1940's Colonial Transformed

Six months ago, my husband and I bought the house that nobody wanted. We knew it needed work but since I've spent hours watching Fixer-Upper shows, I thought I was more than qualified!  After all it only takes a one hour episode to renovate an entire room...RIGHT?  Well, here is a chronicle of our experience with the restoration. 



Looked almost too good to be true from the outside and we quickly
found out that it was!  If you saw the movie The Money Pit,
you'll notice a resemblance...there is a reason for that!



The first order of business was to restore the bathrooms.  Every bathroom in this house was old and dingy. The Master Bathroom was a priority.  Unfortunately, when we ripped out the existing floor we discovered significant water damage and mold!   It was so bad that we had to rip open the ceiling in the room underneath to clear it all out.  We even found a peanut and evidence of an infestation!  I got an exterminator immediately and a specialist to inspect the mold.





MASTER BATHROOM: BEFORE
Initially, I liked the layout of this room but we needed a shower
and the ceilings were too low over the bathtub to support one.





MASTER BATHROOM: AFTERThis is a work in progress.  I've always loved the elegance of a
gray and white room so I began with that pallet.  I think it still needs some
splashes of bright yellow to liven it up a bit.  More pictures to come!





MASTER BATHROOM: AFTER
 

 

NEXT was the upstairs bathroom adjacent to the kids bedrooms.  This, fortunately, was not in bad shape. It was just ugly!  Our carpenter just finished this bathroom yesterday.  Below are the preliminary pictures before the accessories are added.  Stay tuned for more pictures!



BEFORE

 



AFTER
Since the house was built in the 1940's, I tried to add details to the room
that stayed true to the era without it looking dated.  I also removed the pedestal
sink and the side cabinet and replaced it with a 49" vanity to fill the whole space.
I'm still searching for a mirror, curtains, pictures and accessories.



The following rooms are on our "to do" list:



This kitchen was added by the former owner in the 1990's.
It doesn't match the character of the rest of the house and it's impractical since
there isn't enough space for a table and it is two rooms away from the dining room! 

 

The Master Bedroom has wall to wall carpet
covering up nice hardwood floors and what I'm afraid is more
water damage.  I've noticed that the rug is different by the bathroom
and they removed the original flooring and replaced it with plywood.

 

This is the downstairs bathroom.  It's not in bad shape however it could use
some updating since it's the bathroom that everyone who visits is going to see.