Remodeling the House

I am going to start a semi frequent feature about remodeling our house. Our house is very small. We're talking like 800 square feet. There are 5 rooms and a hallway on the main floor, but we have also started working on finishing our basement. We have lived here for about 5 years (Since we got married in August 2006) and most everything about it has changed. Here is the before picture that was taken by DH when he purchased the house in 2004:

When DH bought the house originally the plan was to fix it up and flip it. DH and I had just started dating and I wasn't there to take before pictures, but I did get to go inside it once before it was inhabitable, and I can tell you it was a hot mess. I wish I had pictures of the old cabinets to show you all the broken doors and hanging drawers. Then you would really think we were amazing =)

I was all ready to post some before and after pictures, but I really want the before and afters to be almost the same picture, so I am going to have to retake some of them. In fact, I was going to post a new picture of just the front of the house, but fancy that, I didn't have one with the right angle. So I thought I would just take one. Well, then I got home and everything is dead from the heat this summer that I thought I had better wait...so. Hopefully in the spring things will be prettier and I can take a photo that will wow you.  Maybe my last post will be a before and after of the front of the house.

I am in no way pretending to be one of those people who blogs about their house all the time. Who are you kidding- my house is small and we are the cheapest people you probably know. There isn't money for that sort of thing. Let's make it functional, keep it clean and I am happy.

Another issue is that in the last 5 years I have taken so many pictures of the house here and there, that I don't know which ones to post or really where I have many of them saved on my computer. So give me a minute and I will get it all sorted out. This project may be more for my organization...but anyway...hopefully you will enjoy the process.

Stay tuned...there have been lots of changes. Many of you probably know what my house looks like now, but do you know what it looked like way back when? We joke that the only things that are still original to the house are the studs and 3 bushes in the front yard...ok maybe there are a couple more things, but it's a lot of changes.

This is also a really great way for me to show off how handy DH really is. He comes up with all the ideas and makes them happen. I can paint and that's pretty much it. He has done everything else.

Guess what the first thing to go was?? I'll give you a hint...it's striped.