Hello, dear readers. I apologize for taking so long in writing, but here it is, the before.
For those of you that don't know, I live right next door, in a house that is virtually identical to this one, except it is inverted, like a mirror image. It is a condo complex, consisting of 23 townhomes, and this home looks like it might be permanent for me. It will be mine, no renting, no depending on anyone, no significant other to share it with. Mine.
The house is lovely! It has 12-foot high ceilings in the ground floor, wonderful use of space, it is narrow, yet it doesn't feel cramped. The thing is, its boring. Beige. Safe. Lacks personality. If it is going to be mine, I want to make it my own, and I just don't mean transferring the deed. It is going to have my stamp on it and reflect my personality (well, my personality right now, as it seems to change and evolve). So, without further ado, here are pics, lots of them!
This is the entry foyer, the first thing you see through the front door.
Going up the stairs... I love the wrought iron bannister!
Living/dining room. This is a long rectangle, and it will house my living and dining rooms. My furniture is chocolate brown (a story for some other time), and I plan to infuse color into this room (and the whole house).
Family room. This room has lots of light! However the wall that leads into the kitchen has the doorway right in the middle! Not good. So the doorway will get moved to the right, so I can have bigger wall space to put a credenza with my TV and entertainment stuff.
Ahhh, the kitchen... This one is extremely personal. You see, I worked for about 7 years (two different showrroms) designing and selling kitchens. I drew plans, helped make material combos, helped clients choose cabinets, countertops and appliances, oversaw installation, yet, in all the houses I have lived in, the kitchen was already done, it was in good condition, and there was no budget to change it. I had to comply to what others had done, in one of the parts of the house that mattered the most to me.
This time, I get to make it mine!!! YAY! Due to budget restrains, the cabinets are staying, but they will get a facelift. I get to have granite countertops, choose pretty tile, get better stainless appliances, and a range that will not have just one temperature (GRRR) that will bit burn my baking!
The powder room. This is as bland as it gets! I chose a gorgeous gold tile that is really shimmery and this one is getting a major overhaul!
This is the view coming from the stairs, these are the kids' bedrooms. There is an existing bathroom which will be enclosed in DD's room, and DS is getting a new bathroom where the closet is, inside his room.
DD's bathroom. This is getting a facelift as well.
The master beedroom. As bland and boring as the rest of the house. I plan to paint a lovely shade of blue-gray and spruce it up!
Master bath, which will get renovated as well with all new tile, fixtures and accesories.
And here is me soothing Sally. Sally is having a nervous breakdown. Poor thing was scared when we walked in the empty house and she started jumping, wanting to look out the windows. Somehow, looking the window soothes her. Go figure.
Now that they are gutting the place, she is panicky! I just hope she survives the remodel without getting a heart attack!
Remember the family room? It had a 36" wide doorway right in the middle of this wall, and a tiny wall area on each side. They just opened up a big hole in the wall, and they are bringing in new masonry block to close off the original doorway, making the new doorway to the right of the room, getting me a good amount of wall space to put nice furniture for my TV in.
The kitchen. I spent two hours on Friday with the electrician, moving outlets and planning stuff. See my naked walls!
New oulets already moved!
DD's bathroom, naked as well. Now that I see the space, I'm thinking I might want to move some things, basically, make the shower stall smaller and give her more sink space. She will thank me later!
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