Making Plans

Oh, where to start? We have rented this house for a year and a half and hope to buy it this summer. A year and a half of wondering if this was The place for us. A year and a half of thinking about all of the things we would change.

The house was built in the early 90's. So it has the typical dark oak wood everywhere, mini-blinds, carpeting, worn vinyl flooring, laminate counters and more country blue and mauve than you can shake a stick at.

So here is The List. Brace yourself. It's a long one. It's going to take some time. Okay, a lot of time.

Short Term Projects:
~Replace two exterior doors with divided light doors to let more natural light in.
~Install wide-plank wood floors. The sculptured mauve carpet has got to go.
~Paint all dark oak white
~Paint the walls in all of the rooms. The entire house is white because apparently it goes well with dark oak.
~Remove mini-blinds and install updated window coverings.

Longer Term Projects:
~Kitchen remodel: Tear out pantry. Reconfigure layout. Install additional cabinets and island. Replace appliances.
~Turn outbuilding into garage. Frame and insulate two bays now and the other two bays later when the girls start driving (Oh Lord help us).
~Turn current garage into family room.
~Tear down wall in hallway to open up between the kitchen and new family room.
~Turn current living room into dining room.
~Build covered pergola/porch off of dining room with French Doors.

Here are some before pictures:

The hallway between the garage (our future family room) and the kitchen. The doorway straight ahead will be taken out. The door at the end of the hallway to the left (not shown) will be replaced with a door with divided lights to let natural light in. The wall on the left is the pantry wall that will be gone. Right now it's very dark.

The pantry that I can't wait to take a sledge hammer to. I love the storage but this thing takes up way more space than it's worth.

Oak, oak and more oak. I can just hear the paint calling my name.

Did I mention there is a lot of oak in this house? The layout is funky too. There are some space-hogging design choices going on here.

The current living room that will someday be our formal dining room. Until then, we will pretty it up.

Our current garage/future family room. The door will be replaced with a wall of windows. The ceiling will be removed and replaced with a vaulted ceiling. A double-sided/indoor/outdoor fireplace will be added on the right side wall so that we can enjoy it from inside or outside on the patio.

Our bedroom with the lovely, mauve sculptured carpet. This will be our first project. Nobody should be forced to live with carpet like that. EVER.

A close up view just in case you need proof.

Our hall bathroom. I want to do some wide horizontal stripes, replace the vanity and replace the bone colored toilet with a more efficient model.

Trust me. As soon as we sign the papers, the paint brushes are coming out.