Our New Home - The Details

Here are the pictures of our new home (option pending).  They were taken straight from the online listing and the woman who lives there is older and lives there alone.  Keep an open mind.  It's a fixer for sure but paint can go a long way and we see ourselves living here a LONG time!

We actually are thinking of refinancing in a few years to a 15 year mortgage and then maybe adding on (converting the garage wing into a new master suite and building a new garage but obviously with an architect and contractor so it's seamless and looks original to the home).  The goal being to have no mortgage by the time Georgia is in college.  We always thought our next home would be a 10-15 year thing but now we're thinking this may just be IT!

It's 2178 square feet and on an acre.  It's old but exactly what we want.  3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, both formals, and a LARGE laundry room.  Also, there are FOUR hall closets and a huge storage closet in the garage.  Our first house had NO storage closets.  Seriously, not one.

The fact that it's on an acre and in the best elementary school zone in our district is what really sealed the deal.  Literally, the elementary school is ranked (by a national company) a 10 on a 1-10 scale.  Also from my mom's driveway to this driveway is 53 seconds in the car or a 3 minute walk.

So, here is the front.  Yard needs to be cleared and he arbor needs to go.  Which, people say they like the arbor but it's a cottage type arbor and our home is a 60's ranch.  And, they are NO curved lines on the rest of the house at all...so the arbor just sticks out.  We want to redo the trim paint, shutters, and front door.  You can't see the pretty bay window in the front and the garage is on the right hand side.  Also, the insulation in the attic needs to be replaced and the squirrels are out of control and trying to eat through the roof (haven't) so we'll be getting an outside cat or two.  Take that squirrels!

This is the entry way as viewed from the formal living room that we are turning into the formal dining.  Tile is going as well as the rails.  We want to extend the step from wall to wall and do hardwoods where the tile and carpet are.  I'm not 100% on the color in here since it extends into the entry as well.

This is the view of the formal living (we're using it as the dining) and into the formal dining (we're turning it into a playroom/guest room) as seen from the entry.  Can't you imagine a beautiful Christmas tree in that pretty bay window?!  A piano will also be going in the dining room.

Here is the living room.  The floors are awesome (put in with small wooden pegs and we're hoping they may be under carpet in the rest of the house) but the rest is less than thrilling.  Imagine white washed brick and painted paneling.  It will look better I promise!  There are also beams which may be painted and this is the only room with a popcorn ceiling.  So, that will be taken care of before we move in.

Another view of the living room and the strange pass through. That eventually will be gone.  Not really sure what to do about that wall.  There are lots of doorways in this house which I don't mind but the pass through bothers me.

Here is the kitchen.  We're having the cabinets, paneling, and trim all painted most likely before we move in.  We need to find a spot for the microwave, take care of the pass through, replace the counters/sink, eventually get new appliances and replace the light.  All of that will take awhile but the paint is happening first.  The counters being white is for sure a plus since the cabinets will be white so it won't stick out horribly.  Eventually I want carrera or the like.  And, while it is a galley kitchen (NOT my fav!) it's a lot wider than most.  And, we're getting a counter depth fridge so that should help as well.

The master looks tiny in this picture but it really isn't.  It has two closets, french doors to the patio, a vanity area, built ins, and a teeny tiny bathroom!

See, tiny bathroom but I LOVE the green tile and the mirror.  I'm painting the walls white and re painting the mirror but the rest we will live with for awhile.

Guest room or Georgia's room.  I'm not sure yet.  

Guest bath...no huge complaints.  Paint can change a lot.

Another bedroom and smaller than the other.  Very plain right now.

The back porch.  A LOT of junk which will hopefully be cleared out.

This is the view from the front door (Sorry, this one got out of order!)

And, here is the back yard.  The pool is huge and old and we really want to fill it in we think.  To me it's not a matter of safety (I was raised with a pool) or that it takes up too much yard (we have an entire acre) it's just the maintenance that I don't want to worry about or deal with.  I don't want to pay to have it maintained.  I don't want to clean it myself (do you see all those trees!).  It's just a huge eye sore to me.  All the tile and the stone on the top would have to be replaced as well.

So, as you can tell we bought the house based on the square footage, school zone, and lot size.  It will be a lot of work but we're up for the challenge!