First Impressions

Until now I have been blogging about our house in Alabama while we've been getting settled (somewhat) into our new house in South Carolina. This house is pretty much the opposite of our last house. Our last house was 70 years old. This one is 15. Our last house was 1,000 square feet. This one is 2,000. Our last house had one bathroom. This one has three full baths. Our last house had two bedrooms and this one has four. Our last house had big windows that let in lots of light while this one tends toward the dark side and could use some more natural light. Perhaps the biggest difference is that our new house has LOTS of cosmetic needs but few structural needs. We will be doing a lot of updating but won't be taking down any walls (I think), or working on any floor joists (I hope). Finally it's time to introduce the new house. Below are the photos we took when we first toured the house.

This is the inside view of the front door. The kitchen is to the right while the door to the left opens into the garage. 

The stairs have carpet that I would like to eventually remove and replace with wood. All the carpet is original and is pretty dingy. Outside our bedroom is a place about the size of a baseball where an animal has worn a hole it. The worst part of the carpet is around the edges where it is wearing thin and the tacks are sticking through. Our daughter cut her foot a couple times on them so we have been hammering them down as we find them.

The upstairs has a bedroom on either end of the catwalk and a bathroom. The downstairs consists of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a great room, a dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.

The laundry room also has a door to the garage.

Here is the view from the other side of the living room. The three recessed lights are the only lights in the room other than a small globe above the stairs.

Because of the massive trees in the back yard the skylights don't let in a lot of light. Beyond the door to the left is a great screened in porch though it needs some new screen and a good cleaning. The fireplace has a royal blue faux-marble plastic surround. We will be changing that. All of the windows in the house have no trim except for an off-white tumbled marble window sill.

Below is the dining room complete with a fake tray ceiling coated in popcorn.

The downstairs bathroom has the usual 15 year old dated elements as well as a cracked sink that has been fixed with caulk!

Brass is everywhere in the house.

The nursery:

The kitchen cabinets were low and made the room feel short. I'm also fairly sure the microwave was mounted too low to meet code.

I'm pretty sure the appliances are original with the house. The cabinets (kitchen and bathroom) were stick built with the house and the doors are flat panels with moulding on top. The placement of the moulding made for an odd location of the hardware.

Slightly odd ceiling angles.

The master bedroom with a huge flower fan.

Master bath with seashell shaped sink, cracked/dingy honeycomb tile, and tumbled marble everything.

Upstairs bedroom 1.

Upstairs bathroom.

Upstairs bedroom 2.

Decor-wise this home is not at all our style but we love the location, the bedroom layout, and it was a great deal for the neighborhood. With a much tighter budget and a toddler running it will be interesting to see how this remodel goes!