I'm going to post some pics to give you an idea of the condition of our house before any improvements are made. As I finish each project, I'll post before and afters, as well. These first photos are of the living room. Can't wait to pull up that ugly carpet and fix the stuccoed walls!
Picture, instead, pale grey-blue-green walls, soft curtains and hardwood floors with a large, pastel area rug and a white sofa with two aqua swivel chairs for a start.
This is the main hallway or hub of the downstairs and will be my formal dining room as well. Same wall color as the living room (which forms an "L" shape together with this room) and will also have white or pastel furniture. That room that opens straight ahead here is what I'd call a "bonus" room. It was probably used as an office or tiny den and has no door on that wide opening. It has acceptable grey carpet and I will paint the walls pale pink. This will be my art room and computer room. The room you can see behind that one will eventually be the utility room. It needs real work, due to rain damage from a leaky roof. Leaky roof will be replaced first.
Master bedroom with dirty white carpet (again, hardwood underneath to be refinished), dingy painted paneled walls....but a whole wall of closets. I don't need that much for my clothing, so this will catch some of the overflow from my tiny sewing room for fabrics and other things. This room will be a slightly deeper tint of grey-blue-green and my furniture will be shiny white enamel.
My tiny sewing room--I mean really small. I think the area, not counting a small entry way by the door, is about 9' x 9'. Yes, I did say it was small. More hardwood floors underneath this carpet. Walls to be painted very pale pink. BTW, ALL the window sashes need paint. That's right, they are unfinished wood on the inside :( Fortunately, though, they are double paned replacement windows, so we don't have to be replacing them!
Truly ugly kitchen. I just hope the appliances work (there's even a dishwasher tucked between the fridge on the right and the counter). Sometime next spring we will move the washer/dryer out to the utility room where they should be and move the range to that wall where the washer currently is, so this kitchen can be used as it should be. There will be plenty of room for a large island or a small one and a small table. We will, of course, do new counter tops, paint cabinets and replace vinyl floor. I just have to live with it through this first winter and as long as it's functional, I'll be fine with that.
When you come up the stairs, this is one end of the space, and it's all open, but the other side has a completely closed-in bedroom, with a door that shuts. It will be a perfect guest room. No picture yet, but the entire upper floor has this beige carpet.. The part you see here will just be for storage (mostly extra fabrics.)
Back view. That small room on the left is the utility room. The little metal shed is padlocked and we are hoping (hah!) that when we obtain the keys we will open it up to find a lawn mower in there. Wouldn't that be nice? Since they didn't leave anything else loose in the house, except appliances, it's highly unlikely. The yard is partially divided by the fence, so I'm guessing they had a dog. The back side is a 6 foot high privacy fence, so that's nice, but the entire backyard space is shade for most of the day. It's great for a cool spot, but not real conducive to veggie gardening. I'll have to do some research to see what I can grow in mostly shade. This might also wind up being a space for chickens to free range...eventually.
Once we get the keys on Aug. 10, I will get a few more photos for you. The bathroom needs NO work...it's all ceramic tile walls and fiberglass shower. It's mostly white, with a burgundy band of color, so pretty much a blank canvas for window curtains and shower curtains. I will also get photos of the utility room, the bonus room and the upstairs guest room. Here's a repeat photo of the front view....I'm thinking of painting that door something really pretty and different.....like turquoise or peacock :)
Once we get the keys on Aug. 10, I will get a few more photos for you. The bathroom needs NO work...it's all ceramic tile walls and fiberglass shower. It's mostly white, with a burgundy band of color, so pretty much a blank canvas for window curtains and shower curtains. I will also get photos of the utility room, the bonus room and the upstairs guest room. Here's a repeat photo of the front view....I'm thinking of painting that door something really pretty and different.....like turquoise or peacock :)
ADDENDUM 8/10/16: : I forgot I had this photo of the bathroom. Those ceramic tiles go all the way up to the ceiling and all around the shower. I think only the base of the shower is fiberglass. Also, settlement has been delayed till Aug. 25. I really hope that date is concrete :(