The first thing I did when I moved in was repair the chimney and get some insulation blown in the attic floor and overhangs. The insulating contractor told me the house was beautiful and pointed out some details; how the first section clap board was larger then the middle section and that was intentional and a trait for these old houses. And the shingles on the 3rd section. Normally, back in 1910, each section would be painted a different colour. He also pointed out the intentional woo along the middle exterior corner. He made me like my house more.
I am a woman, mom, daughter and sister. I don't have a lot of experience fixing things up myself, but I like working with my hands and coming up with ideas to make this space intentional, pretty and homey. I have worked with several contractors for different jobs and all has been good and a wonderful learning experience. One winter I needed a stump crushed. Found a stump crusher and after he did his work and we got to talking, I showed him my kitchen and we started to fix this up together.
When I find a blog that interests me I like to scroll through their most recent posts, or widget to some suggested posts. And I like to see what they are working with, the bigger picture, the before and after, or at least, progress pictures. The HOME page.
SO I better update my home page, for now Ill leave you the original, in jest, home page. If you click on the links you will get a better idea, but hopefully I can put better before and after pictures all together.
The Vestibule / Foyer.
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| Dec 2010 |
The Kitchen, the current work in progress:
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| Now! |
The Parisian Balcony:
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| Spring 2012 |
The Backyard & pea gravel patio:
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| Fall 2011 & ongoing |
The little (and only full) Bathroom:
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| Winter 2009-2010 |
The Living Room:
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| Move in Day 9/2009 |
The Fireplace - to paint or not?
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| Ongoing thought. |
I signed the papers and closed on my birthday, in the month of September, exactly 43 years after I was born. In fact, almost to the hour. I was also 4 mths pregnant. I was sort of looking for a home to buy, sort of, in the way that I was very selective of what I looked at. I skipped a lot of houses that I liked as I didn't want to pay more then a certain amount. I also skipped a lot of homes that were in my ballpark range. My criteria 1) cost - considering the absorbent taxes in this county, which can double the monthly payment 2) livable, 3) could sell or rent if I had to leave quickly, 4) spoke directly to my instincts and in my neighbourhood. Actually my criteria was bigger then this, 1/2 bath a must, porch / some outdoor living, driveway, 3+bedrooms, ... but since I wasn't really looking it just had to click.
One Victorian popped up. Super cute, lots of cosmetic work. But the owner, who was renting the home to students, rejected my offer because of a contingency. A few months later I found another house that met my criteria. Cute but outdated. Livable and affordable. The owner was an older woman whom lived there for 30 years. She was moving on. The house was perfect for me, my son and soon to be baby. AND it met all of my criteria.
Prior to that, the first home I bought was in the month of July, 2005. I had to sell it 2 years and 10mths later. And as I write this, it is again, up for sale. I have kept my eye on it. The owners, as I recall, student doctor interns, priced it 20,000 more then what they paid for it. The price went down 10,000 and it is now down again, 500 less then what they bought it for. I do hope some one loves it soon. I was lucky to sell it just before the market crashed. And I was very lucky to have two interested parties, bidding on it. It cleared the asking price and $4000.00 more. I decided to put it up for sale 3 mths after our company had gone under. Three months later the house sold and, a day after that the long awaited for work contract came through. I went through with the sell of the house, found an apartment and stayed in this city.
One day I will return to my homeland, but for now, Ill dabble away at this buttery yellow house.
