Luckily, I had camera in hand and took photos before we started painting. The colors were garish. The carpets…blue shag, orange, plaid(ugh) were either glued to the floors, covered in petrified cat poop, or had disintegrated purple carpet pads under them that were the consistency of silly putty. The kitchen was disgusting. I don’t think the cupboards had EVER been cleaned. We chiseled years of gunk off of them with putty knives. My sis and I had a vision, though, and saw through all the awful decor and grime.

Warning: photo overload to follow…

Living room 1996, Mom & sis removing rug pad silly putty (took 3 days!)

Living Room, 2010

We did most of the work by ourselves, including the floors. We rented a sander and had the floors sanded and sealed within a week’s time. The main expense was for new wiring & some minor plumbing (which was done by professionals)…everything else was done inexpensively with old fashioned elbow grease and paint.

Living room, 1996. Dad cleaning out gunky fireplace

Living room, 2010

Stairway, 1996. Zoe cat peeking over the edge.

Stairway, 2010

Dining room, 1996. Gotta love that paneling!

Dining room, 2010

The kitchen was probably the biggest expense and wasn’t completed until 2008 – with new counter-tops, completely new wall of cabinetry, new stove and tin backsplash.

Kitchen corner, 1996. Ugh.

Kitchen corner, 2010

Kitchen, 1996

Kitchen, 2010

Bathroom, 1996, complete with blue shag carpet.

Bathroom, 2010. No carpet, white painted floors!

The bathroom has changed quite a bit. We took out the old clawfoot tub (please don’t hate…it was just too inconvenient with a baby and I was tired of whacking my shins on the side of it every time I climbed in!). We had a stall tub/shower installed, kept all the wainscoting and original towel bars and added wallpaper and a medicine cabinet. I’m still not terribly thrilled with the bathroom. My plan is to take out the tub/shower and have a tiled corner stall shower with glass enclosure and add a sink/vanity using an old dresser or sideboard.

My bedroom corner, 1996

My bedroom corner, 2010...with built in closet

There is only ONE closet (a small walk-in) in my house. Fortunately, my crafty father was able to build some cute corner closets in my daughter’s bedroom and in my bedroom.

The property has changed a great deal over the years with many new gardens, plantings, and even a white picket fence. I won’t bore you with all those photos.

Garage, 1996 - cleaning out the overgrowth with Mom

Garage 2010, with new doors compliments of Dad

Sorry, there are no exterior photos of my house. The exterior is in need of some major re-vamping. The poor house still has its yucky ashphalt shingles which will, hopefully, be removed to reveal old clapboard that I will tackle painting some year!

Happy birthday dear, old house! Here’s to many more years (and renovations)!!

*** Thanks to all my friends & family who helped along the way…it wouldn’t have been possible to accomplish this much without you!***

Even the moss looks lush after the winter drab.

Lots o’ blossoms!

Even Gus loves the sunshine.

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