Our New House: The Before, Part 1

So this is the main reason that this space has been quiet in recent months. The day after Thanksgiving (after a few years of looking off and on and a few lost bidding wars) Josh and I put in an offer on this little foreclosed house. The price was right, it had a lot of potential, and for some reason (the holiday?) no one else had made an offer yet. The next month and a half was spent in and out of the loan office on nearly a daily basis trying to get our FHA loan squared away. I'll be frank: it was a fucking nightmare. I have since heard of people who have had similar experiences with the same company, and though I won't call them out publicly--if you are local and need a recommendation of where NOT to go email me. Moving on... The photo above is from the MLS listing, and the rest of these were taken at the end of January the first weekend we had the keys. Needless to say, things have changed since then. A lot.

Here is the kitchen. The cabinets are just sitting on the floor (unattached) and the hardware is all mismatched. The walls are painted yellow and have some tacky DIY troweled texture. Not the grossest kitchen we had seen in our searching, but definitely not one I was going to be making dinner in without a little work.

Sorry for the poor lighting in this family room photo, but it was the only one i could find that featured the outdoor TV mount. Just in case you're outside and want to catch up on some shows. And say, "Good-Bye" to that light fixture--I can't look at those things without thinking that they look like boobs. So, they had to go.

Pokie is checking out the family room... The giant windows in almost every room let in so much light and are one of the main reasons I love the house.

Looking toward the front door from the kitchen. The spot in front of the windows is the only logical spot for a dining room table. Not ideal, but we will make it work.

Nasty bathroom. Complete with filthy medicine cabinet, sink with a seashell-shaped soapdish and glittery streaks and a horrifying wall texture that the miracle worker drywall guy called the "most interesting" he had ever seen.


And last, but not least, the bedrooms. Henry's up top and ours down below.

Take a good look at everything, because the next time you see these rooms they won't be the same!