We neglected to take before and after pictures (which makes me sooo mad). My brother found a picture of our house from a few years ago on the Internet (sorry the quality is poor) and I took a picture of how it looks today. Talk a bout a transformation! And the inside transformation is just as amazing!
Before
After
I dont think I have ever blogged about the condition of our home when we bought it.
In short, it was beyond a mess. Being on only 1 teacher's income we knew that finding a home, that we could afford and would meet our needs/ wants, was going to be tough. I found this house on the internet and told our realtors that we wanted to see it. The first time we came, I told the realtors, "never mind, it is in really bad shape. It is beyond a fixer upper." We didnt even go inside.
After our search continued for another few weeks, our realtors approached us about this house again. Except this time, they were going to have a contractor buy it, fix up the inside, and then he would sell it to us. The house was so bad that the bank would not even do a loan for it, it required cash. So, the contractor bought it with cash, took 6 or so weeks to fix it inside, and then sold it to us at the agreed price.
He had to totally gut it. I think the only thing that stayed the same was the floor in the hall bathroom, both bathtubs, and the cabinets in kitchen (though they got a total facelift). The floors were ripped out completely, holes in the sheet rock had to be repaired, and don't even get me started on the smell... it was a huge job! To get the house at the price we could afford, we agreed that he would not touch the outside. So, he left the outside totally the same except for fixing some siding on the back of the garage and knocking down a dangerous deck in the backyard.
Anyway, I love a good fixer upper and we definitely had one in this little house. I am so thankful that the Lord, again, went beyond meeting our needs!
Seeing the transformation makes me cry! I remember being so sad that this house was what my daughter was going to have to live in - the smell was horrific! However, I give you ALL the credit for having the vision and the energy for doing all those little projects with three kids day by day....looking for a good bargain here and there. You are Grandma Dean & Grandpa Gordie made over and that is quite a compliment! The Lord is good to my Hannah!
ReplyDeleteOh! As I looked at the "after" picture...have you thought about painting the chimney a soft contrast to your siding???? :)
And for those reading this comment....this girl has single handedly built retaining walls and a firepit, painted gutters, hauled rock, planted sizeable shrubs...she's a work horse and I'm bragging on her!
ah, mom... so sweet! And, no, I have never thought of painting the chimney that is a good idea. I will have to think about that. Even though expensive, I cant wait until we have to replace the roof and I could put a nice black one up there!
ReplyDeleteAnd it is quite the compliment to be compared to GorDean, but you also have quite the awesome style/ vision.
LYMI
Your house is so nice that I can't imagine it in its original state! You have such a great eye for decorating! I am staring at the LONG BLANK wall in my den that needs photos. I need your help arranging them. Seriously, the wall is about 20 feet long. Miss you!
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