Some of the cool stuff we did...

So there has been some definite radio silence going on here. Sorry. We are in a weird limbo waiting period with the house on the market, no offers yet, a lot of commuting for Chris and a lot of craziness for me. But I have been wanting to share some of the cool stuff we've done to the house in the past few months. As to not inundate with photos let's look at the upstairs today and the downstairs another day. You can see the original photos here and one month later photos here.

So upstairs house tour as of January 2014, 5 months after our move in date:

Outside we had a few big projects. First we took out that awful wheel chair ramp and wooden privacy fence. We were able to have the original iron stair rails re-installed and then custom fencing made to match. This was necessary because the concrete wall along the driveway (below the new fence) created a drop that was over 30 inches which is required to have a fence by the code. These changes were one of the more expensive ones we did but they make drastic improvements to our curb appeal and the outdoor space. Since the courtyard is one of our favorite features in the house we really wanted to improve the flow in and out. 

The living room got lots of new soft white paint. Probably a little hard to pick up the difference in the photos but in person it made a huge difference. The old paint was in bad shape and the fresh lighter white paint brightened the whole space. This room also got some "new" to us vintage furnishings.

The dining room also got lots of new paint and a very cleaned up light fixture. The original fixture is amazing but it was dingy and dirty. Much nicer after a gentle bath!

 The Kitchen arguably got the most work. I'm really happy with how it turned out but there were a few more things I would have loved to do in here and just didn't get a chance. In here we had the original stove top and built in oven restored. The oven had to be completely re-wired and needed new heating elements. I also took apart and replaced parts in the leaky faucet and of course lots of new paint. Then our single biggest home improvement purchase the CORK FLOORING. Or my favorite flooring EVER. Love love love this floor. It's gorgeous and comfy and cleans up like a dream. Plus it's very historically accurate to the period of the house.

 I would have loved to source a vintage fridge, replaced the tile counter on the sink side with some old school Julia Child esque butcher block and a new sink, faucet and garbage disposal. Le sigh...

 The sun room also benefited from lots of new paint and beautiful cork floors. And both of these rooms also had custom baseboards made. They are walnut and while they aren't an exact replica of the original baseboards throughout they do flow much better with the flow and the rest of the house. A note about twinkle lights. I'm not usually a big fan of decorating with twinkle lights but this room doesn't have a lot of lights and in the winter when there is less sunlight it's hard to use. The twinkle lights create a lovely romantic light in hear and combined with the city lights view at night make it a charming place to eat dinner or sit and have a drink.

 The master bedroom got new paint and an actual bed frame. Remember when the bed was on the floor for months on end. Yeah that was really great for the overall design. Not that the 80's oak night stands and mismatched lamps are much better but sometimes you work with what you got.

Margot's bathroom was also greatly improved by fresh paint. It also got lots of new caulk which was a welcome addition.

Margot's room has pretty much been done for a while. I would have loved to make pin-tuck drapes for her bedroom but I just didn't get there.

 The library also got new paint and what a project that was. We did have a professional painter do this room as well but we had to move everything out of the room and there were random piles of books littering our house for a week.

Certainly we didn't get to everything on our list and it's far from perfect but I think the changes we've made enhanced what we started with. Now I just hope a buyer will recognize it and SOON:)