the Before

When we first bought the house, we went straight to town and didn't take much time to document the house "before." I found these images on Redfin the other night and thought it would be fun to post them for old times sake.  When I get around to it, I'll take pictures of what it looks like now, from the same spots.

Front Entry. Those black spots are holes in the wall...

The yard looks halfway decent… before it became overgrown

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room. You can't see the broken window…
notice the outline from a picture above the fireplace/mantel?

Dining Room with someones reflection in the mirror

I LOVE this built in.

Built in, look how worn the surfaces are

Trim Details

the "Library"
See the surface mounted electrical?

Bedroom, Two Bathrooms, Sunporch Office

Landing…. look at those floors! and the striped grime on the walls

This would be the kitchen…

The back… "new deck" and roof.

The yard actually looked good!

Doesn't look too rough from this view.

Second Bathroom Redo - DEMO!

It's nerve racking to have anything done to your house from 1,800 miles away... But I have faith in the crew and excited to come home in late January to a completed bathroom!

This week our contractor started at the house to move forward with our Second Bathroom renovation! They ended up demo'ing the space in a day (complete gut). Electrical, mechanical and plumbing rough-in to come next, then Insulation and Sheetrock... and finishes!

 

 

He thinks they'll be done before Christmas, but it doesn't really matter to us - as long as they are done before our return.

Mood board to come soon...

flashbacks

Joe and I have just a few finishing touches on the Master Suite before we take a BIG {financial} BREAK on things... for me to part with all the work (my eyes see so many more projects to do!) I am the type that has to justify it. I started looking back on our journey over the past two years and thought I would share some of the befores/ durings to inspire anyone who is also in the midst of a big project.

Whenever I get overwhelmed with the state of affairs or frustrated with progress (I work on a jobsite so I easily forget that DIY at home is much slower and different than building big things at work). I also find it interesting how I so easily block things from my mind, it's too easy to block out the "befores" and lost focus on the progress.

What were we thinking!?

wall repair in the dining room

poorly installed old windows that had major gaps

(it's built in ventilation, right?)

our temporary kitchen that froze in the winter ice storms...


and how could i forget the pink, mauve bathroom
with the gurgling sink (not properly vented) and
toilet waste line held together by duct tape (disgusting!)

our working "ninja turtle green" bathroom

(future project)

the master bedroom (before)

after we had taken out the louvered windows

the attic bedroom (before)

cooking with gas

(JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT WE STARTED WITH)


introducing... done, done, done!
painted, moved in, cooking, washing dishes, it's heaven.

I got my camera!

I managed to get to the house before the final coat was put down on the floors - to rescue my camera and post a few pictures before heading to work.

The first Saturday there - gardner's showed up. We didn't complain!


The layers of classy sticky linoleum in the Kitchen

We fell in love with the woodwork...


Karen patiently cleaning the fireplace

We got the House

After early inspections, a wedding and a honeymoon... we learned that we were put in first position for the offer we placed on the house. Here's an exterior photo of what we're taking on. You can't tell but it's in dire need of a major paint job, but that'll wait until next year.

Paperwork is being sorted out and we hope to close in the middle of October.

The Stats:
1913 Craftsman in the heart of Irvington here in Portland, Oregon. The history is still unknown, but we did find out it was last occupied by a religious unification group.

Currently: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, partial basement, partial attic... plumbing for 1 additional full bath in basement and 1/2 bath on main level.

The original Plumbing Permit lists it being built by "Oregon Home Builders" in 1912...

The trimwork has never been painted on the first floor and all the wiring is still knob and tube... yikes!

Did I mention it's missing a KITCHEN? This will be project #1.