Our Home - Downstairs {Befores & Afters}

Living in a 1905 Victorian is not without it's share of headaches.

What you think will be a small project, turns into a big one

Or

You start a project, only to stop because 

something big and expensive pops up that has to be done.

We didn't actively start really working on the interior 

of our house until 18 months ago.

The exterior...

Eh.

It's on The List.

I'm thankful to own a rare picture of what our house 

looked like after it was built, thanks to the previous owner.

The picture above is how our house looked in the early 1900s.

And when we moved in...

Some earlier owner tore off the porch, 

took the railings off from around the center dormer, 

and covered up the third story windows.

Plus, they painted it a lovely shade of Carolina Blue.

While I was a Tarheel fan when I lived in the south, 

that color on a house doesn't do anything for me.

Believe me, there are times I look at it and think, "Dear God, why????"

LOL!!!

(I have to laugh or I would probably cry.)

 When we bought this place, we rolled up our sleeves

and had to do the boring, expensive stuff first.

Like new windows.

33 to be exact.

24 existing and 8 new construction....

Replacing the ones that had been covered in the dormer and the cupola.

We installed a $14,000 boiler system to heat our house, 

because $500 a month  in propane was killing us 

during the winter months.

Urethane insulation was applied to seal the basement 

and 

hide all those ugly cracks.

New hot water heater.

New Water Softener.

And finally, two years ago we installed central air.

We do nothing on credit, only what we can afford 

when we can afford it.

It's a looooooong process.

Thank the good Lord that new siding is slated for early fall.

It's been a long time coming!!!

I don't suppose any of you want to chime in as to what colors????

This has been an ongoing discussion for years now.

And we're still no closer to knowing what we want to do.

Ugh.

Anyhoo...

The Interior.

Today I thought I'd share with you some of the progress,
as well as the rooms that have had NO progress.

(And maybe to make myself feel better about 

what we've accomplished in the mere 18 months, 
since we started on the interior - or to just make me 
more depressed at what we have left to do.  LOL!)

Today, I'll show you the downstairs.

Tomorrow, the upstairs.

:)

When you come in the side door, this is what you see...

This is my next project.

Entrance:

Hating this area does not even come close to how I feel about it.

There's a very tiny entrance way, only big enough for one person.

Literally, if the exterior door is open, you cannot get into the office.

(Which is why the picture is so bad.)

To your left is a doorway to the office 

and to your right is a doorway to the kitchen.

And to top it off, the floor opens up to the stairway for our basement.

I have no clue what to do with it.

HELP?????

KITCHEN:

The kitchen is the bane of my existence.

I was an idiot and removed the upper part of the built in hutch.

Don't shoot me.

LOL!

And I removed the wainscoting.

Put the gun down!

HA HA HA!

In my defense, that was well before I realized the beauty of old.

I'm now begging Scott to  rebuild it, 

since I kept all the doors and hardware.

At least I wasn't stupid enough to get rid of it all!

The kitchen is currently an "In Progress" project.

It has been dry walled and painted.

The cabinets have all been replaced.

I need new counter tops and floors.

And no, there are no after pictures because 

I wouldn't want to horrify you.

Although here are some of the demo...

(Savanna took two of these and she did so in B&W.)

I don't know what I was thinking to rip out some of the stuff that I did!

Makes me want to smack myself, now.

ARGH!

Next Up...

BACK PORCH

Okay...  FYI...  That is not my crap.

LOL!

I took these pictures when we looked at the house, before we bought it.

The back porch would be another one of those "In Progress" projects.

I've ripped out that hideous wood paneling 

and pulled up the nasty carpet, 

so you can see the great wood siding and porch floor beneath...

But that's as far as I've gotten.

It's THE project as soon as it gets warm.

No insulation makes it tough to do anything in the winter - 

and it's ungodly hot in the summer.

The time to do it is in the Spring or the fall, 

and it always passes me by.

I'm seeing white walls and Gray painted floors.

A chandy.

And turning it into a Mud/Laundry Room.

Right now, I have a row of lockers for the kids, 

that we scored after they consolidated a local school district 

and closed down a school.

And I admit, the porch has become
 the "Crap Catcher" for now.

But, it'll be a great space once I get it done.

LIVING ROOM

This is how our living room looked shortly after we moved in:

Here is what it looks like today:

I have so many plans for this room...

Painting the floors.

Painting the walls.

Painting the trim.

*sigh*

It's on "The List".

For now, I'm somewhat satisfied.

This room was originally the dining room, 

but it's the only room in the house big enough 

for a couch and TV.

The layout drives me nuts

and I'm always eyeballing how I can change the furniture placement 

to make better use of the space.

I've yet to hit on anything that I feel is right.

Any suggestions????

THE OFFICE:

The "Office"  started out as the dining room.

I'm not quite certain the purpose of it before.

A sitting room???

The floors were painted when we moved in...

WITH WALL PAINT!

Who does that????

So, every time we pushed our chairs back from the table,
it took a layer of paint with it.

The floors have since been sanded and stained, 

however they're pine and have not held up very well.

That, and the contractors were incompetent.

They will be repainted...

With FLOOR paint.

Today, this room is our "Office", 

which is pretty much just a fancy term 

for where our computer is.

LOL!!!

This room is also where I stash my craft stuff.

I promise you, that cupboard is not nearly that organized now.

LOL!!!

When I re-did the office last January, 

this is what the mantle looked like then...

It changes constantly throughout the year.

To see it now, you can go HERE.

I'm currently hemming and hawing over the space 

where the fireplace should be on the mantle.

Chalkpaint?

Hearth?

It too, is on the The List.

DINING ROOM

When we moved in, I referred to this room as the parlor.

I'm fairly certain it's what it was originally called.

My kids were perpetually confused 

as to what room I was talking about 

when I started calling it the dining room. 

It is another room that is insanely hard to decorate 

because of all the doorways, windows, and the stairs.

And it's another room that is currently "In Progress".

The china cabinet, to my everlasting regret, is sold.

However...

I have another smaller one in the shop 

that is waiting on me to have the energy to tackle.

It's smaller and a better fit for the space.

I added this sideboard last summer.

The book case is one thing that I have a hard time decorating 

and it's currently sitting empty.

And while Scott did take it out and fix how it was rigged
(all the shelves were different widths.)

He has yet to trim it out.

I've had the trim and the wainscoting bought since last April.

The new front door has been bought for 4 years.

Those would be one of those projects that is waiting on Scott.

I've been considering posting his cell number on here 

for y'all to call him, since my nagging isn't getting me very far.  

LOL!!!

As soon as those are done, the floors are getting a coat of paint...

Another contractor fail on the re-doing of the hardwood floors.

One of the many reasons we try to do things ourselves.

We've been burned one too many times by shady contractors...

Windows...

Floors...

Furnace...

Air Conditioning...

Is there any contractor out there that still care 

about quality of work and still has some integrity?

They're few and far between around here evidently 

because we've only found one... The Plumber.

LOL!

The very last room is a small bathroom
that the previous owner had installed under the stairs.

DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM

It was well done and I don't have a whole lot of problems with it.

Well, except for the blue sponge paint.

All it needs is a different coat of paint.

I'll get to it...

Eventually.

Sometimes I get so frustrated over lack of progress.

I want things done NOW.

Like...

Yesterday.

But, I suppose 2 partially completed rooms and 

1 fully completed room isn't too bad in a year and a half.

I admit, it's overwhelming.

But, if I can just tackle one room at a time,

one day it'll all be completed and well worth it.

I hope.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the tour of the upstairs!