THE WACO HOUSE RENOVATION PROCESS - BEFORE

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

Okay.  I have put this off long enough.  This will be a long road with many stops to get you from the house purchase condition to its current state.  I have debated how to present it to you to make sense.  I think I will show you the "before" pictures (taken after going under contract and when I was here for the inspection) all in one post.  Then, we will break it down as the destruction/reworking begins.  Finally, I will post the "after" pictures so you can see the changes.  Might even do a before/after post with the two shots side-by-side so you can see the whole change!  We'll see.  If you have any thoughts about how you would like it presented, let me know!

So... as mentioned, I was here for the inspection of the property.  What I didn't know was the family of the owner was having an estate sale the upcoming weekend!!!  The house was FULL of "stuff."  It was pretty funny.  The "before" photos are going to show you what I saw when I got my first look at the property!  (I trusted my Realtor, Cindy, enough to make an offer and go under contract without seeing the property first.)  What follows are a lot of pics and descriptions.

Opening the front door, which is centered on the front of the house, one finds the entry.  There is a cased opening to the right leading into the "formal" rooms (living & dining), an opening with double doors directly ahead leading into the den which opens onto the back patio via a sliding glass door, and a hallway to the left leading to the bedroom wing.

Looking to the right into the formals, the living area is first, then the dining after passing through the pony wall with the spindles.

From the dining area, there is a door leading into the kitchen.  Interesting layout as the electric cooktop/microwave, sink, dishwasher, refrigerator, and double ovens are all along the wall to the right!!  You will see some changes when we get to the end!

Did I mention the kitchen was carpeted?  Yep.  Surprised me!

The door at the far side of the kitchen goes into the utility room and where there is a door into a half-bath.

From that door, one can turn back toward the kitchen and see the peninsula between the kitchen and den.  There is also a little corner built-in with glass doors and shelving in the kitchen to the right.

Standing at the corner of the peninsula, this a view of the den... the double doors at the far left lead into the entry...

... and scanning to the right, you see the fireplace with the sliding glass door leading onto the back patio just past the furniture.

Walking into the den and looking back into the kitchen.

Looking down the hallway from the entry toward the bedroom wing.

First door on the left leads into the (now) guest bedroom.  It is on the front of the house.  It is connected to another secondary bedroom (second door on the left at end of hallway) on the front corner of the house by a Jack and Jill bathroom which is the partially opened door on the right.

The Jack and Jill bath was interesting!

The bath flowed into another secondary bedroom (now my "dressing room!").  It has windows on two walls as it is on the front  corner.  The door into the Jack and Jill is behind the clothes rack.

Standing at the doorway of this second bedroom looking toward the back of the house.  The hallway from the entry ends and makes a 90 degree right turn toward the back of the house.  Note a door to the right, a door to the left, and a door directly at the end of this hallway.

The doorway to the right leads into the third secondary bedroom... the largest one (now the "Man Cave!").  Has a great wide window across the back looking onto the back patio.

Directly across from this bedroom door is another door leading into... the Master Bath.  (More on this later.)

At the end of the hallway, there is the Master Bedroom.  It has a wide window on the side, two smaller separated windows across the back, and a sliding glass door onto the back patio across from the wide window.

So, we will back up a bit into the hallway and look into the Master Bath.  Note the door on the right in the Bath.  That door goes directly into the Master Bedroom.  So, this bathroom, while directly connected to the Master Bedroom, does also serve the third bedroom directly across from it.  I guess you would have to share if you had three kids... but that isn't a problem for us.  :)

Finally, there is a teeny little shower at the back left of this photo.  It was an "insert" cultured marble shower with a very low ceiling.  The shower head was so low, I literally had to do full squats to wash my hair!!  CRAZY!!

There is a little section in the Master Bedroom that goes between two closets to the door into the Master Bathroom.  A little awkward... but works for now.  The Man has these two closets.  My clothes are in my "dressing room."

WHEW!!!  Okay.  You have now seen the place as it was when I arrived.  I have a LOT more photos of everything including some detailing specific items/areas.  But you don't need to see those.  Would be WAY too much information!!

So... we will begin going through the changes to each area as well as the selections made, from colors to flooring to countertops/backsplashes to the final appliances, etc.  It will take several posts to get it all done... but I hope you enjoy the journey.  I will be posting about other things, too, so it won't be JUST the house process.

Thank you for staying with/joining me on this new blog!!  I hope it has some interest for you.

Until next post...