Projects Aplenty

Tomorrow the little blue house is officially ours! We'll be taking a couple days to tackle a very messy project before moving in: scraping popcorn ceilings. Nick has ordered us some fancy HAZMAT-looking suits complete with respirators and googles. They're actually designed for this project and supposedly the pros use the same ones. Anything to prevent poison from getting into our lungs! 

These are pictures from the original MLS listing. The photographer did a great job, but you can see how the ceilings feel low and make the room look darker. Scraping the ceilings, adding a bit of texture and a fresh coat of white paint should help to brighten up the room a bit.  

Unfortunately the wood-burning stove had to come out as it is not EPA certified. Big bummer for us! Now there's just a gaping hole in its place. We're hoping to replace it with a gas insert or a newer wood stove by next winter. 

Our official "phase 1" plans for the living room so far are:

- Scrape popcorn ceilings

- Texture and paint ceilings

- Remove old school paneling from wall next to fireplace

-Paint the walls a light/neutral color (in person these walls have a peach/rose hue that we don't love)

- Expand the doorway between the kitchen and dining area by knocking out 5 ft of wall (we'll most definitely need Nick's dad's help on this one as it is likely a load-bearing wall and involves installing a giant header)

- Insert matching laminate flooring where said wall used to be

- Replace curtains with something lighter in color and texture (the curtains that the sellers left are heavy and pretty old school. We think they also darken the room a bit.)

- Add a large area rug (we love this one from Home Depot-- it looks even happier in person)

-Hang art on the walls

For "phase 2" here are our thoughts:

- Cover up the brick fireplace with drywall/tile/moulding 

- Add a mantel 

- Hang TV above mantel on fireplace

- Find a way to hide all cords! 

-Change out the dated baseboards 

-Install crown moulding 

Due to our limited budget we've decided to tackle each room in phases (as inspired by my long-time favorite people at Young House Love). Phase 1 includes what we think are the more urgent items as well as projects that are more affordable to tackle in the beginning (e.g. painting the walls). Phase 2 involves more time-consuming/extensive work or pricier projects that we'll be able to budget for in the future. We'll likely have a phase 1 and 2 for the living room, kitchen, and backyard. The other rooms of the house won't set us back too much if we tackle them all at once. 

Three cheers for DIY!