The Money Pit

If other people can blog about their cats on Fridays, then I can blog about our house.

My friend, Sally, took some pictures of the interior of our new house last week. I thought I would share.

This is the entrance way to the house. When we moved in, the entire backwall was a closet which covered that window and the oak staircase. Our friend, Andrew, pulled it out for us three weeks ago. (Thanks, Ace!) We've pulled down some of the wood paneling, but the rest needs to be done this weekend. Then the spots of glue need to be sanded down and the walls skim coated with plaster. The wallpaper might have been the latest in 1916, but it's looking pretty sad now. It has to be scraped off.

Check out the oak floors. They had been covered with wall to wall grey carpet that was sodden with cat pee. After Andrew and I pulled out the carpeting in that area, my family helped pry up the linoleum and plywood that was nailed on top of the floor. That was a big job. The entire house was covered in carpeting or linoleum or both. In a couple of rooms, the linoleum was printed to look like hard wood. I guess it was considered very modern at one time.

The entrance way will be an extension of the living room, so we'll paint it all the same color and place an arm chair there. The bench in the picture has been polyurethaned and put on the porch. We'll have to keep our coats in the basement, but that's okay. How long am I going to be able to stand that ceiling fan? And of course the staircase needs help.

Here's the living room, which mostly just needs a good coat of paint and some decent shades. Eventually, we'll have to remove the drop ceiling.

Of course, we're not going to be able to do all this at once. Time and money. But it doesn't stop us from sitting on the sofa and planning. It also doesn't stop me from surfing around to get ideas. I stumbled across this blog chronicling a couple's obsession with home renovation.

So far, I've found all this work very satisfying. We've made the place look so much better in just a month. And it's good to step away from the computer and the books and do some handy work that you're proud of. I have a friend who has a PhD in philosophy, but instead of getting a teaching job has become a cabinet maker. I think I get it.

I've also been learning more about the area and its history, but that's for another post.

Comments

[Manny]

Being incredibly lazy I'd suggest taking the drop ceiling down now before furniture gets moved it...or am I assuming a fact now in evidence?

[Manny]

Ooops...I meant NOT in evidence.

[Donna Boucher]

Your house has a lot of character. I love the tall windows and the beautiful columns. Wood floors are just wonderful. It looks like you have a pretty porch (or at least the makings of one)
Cute little girl in the photo!
Thank you for sharing :o)
Donna

[Laura]

We would have taken down the drop ceilings already, but we're afraid of what we'll find underneath. There could be a very costly problem waiting for us.

[Laura]

We would have taken down the drop ceilings already, but we're afraid of what we'll find underneath. There could be a very costly problem waiting for us.

[Manny]

Ugh...good point, every time we remodel around our 1913 house we find evidence of some strange remodeling done by previous owners (stairs not connected to anything, joists pulled away from cross beams)...but then we find cool stuff too (it apparently was the the custom to stash the front page of the local paper in the crawlspace where the remodeling was being done so we could see what was going on in August of 1934 of July of 1947).

[Palin]

I wish you and your family every happiness in your new home. :)

[Brittney]

"I stumbled across this blog [referencing the 'Home Ec.' page on my website] chronicling a couple's obsession with home renovation."

"Obsession"...heh.

Good luck on your own home renovating adventures. They'll drain your pocketbook, steal your sanity, and make you question your belief in whatever god(s) you pray to. But they'll give you some of the best stories you'll ever tell. Ever.

Brittney Hall
webmistress, thehallway.net

[Prim]

Love your house - it has so much potential! The columns, hardwood floors and the moulding around the windows are gorgeous. Keep us posted on your renovations!