forever, just like the timelessness of these larger than life glass prickly pears. My roommate and I keep talking about bedazzling them (or pizazzling them for any Malcolm in the Middle fans), but we're just not sure the world could take so much awesomeness in one tiny space. What you can't see here is that the shower area is just a shower - there is no bathtub in this master bath, and the toilet has its own closet. I suppose that was the solution for the no doors issue presented by the fabulous brick wall - put the toilet in a closet. 

Below is the 'dining room' which I firmly believe should be converted to a fourth bedroom, or at least a nice enclosed office.

Check out those gorgeous 'rustic white' support columns. They're all over the entryway/kitchen/living room transition area. AND, as recent attic investigations have revealed - THEY ARE STRUCTURAL :( 

The second bathroom:

We were so sad that it didn't have the same light fixtures, but it does have the classy brass and plastic faucet fixtures and integral gold-flecked plastic shell sink!

The things we love about this house:

1. The neighborhood is fabulous. Trees, trees, trees, old people (not drunk college students), and there's only one entrance into the neighborhood.
2. After looking at prices in our neighborhood this year, for even less updated homes, we got it at A STEAL two years ago.
3. There are lots of built-in cabinets that will look great with a fresh, well done coat of paint.
4. It'll be a showstopper when we finish remodeling.