Before

So here it is, in all it's old-lady glory. The Before Pictures. Obviously, none of this stuff is mine (yuck) -- these are pics the realtor took when it was on the market. First, the lovely purple bedroom with smokey carpet. Underneath, I found beautiful hardwoods that will be refinished.

Up next, the awesome '70s basement, complete with faux wood paneling, which will be painted white. Eventually.

The bathroom. I'm pretty sure the former owner laid in the bathtub and smoked, because hoo boy was it nasty cleaning the ceiling in this one! But it's now sparkling clean. :)

This is the one I'm most excited about: the dining room. That ugly gold chandelier is going away, to be replaced with this little beauty in the link below (assuming Pottery Barn ever puts it on sale or gives me free shipping). And the walls are getting a nice steely blue paint job. http://www.potterybarn.com/products/camilla-3-arm-chandelier/?pkey=cchandeliers

Ah the kitchen, the focus of so many labor-intensive hours so far. Both the fridge and stove have been scrubbed clean of their grime. And the ugly flourescent light falling out of the ceiling on the first day was a nice little surprise -- although I'm not sad to see it go, to be replaced by pretty bronze track lighting.

And finally the living room, also to be painted a steely blue, with these amazing chocolate brown polka dot drapes (see link below). http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/HomeTextiles/tabid/980/CategoryId/146/ProductId/4260/ProductName/Polka-Dot-Window-Panel--Carafe-Brown/Default.aspx

So, there you have it. The good, the bad, and the UGLY. But soon enough, it will all be pretty. :)

...bought a house!

It's all mine! All 1,600 square feet, which at the moment is a hot mess. The crotchety old woman who lived there (hoo boy, she was grouchy at closing) must have smoked from the minute she moved in, until the minute she moved out. And never cleaned a minute in between. And so now, the cleaning has begun.

Up first: we tamed the jungle in the yard. It had been mowed, but not a single thing else in the four months the house sat empty. Then it was on to scrubbing the yellow stains off the "almond" appliances (seriously, who chooses "almond" or "biscuit" these days? Why do they even still offer it?). It literally took two days to clean the just the fridge and stove, but they're now sparkling clean, although still almond. :(

Next on the list: washing down the kitchen cabinets and all walls, ceilings, doors, trim, etc.; and ripping up the one bedroom with carpet laid over beautiful hardwood floors. Unfortunately that's the only room where the floors will be restored -- the previous owner covered all the other beautiful hardwoods with linoleum and "simulated wood", which is in too good a condition to tear up to see what's underneath. Then it's on to priming, painting, changing all the light switches and power outlets, changing out lights, ceiling fans, and on and on and on...

At the moment, it's a little overwhelming. Thank god for amazing parents to help with all the dirty work!