Kitchen in progress

More photos showing the magic of paint. The blue was supposed to be greener, but it'll do for now. Since we're not laying new kitchen flooring until we have a wall removed, we decided to paint the floor with porch paint. It's withstood our traffic incredibly well, considering the two dogs and two cats who gallop through our house.

How good is your imagination? Here's our vision: Imagine the wall to Christian's left is gone, so the living room and the kitchen are open to each other. We'll gain about 2-3 feet of living room space, because the kitchen is currently too wide to be efficient. There will be an island containing the stove and room for 3 or 4 barstools. The refrigerator will move into the oven's old spot. Ahhh...the dream...

Excuse me while I powder my powder room

Cosmetics DO make a difference. This coming from someone who wears very little makeup. However, check out the changes in our small bathroom. For just the cost of oops paint ($5/gallon), a shower curtain, a window treatment and a piece of wall art I already had, we have a bathroom that no longer hurts our eyes with its mildew and oxblood walls.

Room to stretch

The great thing about the house is actually the backyard. Two thirds of an acre with a good mix of shade vs. sun. Half of the yard is fenced and shady (great for eventual entertaining) and the other half is sunny with potential for gardening (next year's plan) or building a guest house/office/whatever (the much later in the future plan). No, we still don't plan to have kids, but yours can come over and play in our yard. These photos show the view toward the house and the view of the sunny wilderness.

Bedrooms

The future master bedroom is a former one-car carport that was enclosed and transformed into a 70's paradise with cheap brown paneling. All we need is shag carpet and a glitter ceiling to complete the look. And yes, I have a disco ball. The three bedrooms in the original house all look the same, except the one painted Woodstock yellow - Snoopy's sidekick, not the music festival. What you don't see in the photo is the Snoopy Flying Ace mural on the closet door. Allan and all future guests...this is your room.

Contemplating leaky showers

As I stepped out of my leaky shower this morning, wondering if my neighbor could see in my window, I thought, "It's time to send out pictures of this lovely room." So here you have it, and the other (master) bathroom, which is under construction at the moment and can't be used.

Before we moved in...

Here are some of the very "before" pictures. Before we moved in, before we tore stuff out, before we painted, etc. Top photos are obviously the kitchen. Bottom left is the living room. Note the wall color...what I like to call mustard with tobacco spit smears. Bottom right is the dining area. Next post...bedrooms and bathrooms!

House front exterior

Here's the front of the house, but the photos are actually reversed. The front door has the little porch and the other door is to the left (it's the old garage, which was enclosed). Envision this with a porch across the whole front and screened-in area on the left...I do. But that's in the 10 year plan.