The House, so far

Here we go kids!  (I apologize ahead of time for the funky layout and formatting - Blogger and I got in some serious arguments trying to get all these pictures laid out.  Also, click on any of the pictures to see them bigger)

First - this is one of my favorite parts of the house - our front porch.  Right now it is dusty and so dirty, but I know it will be back to this again someday...

Another favorite feature is our new back yard!  We have so much room and the potentials are endless!  I know it doesn't look too special now, but it was even more of a dump when we bought this place.  That's the garden in that back corner - our tomatoes are almost ready and one of the pepper plants is blooming...just a few more days.

Next we're going to do some before and nows:

This is the living area on the right half side of the once-double (as in double shotgun)...yes, that is a staircase you see in the corner.  It goes outside and is so random and will be going away.

  

The studs where that wall is directly in front of the camera are coming out and this will be the living/dining/kitchen area - all open and airy, our favorite.  

The kitchen as it used to be on the right half of the house and what it looks like now - this is where the new kitchen will be as well

Scott at work when we were first getting started - some of these walls had THREE layers that needed to come out.  Cheap, icky wood paneling that was bowing, on top of sheet rock, on top of the slats and plaster. SUCH a pain and SO dusty

First room on the left side of the double before....

  

       
And the view now!  You can see all the way down the house now almost!  The bedrooms will be on this side.

And this is what the kitchen on the right side looked like - somewhat liveable.  Our favorite is the random pipe coming out of the counter and going up through the cabinet next to the sink...

We discovered beadboard in the back two rooms on both sides of the house and half way up another random room under the plaster.  We're trying to figure out what to do with it - how to use it to it's fullest potential.  The cabinets on this side were custom built in and are proving to be quite the hassle to get out.  A project for Friday I guess.  This area will be our master suite.









We're trying to decide what to do with the chimneys/fireplaces.  They are non working (illegal to burn in actually now) so are functionally pointless.  And they would be a lot of work to clean up and make pretty, and safe (they are crumbling in some areas.  However, we love the character they add all at the same time.  We have three - two in the front rooms and a small one where the original kitchens used to be

I know I skipped quite a few rooms in between, but it's hard to understand it all in pictures.  I'll keep adding more here and there as we go.