"Before" ... Part Two

Let's just begin, shall we?



From left to right - the view straight in from the front door, the view just to the side (no entry to speak of, just walk straight in), and a shot of the dining room shot from the back of that far, big chair in picture #2. You can see the connection (sofa in #1 and #2, edge of dining table and full view in #2 and #3) between the photos, and it's easy to see that we need an entry of some sort ... a few things on the walls ... purpose to the rooms ...

I didn't bother to clean up first, because heaven knows I can't seem to get enough humiliation from the pictures alone. Why is it that I don't even see most things until they're set in celluloid - sorry, in pixels?



The kitchen needs so much work I could give it its own row, but I just don't have the space here. Cabinets (either I find a demo site for free or just reface), countertops (ditto - maybe granite tiles?), more storage (you can't see from here but there's a wall between the dining room and the kitchen so maybe a series of stud-cavity shelves or tear it down for an island), and flooring (no idea yet). I can only promise to give more details when I'm actually doing the work.

The second shot is the hallway looking into the living room (see the edge of the fireplace?). Ideally I'd knock the house down and fix the narrowness of it all, but that won't be possible. I have two French doors (a curbside find) that will bring more light and architectural interest, and I plan the usual (if predictable) gallery of family photos. New fixtures. And much closet work - that last shot is the closet (you see it just at your left in #2) in its current state. I have big plans for that space (but it's a secret).



Bedrooms, three of the four - I refuse to show you my office, which currently occupies the last one. It's too embarassing, even for me. The first two are (respectively) the grandkids' space and the guest bedroom. Both need only cosmetic, I think - change green to more neutral or even red in the first, put up some curtains and quilt racks in the other. By the way, the first bed is a yard sale find (not the mattress - never mattresses!) and the guest suite is all inherited (from a military friend who moved). There's a low dresser as well, and a mirror, that you can't see. I think I need to clear one of the bigger pieces out, I just don't know which one yet.

As you can tell, our house is small. Never is it more evident than in the master bedroom (photo #3). I'm standing against the south wall for this photo. Not big. But the Big Lug and I are, so we have a California King bed (longer than a queen, not as wide as a king). I decided on this shot to show that it's not just the hall closet that needs help - all the closets are this crappy system of painted plywood sliding doors, and all bedroom closets have that upper bit. I will tear it all out and find a way to get a really good closet organizing system in place, because the rooms are so small I have to get rid of furniture to open them up.



Oh, hell, where do I begin here? The first is (don't laugh) the master bath. I'm standing in the doorway. Seriously. This is going to be the biggest project, expense-wise. I can't even begin to figure out what I'm going to do. The vanity is the newest thing, because the old one (same as in pic #2) was rotted out - we replaced the shutoff valves and the piece in the same day. It's very small, which is why we need to go luxe - or bump out into the fourth (not shown) bedroom. Not cheap, not easy, not pretty - but since I believe in miracles, I believe it can be done! (Do you hear me, Mama Angel?)

The second is the guest bath. The wall on the left is the linen closet from the hall pics, and I have a few ideas for that, as well - Sarah Susanka's books, The Not So Big House series, has inspired me to no end. Since it has to be grandkid-friendly, I'll keep the vintage mint-green porcelain (I have a matching sink I found curbside years ago) and use what I've been collecting over the years to fix this up. I'm hoping there's small subway tile beneath that hideous vinyl crap.

The last one is the basement half-bath (it's going bye-bye with a bang!) but, no, I have no pics of the rest of the basement for you. I've already put some up in previous posts, so you know it's where we "hide" our junk - which is bad enough in thought only, trust me. I promise I will post pics as we work, not a moment before.

So. What do you think? Have I got my job cut out for me, or what? Add in my paying job (which may or may not get crazy, here, soon), and the fact that I plan to challenge my writing crew to a Bestseller Write-Off (and I already have some ideas), and I have quite a year ahead of me. If I can get my kids here to help (they have some debt to work off) and if I can pry the Big Lug away from Sports Center once in awhile, I have a shot at this. If I can get HGTV or DIY on the job, even for one project, I have a really good chance.

And if none of that pans out ... well, high school football players who need math tutoring, contractors with Juniors who need SAT work, anybody who wants to pass any test on the planet - I'll trade time with them. This place isn't going to fix itself up, is it?

Nah, even Mama Angel isn't that good.