Our house.

You asked and I obeyed. Below are pictures of our new home in the 'burbs. Not the easiest thing to photograph, but hopefully you get a sense of the layout and the much needed work we have ahead of us. C'mon in! 

Don't you love the red door? The house was listed as a Colonial, but I love the Tudor-esque quality of the front. It's built in 1920, with lots of original finishes throughout.

Inside, there's a tiny foyer and bathroom. The entranceway leads you to the living room, which has a fireplace on the left and a passage to the den straight ahead. I like how the arched doorway is repeated here.

Here's a close-up of the fireplace. Paul loves it, but I think it needs a facelift. Something lighter and more modern. Thoughts?

To the left of the fireplace is the BRIGHT GREEN dining room. The previous owners were not afraid of color. They were, however, afraid of cleaning products, so I've spent the last six days scrubbing every orifice of the home.

From the dining room you head into the kitchen. It's tiny, but the appliances are brand spankin' new and the double sink and beaded board detailing are a plus. Upgrades will include new countertops and backsplash, plus glass cabinets and/or open shelves to display my growing collection of plates and glasses. Yes?

From the kitchen you head down two tiny stairs and into the mud room. The beaded board detailing extends into the space, and there's plenty of storage for housing coats, Wellies, and dog stuff. 

The door you see on the left leads to the basement, and the kitchen is ahead and to the right. To the immediate right is the side entrance.

See?

The window on the left looks into my office. It used to be a garage, but the previous owners converted it into the office/family room. Nice work, in my opinion.

The desk (an antique I inherited from my grandfather) is staying. But the rest of the furniture is either being refurbished, moved elsewhere, or tossed.

This is our BRIGHT YELLOW family room. (The alcove on the left is my office, sans furniture). If you were to look through the back door and window, you'd see our backyard...

Voila!* 


Back inside the family room, french doors lead into the den. That giant, nasty air conditioner will be going into the trash.

We're calling this room the den, but in reality it will be a yoga room/painting room/third bedroom/den. There will be a daybed in the space, and we're ripping up the carpet to refinish the hardwood floors. It's been years since I picked up a paintbrush—despite painting being my minor in college—so hopefully this room will inspire me.

From the yogapaintibedrooden, you can walk straight ahead to return to the living room and front of the house, or to the right to go upstairs. 

The master bedroom is upstairs and to the left...

...and the guest room is straight across from that, along with the bathroom. I kid you not, the previous owners were Mets fans. Pretty bad, huh?

Finally, the second bathroom is downstairs. And bright blue.

SO, that's the house. As you can see, it needs a lot of TLC. And paint. And furniture. But, it has a lot of potential. And it's really starting to feel like home. Which makes me happier than I can even begin to explain to you.

Whaddya think? 

*I didn't take the picture of the backyard...my camera battery died, so I snagged it off of the realtor's site. Sadly, the firepit did not come with the house.