In 20 days it's all ours...

Welcome...home?

I can't help but feel like this is a bit of a joke, but we're actually moving into this. Okay, maybe I should clarify -- we're buying this, but we're not going to live in it for a while. Our grand plan is to take the last two weeks of August to do as many big jobs on the house as we can, meanwhile we'll have a 10 by 32 foot 'temporary' box dropped off for us to live in as of September...with no definite date* of living in this:

Don't get me started on this room, but those with a keen eye will spot the brilliant placement of a wood stove only 3 feet away from a hallway wall. Oh, and the fact that the stove touches the brick is a major no-no. So is the fact that some brilliant person put it on a diagonal. We'll be smashing this out.

Ah yes, the gourmet kitchen! What, you don't agree? Little do you know that ill-fitted dishwashers, old trash compactors, leaky faucets and deconstructed cabinets are en vogue for fall of 2009.

Pepto-coloured walls...antacid chic? I'm going to need something stronger than that to use this bathroom. Let's not even go there with that wooden toilet seat, I bet if we set it on fire it would burn for 3 days. (And the funky toilet schmears are from the well water, it's high in iron. A water softener is on the list to install.)

Oh! Hello, welcome to the barn! I think it has a most welcoming feel, with the chainsaw just sliding off the shelf to entice you inside. It's like a 'Where's Waldo' photo: car jack, check; WD-40, check; Ferrari, check! (Yes, that's a Ferrari. Whether or not it's left for us is a mystery at this point.)

After a hard day at work, I like to head back home on my motorcycle. I'm far to picky about leaving it outside, so I park it in the basement. Vroom vroom!

If you've made it this far in the photos, here's hoping that you can see the potential in it that we can. It's scary, smelly, dirty, in need of major repair...but, the positives are that it's only 21 years old (I know, I wouldn't believe it either -- but we've got the city engineering plans stamped to prove it), the foundation is sound, and it's got one hell of a knockout view behind the house.

*Pretty please, I'd like it to be before Christmas...of 2009.

White kitchens

I'm drawn more and more to a white kitchen, with panelling and detailed tile work.

via House Beautiful

Attic conversions = vaulted ceilings!

Seeing this picture made me wonder if we could remove the attic from our (future) second floor and have vaulted ceilings like this house. I did a little google research, and it's possible -- just some insulation and venting needed, drywall as well and -- oh yeah, a whole lot of demolition. But look at what's possible!

*Please note the fabulous use of GREEN as well!

via Apartment Therapy

Winner winner

I'm a little late on the drawing for the giveaway...but here's the results:

Mrs_Merriman, come and claim your book! :)

The bedroom

Our bedroom was one of the first rooms we tackled in the reno. It used to be beige, with a long black shelf over top of the bed, and no bed frame. Very bachelor-chic. (And then I came along and threw the bachelorhood out the window.) The best part about this room is that it's budget-friendly: the entire wall of drapes are from Ikea, as are the tables and bed frame (so many people have this bed frame!). The dressers are from Trevor's childhood bedroom, and we splurged on the glass lamps (Urban Barn).

I love the red gerberas against the wall colour.

Calm blue ocean artwork...they fool me into thinking I have a fancy view.

A little greenery goes a long way, and some photos from our trip to Europe last October. (Oh, and that white blobby thing is an oversized porcelain diamond shape.)

How about a giveaway?

Packing is now underway in the house, and as I go I'm going to have a few giveaways along the way. First up -- 'Getting Organized' by Stephanie Winston. Seeing as I won't need this book any time soon (we're talking months here), I figure it won't be missed, and my boxes will be one book lighter (Trevor thanks you).

Rules for entering: Inspire or horrify me with your tale of organization, or lack of -- either will give me hope in the coming months (and I'm going to need it...coming up in future posts I'll shock you with the mess we have facing us at the new house).

Winner will be chosen Monday July 13th via a random number generator.

And so it begins...

We bought a house.

It's been a bit of a crazy ride getting everything sorted out the past few weeks (hence the lack of posting), but we signed our names on the dotted line yesterday and ponied up the cash for a deposit for our little piece of the world. Okay...maybe it's not so little. I should start by telling you what our initial requirements were:

- We wanted a fixer-upper on a larger piece of property (1-2 flat-ish acres), in the city we live in now (my big requirement), far away from the freeway (we're done hearing the cars whoosh by where we live now), oh, and within our budget. As you can see, nothing really overly picky or specific because with a little (or a lot) of work we can change things.

What we bought:

- A fixer-upper all right. This place is only 21 years old but has been seriously neglected. But, structurally everything is great -- so a big sigh of relief there. It needs a new roof, and a ton of cleanup (and a lot of other things).

- It's um, big. Like, bigger than the initial big we were thinking. 5 acres big. (We're going to become farmers. Seriously: farming = tax benefits! Farming of what has still to be decided, but options are hedge cedars, honeybees, hay...)

- It's in the city we currently live in (YAY!).

- It's far, far, FAR away from the freeway, and on a quiet road.

- It's in our budget. We negotiated a good price. leaving us money to fix the place up.

Here's more of the photos from the listing:

Yes, there's a pond. Yes, we have ducks. (cool!)

Horses not included. We're not that rural...yet.

Little bit of the garden.

A lot more of the garden. (Wait, at this point do I still call it 'garden'?)

Another view of the house. At this perspective it's a lot less scary and run down looking.

Stay tuned, things are going to get really interesting around here. (August 19th we get possession.)