We're buying a house!!!!

[marina16]

That's a lovely home, Karen! Yes, it does look peaceful. Thank you for posting the picture, I love looking at houses.

[ladycattat]

Oooooooh, it's so purty!!!!!

~~said in a mildly wistful and envious voice~~~

Try to watch as much HGTV or TLC as possible and you'll get TONS of decorating ideas!

Laurie

[karen]

We like it- brick means no painting! It's a real fixer-upper, but it's so tiny that hopefully it won't be terribly expensive. I heard from the lawyer yesterday, and all of the paperwork is back- so we're closing on Thursday!!! We're sooo not ready to move.

[rubycat95]

Karen, I agree w/everyone that your new house is lovely and perfect! You will have loads of fun decorating and arranging and re-arranging as the spirit moves you. I think a house is always a
"work in progress" as needs and tastes change. We just did a whole house renovation starting last April-complete new look for exterior, as well as gutting the kitchen and all new floors throughout. If you need a contractor for anything ours is a true crafstman as well as honest and I'd be happy to recommend him to you. Good luck and congratulations on your soon to be closing date!!
Ruby

[lcash]

Bring your hand brace for the closing signatures, and buy a bottle of champagne! I'm so excited for you. Fixer-uppers can be a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to try doing things yourself (if you have time). My hubby has been putting in wood laminate floors throughout the house, and did an amazing job putting all new tile in the main bathroom. It's absolutely gorgeous. He bought a few how-to books, studied up on cable TV shows, went to Home Depot demos....and went to work. We figure that so far he's saved us over $10,000 just in installation fees, painting, changing light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc. - not that we would have spent that much in the first place. Our house is brick also, and we SO appreciate not painting. There is literally nothing to paint on the exterior thanks to a little bit of vinyl siding in a few trim spots. Oh, wait - we did buy plastic shutters and spray paint them every couple of years since the sun fades them so quickly. Hope you'll share your house remodeling pictures as you go. Lauren

[karen]

Well the closing was the easy part- it's every day after Thursday that's been the challenge. It's getting rather a nice makeover though. Susan's man is a painter, my brother is a finish carpenter/cabinet maker, DH has a copper fetish- so he's good with wiring, plumbing (although thankfully we haven't needed that skill), and all of the geeky stuff (phones, web, tv), and apparently spackle- and we have few handy buddies. The huge challenge has been the hardwood floors. When we saw them I thought 'hey no problem- they're physically in good shape, I'll get my brother refinish them"- but they're riddled with dog urine stains. Apparently it stains oak horribly- they've been sanded, but there's a chemical reaction between the oak, and the ammonia that turns it almost black. I spent all day Sunday trying to bleach them with a special wood bleach- and trying to add pigment to the polyurethane and finally today I just gave up and bought 2 gallons of dark walnut minwax stain. They needed to be refinished (the old finish was worn completely off in a lot of areas), and it felt like a crime to just cover them with carpet or paint them (the parts that weren't stained were gorgeous 60 year old red oak)- so we're staining, and staining, and staining. The first coat went on today, and it will get another one tomorrow. We had to go with oil based to get a color deep enough to blend with the stains, so it's taking forever to apply it and let it dry.

I keep telling myself it will look good, and it will be worth it in the end- but I've had better weeks. In all reality- just ugly floors aren't the end of the world- but it's a lot more work than I bargained for at the moment. I kissed my work bench when I got to the office this morning- it was relaxing to be somewhere that didn't need a coat of paint or another trip to the hardware store. I've started saying "see you tomorrow" to all of the guys there.

Your husband sounds incredibly talented Lauren- and yes you're saving a bundle, not to mention the time and effort it takes to find someone and supervise those projects. Floors are now where I draw the line- I'll try pretty much anything else- but after this one I'm retiring from flooring jobs. On the up side- it's a really good workout.

[lcash]

That floor project sounds like a nightmare. I hope you can get it to a consistent color. Hang in there, though. You'll get a great feeling of pride from every little improvement. And when it's done, you'll want to start again! (okay - maybe not with the floors.....) Lauren

[mgmsrk]

Congratulations on the closing!

I hope your reno plans go smoothly.