The Before shots - Yard

I think I've mentioned a few times ;-) that I bought a yard with a house. In case I am overstating things (no, I can't put a few sheep out there), here's some info on my "acreage":

• Lot is 11,894 sq.ft.
  
• Lot is pie-shaped, tapering to a mere 10' at the northernmost end
  
• House is squooshed way at the top of the property, taking up very little valuable Chuck-it space
  
• Yard has not a lot of grass right now
  
• Wick will dig enormous holes in whatever sod I lay down.
  

Still, I'm very pleased to have found a place with even this yard-to-house ratio on this side of the bridge.

View from beside the deck:
 



Looking at the sad little deck:




See that weird bulge on the side of the house? I hope to put french doors there instead, and have a deck that wraps around from the back to the front.




The bamboo forest. I am NOT encouraged by the results of my Google search "getting rid of bamboo". Sounds like it could be a battle to the death!





There are some rocks that need to go too.






But on a nice crisp Fall day, I think it's quite a lovely place to be.

The Before shots - Upstairs

At the top of the stairs. I don't think this photo does justice to the true hideous-ness of the light fixture.


And here it is ... the orange room.


In order to prevent me from running screaming from this purchase, I slapped a quick coat of BM Bleeker Beige on the walls. Serenity now ...


The hallway. Ceiling fan, your days are numbered.


The view from the laundry room. That red roof belongs to the fellow who put a 6' tall cement wall around the 20 ACRE PERIMETER of his property. The plus side? One less side to fence for me!


Orange Room has a friend. This is Red Room. Red Room doesn't bug me quite enough to make me do manual labour, but be assured, that red ain't staying.


And here is the master. While huge, it is very boring.


It does have a nice large westward facing window.


And a lot of doors.


Here's the tiny ensuite. My plan is to annex the useless walk-in closet and make a truly nice ensuite, with a shower stall, soaker tub, and double vanity sinks. Or something like that.

The Before shots - Main level

I spent the afternoon at the house. I took some paint from my (perfect) condo to see if I couldn't make the orange room a little less jarring. More on that below.

Here's the front of the house. I would like to replace the doors with something less flimsy/brassy/ugly. In fact, I'd like to replace the doors with one NICE door, but I think the single doors are too big and would knock the banister down. Dang.


Also need to eradicate that aggressive juniper that is taking over the front:


Here's what you see currently when you enter the house. Not exactly the "wow" factor, unless you count "Wow, that carpet sure is grotty".


The living room has a high ceiling and actually is a pretty decent size.


The dining room is just off the living room, in a semi-open floor plan.


This odd little jog in the wall is for the placement of a sideboard, I guess. I would like to put french doors there that open out to the yard.


The view from the kitchen, looking down the hallway. There is a powder room under the stairs.


The kitchen:



The family room off the kitchen. It leads out to the deck via sliding doors. I'd like to replace the slidy doors with french doors.


And here's the little deck.

All over but the crying

Today I picked up the keys! Although I don't take possession as owner until 30 November, I am renting it from the vendor for 6 weeks. Now I don't have to be all stressed about coordinating my move-out with move-in and all that other stuff.

The house looks pretty much as I remember it. :-) My realtor gave me some really good ideas about things that I can do to maximize value and make her as perfect as she can be. I can't wait to get started!

The journey begins:


And no, I don't know why there are so many keys. :-)

And so it begins

I bought a house. That's not completely true. I bought a yard (for my dogs) with a house attached to it. Built in 1993, the house is typical of its era - siding, windows with odd little frames, and smallish rooms with even smaller closets.

It's about 900 sq. ft. on the main floor, and another 800 sq.ft. on the top. No basement, just a crawl space (perhaps a new home for The Craft Corner of Shame?!?). Hmm, what else? Currently the washer/dryer combo resides in the garage, the kitchen appliances are older than old, and the carpet ... I can't discuss the carpet. Srsly. It's not good.

But the house sits on a lot that is almost 12,000 sq.ft. with southern exposure. The neighbourhood is cute, tidy, and very well-kept. True to Sarah Richardson's advice, I believe that I bought "the worst house in the best neighbourhood". Now if only I could hire Sarah to turn my house into one of her perfect little gems. But then, what fun would that be, just cutting cheques and having little to no input on the final product? Wait a minute, that's how I train my dogs ... but I digress.

So here is the diamond in the rough. I will take possession tomorrow, and over the next few weeks, I plan on just listening to the house. Hopefully, she will tell me what she wants to be when she grows up.

I mentioned I bought it for the yard, right? Well, even the yard will need work. Levelling, for sure, and new sod (for Wick to dig up). A new fence, and some bushy cedars against the cement wall couldn't hurt either.


And that bulgy thing on the side of the house - I'd like to put french doors there and wrap the deck from the side of the house around to the front.


And as for the front, well, that juniper under the window will have to go. Not only is it unattractive, but it is so obtrusive that you can't open the window. Bu-bye juniper!


I'd like to make a little circular garden thing on the front lawn, and maybe create a garden bed alongside the fence. I love those little Japanese maples that are low and all spread-y. Maybe that could go on the front lawn.

So there it is - my first reno. Gulp.