DIY : Welcome Home — A House Tour – Jessica Oliver – Medium
Welcome to our humble abode! This 1927 beauty is officially ours!
There are three things I will absolutely never do to this house:
1 — Paint over the wood trim. Seriously, it’s a crime in my book.
2 — Knock down the archway for a more “open concept” living/dining space.
3 — Replace the original doors or floors. They’re old, original, and solid.
While the bones are beautiful, there are definitely some things that scream “I updated this place in the 90s”.
Stenciled ivy over textured wallpaper? Check.
Sad gray carpet covering perfectly acceptable hardwood floors? Check.
I didn’t get a picture of the massive, mysterious stain in the corner of this room. I said it was probably the murder scene. The realtor said it was probably a spilled drink. Whatever it was, it was disgusting, and one more reason to dump the carpet in the garbage.
If you weren’t too distracted by the stenciled ivy, did you happen to notice this sconce with a fake candle on it? Why does this exist? More importantly, is it haunted?
Since we’ve rented for the past 4 years, we haven’t had the liberty of customizing our living space to our liking. Now, we can do whatever we want. Freedom tastes sweet…and expensive.
See, I have this problem with seeing potential in everything. Is the bathroom functional? Yes. Is it visually pleasing? No. It has potential, which is code word for “future project.” This is why we have split our projects into two lists — pre-move in and long term projects.
Pre-Move In Projects:
-Painting. About 50% of the house is beige/white, 50% dingy shades of country blue. Not surprisingly, I don’t like any of these.
-Ripping up the carpet. Luckily, the only carpet is in the finished attic space. It’s ugly and has collected bug carcasses and stains for at least 20 years. No thanks. We’ve peeked at the floors underneath and they are hardwood!
-Update the fuse box and outlets. Not a fun project, but the fuse box is old as dirt and needs to be replaced for safety. There are an abundance of outlets in the house, but, the wiring is hacked together and not grounded.
Long Term Projects:
-The kitchen. At best, it’s a cheap remodel. The existing square tile doesn’t fit the shape of (what I assume) are newer cabinets. The countertops don’t know if they want to be gray or lavender. The floor is laminate wood. It’s fairly inoffensive and boring.
-The bathroom. There’s plastic everywhere. The vanity and storage have a plastic finish. Even the beadboard is plastic. Exciting news — the faux wood laminate floors from the kitchen made their way in here.
These are is just scratching the surface. My mind races with the thought of installing a second bathroom upstairs, finishing the walk-in closet. But, let’s be honest, I’m still in the honeymoon phase with this place. For now, we’ll tackle one project at a time.
