The Official BEFORE Pictures

So we cleaned out the entire house, got Junk in the Box to pick up all the things we don't want, cleaned EVERYTHING, and finally had a blank canvas.  I've been talking about what the house looks like and offering a few pictures along the way, but here's the official set of before pictures for you!
Let's start with the wallpaper.  Rachel and I worked together to remove the wallpaper one weekend.  All we did was use the Piranha wallpaper scoring device, spray Piranha Wallpaper Remover all over the walls, get a good hold at the top, and pull each strip off from top to bottom.  It was so easy!  Here are some pictures of the wallpaper before...

These are in the kitchen, and yes...  that is 70s brown and orange!

This is the master bath with floral green and yellow wallpaper to match the awesome mint-green tile.

To the left you see the reflection of a nice sized window.  But the reflection is in a very retro, sliding-mirror, medicine cabinet.  Needless to say, it's gone now.


Last but not least is the bathroom I'll be using, aka the guest bathroom.  It had yellow floral wallpaper.  It was kind of pretty... but very dated, so now it's gone.

Removing the wallpaper was so much easier than I expected.  Now our kitchen will be nice an bright... and our bathrooms will be clean and calming. :)


Now let's take a look at the other "before" pictures.  





This is the foyer.  The home inspector said that our front door is the equivalent to today's interior doors.  Take a close look... we didn't even have a deadlock!  But we do now!!!
This is our living room, right off the foyer.  It has a huge window and lots of floor space.  I really love this room.  One day, my piano will be in there!











To the right, you'll see the dining room.  It looks kind of narrow... but is actually big enough for a normal sized dining table and a china cabinet.


Below is the foyer again.  Now you get a better view of the great shag carpet, the rot-iron rail, and the entrance to the kitchen.  The stairs will be a tan colored carpet, and we used Rustoleum's Hammered Spray Paint on the rail.

   

This is the guest bedroom.  

Below, and to the left is the office.  It's kind of small, but it has a window and a closet so one day it could be a really cute nursery! :)

Above and to the right is the master bedroom.  It's a great size!


We're so busy right now... painting, cleaning, and having things installed.  Can't wait to share more!

The Home Inspector came by this week.

What a very busy week this has been!  On Monday we drove to Savannah for my doctor's appointment and halfway back my air-conditioning stopped blowing cool air.  It was awful!  We drove the hour back home, then drove until we found an open car-repair shop.  By the time we dropped the car off it was almost dinner time, we were covered in sweat, and way behind schedule for the house.  We got to Augusta around seven or eight, dropped off a load of teaching stuff at the house, then went to have dinner and pass out at Marcus' sister's house.  On Tuesday the Home Inspector came by and boy did he have a lot to tell us!  He was really thorough, which was helpful, but GEEZ our TO DO LIST just got ten times longer!  Here are the major things we had to add:

   

• new roof
• new air-conditioning unit  (note: Our's is 34 years old... original to the house!!!)
• new water-heater
• clear all debris from roof and around house (there is TONS of pine straw)
• trim hedges that are touching the house
• PLUS all the things we already knew we were going to half to do like...
• paint
• replace flooring
• repair broken cabinets, drawers, doors, etc.
• replace light fixtures
• install new appliances
• replace patio door
• and the list goes on... and on... and on...

But we're excited because the guy from DuPont came by to measure our cabinets for the Corian solid-surface we're getting (see picture of our color choice below)... And we just got the news that our floors, appliances, and patio door are ready to be installed when we're ready... And our carpet will be installed next week!  So things are really moving now...

As a matter of fact... Marcus and I have been painting for the last two days straight.  The neutral chosen for most of the house is "Irish Cream,"  my bathroom will be "Mossy Bench," and our kitchen and den will be "Mandarin Glow."  I just love paint names. :)

They're so pretty... if I do say so myself! :)

Forgot to mention that the OFFICIAL BEFORE PICTURES will be posted very soon!  Are you ready?  

Before paint, before flooring, before installation of new awesome appliances, patio door, etc...

Oh what a day!

 This morning we met the guy from installment who was giving us an estimate for our bamboo floors.  Then, we made a 50% deposit on just the installment.  OMG... I knew that was going to be the bulk of our budget because we're doing over half of our flooring with bamboo... but geez... I was stunned!    It's gorgeous right?  All beaten up and rustic looking.  :)

We chose the floating bamboo floors in "Sufong Palace" from Lumber Liquidators but it is almost $5.00 per sq ft.  Crazy... right?  So I'm looking for something similar but a bit less expensive.

Then we went to Lowe's.  
We made the arrangements for estimates to be made for carpet on the stairs, upstairs hall, and all 3 bedrooms as well as for our patio door.  We also purchased our awesome counter-tops.  We chose the DuPont Corian, solid-surface counter in "Oat".  The awesome associates at Lowe's got us a great deal and in talking with Corian corporate got them to throw in a free sink! :)  I'm so excited to see it in place when our cabinets are completed.  (A sample is on the right.)

Shout out to the Lowe's on Washington Rd. in Evans, GA!!! 

Yarns A Plenty

Let me start off by saying that Rachel (my wonderful sister) and I successfully removed the wallpaper from the bathrooms and kitchen.  Marcus used all of his strength and brains to figure out how to remove the vanities... we still think they must have been glued to the wall, or welded.  And we all worked our tails off for two straight days over Memorial Day weekend.  The awesome thing is that we had AIR CONDITIONING!!! :)


And to preface the real point of this post, Marcus' grandmother used to knit and crochet A LOT.  I mean, over the course of the past six months, we've found so much yarn and crocheted blankets.  We've even found unfinished blankets, squares meant to be quilted together, you name it.  But I really had no idea what was in store for us.  Marcus told me that there was a closet of yarn in the garage.  Not just a small closet... It is a large utility closet with shelves of yarn from floor to ceiling.  Then we happened upon ANOTHER closet in the den.  Guess what was in it.  YARN!  Shelves of yarn organized by color from floor to ceiling.  So... we had to formulate a plan for the yarn.  My dear husband did a little research and found out that many people (not us) still find uses for yarn of all colors, materials, and textures.  Evidently, these people buy their yarn on ebay for up to $5.00 a skein.  I was flabbergasted.  Really?  Five bucks for some yarn?  But just because knitting and crocheting isn't for me doesn't  mean it's not for everyone.


Long story short... we decided to attack the smaller den closet first.  Four hours later... we had categorized 996 skeins of yarn by color and material.  That's over 3 refrigerator sized boxes full of yarn! I still can't believe it.  And we still have another closet full of yarn to go through.  That closet is twice as big!  Needless to say, we've got enough yarn to sell on ebay for at least a few years.  Amazing...


Pictures added 6/22/11.